ATI TEAS Study Guide: Reading Unit - Key Ideas, Details, and Inferences

ATI TEAS Study Guide Overview and Authorship

Publication Information: ATI TEAS® Study Guide for the Test of Essential Academic Skills.
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Content Authors and Reviewers: * Alejandra Dashe, PhD in Anthropology * Alicia Sussman, M.Ed. Secondary Mathematics Education * Amanda Clark, PhD Science Education * Angela Broaddus, PhD Curriculum & Instruction * Arunsudha Raghubalan, MS Science Biochemistry * Benjamin Morgan Feltham, MS Medieval History, BA Modern History * Bonnie C. Walter, M.Ed Secondary Education * Carol M. Hollar-Zwick, MA * Charlotte Waters, MS Science Education * Deidre Meyer, MS Instructional Design * Derek Prater, MS Journalism * Dr. Naureen Qasim, M.B.B.S. * Elizabeth Rubio, BS Genetics * Gayle Pearson, BS English * George Christoph, M.Ed. Mathematics, NBCT * Jennifer Emrick, MA Professional Writing * Joe Meyer, BS Mathematics, NBCT * Karen Lee Banks, EdD Educational Technology & E-Learning * Kenneth W. Stewart, BS Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics; BS of Education, with honors * Kris Shaw, MS Education * L Charles Biehl, MS Education Administration * Lydia Bjornlund, MA Education * Mandy B. Hockenbrock, MA Leadership in Teaching * Matthew R. Leach, CAGS Mathematics Education * Melissa O'Connor, MS English Education * Nancy Geldermann, MS Curriculum & Instruction, NBCT * Pamela Wagner, M.Ed. Science Education, NBCT * Shauna Hedgepeth, MS Science Education * Susan Keiffer-Barone, Ed.D Curriculum & Instruction, NBCT * Suzanne Myers, MS Curriculum & Instruction * Todd A. Wells, Ph. D., PhD in Chemistry * Vidya Rajan, PhD Genetics

Unit 1: Reading Overview

Focus: Assessment of functional literacy skills.
Chapter Organization: * Key ideas and details * Craft and structure * Integration of knowledge and ideas
Reading Material Types: Fiction, nonfiction, informational, and graphical passages of various lengths.
Question Structure: Some passages may have up to 7 questions. Success requires synthesis and critical thinking.
Scored Items Breakdown: There are $39$ scored Reading items on the TEAS, plus $6$ unscored pretest items. * Key ideas and details: $15$ scored questions. * Craft and structure: $9$ scored questions. * Integration of knowledge and ideas: $15$ scored questions.

R.1.1 Summarize a Multi-Paragraph Text

Core Objectives: * Identify the main idea and supporting details in a single paragraph. * Identify the topic of the text. * Identify the main idea(s) of the text. * Identify the key points in the text. * Explain how details support the main idea. * Paraphrase key points to demonstrate understanding of idea relationships. * Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant ideas for an objective summary.
Essential Vocabulary: * Comprehension: Ability to understand. * Identify: Distinguish a particular idea. * Topic: Subject of a text; the general subject of the entire piece of writing. * Main Idea: The thesis, claim, or message that an author states or expresses about the topic of a text; the central point in each paragraph. * Claim: A statement made in an argument that something about a topic is true. * Key Points: Ideas that elaborate on and support the main idea about a topic in each paragraph. * Details: Facts, descriptions, and other types of information that support key points. * Support: Lend credibility to an idea. * Rephrase: To explain an idea in different words.

Identifying Topic, Main Idea, and Key Points

Process for Summarization: 1. Identify the topic (What am I reading about?). 2. Determine the author's main idea (The thesis, claim, or message). 3. Identify the topic sentence in each paragraph. 4. Evaluate key points and details supporting each paragraph's main idea. 5. Rephrase these elements into a single paragraph of $4$ to $8$ sentences.
Location of Topic: Often found at the beginning of the text in the title, introduction, or a topic sentence. Examples include "blood poisoning," "body organs," or "blood pressure."
Relationship of Elements: Details support Key Points, which support the Paragraph Main Idea, which supports the Overall Text Main Idea (Thesis/Claim).
Types of Details: * Explanatory Details: Provide evidence and reasoning to support key points. * Elaborative Details: Explore key points and main ideas in greater depth and explain implications. * Clarifying Details: Explain the meaning of specific terms used by the author.
Evaluating Detail Importance: * Major Details: Details that explain or develop a key point or main idea; these belong in a summary. * Minor Details: Details related only to other supporting details; these do not belong in a summary.
Irrelevant Information Example (NICU Nurses Passage): Statements about nurses choosing to work with children/teens instead, or working in labor and delivery, are considered irrelevant to a summary specifically about NICU nurse specialization and certification.

Case Study: Sepsis Passage Analysis

Passage Content: * Paragraph 1: Approximately $1.7 \times 10^{6}$ adults develop sepsis yearly in the US; $270,000$ die. Nurses must be educated in early identification. * Paragraph 2: Sepsis results from prolonged infection (mostly bacterial). The body's unbalanced response to chemicals releases into the bloodstream damages tissue and multiple organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain). Risk groups: infants, older adults, chronic conditions. * Paragraph 3: Sepsis can progress to septic shock (drop in blood pressure, lactic acid buildup). Lactic acid affects cell function and energy. Shock increases death risk; $40\%$ of septic shock patients die.
Analysis: * Topic: Sepsis. * Main Idea: Nurses must be educated in the early identification of sepsis to increase the standard of patient care. * Key Points Mapping: 1. Sepsis results from a prolonged infection. 2. Sepsis can progress into septic shock. 3. Certain groups (infants, seniors, chronic conditions) are most at risk.
Summary Example: "In the United States, sepsis is a common and potentially serious condition. For this reason, nurses must learn to recognize the conditions that lead to sepsis so that it can be treated early. Sepsis results from damage to organs and tissues after a long infection. If sepsis is not detected and treated early, it can lead to septic shock. Septic shock is when blood pressure drops and lactic acid builds up in the blood. Septic shock increases the risk of death. The groups most at risk from sepsis are older adults, infants, and people with chronic conditions or weakened immune systems."

Practice Problems: Heart Health

Passage Summary: 2018 obesity rate was $43\%$ . Exercise (aerobic and resistance) reduces cardiac events and blood pressure. Diet (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat proteins) and meal planning help control weight.
Question 1: Topic of the passage? Answer: C. Taking care of the heart.
Question 2: Main idea of the passage? Answer: B. Exercise and healthy eating should be encouraged to prevent heart disease.
Question 3: Key point in paragraph 2? Answer: D. "Regular exercise provides numerous benefits for optimal heart health."
Question 4: Most important supporting detail in paragraph 3? Answer: A. "A heart-healthy diet includes eating an appropriate portion of each of the following food categories…"
Question 5 Task: Write a $4$ to $8$ sentence summary.

R.1.2 Inferences and Conclusions

Core Objectives: * Identify evidence used in a text to support conclusions. * Distinguish between explicit and implicit evidence. * Explain how explicit and implicit evidence supports logical conclusions.
Essential Vocabulary: * Procedure: Ordered steps to follow in a set of written directions to complete a task safely, efficiently, and effectively. * Inference: A logical assumption, or guess, that can be made about a topic based on evidence, reasoning, and personal experience or knowledge; "reading between the lines." * Conclusion: A deduction made by a reader that takes details, evidence, and assumptions to the next logical step or level. * Delineate: Describe precisely or set forth accurately in detail. * Argument: A text consisting of a claim, background info, reasoning, evidence, rhetorical appeals, counterclaims, and responses. * Valid: Proven as true. * Assumption: Supposition of an unstated idea. * Logic: The framework of reasoning used to understand ideas and make sound assumptions and predictors. * Explicit: Information directly stated in the text. * Implicit: Ideas that are suggested or implied rather than stated directly. * Imply: Indicate an idea subtly without specifically stating it.

Evidence Evaluation and Logical Assumptions

Difference between Inference and Conclusion: * An inference fills in a gap/assumption within the text. * A conclusion takes the existing information to the next logical step.
Case Study 1: Hospital Nurses and Technology: * Text: Past nurses checked vitals by hand; today, monitors ensure stability constantly. Nurses remain as busy as ever. * Explicit Evidence: Nurses were checked by hand; monitors now provide constant stability; nurses are "still as busy as they ever were." * Inference: Nurses have many duties beyond just monitoring vital signs. * Conclusion: Technology cannot take the place of human nurses.
Case Study 2: The Boxer: * Text: Boxer in her corner, crowd roaring, tenacious opponent snarling, waiting for bell for the final round, sweat stinging eyes, muscles tensed. * Explicit Evidence: "final round," "muscles tensed," "roaring crowd," "tenacious/snarled." * Inferences: The opponent is tough; the character in the corner is likely losing or struggling because she is "trying to catch her breath" while the opponent is snarling with "confidence." * Conclusions: The match is difficult and exciting, and reaching the final round indicates a long struggle.