Arizona AIMSThe Basics

Different question types.

Multiple Choice

Short Answer

Just use the information in front of you.

Base your answer only on the passage.

The state test does not try to find out how much you know about any given topic.

It only tests HOW WELL YOU READ.

Skimming vs. Reading

Read each question CAREFULLY!

Skimming= is a quick search through a passage for a word or fact.

Skimming should be used in moderation; never skim during the “first read.” After you read run your eyes over the passage looking for a specific word or phrase. Don’t stop until you find what you are looking for.

EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO GUESS!

ANSWER EVERY QUESTION

You can improve your luck. Even though you don’t know which answer is correct, you may know enough to recognize some of the choices in multiple choice are incorrect.

Guessing can’t hurt your score (That’s only on the SAT!)

MAIN IDEA --- the BIG picture

Tell me in one sentence what

“Finding Nemo” is about.

* Titles often point out the main idea of a passage!

Beware of answer choices that are details, not main ideas. READ ALL OF THE CHOICES!

Summary questions are another form of main idea questions.

THEME

Asks question about the message of a passage.

THEME IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SUBJECT

A passage may have more than one theme or subject!

Critical and Supporting Details

Main idea generally comes FIRST

Supporting Details FOLLOW IT!

Main idea is like the foundation of a house

Supporting details are like the landscaping and trees.

Which would you build first? The house or the landscaping?

Find Key words or phrases

Look at the question for a phrase or key word:

Example: “Who is Mr. Whitney?”

Skim your reading until you find what you are looking for.

READ the passage from“The Shoeshine Boy”

Lesson 3 Vocabulary

Most people’s vocabulary can be broken down into three categories:

Words they know well

Words they sort of know

Words they don’t know at all

Look in the passage for other words with similar meaning from “Life on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain

“All the grace, beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river!”

In the passage, what is the meaning of the word majestic?

A) STORMY B) ENERGETICC) DIGNIFIED D) CROWDED

Look for the cause of the unknown word.

Sometimes you can figure out the meaning of a word by determining what might cause the thing it describes.

“I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home.”

In the passage, what does rapture mean?

A) SLEEP B) TRANCE

C) SADNESS D) FIT OF RAGE

Try a new word

Sometimes a new word will fit into a group of other similar words. Once you determine into what group the word fits, you’ll better be able to figure out its meaning.

This technique works well with specialized or technical terms.

“A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold.”

A question about this excerpt might ask: What is the meaning of hue in this

passage?

A) color B) skyC) sun D) blood

Opposites Attract!

Antonyms (opposite meaning)

“The somber shadow that fell from this forest was broken in one place by a long ruffled trail that shown like silver.”

In this passage, what is the meaning of somber?

A) Ugly B) Dark

C) Bright D) Frightening

The passage tells us “the somber shadow…was broken in one place …trail that shown like silver.” This sets up an opposite in our mind’s eye. A somber trail broken by a shining place. Since the shining place is bright, the somber trail must be the opposite dark.