Oh testing time, oh testing time. What a magical time of year…NOT. Testing time is a stressful time of year for students and teachers alike. Today I’m sharing 5 tips to help make standardized testing a little easier.
- Prepare your room early so the kids have time to adjust – Most of the time we have to cover up anchor charts, move desks so students are far apart, etc. Do this ahead of time. Any time you make changes in your room, the kids notice and it can cause a commotion. If you do this a few days before testing, they will be used to it by the time testing begins.
- Decorate the room with positive messages – Since all of your beautiful anchor charts and posters are covered up, the room can look a little sad. Put posters up with motivational positive messages. It’s a way to decorate while also reminding the kids that they can do this!
- Make sure the kids have a healthy snack – At past schools, PTA has provided snacks for testing. I highly recommend asking your PTA if they provide snacks or seeing if your school can do that. Some kids come to school with no breakfast and no food. Students can’t perform well on a test if they are hungry. I used to also provide granola bars or fresh fruit as a snack before testing or on testing breaks.
- Provide movement opportunities before and after testing – These tests tend to be long and it’s a lot of sitting. Prior to testing, have students do a brain break and get up and moving. They will do better if they are alert. Use GoNoodle and do a brain break to pump them up. If you are testing after lunch/recess and they are crazy, use GoNoodle yoga or one of the mindfulness brain breaks to help calm them down for resting.
- Provide motivational messages on either a special treat or pencils – There are so many ideas out there for little motivational treats for students. I’ve seen many food treats that are a little gift before or after testing. My personal favorite is the motivational message written on the child’s testing pencil.
If you missed my blog post about test prep review ideas, click here….
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