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The Lower Level Reading section of the ISEE contains five passages with five questions. Your child will be tasked with inferencing, identifying main ideas, and drawing conclusions through the passages. The test is designed to assess your child’s skills in the concepts they have learned over the past year, ensuring that they have the grasp necessary to progress. They can prepare for the ISEE Lower Level Reading section through a combination of success throughout their school year, and practice. They can use Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools alongside their schoolwork, which can help them more easily digest ideas and concepts. The Question of the Day is one such tool that allows for random, daily practice in the concepts that will be covered on the test.
The ISEE Lower Level Reading section test practice should cover the concepts that your child genuinely needs to study, rather than every concept that will be on the test. They can use the daily questions to identify the areas that they may need to work on, and the areas that they don’t need to focus on heavily. Your child can then choose the concepts they focus on, optimizing their study time to increase its value. Even if they don’t have a ton of time, studying the areas that need more work may help them to retain the information better. Your child may get a question based on ideas, language, or textual relationships within historical, scientific, contemporary life, and humanities.
Each Question of the Day is chosen at random to allow your child to randomly practice in the core and specific concepts of Lower Level Reading. Upon answering, the tool provides them with the concept name and an explanation of the answer. This explanation breaks the concept behind the answer down to determine the why instead of simply the “how.” The “why” is where you can truly tell if your child has a full grasp of the question. If they don’t understand “why,” then they may not be able to perform those concepts as well on the ISEE Lower Level Reading section.
The randomization of the daily question gives your child the chance to spontaneously quiz themselves on various concepts. This keeps the information fresh, and allows for easier recall. With the additional information provided by the daily question, they can use other Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools for more free Lower Level Reading section review. For instance, your child can use flashcards, Learn by Concept, full-length practice tests, and smaller practice tests focused by topic and difficulty level.
Reading comprehension is a valuable skill throughout every field of study your child may choose, and it is important to have good study habits early on to help later in life. When these habits are formed earlier, your child has a better opportunity to take their education further. Use the Learning Tools to help your child study for the ISEE Lower Level Reading section to assist them with building a solid academic foundation. This foundation will assist your child as they move to middle- and upper-level coursework in the future.
Question of the Day: ISEE Lower Level Reading
Adapted from "The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo" in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (1902)
Not always was the Kangaroo as now we do behold him, but a Different Animal with four short legs. He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on an outcrop in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Little God Nqa.
He went to Nqa at six before breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nqa from his seat on the sand flat and shouted, “Go away!”
He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a rock-ledge in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Middle God Nquing.
He went to Nquing at eight after breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me, also, wonderfully popular by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nquing from his burrow in the spinifex and shouted, “Go away!”
He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a sandbank in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Big God Nqong.
He went to Nqong at ten before dinner-time, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me popular and wonderfully run after by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nqong from his bath in the salt-pan and shouted, “Yes, I will!”
Nqong called Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, dusty in the sunshine, and showed him Kangaroo. Nqong said, “Dingo! Wake up, Dingo! Do you see that gentleman dancing on an ashpit? He wants to be popular and very truly run after. Dingo, make him SO!”
Up jumped Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—and said, "What, that cat-rabbit?"
Off ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a coal-scuttle—ran after Kangaroo.
Off went the proud Kangaroo on his four little legs like a bunny.
This, O Beloved of mine, ends the first part of the tale!
He ran through the desert; he ran through the mountains; he ran through the salt-pans; he ran through the reed-beds; he ran through the blue gums; he ran through the spinifex; he ran till his front legs ached.
He had to!
Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a rat-trap, never getting nearer, never getting farther—ran after Kangaroo.
He had to!
Still ran Kangaroo—Old Man Kangaroo. He ran through the ti-trees; he ran through the mulga; he ran through the long grass; he ran through the short grass; he ran through the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer; he ran till his hind legs ached.
He had to!
Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—hungrier and hungrier, grinning like a horse-collar, never getting nearer, never getting farther; and they came to the Wollgong River.
Now, there wasn't any bridge, and there wasn't any ferry-boat, and Kangaroo didn't know how to get over; so he stood on his legs and hopped.
He had to!
The author introduces the passage by __________.
describing the fears of the Kangaroo
outlining the flaws of the main character
telling us the Kangaroo was a good dancer
telling us the Kangaroo wasn't the same as he is now
telling us the Kangaroo was watching a Different Animal
All ISEE Lower Level Reading Resources
