Warm Up and Chill Out! Test Taking Strategies

I don't know about you, but I am SOOO ready for spring!  Up here in Northeast Ohio, we've had enough snow to last a couple winters.  I know those of you in the Boston area have had a little more, but I'm a southern gal at heart, and miss my flip flops!  Well, the awesome teachers over at The Lesson Deli are going to try to get that cold blood flowing in your veins with a Test Prep Blog Hop.  Hopping is exercise, right???

Are your kids getting cabin fever, too?  For some reason, cabin fever always comes during testing, which adds to every teachers' frustration.  I remember so many times thinking "I know they knew that!  They just weren't thinking!"

I finally figured out something key:  if I prep my students well from day 1, using sound, research based teaching, testing day becomes just another day.  I always tell my students that the test is a celebration of everything they have learned during the year.  Be excited to show what you know and how you've learned to think this year.  I've actually seen some students breathe a sigh of relief as they changed their thinking about tests.

One tool that I've started using this year that has been an amazing resource is my "Vocabu-Ladders."  I found that my students really struggled with vocabulary.  They could memorize a definition (sometimes), but usage was horrible!  They were using nouns as adverbs and adjectives, and it pained me to grade their papers.  After using these Vocabu-Ladders, their scores improved, they were actually learning how to use the words, and they were learning how to think.

You can download a free copy of my Vocabu-ladders here:  (they are only free for a limited time; they are normally $1.50).  The download includes the graphic organizer and a set of task cards.

Other test prep items you may be interested in:

                   

Make sure to enter my raffle for a $15 Target gift card below, and then hop right on over to the Lesson Deli blog to enter the big raffles.  If you haven't hopped through my other teacher friends' blogs, make sure to - they have some amazing test prep ideas and products.  Many of the blogs have their own raffles, too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Time for Giving

My school means a lot to me.  Not just because that's where I work or because the kids are great (which they are).  It's the school where I went.  I had some of the same teachers who are still there now.  They have a heart for what they do.  So, as my school gets ready for their annual auction, I thought the best thing I could do was try to give a little bit back.

A group of teachers donated products to create this bundle for upper elementary teachers.  All proceeds from the sale will go directly the my school.  There's about $130 worth of products bundled together for $25. Awesome deal for some awesome products!

Please check out the specifics in the link below.  And if you think this is a worthy cause, please pass along the link.