Elmer's English resources, revived

new member question

Hi everybody. I was a credentialed teacher and let my credential expire while I was distracted by being a SAHM for a while. It has been 6 years wince I taught full time and many more since I was a student. I have to take the English CSET and the Preliminary educational technology to renew. So... to get them both done as quickly as possible I guess I will have to take the English one day and the other the next. What I am most concerned about with the English is that it has been so long since I have read the literature that the questions will likely be based on and I don't know what to go back and reread. Does anyone have any insight on this...

 

Welcome to A to Z, futureperfect. (I like that username.)

You might want to start by scanning through this thread from the beginning: Elmer and one or two other members have kindly provided some fine study resources, including glossaries - teacher tests highly value the appropriate use of terms of the discipline.

Subtest I is where you'll find the English-lit-survey questions, and there are also questions about composition and rhetoric, so that limits your exposure somewhat. Subtest III is strictly analysis, though if you happen to know something about the background of the pieces, it doesn't hurt to show off.

Have you still got any good anthologies? They work well for reviewing the who's-who and what's-that of literature when you don't have time to track down the originals.

Let me give away a further professional secret or two and recommend that you leaf through a prep book or two for any or all of SAT II, AP, or GRE Literature. Alternatively, follow up on some of the posts in the Useful Web Resources thread at the top of this Single Subject Tests subforum, or try Googling. And among my favorite resources is SparkNotes 101: Literature, which is basically a raft of what amounts to Cliffs Notes all collected in one thick but affordable volume.

And if you find anything just irresistibly nifty in your own searches, let us know, please.

 

Im taking all four tests tomorrow, and I just found this site. Gah! I'm sure I'll be back here...

 

Breathe, please, eljameson.

What's your background?

 

I'm currently student teaching in Music for a K-12 credential which I will finish in May.

I am taking this test because arts teachers are dissapearing in many schools and I want to be able to have another subject I can teach on my list to beef up my resume.

I got subject matter requirment in music as that as it was my bachelor's degree. However I took many AP English classes and passed the AP English test with a 5 (the highest score). I can re-take any tests I miss in May, if necessary. Looking at this site I realize I have not put in all of the correct study time for this exam. I just used the REA CSET English book and also looked on the CSET website. I've only studied about two weeks. I won't panic as I am not in a bad spot if I don't pass the first time.

 

Just took the test

I just took the test, I think I did ok on I, III and IV, but im sure I failed II. That practice book I got was awful and nothing like the test. Only time will tell...

 

The linguistics got you, did it?

 

Taking the GACE March 28th!

I'm jumping in to say hello and thanks for resources and comments everyone, especially Elmer and TeacherGroupie! I am a veteran special ed teacher taking the GACE in GA to co-teach high school English, and I'm sure these tips, attachments and links will help. I will let y'all know! Take care.

ar

 

Welcome to our playground, artheugadawg, and glad to be of help. If you have questions about the material, don't hesitate to ask; someone's bound to come along and have something to say.

 

This resource looks exceptionally helpful. I'm slated to take all 4 CSET English subtests in May. While I have recently graduated with a BA in English Literature, I was surprised to see some of the CSET content areas that were represented on the site and in several test prep books. We were never required to take anything remotely akin to Communications, Media Studies, or Linguistics. Also, because I didn't pursue the teaching track -- but rather focused on Literature -- even though I am grammatically solid, my grammar knowledge was shoddier than I'd anticipated.

What I'm getting to is that I've thus far absolutely bombed Subtest II and IV Practice tests...

And I tend to do relatively poorly on standardized tests besides, which I think is test anxiety as well as my tendency to overthink questions that are even remotely subjective. I'm really confident about multiple-choice questions, generally.

However, some of these are so completely outside of my subject area. I've been lurking on this forum and have begun studying some of the recommended books: The Bedford Manual, How to Teach Yourself Linguistics, various brush-up guides to Literary Terms (I have one by Cuddons, and while I've studied Petrarchan sonnets in the past, I'd really forgotten the who and the what of these things, along with the subjects I've just plain never learned).

I'm really nervous about test II, and moreover test IV.

I've read other folks here have had issues opening the initial .doc files in this thread and I'm having the same problem despite trying it in multiple browsers. Eager to get my hot little hands on this resource, since I'm doing everything else possible to pass all four in one day. If I don't pass, I'll have to postpone school enrollment for another semester, and I just don't know what I will do in the meanwhile other than lose steam. It seems a bit do-or-die, but I'm not eager to find some way to kill a semester, and was unfortunately on late enrollment.

Enjoying the observation portion of the pre-requisite, however! A close relative of mine teaches secondary school and got me into a high school class -- a drafting class -- where I then met other teachers at the school and am shifting around to other classes soon. I mention this because I've read that some people have had difficulty with this part of the pre-requisite as well, and think my strategy worked well: not the calling someone part so much as the willingness to sit through a class totally unrelated to my area of interest.

Does anyone know how I might take a peek at Elmer's Compendium? Thank you!

 

By the way, for anyone really nervous about Subtest I or III, I would strongly recommend the Sylvan Barnett (sp?) Guide to Writing About Literature. It really goes back through the basics of writing an expository essay on a variety of topics.

The other guide I like, which I've used as a basic refresher for Theory is the Bedford Guide to Literary Terms (that's not it's exact name... I'm not looking at it, that's a close approximation, however). It gives basic breakdowns of Theory ideas, as well as various Literary schools and movements.

Beyond that, I would pick the Longman guides over the Norton guides (and the Heath guides for American). Norton doesn't quite contextualize the topics as clearly, in my very humble opinion. Except their Shakespeare guide, which is immaculate. Of course, use what you've got: I know I'm re-reading so many things right now that my brain is bursting with Cavalier poets and the social climate of 1660 (things I really didn't pay much attention to in College).

 

Trouble downloading? Hm. Let me do a bit of looking around, then.

 

Arabesque, what browsers have you got and what's your OS?

One thing I notice - I use Safari - is that the .doc files don't open in a browser window; instead, they download to a file named Downloads and wait for me there. The files are all relatively small, and if the Downloads window isn't visible, it can seem to me that nothing has happened. If you're running some version of Windows, I don't know what the equivalent would be... but you (and everyone else) might do well to check for something like that, or alternatively to try searching your hard drive for whichever of the files you've attempted to download.

 

As to Subtest IV... California doesn't have distinct credentials for journalism, communications studies/speech, theatre, or creative writing; instead, those get lumped in with English, and that's what those topics are doing in Subtest IV. Got questions about the content? Feel free to ask.

Subtest II is a somewhat different issue, but the Aitchison should help with the grammar as well as with the language-study issues, and might even help a little with the literacy questions. Later versions are slightly preferable, but not by all that much if what your library carries is an earlier one. I like Parker & Riley's Linguistics for non-linguistics (4th ed? I think so) better, but it's pricier.

Check the destination for your download files and let me know whether anything useful turns up, okay?

 

Sadly

 

Have a hug, eljameson.

Several resources mentioned in this thread could help... Jean Aitchison's Teach Yourself Linguistics is a quick read, and then there's R. K. S. Macauley's excellent The Social Art. You might also want to look into a prep class or tutoring.

 

Hello....I really need help with the Praxis II english exam (content knowledge 0014) I always do poorly on the Reading and Comprehension section. It seems that there is really no way to study for this. i NEED TO PASS IT THIS TIME! Can someone please tell me how I can better prepare this time? I would really appreciate it. Thanks

 

Wait a sec, spaty: Praxis II 0014 isn't a single subject exam for people who intend to teach high school English/language arts, it's a multiple subjects exam taken by people who'll be elementary school teachers. I think you'll find much more of interest to you in the Multiple Subject Tests subforum here on A to Z. You can use the Forum Jump tool at the bottom left of this page to get there - Multiple Subject Tests is toward the end of the list - or you can click on the blue Examinations for Teachers link at the top left of this page.

See you there, okay?

 

I am a recent law school graduate and am taking the English exam tomorrow evening. What is on this exam? What quick pointers can you give me? I dont really have any time for extensive studying . . .

 

Probably the most bang-for-the-buck for you on this very short time frame will come from refreshing your memory on the literary terms and grammatical terms; Elmer's glossaries should help, and you can check Google and look up puzzling bits in Answers.com.

 

Question to TeacherGroupie and others:

I need to take the Language Arts praxis test... what is the best way to prepare... especially the literature part... ?

 

Welcome to A to Z, robineggbridge.

Which Praxis exactly, when, and what that you're already teaching is relevant?

 

Dear teacher groupie,

please excuse my last post. The test code is actually English Language, Literature and Composition: Content Knowledge (0041). As I mentioned before, I always do poorly on the Reading and Comprehension section. Do you have any ideas on how I can prepare. Basically, I have to read a couple of paragraphs and then answer a few question about it. Maybe I need to read faster...I don't know? thanks a lot!

 

That makes a difference, all right, spaty.

So is it that the reading comprehension tasks on THIS test are eating your lunch, or is this an issue for you more generally?

What have you been doing to prepare? And what's your background in English literature?

 

I think this may be an issue for me generally. I went to Indiana University and earned an english education degree.

I've been trying to read more in general to prepare. I feel like I am a slow reader and it just takes me longer to comprehend. I know all the authors and lit. terms, but it's that darn reading and comprehension that gets me. Do I read the passage first and then answer the questions; or do I look at the questions and find the answers in the passage?

I also feel like I get frustrated during the test which leads to my lack of detail. Do you think I just need to improve my reading in general?

Thanks for being so prompt with your replies TeacherGroupie. I look forward to your next reply!

 

Teacher Groupie.....did ya give up on me??

 

spaty, it could be that a little work on the reading comprehension testing skills will help. You might want a look at some of the Skill Builders books from LearningExpress, including Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day.

 

thanks a lot TeacherGroupie. You truly are a help

 

You're welcome, spaty. And breathe, please.

 

Sorry if this has been answered but I wanted to see if I could get some help involving the CSET English Subtests I and II. I am taking these two a month from now and I'm quite nervous. I am originally from CT and failed the Praxis II essay half three times (always by about 2-3 points >.<; ). So trying to take the CSET slowly, so I don't panic too much.

So now my life has brought me to California for other reasons, and I'm going to try becoming a teacher again. I saw that this thread has some notes regarding both subests and wanted to know how much (and where) I should study outside it?

I got a Glossary of Literary Terms book that I'm making note cards on, but the book is 900 pages, so I'm mostly picking out words I don't know and "think" they might be on the test. I am not sure what else I should use for the subtest I. I saw at borders there was a Cliffnotes book on English grammar, that had a list of important authors and their books at the end, has anyone used that as a resource, and found it to be a start?

As for the Subtest II, I'm at a complete loss. The study guides I have read keep telling me I need to learn about how language is learned/taught/etc. But give me no resources on where to learn them! All my undergrad classes were English Literature, and my graduate classes never touched on those either.

Basically, the guide at the beginning of the thread is the only source of info I've found for the subtest II, and I worry that won't be enough. If anyone knows any other good sources, I would love you forever!


Thank you in advance!

 

Hello all!

I'm doing a quick post to followup on my post of 3/15/09. I did indeed take the English GACE on March 28, and won't have any results until late April. I know there were a number of questions I did not know (remember?) the answers to but since no one seems to know how many you have to answer (guess?) correctly to pass, only time will tell if there were enough of them to equal a passing score. I will let you know when I hear. Take care for now.

artheugadawg

 

I could do with some love, rurihoshino60:

The study guides that tell you you need to learn about how language is learned and taught should also list some of the technical terminology of language learning (and language structure, and language history, and so on). Try looking these terms up online - using Google if you like, but please consider also Answers.com.

Have you looked for a prep course or a tutor?

 

I work two jobs so tried finding an online course with no luck. Only one I could find was that ACE the Test program, which I hear is a scam. The study guide I'm using is the Cset: English Subtests I-IV (REA)-The Best Teacher's Test Prep

Which gives a few terms, but not a lot. It links to some government websistes, but only to the front page of the site, so it's hard to find which parts I should be looking at.

Is there a better study guide that has better organization and more info?

I started looking up metacognitive learning, which brings up a lot. I will try to study as much on it as possible. Hopefully I can get enough of it in my brain over the next month.

 

I got my unofficial scores via email today and...


I PASSED ALL FOUR TESTS!!!!!

I can't believe it. I barely studied.

I double checked the website and indeed it shows all four tests as passing.

Is there any way I'll get the official scores and it wont be true?

Wow, I am floored. I can't believe it actually happened.

 

Very well done, eljameson!

I have never heard of an unofficial passing score not being confirmed by the official report.

Make sure you celebrate, please.

 

Thank you! I am floored beyond belief. I am going to eat chocolate now!

 

Excellent, eljameson!

 

I got mine in the mail today confirming! It was worth the sore hand to get that done so efficiently. Thanks everyone, especially TeacherGroupie, for your help!

 

Here's to you, hse6m!

 

taking subtests 3 and 4 over

Hi, everyone. I'm new here. Joined after googling "advice for English CSET"! I am attempting to pass this test but my background is in science (already have a credential in that) and haven't had an English class in over 20 years! Yikes! Somehow I managed to pass subtests 1 and 2 on the first try, but found out this week that I failed 3 and 4. Maybe I didn't use enough jargon in my responses? I tried to keep it simple, to the point, and answer only what was asked in the questions (this is what the CSET practice book recommended). It said not to try to "wow" the scorers. My guess is they need to be "wowed". I printed out elmer's guides- thank you, elmer! Is there anything else I should be studying? I had taken the two written tests at the same time. This time I registered to take just one of them (subtest 3) in May. Thank you in advance for any advice!