When I first began teaching, I often found myself frustrated that my students did not always go back to the reading that the questions were based on to look for the answers. When I would go over the test with them, and say "Where did you find it?" they would go back and look, say "Oh" and then give me the correct answer. I realized that they really do not look on their own. I don't know if it is because they forget, or if my ELLs are so overwhelmed that they feel they can only guess, but I knew I had to do something to change it.
When I first started this, I was working with 6th-8th graders, but I now use this same strategy with my 4th graders. When they have a reading passage, with multiple choice test questions, I require them to write the number of the paragraph where they found the answer next to the question. They use the paragraph symbol and the number. It seems so simple, but it has truly helped them to remember to go back and look, and their scores have improved.
I also use this with chapter or comprehension questions when we are reading a novel or using their leveled readers. They simply write the page or paragraph number that helped them to answer the question. The other great thing about this strategy is, that if they missed it, I am often able to use the information about which paragraph or page they were looking in to help me understand where they went wrong. From blog "The ESOL Odyssey." Jan. 3. 2012
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