HOME > FCAT EXPLORER PROGRAMS > 4th GRADE READING > HOW TO USE Reading Odyssey

Before beginning the activities in the Reading Odyssey practice program, do a quick check to make sure your computer is ready. To review the short list of required hardware and software, click on Technical Requirements. Check your computer Help file, if necessary, to locate display resolution settings and other display-related information that will help you view the FCAT Explorer under optimal conditions.

If you need more assistance, please click Contact Us at the top or bottom of the screen to send our Help Desk experts a message. Or, if you prefer, call this toll-free number to talk with someone on the Help Desk: 1-888-750-3228.

Start Exploring!

Using the five simple steps described on the following pages, your child can begin practicing reading comprehension skills in the FCAT Explorer. While using the FCAT Explorer, you may want more information about certain features. If so, please click Help in the practice program. There, you will find illustrations and explanations of every feature in the program.

Follow These Five Easy Steps

Step One: Sign-in
To use the Reading Odyssey or any other FCAT Explorer practice program, every student must have a sign-in name and password. Your child's classroom teacher will assign each student a sign-in name and password. If your child has not yet received a sign-in name and password, contact the teacher or call your school's administrative office. If your school has registered to use this free program, someone on the school staff should be able to help you. If necessary, contact the FCAT Explorer Help Desk for assistance by clicking Contact Us at the top of the page, or calling our toll-free number (1-888-750-3228).

Step Two: Select a Program
After signing in, your child will see a Welcome page that identifies him or her by name and provides a list of all the FCAT Explorer practice programs. Your child can click on Reading Odyssey to work in the practice program for the 4th Grade Reading Benchmarks.

Step Three: Explore a Reading Passage
After selecting Reading Odyssey, your child will come to the main page of the program. Your child will see a brief animated story that sets up the reading adventure. After the story is complete, your child will return to the main page. From here, your child can check for messages or get help. If your child is ready to begin reading, he or she can click Start Reading to be taken to a passage. Your child can see how much progress he or she has made in the program by clicking the Challenge List. The progress bar for each passage shows how many practice items your child has answered and whether each answer was correct or incorrect.

The program arranges passages so that your child reads the easier passages first and gradually works up to the more difficult passages. If your child is not successful on a set of three passages, he or she will be given more support (in the form of audio and embedded questions). Once your child becomes more successful with a set of three passages, these support features will no longer be available.

Step Four: Work the Practice Activities
As on the actual FCAT, each passage is followed by four to ten practice activities. These questions are formatted as typical FCAT-like multiple-choice questions and short-response questions.

The program will track your child's progress through the practice activities for a given passage. If your child has to quit the program before completing all the practice activities on a given passage, the program will present the next question in the sequence when he or she returns to the Reading Odyssey program.

Step Five: Check Your Child's Explorer's Report
After completing a session with FCAT Explorer Reading Odyssey, your child can view and print a report called the Explorer's Report. The Explorer's Report shows (1) the number of practice questions your child has attempted for each Benchmark, and (2) the percentage of correct answers. You can choose to review totals for the current day's session, the current week's sessions, or for the entire year. Click Explorer's Report on the main page to view this report.

When your child is ready to quit, close the Internet browser or click Exit to sign out of the FCAT Explorer Web site.

After completing all of the reading passages on Reading Odyssey, your child will have had comprehensive practice on all of the 4th Grade Reading Benchmarks tested on the FCAT.