Nailing the Quizzes

Several of you have asked about how to do well on the quizzes. Reading carefully with your wits about you is the way to excell. Here are some suggestions for reading actively:

• Write in your book
• Use those little plastic flags to mark important events or ideas
• Underline passages you like or that you have questions about
• Write comments in the margins
• Make a page of notes for each book/story with lists of characters, important events, ideas, descriptions and reference the things on your lists with page numbers
• Ask questions of each other or of me by email
• Read the DQs before you read the book/story; looking for answers to questions you have improves the quality of your reading

Once you are used to working within the time limit you will know how many questions you can look up answers to during the time period. Use your notes and your texts as you take the quiz.

Keep thinking as you read each assigned book/story how that particular reading illustrates the American experience. That's the big idea we're going for. We are trying to get a sense of what America was like during the period covered by a particular piece of writing. Then at the end, we will try to put everything together and take perceptions about the last 140 years away from this class.

Hope this helps you read better and get more quiz points.
KVB