Boost your average where it's slumping: The reference tables questions
Unearthing the Reference Tables:
A clear & simple reference tables guide for the New York State earth science regents
Bonding with the Reference Tables:
A clear & simple reference tables guide for the New York State chemistry regents
Make the reference tables accessible to all your students with these easily-digestible, teen-friendly guides.
10,835 students across New York State use Unearthing the Reference Tables
70 schools across New York State teach the earth science and chemistry reference tables using the Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides
3,206 students across New York State use the newly released Bonding with the Reference Tables
"I order new class sets at the start of every school year."
“Not only are the tables clearly and precisely explained, but there are plenty of
practice questions on each table for students to attempt.
“I order new class sets of both books at the start of every school year. We allow the students to
keep their own copies and write all over them. The feedback from the teachers has always been
extremely positive; they find the books very useful.”
- Ms. Petra Frantova, AP of Harry S. Truman High School; Bronx, NY.
NYSTL Approved
Find the guides on ShopDOE
Are you from outside NYC? Get them with purchase orders via your state funding.
If you're a science teacher, you've watched students flipping back and forth through the tables, desperate to find something, anything that will help them...!
That's wasting valuable time.So, that means that proficiency in what is essentially graph reading can spell the difference between a score of...
If you're a...
Teacher
About 30% of your students struggle with reference tables questions. They:
- don't know when they have to use the tables
- don't know which table to use
- don't know how to use multiple tables to answer one question
- stare blankly at the tables as if they've never seen them before
- make a whole bunch of careless mistakes
Special Ed Teacher
Your biggest challenge is that your students are literal learners. They're good at regurgitating information the way you taught it, but when you ask them to transfer or apply that information they...- Freak out
- Give you a blank stare
- Say "We never learned this!"
AP
You're invested in helping your students do well on the science regents because:- your school is rated by regents average
- you want your students to get into good colleges
The reference tables-based questions are "free points." They should be the reason why students with poor memories can earn scores of 70 instead of 50. But this is not always the case, because:
- Many of the tables are difficult for high school students to grasp and decipher.
- Your teachers are busy; they don't have the time to keep crafting or sourcing new questions for the students to practice with.
But it's also more than that. Knowing how to tackle reference tables questions gives students confidence, especially if memorization is not one of their strong points. "Cool, I got all of these questions right 😃! And that's after my mind went totally blank!" This translates into exam confidence. "I'm good 👍. Even if I forget everything I studied, the reference tables will give me the answers."
"There's the anxiety of not being sure you know what you're looking for. You wonder if you'll find it. Did I really understand the question and how the table works? Or do I only think I got it and I'm really confused? Feels like high-stakes poker or something."
- Esther Goldstein, student, 2022
Hi, I'm Yocheved Finkel 👋
Several years ago, a month before the regents, I was stuck in a car for the nine hour drive between New York and Toronto. It was almost June, so I decided to start putting together a review booklet for my students. I had noticed on tests that, for some reason, many of my students tended to get reference tables-based questions wrong. It seemed such a pity - the answers were right there in front of them during the test! So, I took out my laptop and my earth science reference tables and began to work on a reference tables guide. I typed... and typed… and typed. I had originally intended to make a brief, 4-5 page booklet. But I did not realize just how much there was to explain on each table until I got down to it. Three hours and 4 tables later, my laptop died. When I arrived back home, I finished the task I had begun. I named it Unearthing the Reference Tables. I sold 10,000 copies in over 60 schools across New York State! The terrific feedback from teachers and their requests of "the same for chemistry!" encouraged me to create the chemistry reference tables guide. I called it Bonding with the Reference Tables. The Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides were born.
What's inside?
- Step-by-step instructions in clear, teen-friendly terms how to read each one of the charts on the earth science and chemistry reference tables.
- Important instructions on how to answer the regents questions (like not to write ° F on the station model, and although Table G works with 100g of water, the regents might ask about 50g or 200g and how students should handle that).
- Notes on keyword recognition - so students know when to use a reference table even if it's not explicitly mentioned in the exam.
- Sample regents questions on each of the tables at the end of each section, along with answers and brief explanations.
- A table listing hundreds of further practice questions by date of appearance and reference table used.
It's quicker than Googling.
Students grow so confident with using the tables that extracting the information they need is quicker (and more accurate) than looking up the answers online.Invaluable aid
“Unearthing the Reference Tables is an invaluable aid in deciphering the earth science reference tables - a key part in doing well on the New York State earth science regents.” - Ms. F. Lipson, earth science teacher; BY High School of Spring Valley, NYCouldn't have succeeded without
"Without Bonding with the Reference Tables, I would not have understood the tables well enough to get good marks on the questions that use them." - Molly Finley, chemistry student; Vichna K. High School; Brooklyn, NY
Going Digital?
Both guides are available as ebooks.- Straight-forward online reader (It will take you and your students minutes to figure out how to use it.)
- Note-taking area (Your students can type quick summaries, explanations and points they want to return to later)
- Bookmarks (No frustrating flipping or wondering "Where did we leave off last time?")
- Highlighting (Your students can color-code words or phrases for added clarity)
- Zoom function and screen reader (Students with visual or auditory challenges can adjust the experience to suit them.)
Health Professions & Human Services; NY, New York
Have a classroom full of high-achievers?
Even teachers with students who are high achievers report that the Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides significantly improve their classes by shifting the focus from teacher-centric to student-centric learning: "Although I've taught for many years, can teach use of the reference tables successfully, and my students are high-performers, I have still found Ms. Finkel's books extremely valuable. Before we used them, my teaching of the reference tables would be very teacher-centric. I'd model the questions and explain how to dissect them. But now, my students are far more independent. They learn to navigate and explain the tables with far less spoon-feeding from me. The Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides are student-friendly resources that helps to build skill and capacity to answer the reference tables questions." - Mr. L. Exume, Robert H. Goddard High School ofCommunications Arts and Technology; Queens, NY
Because reading a graph is like riding a bike.
Chart-reading is a relevant skill in a vast range of professions, from farming to finance.
A sound reference tables training equips your students for well-paying future careers, like:
metorologist
psychiatrist
surgeon
stockbroker
FAQs
- Sounds nice, but it's been done. We have a book like that already.
- Kids who don't do well on reference tables aren't the type to read this book in their spare time.
- I have no class time to spare for another book.
- My school has no budget for another book.
- The standards are constantly changing. Will the Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides
be relevant in two years' time? - Do the guides relate back to the material or just explain how to read the tables?
- I still have a question!
Sounds nice, but it's been done. We have a book like that already.
The beauty of the Reference Tables Guides is that they are written in conversational English. No complicated, sophisticated, break-your-teeth-over-it scientific jargon that your students struggle to follow. No long-winded, never-ending explanations that put your students to sleep. Teens love it. They are grateful to find a book that is easy to use, with neat icons, bullet points and words they don't have to look up in a dictionary. FAQsKids who don't do well on reference tables aren't the type to read this book in their spare time.
The Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides can be incorporated into a great station activity. What's more, once kids see how easy it is to read, they find themselves hooked and relish using a resource that they don't have to sweat to understand. FAQsI have no class time to spare for another book.
The Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides save class time. The hours that you spend modelling questions and answers, answering frantically waving hands, and explaining and re-explaining to non-mathematically-inclined kids is halved when using this resource. Suddenly, they can figure things out for themselves. FAQsMy school has no budget for another book.
Great news! The Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides are NYSTL-approved. That means that they can be accessed on ShopDOE or (if you are not located in NYC) via state funding. FAQsThe standards are constantly changing. Will the Clear & Simple Reference Tables Guides be relevant in two years' time?
When the new curriculum is released, the reference tables will probably be updated and modernized, but the essential information will still remain the same. FAQsDo the guides relate back to the material or just explain how to read the tables?
Every table is introduced with a background based off the course content. FAQsI still have a question!
I'll be so happy to answer it! Just email me at unearthingnysesrt@gmail.com. I read every single email and will reply within 3 working days. FAQs