Cracking the ACT

It is that time of year again when many college bound high schoolers are working on transcripts and taking the ACT and/or SAT to try to get into the college of their choice.  The race is on and the stress is real.

Years ago after my first child took both the ACT and SAT, both nationally recognized college admittance exams, we decided we preferred the ACT.  Thankfully for us, so did most of the schools she applied to and so that is what she concentrated on taking.  At the time, that concentration basically looked like eating a good breakfast and going in and doing her best on test day.  She was a natural test taker and it worked for her.

Now years later, it is her brother's turn, who consequently, is not a natural test taker.  He is a good student and loves anything history related, but spitting out facts he considers unimportant, ie ACT questions in general, is not something he excels in. 

His first attempt at the ACT was a solid score, but in my momma's heart, I KNEW he could do better.  Convincing him of that was a whole different ballgame.

Thant's where Cracking the ACT- 2018 Edition came into play!  Because I am a reviewer for the Timberdoodle Company, I often have the privilege of reviewing parts of their amazing curriculum line.  Seeing that Cracking the ACT was being offered, I knew the timing was perfect for our family.  

For the past four months my 17 year old has spent 20-30 minutes a day reviewing this resource in hopes to raise his original ACT score.  He took the test for a second time last weekend, and while the results are not in yet, I can tell you what we have seen by way of his practice test scores.

First things first!  Let me tell you about the book Cracking the ACT.

THINK BIG-  Remember the old fashioned phone books.  Well, they have nothing on this book!  It is a whopping 815 pages, softbound thank goodness.  And no, there are not a bunch of filler pages of silliness. 

THINK COMPLETE-  Did I mention there are a lot of pages?  11 Chapters to be precise! 

• Part 1- This is your orientation that talks about general strategies, score goals and how to actually take the ACT.
• Part 2- Cracking the English test
• Part 3- Cracking the Math test
• Part 4- Cracking the Reading test
• Part 5- Cracking the Science test
• Part 6- Cracking the Writing test
• Part 7- Answers and Explanations
• Part 8- 11 Practice Exams- This is where the rubber meets the road and you get to try out all of your knowledge.

In addition to the four practice tests included in the book, there are also two additional tests you can access online.  It is important to note that the sections that talk about "cracking" the tests are made up of a few different parts.  Some sections simply show you ways to quickly eliminate fluff answers and "best guess" the correct answer.  Other parts are quick reviews of basic skills you should have down pat before entering the test room.  Either way, all of the practice is just one more way to not only beef up one's skill's, but make your student more comfortable with the four hour long test.

One of the most helpful parts of the book, in my opinion, is the Answer and Explanation section.  Once your child has taken the practice tests and you have scored their answers, it truly behooves you to have them look at what they missed.  While it may not be possible to learn everything that will be on the ACT, there are some mistakes that can be quickly fixed with the simple explanations given.  Trust me, the process works!

THINK RESULTS-  This is what you have been waiting for, right?  After all, what is the use of a study book if you do not see any positive, measurable results?  Again, we do not have the official results of my son's last ACT, but I can share with you that we saw much improvement and a more confident test taker after using this program.  Our goal from the beginning was to improve his original score, but also to make him more confident in his ability to take the test again.  After taking the English portion of the ACT practice score his score was raised by 5 points!  We were thrilled as this is the area we felt he had done well on in the first place, so to see him improve the already strong score was a win for us!  In math, one of his harder areas, he increased by three points!  We did not have him do the grammar and science portions again because we were happy with his scores he had and wanted to concentrate on the other areas.  Better yet, since he was able to get immediate feedback after taking the practice test, he felt more confident in his ability and went into the actual test day with a great attitude and very little anxiety!

Based on the improvements we saw after using just ONE practice test, I would HIGHLY recommend this book!  The next time we use it, yes we have one more to go through this rite of passage, I will be even more deliberate in how we use it, beginning in 10th grade and working on it throughout the year.  My theory is, by the time a child has taken all six of the practice tests, they will be old pros at test taking and sure to score well.  Time will tell, right?!

Blessings,

 

Teaching Them to Study

Studying may come naturally to some kids, but not the ones in my house.  This is the second time we have reviewed Victus Study Skills System, this time using the Level 3 student level (grades 5/6-10/11) and Level 4 (10/11-college) level.  We were also blessed with their amazing student planner!

Maybe it is just us, but it seems that homeschooling does not lend itself to learning how to study.  Yes, we do have our kids take tests, but it is often treated as simply the next lesson, and we do not have any additional prep for it.  Halfway into my second child's high school career I realized she was lacking in study skills, test taking skills, and quite possibly time management skills.  Sad, but true.  Thankfully we had the opportunity to review Victus Study Skills at that time, and saw huge benefits in the program.  How thankful I am that I have this opportunity again, just as my son is beginning to take college classes.  His younger brother working through the program at the same time has just been a bonus.

The Victus Study Skills System is a series of workbooks at four different levels.  Their goal is simple- to help children learn how to better study.  You choose which level to do based on your child's grade level.  The first two levels for younger children also include teacher guides to help you work through the material with them.  Levels 3 and 4, which we have been using, have a separate Teacher's Guide that can be used with both levels.


In the Teacher's Guide you will find a detailed explanation of the program philosophy, teacher instructions and then lesson overviews.  Each lesson (there are 10 total) states the purpose, preparation and procedure.  If you are being given instructions that correspond with the student workbook, pages are referenced.  Most of the preparation is explanation of instructions, the "whys" of what you are doing, and helping the students fill in some blanks in their workbook.

The Student Workbooks, about 60-70 pages each, are a mix of explanation, motivation, and lessons to be completed.  There are fill-in-the-blanks to be completed, questions to be answered, and charts to be filled out.  As they walk through the lessons, the three Foundational Cornerstones of the program are addressed-

• Where Am I Now?
• Where Do I Want to Be?
• How Do I Get There?

The Where Am I Now? section gets the student to think about their current study habits and to identify their learning strengths.

Where Do I Want to Be? discusses mission by encouraging the student to develop a mission statement for themselves, as well as identify their values and goals.

How Do I Get There? This is the heart of the program, in my opinion.  Here they talk about time management and practice those skills with schedules and calendars.  They also learn about organization, study skills, note taking, and test taking.  There are exercises that teach on these subjects and then allow your child to practice the skill.  For example, they read a paragraph and then take notes on it.

The Appendix is filed with additional information and exercises, enough to make several additional teaching sessions!

How we used this program and what we think-
Because so much of the information presented in the different levels is the same or at least very similar, I decided to run through the lessons with both boys, ages 11 and 17, together.  Honestly that worked for about two lessons.  Then, because of frustration, mostly on the 17 year old's part, we split up and he worked through the Level 4 book on his own.

The frustration with that plan is that I did not get to talk through each lesson with him as he did them independently.  Instead, I had to be very deliberate to assign him a lesson and then engage him in a discussion afterwards.  Here is what I learned-

• Yes!  He is an auditory learner!  No surprise there.
• No, he is not good at taking notes.  But he said the practice here helped and he wished he had read it before he took his college English Comp class.
• Filling out a weekly schedule is much better for him than a monthly calendar.
• Time management is HARD for teens, but so beneficial.

I think that, despite his original hesitation in doing the program, Salem would admit that he picked up a few skills he was lacking.  He has taken ownership of the Student planner and intends to try using it with his next college class that starts next week!  Each week is a double page spread and can be used for six subjects.  It is not dated which allows you to begin using it whenever.

One fun feature is that at the bottom of every page is a "Who Said That?" quote or an "Odd But True" fact.

While the teacher's edition used with the Level 4 workbook offers a lot of good information and explanation, I do think that at upper high school and college levels, they are more than capable of doing the program on their own.

Colby (my 6th grader) did work through the program with me. We spent about 30 minutes on each lesson and covered one a week.  While I think the information is exceptional, he struggled with the "whys" of what we were doing.  When we talked about creating a mission statement, I got a deer-in-the-headlights looks.  It seems that asking my 11 year old where he sees himself in 10 years is more than he can wrap his head around right now.  I think very goal driven kids can benefit from Victus, but right now all my 11 year old wants to plan in advance for is his summer birthday.

The one section he got the most out of was actually one of the very first exercises about learning styles.  We were not surprised that, like his brother, is an auditory learner, but he did enjoy learning about what that actually meant to him in every day terms.  When asked what three things he could do to improve his habits based on that knowledge he was quickly able to choose.  I did find it funny that one of the things he chose was to ask his teacher (that would be me) of he could do a digital or oral report as an alternative assignment.


Since we wrote in pencil, I am going to try to revisit this program with my son in 8th grade.  By then, I hope his maturity level will have caught up with his academic level and he will benefit more from the skills taught.  Regardless, I highly recommend Victus Study Skills System as a way to help improve your child's study skills.

50 other amazing Crew reviewers had the opportunity to review the different levels of Victus Study Skills System.  You can see their reviews by clicking on the banner below.