In my concluding post, which you lot tin read HERE, I talked a lot virtually why I believe that examine prep is necessary. It tin aid to growth pupil confidence in addition to salve around of their examine taking anxiety. However, exclusively character examine prep volition help! If you lot are non using examine prep fourth dimension to review of import skills in addition to strategies piece edifice your students up- you lot are wasting valuable time.
I accept compiled around examine prep dos in addition to don't to aid guide you lot every bit you lot invention for your shape examine prep.
Test Prep Dos
1. DO invention fun review activities.
Test prep should NOT live on boring! Test days are like shooting fish in a barrel enough. Let's maintain the days leading upward to testing engaging. Get kids out of their seats. Play games in addition to rotate through centers. Creating a fun examine prep surroundings volition aid to alleviate around pupil examine taking pressure level in addition to decrease the negative connotations associated amongst testing.
You tin read to a greater extent than virtually this FREE vocabulary game yesteryear clicking HERE.
You tin read virtually how I used games in addition to crafts to encourage my students to operate extra difficult on examine prep activities yesteryear clicking HERE.
You tin read virtually around ways to purpose occupation cards for examine prep yesteryear clicking HERE.
2. DO learn examine taking tips in addition to strategies.
It is a practiced thought to learn (or review) examine taking strategies. Talk virtually mark upward the text, reading all of the directions in addition to eliminating obvious incorrect answers. It is a practiced thought to remind students that skipping a query volition automatically brand the query wrong. As a concluding resort, it is best to give an educated estimate than to move out a query blank. I too utter to my students virtually the importance of residuum in addition to salubrious nutrient choices. We read books virtually perseverance. (My favorite is Thank You, Mr. Falker.)
These examine strategy posters, along amongst other fun examine prep activities, tin live on flora inwards THIS examine prep resource.
3. DO learn students to properly bubble answers.
If students accept non had much sense amongst bubble tests, brand certain you lot practice. It mightiness audio silly, but it's important! Show them how to darkly coloring cloth inwards the bubble without ripping the paper. Also, practise erasing if they alter their heed virtually the answer.
Bubble canvas practise tin live on boring! Bring inwards around bubble mucilage every bit a fun vantage for afterwards!
4. DO say students you lot believe inwards them.
During examine prep, say your students how proud you lot are of them! Remind them that it is okay if they don't know the respond to every query (no ane gets a 100%!), every bit long every bit they did their really best. You mightiness live on the exclusively somebody that believes inwards them, in addition to therefore brand certain they know!
5. DO invention a postal service testing celebration.
Testing is tough in addition to therefore I similar to invention a celebration. It's a gamble to accept around fun amongst my kiddos! Since I accept a game twenty-four lx minutes catamenia subject for examine prep, nosotros accept a baseball game themed party. You tin read to a greater extent than virtually it HERE.
Test Prep Don'ts
1. DON'T aspect examine prep to supervene upon nifty pedagogy all year.
You tin invention the most engaging examine prep activities, but if you lot haven't been differentiating pedagogy in addition to creating hands-on learning experiences all year- examine prep won't laid upward the gaps. Test prep should live on a review. If they never learned it, they likely won't larn it the twenty-four lx minutes catamenia earlier the examine either.
2. DON'T cram 2 months of curriculum into 2 weeks of examine prep.
Testing rarely occurs at the really terminate of the schoolhouse year. With this beingness said, nosotros are really rarely done teaching all of the curriculum. That is okay! Hopefully your curriculum map has the skills that brand upward the to the lowest degree pct of the examine questions scheduled for the terminate of the year. Perhaps you lot accept been able to learn a few extra skills to your enrich math group. Still, at that topographic point may live on questions that students are non prepared to answer. Warn them, but don't cram the skills downwards their throats. If you lot essay to learn everything that is left during the calendar week or 2 earlier the test, they won't larn it good in addition to volition live on totally stressed. That's non helpful!
3. DON"T give to a greater extent than classwork in addition to homework.
Increasing the operate charge due to the upcoming examine volition exclusively brand students in addition to parents grumpy. You may desire to alter your homework in addition to arrive to a greater extent than spiral or to a greater extent than differentiated. But if they are struggling amongst multi-step discussion problems, giving them 20 of them for homework volition non brand them amend occupation solvers!
4. DON'T brand examine prep a serial of worksheets.
Worksheets are non engaging. In fact, typically, they are simply plainly boring. The examine volition live on like shooting fish in a barrel enough. There is no argue examine prep can't live on to a greater extent than fun. Incorporate games, centers, task bill of fare scoots in addition to project-based learning into your examine prep. Students retrieve to a greater extent than when they are engaged in addition to moving anyway!
5. DON'T disrupt classroom procedures in addition to routines.
If you lot alter everything virtually your classroom procedures during examine prep, you lot are going to accept confused students in addition to an growth inwards bailiwick issues. Do your best to maintain the procedures in addition to routines relatively inwards tact. For example, I maintain using math centers in addition to guided math groups. The exclusively matter that is unlike is that nosotros are reviewing skills rather than learning a novel skill. I exclusively completely disrupt our schedule for ane twenty-four lx minutes catamenia to create our Work Hard, Play Hard centers. Keeping rules in addition to routines gives my students around semblance of normalcy.
6. DON'T say them how much you lot loathe testing.
You tin loathe testing, but you lot can't say anyone but your husband in addition to your closest coworker. Don't say the students in addition to don't say the parents. Whining virtually the examine volition simply decrease motivation in addition to effort. It creates a negative atmosphere in addition to at that topographic point is no create goodness inwards that.