Spring is in the air and Easter is right around the corner, so why not have some fun in your classroom? I am planning on having an egg hunt later this week to get my students moving while practicing word problems! I found a few ideas from other bloggers while looking on Pinterest this morning! Thought I should share! I hope you find at least one activity to try this week!
For more great Easter Egg Ideas check out my Spring Pinterest Board:
Seriously, how did it go so fast? Here we are almost to the end of the year, enjoying the Spring weather and looking forward to lazy days of Summer … BUT … we have to get through end of year testing first!
Here are a few tips to make test prep successful:
Tip 1:Prioritize areas of need – I don’t know where you are, but here in Texas we have SO MUCH to teach in a school year! When it comes time to review and get ready for testing it can be overwhelming trying to review it all! So take some time to sit down and reflect on what skills your students need to review the most. It is often different every year with each group of students. Spend extra time on the skills your students need the most.
Tip 2: Use student strengths to build confidence. So after you reflect on which key objectives and skills you need to review the most, spend some time reflecting on what your students are really good at! Review these skills (less than priority skills, but still review) to keep them fresh in your student’s minds and also to build confidence! If the students can see what they are good at, they will not be as stressed about what they still need to practice. I like to encourage my students by pointing out skills they found difficult at the beginning of the year and have now mastered! I say things like “Wow! Remember how hard ___ was at the beginning of the year and look how great you are with it now!” or “You have learned so much! You are so ready to ACE this on your test!.”
Tip 3: Make it fun!Realistically you can’t make every second of every day fun, but do what you can when you can. When students are having fun they are more engaged in learning! Play games, set up scavenger hunts, play music or decorate your classroom like the circus! Anything to keep your class from feeling so bogged down by the stress of “The Test”.
Tip 4: Smile!This might not sound like a test taking tip, but trust me on this one! When your students see you all super stressed out, they feel it! Smiling will help everyone relax! Maybe some yoga? Or a funny cat video on YouTube?
Tip 5: Add movement!Take some breaks to move around! If kids are in their seats too long they get sleepy and bored! Play multiplication games with a beach ball, take a walk around your hallway, do jumping jacks … have a 3 minute “dance party” as a break between lessons. You could even use a Math Song to dance to! I love this Eight Times Tables Song!
So, we have almost made it to the end of the year! We are on the final countdown! Many of us have had our state tests and some have had finals… but we still have school! Here are a few ideas to make the end of the year fun, but still keep it academic:
I am so excited to be part of the Springing into Learning Blog Hop with Kim from Elementary Antics and many other teacher bloggers! I can’t wait to see all of the great ideas everyone has to share! After reading my blog post, be sure to click the link at the end to hop on to the rest of the great blogs!
The winter holidays are over, the weather is warming up and the children have … Spring Fever! Well, as a veteran classroom teacher, I can sympathize with you … this is NOT the time for the kids to get silly and stop working! This is the time to pull out all your “tricks” and get them back on track!
I have a few tricks for keeping students engaged and counteract “Spring Fever”: