As you can see, I haven't been updating my blog lately. Fortunately the reason for this is I have been too busy teaching! About a month ago, I accepted a third grade leave replacement teacher. Having subbed in third grade many times I knew it would be a great fit and I was very excited to get started. Unfortunately I stepped in right before New Jersey state testing. But never fear! I used all that different experience I got from tutoring special education to subbing in every grade from preschool to fifth grade to get those kiddos ready for their first ever standardized test.
It was quite a whirlwind but I focused on reviewing concepts from math and language arts. I also briefly touched on concepts I thought might be on the test but I didn't have time to fully teach. I wanted to make sure the kids went into the test confidently and familiar with everything they saw. While I used the Buckle Down Series (which were a great guide for test review and I highly recommend them) I also integrated some fun hands-on experience. I am definitely not a teacher who can just sit and watch her students do desk work!
In the next few days, I'll show you some of those lessons that I used for test prep with my third graders but for now I will leave you with one of our fun "study break" lessons. To keep us from getting bored and "stale" in our seats, we took a quick break one day to talk about things we needed to remember to do the day of the test. We brainstormed as a class and came up with ideas like "get a good night's sleep", "stay focused", "read the directions carefully", and "check your answers." Then, in a nod to technology (as well as our lack of it), we took these reminders and turned them into "apps" on iPads, study iPads.
How cute did those turn out?! It was a great way to break up the monotony of review and talk about testing skills in a fun and friendly way for eight and nine year olds. I personally think we were app-solutely ready for our big test!
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