Planning the Small Details to Prep my Students for the Big Test
It’s March, which means I’ve found myself in test prep season yet again. Since apparently I’ll never be satisfied (cue Angelica Schyler for all my Hamilton lovers), I’ve switched up my test prep plan another year.
*By the way* Hi, I’m Adrienne! I’ve been teaching 3rd grade since 2011. More than half my years have been spent teaching departmentalized reading. As a result, I’ve prepared more than 20 classes of 3rd graders for the end of year state reading test. *Now, back to it!*
After sharing bit about my test prep program on Instagram and getting amazing feedback and a ton of questions, I decided I would sit down and pour myself into sharing the details in an effort to make another teacher’s life easier.
When I sat down to type this blog post in Word, I ended up with SO many pages! So, to save you from scrolling into infinity, I decided to create a downloadable PDF explaining my test prep program in detail.
In addition to all the specifics of my program, I threw in planning templates, printable rewards coupons, sticker sheets, goal setting sheets, and resources for two different themed test prep programs. I ended up with over 50 pages!
Which so many content ready to come your way, I wanted to make sure it was as easy to understand and implement as possible. I dove in to create my first mini-course! I’ve put together a playlist of 8 videos walking through the 50 page booklet, answering frequently asked questions, and sharing photos from how the program looks in my classroom.
This post will cover the basics of how I run test prep in my classroom, but you want to grab the 50 page eBook for details, layouts, and templates!
Establishing a New Routine
I’m a sucker for routine. Having 3 classes of third graders cycling through my room during the day would be a chaotic whirlwind without routine. On the first day of our test prep kickoff, I have a class meeting to set individual goals and walk students through our new routine.
The first part of our 75 minute block will remain independent reading. We have read for at least 20 minutes at the top of each reading block all year and we aren’t going to change that now. The next 20 minutes of our daily routine is our whole group lesson and the last 35 minutes are spent with student practice. Student practice can be individual, small group, or buddies.
Another way I work in routine is through our lessons and activities. Each day of the week will have the same activity every week. For example, every Tuesday during the whole group lesson, we will play an IXL game whole group. Once I know this, I just need to plug in 6 weeks worth of IXL skills and match them with game ideas. Every Tuesday during student practice, we will do nonfiction article comparing activities, so I can just plug in the articles I want to use for a 6 week period.
Planning the Lessons & Activities
I mentioned above how I use the same type of activities for each specific day of the week, over 6 weeks. I like to lay my plans out this way because then I just need to come up with 10 types of activities. I come up with 5 different types of whole group lessons, then I just cycle the same 5 types each week. I also come up with 5 types of student practice activities and cycle those for 6 weeks.
My 50-page planning guide and eBook includes much more detail on this and explains the type of activities I chose and why. When choosing what type of activities I want to be spiraled each week, I ask myself:
-What do students need to be able to do to pass the state test?
-What deficits, struggles, or gaps were shown by data throughout the school year?
Incentives & Rewards
To keep my students motivated and encouraged, I have a few different reward systems in place. My student’s favorite piece to the program is their sticker sheet. Before getting started on the student practice portion of the day, I will tell the students what the target is. For example, the target might be to get 7 out of 10 questions right or to highlighting evidence for all of the questions. Students who meet the target get a sticker.
On Friday, students who have all 5 stickers get to select a big water bottle sticker, they LOVE these! Then, I pull 5 students names randomly for the prize box. Students can only get prize box on Fridays if I pull their name AND they have all 5 stickers from the week.
Thanks for making it this far! If you’d like a much more in depth printable version of this blog post along with a plan sheet, a sticker sheet, and a goal setting sheet, just click the button below!
Before You Go…
I created a note-taking strategy in 2015 to help my students better comprehend reading passages. I’ve fine-tuned it over the years and it continues to be crucial for deepening understanding and boosting scores.
I have different strategies for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; but they all use the same, simple 4-square template.
There is now an entire note-taking suite available in my TPT shop to teach and practice this strategy with your class.
I’ve got Mini-Lesson PowerPoints to introduce each strategy and a PDF teacher guide/printables resource for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Talk to you soon,
Adrienne
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