Unleash Your Students’ ACT Potential with This NO-PREP PowerPoint!
If you’re like me, you want to make sure your students are prepared for the ACT, whenever they take it. Most teachers are committed to equipping their students with the tools they need to conquer the ACT, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to tell them, especially if it’s been years (or decades!) since you took the ACT!
For ELA teachers who need a one-stop resource to prep their high school students for the ACT, this PowerPoint lesson is perfect! (It also includes a Word doc study guide with SPECIFIC strategies for the 10 most common question types on the ACT English and ACT Reading.)
You can empower your pupils with knowledge about what the test is like and strategies they can use to do their best; just download my simple PowerPoint & go. From general advice to targeted strategies for the English and Reading sections, this resource will help your students feel SO much more prepared and confident. I recommend having them take notes & ask questions during the presentation to keep them engaged & help them retain the tips and tricks you’re teaching!
I run an ACT prep club after school, and I know that my students not only appreciate these simple PowerPoint lessons, but they also often use the slides to study again at home. Over the years, I have workshopped the slides to address their most common concerns and questions. We go over the advice & then practice, taking tests for 30 minutes a week. In my experience, students who attend prep club once a week for two months tend to see their scores go up by 4-6 points, sometimes more! If you do grab my PowerPoint PLUS Word Doc handout, I recommend pairing it with practice (which you can find at act.org).
I am passionate about helping kids do well on the ACT because I earned a 34 composite score, and I truly believe it played a huge role in me earning the Presidential Scholarship at the University of Iowa, which meant that I had a free ride to college. When I became a teacher, I then started an ACT Prep Club at the school where I’ve now taught for 13 years, so I’ve made it my business to know how to help students earn higher scores on their ACT! I also offer ACT tutoring to families in the area, and I use these exact slides with my tutoring clients.
So, what’s inside this PowerPoint? Besides general advice and tips & tricks for the English and Reading sections (because I teach ELA, I focus on these and let my colleagues do the Math and Science stuff), these slides address common student concerns and questions, ensuring that no stone is left unturned. Plus, the slides offer a sprinkling of guidance for the Math and Science sections, so you’ll be able to cover all bases at least a little bit, in case they aren’t getting any Math/Science ACT help from anyone else.
The best thing about including ACT prep for my 11th graders within my English classes is that parents LOVE it. Parents will appreciate that you are making sure their kids are armed with the knowledge and techniques they need to tackle the ACT head-on & earn a great score. When the strategies you imparted to their kids actually work, parents (and kids) won’t forget it!
You can help your students find ACT success! Help them conquer the ACT and open the doors to the university admission letter or scholarship they’re striving to achieve!
Find my PowerPoint lesson here on my TPT store!
Want Free General Advice for Teaching ACT Strategies?
Focus on efficiency and accuracy, with emphasis on how to allocate time wisely and approach different types of questions. Teach three main types of strategy: Time Management, Annotation, and Working the Questions.
Time Management: Teach students to pace themselves within each test’s time frame. Recommend quickly glancing at the passages and choosing the hardest one to tackle last, pre-reading the passage, and then reading and annotating the passage at a comfortable pace. Additionally, advise kids on how to approach the questions, encouraging students to work quickly and diligently (but without rushing too fast). Also provides guidance on what to do if you are running out of time, like skipping reading the final passage and focusing on questions that require minimal reading.
Annotation: Reinforce the importance of annotating the passages while reading. Encourage students to physically engage with the text by writing in the margins, identifying the theme or main point of the piece, and not panicking if an idea is not immediately clear. Furthermore, advise leveraging the questions to grasp the meaning of the passage better.
Working the Questions: Emphasize the need to work quickly but carefully, to consider the answer choices thoroughly, and not to be fooled by convincing but incomplete answers. Suggest using the process of elimination (P.O.E) to narrow down choices and make educated guesses if necessary. Talk to students about the various question types that may appear, from comprehension and detail-oriented questions to words-in-context and grammar.
Aim to be supportive and informative, with the intention to guide students through the exam’s challenges. Give them practical advice tailored to the task at hand, and focus on equipping students with the tools they need to approach the exam with confidence!
Taking time to go over ACT skills with your ELA class is NOT a detour from ELA skills! The emphasis on time management and efficient decision-making resonates with the challenges faced in many aspects of life; ideas about working quickly but not rushing, considering all options carefully, and making educated guesses when necessary are applicable to various situations that require problem-solving and critical thinking!
Furthermore, the emphasis on annotating the passages and leveraging the questions to aid comprehension can be seen as a reminder of the importance of active engagement with information.
Finally, your ACT advice sessions will encourage students to approach challenges with a strategic mindset, a skill that can undoubtedly benefit them in their future pursuits!
No Time to Make the Lesson Yourself? The PowerPoint Does All of the Above and MORE!
Leave a Reply