Test Prep: Giving Your Kids The Best Chance To Succeed

There are certain things that I do before ever test to prepare my students for success. No, I don't mean discussing test-taking strategies or telling the kids about the importance of a good night's rest. Sure it might be helpful to know to underline key words in a test question, to pick "C" when you don't have a clue, or to eat a good breakfast, but does that really do the most to prepare kids for a test? There's got to be a better way. There's got to be more that we can be doing to give students a better chance to succeed.

Here's what I do. (It seems to work pretty well.)

1. Notify parents of the upcoming test.
Perhaps the greatest advice I was ever given was by the teacher who went on maternity leave and left a vacancy for me to get my start. She told me that she emails parents every week before a test. I thought it was a good idea then, and now I'm convinced it's a great one!  The benefits are tremendous.

In these emails, I tell parents what content will be tested. I provide them a study guide with all the SOLs so that they KNOW what the content is (because really, what parent knows who Jo Anderson and Robert Smalls were?). This information equips parents with enough to ask their child about the content or to quiz them at home. They are informed about the flashcards and study guides I send home too.  Parents become partners in encouraging their children to study. I have never received anything but positive feedback about these emails.

2. Provide a study guide. 
On the same day that I send parents an email, I provide my students with a blank study guide.  Now, the minute we say "homework," kids get that look on their face that says, "not again" or "thanks, but no thanks." Many refuse to complete homework. But, try saying, "extra credit" instead. It works wonders. Most kids jump at the opportunity. And, so, I give the students one week to complete a study guide (8-10 pages) that counts as 10% extra credit on the test. With their parents "in the know," the students are encouraged at home and at school to complete the assignment.

When I first introduce the extra credit study guides, I do some math on the board to show the students the benefit of completing them. When I do, students begin to understand why working on it is a good decision in preparing for the test. And, for those that don't take advantage of it the first time, they usually do the second after I show them the average scores of students who complete the study guide and the students who don't do any of it. I also offer partial extra credit for students who complete a portion of the work.

3. Keep kids engaged with fun, challenging, and confidence-building review games!
Because students are given the study guide and flashcards a week in advance, and since their parents know the test is coming, and because you've already delivered such high quality instruction over the course of the previous few weeks, it's not too much to ask to use a day for exciting review games that both challenge students and prepare them for the test. By the time they come to me the day before the test, most kids already are feeling really good about the material. So, the review day helps to build confidence. Feel free to scan through some of my previous posts to find some of the games I play--from easy prep activities like the Dice Game to more intensive prep games like Minute to Win It.

4. Do the little things to calm the nerves of the really anxious students. 
Know which students get nervous easily. Build their confidence. Let them know you are proud of them in the days leading up to the test. Tell them exactly what the test looks like. Explain where they will be testing--even if it's in your room and let them know why you think they'll do best there. Offer to stay after school and work on the extra credit study guide with them. Do whatever it takes to make them feel comfortable. Even that might not be enough. But, they'll know you care...and that counts for something.

Puzzle Race!

One way to engage students in learning is through competition. One competition that challenges students is a puzzle race. It's also low-prep and good fun :)

The preparation:

Find an image that you want students to piece together. I have used a blank world map (like the one below) and images of historical events and places for this activity.

In addition to the image, I write questions or give instructions as part of the image. For example, underneath my world map puzzle, I type 10 instructions, among them are things like, "Label the ocean that surrounds Antarctica" or "Color Africa blue" or "Draw a compass that includes just the four cardinal directions in the Indian Ocean." For other puzzles you might consider writing questions below it that encourage students to analyze the image.

Once I have the image (including any instructions), I cut up the image into 9-20 pieces. The number of cuts made and the way you cut the pieces are ways to differentiate this activity. For instance, cutting the image into squares, as opposed to unique shapes might lead to a more challenging task.

 Here's how it works:

I put students into teams. Each team gets a piece of construction paper, 2 glue sticks, colored pencils, and the puzzle. On my signal, students begin to piece together the puzzle. As they do, they learn what the instructions or questions are. Then, they race to complete all of the tasks. The first team to complete the activity correctly wins!

Virtue Badges: Motivating Kids Towards Greatness

"Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education." -MLK, Jr.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a conference for a learning management system called Canvas that our school division is adopting. If you've never heard about it, you might be interested in checking it out. Canvas is a neat way to build a course online--and it's free! I'll blog more about it in the future, but today I wanted to write about another idea that came about at that conference: Badges! That's right! Buttons with pins.

While we were at the conference, we were rewarded with badges for doing certain things--some of them silly and some of them significant. So for instance, if we stopped by the help desk, we got a "help desk badge." If we tweeted about the conference, we got a badge. If we took a picture of a panda, we got a badge. (Thanks, Panda Express for that one.)  The group I was with was pretty motivated to get these badges. And, if we are so motivated by badges, won't our students be too?

So, here's what I've decided to do: I'm going to give out badges to my students this year. That is, if I can raise enough money for them!  One of the decisions I had to make was what actions were worthy of receiving badges? While I contemplated giving badges for academic achievements, I have decided to give badges for good citizenship instead. Over the years, I have shared 12 different virtues with my students that I believe will help them be successful. In my history class, I find it easy to infuse these virtues as we study historical figures of the past. We have discussions about Frederick Douglass and determination, Phillis Wheatley and creativity, Robert E. Lee and loyalty, Clara Barton and compassion, Robert Smalls and courage, Lincoln and unity, and so on and so on.  The hope is that students would come to understand that there is much more to being successful in life than getting good grades, having a good job, or having lots of money.

My plan is to reward particular students or groups of students with badges throughout the year as they demonstrate certain virtues. The idea is that once they receive a badge they "wear that badge with honor" and continue to espouse the positive character trait. Following this logic, students couldn't earn the same badge multiple times, but could earn multiple badges once.

If you are willing to help me financially as I prepare for this plan, please click on this link: http://igg.me/at/mrpiedrasclassroom

If you aren't able to help out financially, please consider sharing the link above!