1. STAAR Test Taking Strategies
Flex Lesson 7

2. Connection – What’s your testing method?
Take a moment and write down helpful things you do when you take a multiple-choice test.
Share in groups of 3 to 4 people what you do.
Share out with you class.

3. Multiple Choice Question Basics
R - Read EVERYTHING before you do ANYTHING!
This includes excerpts, quotes, captions and of course the question and answers
A – Annotate
Mark up the question. Underline key words or phrases. Define difficult words
N – Notes
Jot down any notes that might help you answer the question.
T – Take your time
Do not rush. Be thorough and give the question enough focus and attention.

4. Strategy #1 – Eliminating Answers and analyzing the questions
Use clues in the question to narrow down your options.
The question is talking about the Zimmermann telegram and WWI. Eliminate anything that doesn’t fit.
How did the Zimmermann telegram influence U.S. entry into World War I?
It announced the czar’s overthrow in Russia.
It revealed a proposed military alliance between Mexico and Germany.
It contained orders for German U-boats to destroy British passenger ships.
It described Romania’s plan to abandon neutrality.
That’s not the telegram’s content
Both of these say Germany, so keep them in the mix
Not an event that would have caused US action
Now you have just two answers to choose from!

5. analyzing the question
How did the Zimmermann telegram influence U.S. entry into World War I?
It revealed a proposed military alliance between Mexico and Germany.
Germany (the enemy in WWI) tried to be Allies with our neighbor.
If our neighbor is fighting for the enemy, that could put the U.S. in danger. We might fight against that.
It contained orders for German U-boats to destroy British passenger ships.
The Germans are going to blow up British passenger ships.
The British were already at war with Germany and we didn’t jump in.
Even if you aren’t 100% sure what the Zimmermann telegram is, you might be able to answer this.
Something called the Zimmermann telegram influenced the U.S enough that we entered WWI.
Which answer describes something that would make us so mad that we would go to war?
Which would make us more angry? Germany making an alliance with Mexico or Germany fighting the British?
Germany creating an alliance DIRECTLY impacts us and leads us to join the war.

6. Strategy #2 – Using pictures
The poster illustrates a program. What do you think that program is?
This shows the Victory Gardens program. Families would grow their own vegetables.
Now, to answer the question you must determine the purpose of this program.
What was the primary purpose of the program being promoted by this poster?
A. to encourage women to join the workforce
B. to reduce health problems among working women
C. to promote the purchase of organically grown produce
D. to increase the food supply during a farm-labor shortage.

7. Strategy #3 – Analyzing Cartoons
pent-up consumer demand
Cold war military spending
New industries
Housing boom
Federal highway construction
The people in the boat are enjoying ride in the water.
Who do the people represent?
What is causing that wave?
What is causing the bucket (economy) to overflow?
What is the best title for this cartoon?
A. Causes and Effects of Economic Prosperity in the 1950s
B. Strengths and Weaknesses of Government Economic Policy in the s
C. Reasons for Government Economic Planning in the 1970s
D. Major Sources of Consumer Debt in the 1980s.
Cold War spending, housing boom, and highway should lead you to the 1950s

8. Strategy #4 – Completing graphics
Graphics like this indicate cause and effect
Box #1 will be an effect of the baby boom, but also a cause of expanded suburbs.
Box #2 will be an effect of the expansion of populations in suburban areas.
Which numbered pair of phrases best completes this diagram?
A. (1) increased urban decay; (2) increased leisure time
B. (1) increased demand for housing; (2) increased deforestation
C. (1) increased demand for automobiles; (2) increase labor union membership
D. (1) increased immigration; (2) increased racial tension

9. Try Some on your own
First, identify the strategy you will use and then mark up your answer to practice. The skill.

10. The picture above shows the events in Hawaii on December 7, 1941
The picture above shows the events in Hawaii on December 7, Why did President Roosevelt considered this a “date which will live in infamy”?
Nazi Germany invaded Poland
Japan invaded China
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
The United States dropped an atomic bomb

11. The United States undertook the action shown in the cartoon primarily to -
keep the Soviet Union from developing atomic weapons
prevent Adolf Hitler from returning to power in Germany
stop the spread of communism in Western Europe
force Soviet satellite countries to break away from Soviet control

12. Which conclusion is supported by the information provided on this map?
The United Nations could have won the war by sending its troops across the Yalu River.
South Korea was never in danger of being defeated by North Korea.
The war did little to alter the territorial division of Korea.
China refused to aid North Korea.

13. Artistic movements of minority racial and ethnic groups, such as the example from the Chicano Mural Movement of the 1960s, represented what aspect of the broader Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s?
A feeling of pride in the efforts of racial/ethnic groups to fight for their civil rights
A representation of the violent attitudes of leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King
A calling for ethnic/racial minorities to isolate themselves in their communities and forget about being treated equally
A feeling among the artists they were embarrassed by their background and culture and should therefore assimilate fully to “white” culture in America