Do your students act as if the moment testing is over they are finished with school? While an early summer break may sound nice, it's definitely a slippery slope, as it's so important to keep students engaged after testing. I’ve learned that if I abandon classroom routines or
Testing During A Not So Typical Year
No two years teaching are ever exactly the same. Your students change, the calendar changes, the curriculum changes, and some years your grade level changes, and the quantity of gray hairs increases. However, the 2020-2021 school years bring those differences to a whole new
Test Prep Round Up
Every year I start the school year with good intentions. I'm going to use best practices all year, and I'd not going to stress about test prep and scores. We'll work hard all year and let the scores take care of themselves. I do pretty good before Christmas.
Then, sometime
Spring Math Centers for Test Prep
It is absolutely crazy to me that it's already time for to begin thinking about spring math centers. Last year was my first year back in fourth grade after several years in third grade, and one of the resources I missed the most were my 3rd Grade Spring Math Centers. I wanted to
The Importance of Spiral Review
Who has ever experienced this scenario? You spend weeks conceptually teaching fractions. You incorporate hands-on activities, multiple models and visual representations. Your students complete a variety of problem solving tasks in authentic situations. You also have students
Student Approved Review Game
My teaching partner recently introduced me to my new favorite vocabulary review resources-Quizlet. I know that Quizlet has been around for several years. In fact, I remembered using Quizlet several years ago. According to the site, I made a quiz back in 2010, but I never used the
Test Prep for Upper Elementary
Now that it's what I not so affectionately refer to as "testing season", I wanted to share a couple of my test prep ideas. Some of them are tried and true, and a few are things I've tried out for the first time this year. I do want to throw out a disclaimer and say that I do not
Test Prep for Super Testers
Test prep is a hot topic in the world of education. Some schools of thought believe that there should never be any test prep in the classroom, and then others that base all instruction on test prep. I am neither of those. I believe in teaching all year long using a variety of
Life After Testing
It seems like during the weeks leading up to testing all I can think about is preparing for our state test. Then after testing, my lesson plans are wide open. For the most part, I've taught all of my essential standards, but I certainly don't want the learning to stop after
Test Prep Ideas and Products
High-stake testing evokes a passionate response in almost all teachers. I have strong feelings, but that is for a whole other blog post. For now, I'm just accepting that as long as I teach upper elementary, standardized tests are going to be part of my life. Regardless of my
