I asked for and searched for all the information I could find on
the test itself - the specific skills covered, some concept of the
reading assignments. Most of the information came from the state
board of education website. I was very fortunate in that there
were sample questions, which I gave to my students as a pre-test.

My little darlings could easily find the main point, supporting
ideas - the basics. They started falling apart with the deeper
level questions, which is where I started the instruction.

Basically, I pulled together mini-units on each set - inferential
learning, metaphors, interpreting graphical material (the list
from the test). It was a combination of textbook, internet,
whatever I wrote up myself. Each unit had a pre-test,
presentation of information, lots of examples, guided instruction,
check tests, independent work, and enrichment/remediation.

Periodically we did mixed review tests, and I shamelessly copied
all sorts of internet available reading comprehension tests -
middle school, high school, adult literacy, TESOL, college prep.
Some of these were individually worked, some in pairs, some in
small groups, a few as a whole class.

When you are helping the students to learn a concept - say
inferential thinking, your example needs to be very easy to
interpret - I used really old cartoons like Popeye and Merry
Melodies - these were new to the students, quickly viewed, and
easy to discuss. From there, we'd try to work in a little of
everything - poetry, nonfiction, essay, short story, excerpt from
a novel.

Remember - you are teaching/reviewing the skills, not specifically
works of literature.

Once they learn the skills, THEN you let the students apply the
skills on literature. At this point, you become a coach, urging
them to try different techniques and perspectives of viewing the
work.

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