A little Pre-Assessment Fun

This time of year the one thing that a lot of teachers have looming over them is TESTING!!  Whether it is state level assessments for the higher elementary grades or reading test for younger grades, the stress of showing how much your students learned in the year is there!  One thing that many elementary teachers and schools make sure to do right before testing begins is trying to motivate the students to do their best.

One of the schools I work at this year decided to do a "Rock the Test" theme.  The teachers went all out with their creative ideas.  First, there were dress up days for every day of the week:

Even rock stars need sleep - pajama day

Rock out crazy for the test - crazy day

Dress like a rock star day

Shine bright like a rock star - wear yellow

Put your rocking' thinking cap on - hat day

The students helped their teachers with a door decorating contest and I must say that I thought they did an incredible job!  Pictured below are a few of the doors.

Along with all these, there was also an amazingly fun assembly where we invited our local high school's drum line to come and perform.  They did an incredible job, the director creatively tied the performance to testing, and everyone really enjoyed it.  As I sat back and watched, I loved watching kids bebop and drum on the floor or their lap as well as the teachers who moved to the rhythm.  For many of our kids this was a new experience and something they can look forward to trying themselves as they move into the middle school grades.

The other thing that took place during the MAP assembly was a air guitar contest.  Each state assessed grade level had a representative who participated.  They were judged by audience applause and the winner received an inflatable electric guitar!  All the participants went all out in their moves and some of our older kids even dressed the part!  The students who watched were highly engaged in helping decide the winner.

Other things that were incorporated were encouragement cards from parents and buddy classes, testing behavior incentives, and some extra decorating in the hallways to go with the theme.

At my other school, there were similar things that took place.  In addition, there will be treats that will be passed out with encouraging messages on the days of testing.  This page on Teachers Pay Teachers, has all kind of free ideas that can be used for the treats.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:testing%20treats

Something else to think about is what to do with students to review besides the regular instruction that happens the rest of the year.  I know that when my sons were in elementary school they looked forward to this time because of 3 things:
1. The treats
2. No homework
3. The fun review activities

Here are a couple of links that give review ideas you can use!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson321.shtml
http://www.teachhub.com/fun-review-activities-classroom-games-do-now

If you have any ideas you are willing to share of what your school does to prepare the kids for testing, please feel free to share them on the comments!