When you say test prep to almost any teacher or student you're likely to get a lot of sighing and eye rolling. It's not exactly the thing that gets one out of bed in the morning, and preparing for a test would hardly be called fun. But if you're teaching in just about any school in the country, it's your reality right now, so you might as well find some way to make it bearable.
"In ev'ry job that must be done / There is an element of fun / You find the fun and snap! / The job's a game / ... A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down / In the most delightful way." ~Mary Poppins
Here are a few "inspiring" test prep suggestions:
Scavenger Hunts
Materials: scavenger hunt lists for each student, scavenger hunt "answers" posted throughout your classroom
Create a list of 20 or more subject-specific problems for students to solve and list them on a sheet of paper. Include a box or blank after each problem. For example:
* Math: 45 X 23 + 257 ____
* Language Arts: Locate an example of a simile. ____
* Science: What feature differentiates plant cells from animal cells? ____
Create 25 slips of paper with a "solution" to one of those problems on each and put a letter of the alphabet at the top of each slip (five of these will be random solutions but creating more solutions than problems adds challenge to the activity.) Sample solutions may include:
* Math: (A) 1000 + 300 - 8
* Language Arts: (B) He moved as slow as a snail.
* Science: (C) A rigid cell wall
Before students arrive in class, "hide" your solutions throughout the classroom by taping them to walls, doors, under desks, on file cabinets, windows, etc. When students arrive, give them the scavenger hunt lists and instruct them to move about the room finding "solutions." When they find the right solution for a problem they should put the letter value from the solution next to the problem on their sheet. In this way, you can "check the answers" by comparing the letter sequence on a completed sheet with a key. Students could also check their own answers or review them with a partner.
An active review game like this works well for your kinesthetic learners and the experience can help to cement some of the review topics in their memory.
Musical Review
Everything is better with music! Give students a list of terminology or concepts you want them to review. Ask them to create a song demonstrating what the terms mean. You can even download popular songs without lyrics that students can sing to and record them on CDs. The students can choose a song they like and create lyrics to go with that tune. Students can work alone, in pairs, or even create a whole singing group for this project.
A "concert" with a performance of each song is a great community and morale builder and it can be an especially helpful review activity for your musically inclined students.
Test Prep Olympics
With the summer Olympics just around the corner, now is a great time to build something physical into your review. Try adding review questions to a variety of sports. Create teams and have them "compete" to answer questions. Some examples include:
Relays - In teams of four, students must answer a review question to be able to run and hand off another question to the next relay team member. That team member answers a question and then passes another along to the next, etc.
HORSE - This is the basket ball game with a twist. Create teams. Ask a team a question, if they get it right they get a chance to choose a member to make a basket. If they make a basket they're home free, and the next team will have to try and make a basket from that same spot (if they get their question right.) For each basket scored they get a letter from the word HORSE. The first team to get all the letters in the word HORSE is the victor.
A bit of competition can make review games fun, but at this stressful time of year be sure to emphasize the idea that everyone in the class is working together towards the goal of success on tests. We recommend not rewarding "winners" with prizes, but with a round of applause or affirmative shout-outs and find a way to make sure everyone "wins" at some point during the activity. Make the point that victory is in showing how smart you are, and ultimately everyone in the class is going to have the chance to do that when test day comes.
