Testing season is upon us. And while we might not want to do it, spending time prepping students mentally and emotionally is necessary for their success. It’s easy to get caught up in TDAs and test prep packets but it’s also important to balance test prep with more engaging and pressure-free activities. Here are some of the best test prep in elementary.
Keeping the prep a little lighter (when you can) will help students feel a little less stressed and a little more relaxed which can help them feel more confident overall.
Test prep the room
Jordan from Team J’s Classroom Fun says “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.” You can read more of her tips here.
Test Prep Books
My friend, Jen, over at Two Little Birds has a great list of picture books to read that will encourage your students to have a growth mindset and value progress over perfection. I just LOVE The Most Magnificent Thing. Reading one book a day leading up to “the big test” will help lead discussions about how students feel which can give you a better idea about their attitudes towards testing.
Test Prep Stories
At the beginning of the year, I use social stories to lead discussions about acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. These go over SO well and students just love reading about these fictional students who don’t always make the best choices. So, I thought, why not make them for test prep as well? There are 12 stories each with students who make a combination of positive and negative choices in regard to test prep and test-taking.
These also come with reflection pages where students can give the fictional characters some advice or praise them for what they are doing well. There are also questions for students to reflect on what they do best and what they could use more practice with.
Test Prep Coloring
There is SO much stress associated with test-taking. It’s essential that we allow our students some downtime to relax and reduce their anxiety. Coloring is the perfect activity! I love these testing motivation coloring pages by Jewel’s School Gems.
{You can find these here}
Test Prep Games
Games are my absolute favorite engagement strategy. So I knew when it came to test preparation, I needed to include games specific to test-taking strategies. Tic Tac Toe is one of my favorite go-to games for sight words and fact fluency so I went ahead and made a test prep version.
Partners can play while they are working through a passage with questions or math multiple-choice pages. They take turns applying test-taking strategies and covering their space (my students usually use 2 sided counters but you could even laminate and use dry-erase markers!)
I wish you and your students the best of luck during this stressful season. I hope you have found a few ways to help you relax and test prep in a worry-free way for your elementary students.
Happy teaching!
Want more ideas for games in the classroom? Check out these blog posts!
