Tackling TAKS Triplets: Resources
for Secondary Teachers
By Michael Fisher
TAKS. A four-letter word. Anathema
to teachers and students alike. For those of us who rebel against an
instrument-driven curriculum, our only solace lies in our control of methodology
and material. On a positive note, some elements of the TAKS language arts test
does address some higher-level thinking skills. Principally, these skills
involving synthesis and connection are tested in the section dealing with the
triplets.
One place to begin is to have a
complete understanding of the TEKS involved in teaching the language arts
curriculum in Texas. The following ATPE site gives a detailed explanation of
the TEKS. Those particularly appropriate to mastery of the triplets are those
under subheadings 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. These elements can be found at the
following:
Once on the website, click on
English Language Arts under the Texas Administrative Code; then find the
standards for English II and English III. This website also contains TAKS
reading and writing rubrics and a comprehensive power point presentation on TEA
TAKS awareness.
Of course the definitive website is
the TEA site. Not only are the TEKS available but the site also contains
released tests, keys and scoring guides. These tests are ideal for practice in
preparation to the test. Also, TAKS information booklets are available to
provide tips and insights on the test.
Also since the new assessment
instrument is still evolving, it may me helpful to experienced teachers as well
as novices to understand the history behind the TAKS test and its predecessor,
the TAAS test. An excellent summary can be found at:
www.dallasisd.org/parent_students/testing/unlocking_taks.pdf
One website provides a triplet with
test-length sample questions˜both multiple choice and short answer. This site
has an added bonus of providing a thematically related essay topic. This can be
found at:
www.tripletticket.com/sample/taks/student.php (click on
"Take Exam")
Many companies have developed
commercial workbooks to provide triplets for practice and strategies to tackle
the thought process behind TAKS triplets. These links should provide a variety
of options.
www.taks11.com/pdfs/TXlanguagearts-writing2.pdf
www.appliedpractice.com (click on TAKS icon)
www.triumphlearning.com/product.phtml?&lid=5968
(click on State Assessment then on state map)
www.buckledown.com (click on „Texas‰ in grid matrix to
access TAKS materials)
One valuable resource available from
TEA is the manual The Training of Trainers: Trainers Tips˜Written
Composition and Open-ended Reading (TEA 2003). This is the manual TEA
uses to train personnel who score the actual exams. This is of particular value
because it provides scoring rubrics for each of the short answer options (1
through 3); it provides graded samples of each of the rubric levels (1 through
3); and it provides ungraded writing samples which not only help the teacher
but also help students when they try to rate the samples themselves. Be
sure to obtain written permission from TEA before reproducing this booklet.
The Texas Education agency also
publishes the Grade 10 TAKS Study Guide: A Student and
Family Guide to Grade 10 English Language Arts and Social Studies (TEA 2003) which is
an outstanding resource. This workbook provides triplets practice and connects
them to the TAKS objectives covered in the triplets. Information on the
workbook and the trainers guide can be obtained by writing:
Texas Education Agency
Student Assessment Division
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701-1494
The following list of paired books
is printed with permission of Naomi Bates who compiled the list. These pairs
link thematically˜a key skill in the TAKS triplet design.
BOOK PAIRS FOR HIGH SCHOOL
ONE:
Homer.
Translated by W.H.D. Rouse. (1999). The Odyssey New York: Signet Classics.
Because
he angered the gods, Odysseus must go on a journey and leave behind all that is
familiar to him. He undergoes several trials, which includes Cyclops, Sirens,
and Lotus-eaters, loses friends along the way, and understands himself as a
person throughout his ordeal.
Deuker,
Carl. (2003). High Heat. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
When
Shane‚s life of privilege is turned around by the death of his father, he has
to come to grips with his
situation.
But when he hurts another ball player intentionally, he has to come to terms
with himself.
Tragic
hero, tie-in through epic literary elements
TWO:
Draper,
Sharon. (1999). Romiette and Julio. New York: Atheneum Books.
Julio, a
Hispanic from Texas moves to the northern U.S. and through Internet chat, he
meets and falls in love with Romiette, an African-American girl. This doesn‚t
sit well with her other friends, who are against their inter-racial dating, and
tragedy occurs in their relationship. A modern day young adult book mirroring
the classic tale by William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare,
William. Edited by Harold Bloom. (2000). Romeo and Juliet. Philadelphia:
Chelsea House Publishers.
The
classic tale of love and tragedy and the hatred of two rival families.
YA
meets Shakespeare
THREE:
Larsen,
Erick and Isaac Monroe Cline. (1999). Isaac‚s Storm: man, a time, and the
deadliest hurricane in history. New York: Crown Publishers.
Real
accounts of the deadliest storm in the United States history as told through
excerpts of Isaac Cline, an early meteorologist, and the devastation that
occurred in Galveston. Includes actual photographs as well as modern-day
interpretation of the storm.
Murphy,
Jim. (2000). Blizzard! : the storm that changed America. New York: Scholastic.
Historical documentation based on first-person accounts, newspaper articles,
and photographs and lithographs of the time when an unexpected blizzard hit the
eastern seaboard, esp. New York City, in 1888.
Murphy,
Jim. (1995). Great Fire. New York: Scholastic.
First
person accounts of several survivors as well as newspaper articles and
photographs/maps of the Great Fire of Chicago are interspersed to give the
reader a first-hand, factual account of how this great city was devastated,
why, and how people coped and survived the aftermath.
Natural
disasters and science
FOUR:
Murphy,
Jim. (2003). An American Plague: the true and terrifying story of the yellow
fever epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books.
Looks at
the yellow fever plague in Philadelphia during the late 1700‚s and the people
who tried to conquer this epidemic through coarse medical knowledge and
goodwill. Includes doctor‚s accounts as well as the works of government and the
Free African Society. Contains illustrations and clippings from newspapers of
the times.
Anderson,
Laurie Halse. (2000). Fever 1793. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Sixteen
year old Matilda lives in Philadelphia and begins to understand the horror of
plague when it hits her hometown of Philadelphia. She experiences the mass
exodus of people from the city as well as her own mother‚s death. When Matilda
contracts the fever and survives, she ensures her help to those who need help
the most.
Epidemics
in the United States
FIVE:
Murray,
Jaye. (2003). Bottled Up. New York: Dial Books.
Pip, a
stoner in high school, must attend counseling sessions if he wants to avoid his
father becoming involved in his school life. He tries to hide the fact that his
father is a raging alcoholic and his mother is a pill popper as well as
juggling to protect his little brother from getting emotionally and physically
hurt. Through his counseling, and with the help of a teacher, a girl who‚s a
friend, and a cop, Pip makes it through the tough part of quitting drugs in
order to create a more bearable world for himself and his brother.
Martinez,
Victor. (1998). Parrot in the Oven: mi vida : a novel. New York: HarperTrophy.
Manny
relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American
family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle. The
reader also gets to see how his older brother and sister handle their life in
this situation as well as the mother, who tries to keep her family together
through poverty and abuse.
Two
views on a popular research topic from different cultural viewpoints.
SIX:
Latifa,
Hachemi Chekeba. (2001). My Forbidden Face. New York: Talk Miramax Books.
16 year
old Latifa has grown up amidst the takeover of the Taliban in Kabul in 1997.
Where once she envisioned herself as a journalist, she must now wear a burkha
to cover her face and live a life of oppression for women. She and her family
escape to Paris and her account of what she encountered during her four years
on the run is written from a first-person narrative.
Lee,
Nancy, Schlein, Lonnie and Mitchel Levitas. (2002). A Nation Challenged: A
Visual History of 9/11 and its aftermath. New York: Scholastic.
A
photographic look of the horror and devastation that occurred in New York City
on September 11th. Includes accounts from the New York Times.
Feiler,
Bruce S. (2002). Abraham: A Journey to the heart of three faiths. New York: W.
Morrow. What starts as a biography of Abraham,
the Old Testament character who gave births to three extremely different
religions, goes on to the implications and history behind Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity to modern-day times and its implications on global events.
National/World
current events
National
disasters
Terrorism
SEVEN:
Eliot,
Eve. (2001).Insatiable : the compelling story of four teens, food, and its
power. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.
The
reader meets four different girls whose lives are intertwined through
friendship and their interaction with food. Diseases such as bulimia and
anorexia are examined as well as overeating and self-esteem issues. Each girl
faces her own misery and deals with her personal and family problems in
different ways, with tragedy occurring.
Bennett,
Cherie. (1998). Life in the Fat Lane. New York: Delacorte Press.
Laura has
it all. She‚s homecoming queen, most popular girl in high school and is dating
a good-looking boyfriend. Things begin to change when she mysteriously starts
to gain weight. As her weight balloons, the way her friends and boyfriend treat
her as well as society in general. Laura‚s family views also change when their
daughter goes from beauty queen to an obese teenager due to a rare disease.
Laura must deal with all of this as well as how to fight back in order to
maintain and regain her self-esteem.
Two
views on a popular research topic
Popular
subject for HS girls
EIGHT:
Capuzzo,
Mike. (2003)Close to Shore: The Terrifying shark attacks of 1816. New York:
Crown Publishers.
A
historical account of a shark attack around the New Jersey shoreline for two
weeks in July. Included is a history of early 20th century New Jersey as well
as public reaction and reasons why this attack occurred. The attack spawned a national
outrage against sharks that is still prevalent in this day and age.
Alten,
Steve. (1997). Meg. New York: Doubleday.
Paleo-biologist
Jonas Taylor comes face to face with a megalodon, the prehistoric species of
modern-day great white shark, and tries to capture it before it faces
extinction or causes more death or harm to the balance in nature. In the first
book, the megalodon rises from the depths of the Mariana Trench pregnant with a
brood of three babies. The sequel, The Trench, is focused on the meg‚s
offspring and other prehistoric monsters that survived and adapted to life in
the Mariana Trench. Jonas must face his demons from the past in order to save
his future.
A
look at scientific, biographical and fictional accounts of sharks and their predecessors
Good
study of biomes.
NINE:
Golden,
Christopher. (1999).Body Bags. New York: Pocket Books.
Jenna
Blake is beginning her first semester as Somerset University. She takes a job
with the forensic laboratory in town and becomes involved in a series of
unexpected and gruesome deaths, which takes her closer to the killer with every
forensic clue that is solved.
Owen,
David. (2000). Hidden Evidence: 40 true crimes and how forensic science helped
solved them. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books.
Profiles
forty true crime cases and explains how their investigations were aided by the
use of forensic science. These are mostly high-profile crime cases that include
Czar Nicholas to Nicole Brown Simpson. Included with each case is a forensic
look on clues left behind that could help solve these cases.
Physiology
and anatomy/biology- good science topics
TEN:
Melville,
Herman. Adapted by Will Eisner. (1998). Moby Dick. New York: Nantier, Beall,
Minoustchine.
The
classic tale of Captain Ahab and his ventures across the sea to find and kill
his nemesis, the white whale.
Naslund,
Sena Jeter. (1999). Ahab‚s Wife or the star gazer: a novel. New York: W. Morrow
and Company.
Una
Spenser has lived an interesting life. She grew up in a privileged household
and later decided to board a ship as a cabin boy to experience life on the sea.
She meets and falls in love with Captain Ahab and bears him a son. Through her
life experiences, the reader sees life and current issues of the time (19th
century New England) and a two-sided view of the Ahab‚s lives, from the mad
captain on the sea to his loving wife at home waiting for his return. This
novel is based on a singular instance of the classic in which Ahab mentions a
wife in the book Moby Dick.
Literary
elements of a classic retold
ELEVEN:
Hobbs,
Will. (1999). Jason‚s Gold. New York: Morrow Junior Books.
Fifteen
year old Jason leaves Seattle behind to find gold and his brothers in the
Klondike. He encounters many trials by nature and on the way, befriends and
nurtures a relationship with a Husky named King, who helps Jason survive the
harsh northern environment.
Kostyal,
K.M. (1999). Trial by Ice: A Photobiography of Sir Ernest Shackleton. New York:
Scholastic.
Sir
Ernest Shackleton and her crew of the Endurance
fight for their lives when they are shipwrecked by ice in the middle of the
Antarctic. First-hand accounts as well as beautiful black and white photographs
taken by a crew member are compiled into this book and shows how the ship‚s
name bears itself in Sir Shackleton and the rest of the survivors.
Human endurance against the elements