Minnechaug Regional High School History and Social Science Page


Tips For Preparing For And Taking The MCAS Test

  • Parents and students are encouraged to watch the History Channel and many excellent historical programs on PBS, A & E, and the Discovery Channel. Family discussions for the topic of the program and how it relates to today's current events would make material more relevant.

  • Students should be encouraged by their parents to read a daily newspaper, a weekly magazine, and/or watch daily news broadcasts. Parents and students should discuss a daily news topic together.

  • Students should have access to an Atlas or world map in order to locate areas of the world they are learning about from the news.

  • Freshman World History students and students who take modern World History or Geography first semester should keep their portfolios, notebooks etc. in a safe place and review them before the MCAS.

  • Students should use the SQ3R method (Skim, Question, Read, Recite, and Review) to maximize comprehension of material being learned.

  • For each unit studied, students should write a short description of what was studied and a few reasons why it is important. (For example: Tang and Song Dynasties in china, 600-1300: China becomes the greatest sea power. Inventions such as moveable type and the magnetic compass, and cultural accomplishments like poetry and art influenced by Daoism.)

  • For visual learners, use a key image (illustration, map, cartoon, etc.) to help associate and recall information.

  • Connect information being learned with what you already know in the same subject or among subjects. The more connections, the better recall.

  • Use mnemonics (a jingle, saying etc.) to remember long lists, sequences, and hierarchies. The more ridiculous the saying or image, the more likely you are to recall the stored information.

  • Students should check and recheck their work before handing in the test.

  • Students should answer every question.

  • Students should look over the entire test before they begin. Help in answering a question may be found in other questions or sections of the test.

 Massachusetts Frameworks and Standards Web Site

 2000-2001 Curriculum Frameworks
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/history/archive/hist97/hissoc1_toc.html