The kids made signs and posted them throughout our school on the week before the tests. On Friday, all students entered our auditorium to tunes like "We Will Rock You" and "Are You Ready for This?" Some very creative teachers made up cheers and led the students in them. Our music teacher and a "rockin" first grade teacher sang songs with the lyrics adapted to encourage test-taking strategies. We also did a little skit featuring a "hard-working" test taker and a "don't care" test taker. It was so nice to see some excitement and laughter replace all that anxiety. Teachers really put forth a lot of effort to make this enjoyable for the kids and they loved it!
That sounds like a fun way to deal with Standardized Tests! I think that was a great way to alleviate some of the test stress! I can imagine when some students start the test, they will think of those motivating cheers and songs!
ReplyDeleteTamra, what lucky students to have teachers who are so passionate about them and their education! I love this idea and wish that more teachers (and schools) would put themselves out there and show students how much we care about them and value their learning. As a student, I would have been excited, too! Wish that you had video of it, sounds like a fun day. It was so smart to build anticipation with all of the signs.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I do have video! But...I fear the wrath of the teachers featured! I've had serious threats to my health...lol. These teachers were going all out. It was so much fun!
ReplyDeleteWe did a similar activity for our first grade students this year before they took the CRCT. It was great! We even had a boxing ring and had the "champion" knock out the "test". The kids absolutely loved it.
ReplyDeleteTracy White