About Fostering Student Success On the OAT-Reading, Grades 5–7: Reading and Writing Informational Text

Fostering Student Success on the OAT-Reading, Grades 5–7: Reading and Writing Informational Text webcast series provides classroom teachers, literacy and curriculum specialists, and other leaders in English language arts education with instructional strategies for supporting student success with informational texts in the classroom and on the Ohio Achievement Test-Reading. Watch webcasts that present 45-minute panel discussions exploring the teaching-learning implications sample OAT items, student responses, and ELA content standards suggest in relation to the reading and writing of informational text. Use the webcast viewing guides to initiate or continue professional dialogue and instructional planning on enhancing literacy in your school or district. In addition, take advantage of the webcasts' mini-collections—small sets of ORC resources containing additional instructional examples, lesson ideas, and supplemental resource materials. Lastly, use the reference bibliographies provided for further information and reflection on effective teaching with informational texts.

About the archived 2008-2009 series:

• "Addressing the Challenges of Reading Informational Text" Explore some of the difficulties students may have with reading and understanding informational text as well as instructional strategies to support student success with informational text in the classroom and on the Ohio Achievement Test-Reading.



• "Using Constructed Response Questions to Foster Student Thinking, Writing, and Test-Taking Skills" Explore different types of constructed response questions on the OAT-Reading, including the challenges students may face in responding to these kinds of questions, as well as strategies that support student comprehension of question prompts and informational text selections.



• "A Closer Look at Ohio's Reading Achievement Tests: Using Data to Inform Instruction" Explore state trends in OAT-Reading data, specifically the informational text benchmarks and concepts where students have historically struggled, as well as test preparation and instructional planning strategies that use data to inform classroom practice.