Part two of the NYS Social Studies test is made up of several CRQs..  The purpose of this section of the test is to test your      knowledge of social studies and the world around you.

Before you can answer this type of question - you need to know what it is!  CRQ stands for Constructed Response Question. 

Okay, but what does that mean??????

Well.......let's take a look at each word. 

Constructed

Construction means to build something.......constructed means that something has been built.

Response

A response is an answer

Question

 A question is an issue or inquiry that requires a response to it.

When you put them all together you get the idea that a CRQ is a type of question that you will have to build or create an answer for.  We used to call this type of question a short answer question because you would need to write a short sentence or two in order to create the correct answer.

You will find that a CRQ will have some type of map, picture, graph, chart, diagram or other such visual that will require you to analyze information.

(remember - if you do not understand what the word in italics means - click on it and it will take you to the definition)

Let's look at how to answer a CRQ.  You may notice that the first step is just like the first step for answering a multiple choice question - READ  THE QUESTION CAREFULLY!!  You may think it is silly to keep reminding you to do that - but, many mistakes are made NOT because you didn't know the information, but because you did not take the time to READ the question CAREFULLY and therefore made a silly mistake - but - it was still counted as a mistake!

Base your answers to questions 1-3 on the words of the song below and on your knowledge of social studies.

1.   According to this song, what is being talked about?
________________________________________

2.   What was going on during the night?
________________________________________

3.   Why was it important that the flag was still there?
________________________________________

  If you noticed, each question was a little more difficult to answer. Let's find out more about them!
 
 Question number 1's answer could be found directly in the passage.  All you needed to do was read carefully.

Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there.

This type of questions is called a literal question because the answer is right there in the passage.  All you need to do is read carefully to find it.

Question number 2 was a little more difficult to answer.  The answer was there - but not directly.  You had to read and make an inference from what you read.  For example, you read:

O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,

Reading this passage led you to believe that some type of battle was going on even though it didn't come out and specifically say this.  You inferred this from  what you read. This type of question asks you to use the clues from your reading and make an logical guess/inference about what is going on.

Question number 3 was the most difficult of all to answer.  This question required you to read the passage, think about what you read and connect it to what you know about social studies.

Why was it important that the flag was still there?

Reading the passage you found that a battle was going on and yet with all of that the flag was still flying over the land that was part of the United States:

Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave?

You know from social studies that a flag is a symbol of a country.  It represents the ideals of that country.  It inspires pride, hope, a sense of patriotism and loyalty, and strength in that country.  A good answer to that question might be something like this:

It was important that the flag was still there because it showed that America could survive a battle, but still be there without defeat.  The flag was still flying over the 'land of the free and the home of the brave'.

 

Now that you have looked at some types of questions that you may be asked as part of a CRQ, let's review what we have learned.

• READ the question carefully
• Ask yourself - is the answer right there in the reading passage?
• Ask yourself - do I need to put the clues together to make an inference about something that I read?
• Remember, many times you will be asked to connect things that you already know to the material that is contained in the CRQ.
• Most important - keep in mind that a CRQ is not out to trick you - but it does expect you to READ carefully, think about what the question is asking you to find out and then find your answer!

You will find many CRQs at the end of the social studies lessons in Grades 3 and 4.  Practice is the key to success!

analyze - when you analyze something, you look at it very closely, you look at all the parts or ideas and explain how they are related.

literal - means word for word or exactly, the answer is exactly what the passage says

inference - when you use the information given in passage to make a generalization of what is going on without it being specifically stated.

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