Making Test Prep Fun

The next couple of weeks are full of test prep in reading and math. This can be really boring and tedious, or it can be novel and fun. I am hoping for the latter.

Over the next week or so I will be posting about different ways that I am trying to keep test prep fresh, unique, and meaningful for all of my students as well as myself.

I will start with something simple, but that makes a world of difference. When reviewing I try to use as many different materials as possible. For example, today we used magna-boards. These boards are basically thinner versions of the Magna Doodle that we all played with as kids.

Students are able to work out their solutions as well as report their response all on their boards. This also means that we are paperless, which is always a big bonus in my book.

Making Test Prep Fun With New Materials

The magna-boards are one of my students’ favorites, but I have tried many other materials as well.
Of course there always white boards, but in addition to the “average” materials there are also:

ABCD or True/False cards that students can hold up
Writing in shaving cream on their desk
Using dry erase markers on their desk
Going to a corner of the room to show ABCD
Using a marker or fun pen instead of a pencil
Choosing a place in the room to work instead of at their desk

I know that there have to be a million more ideas and I would love to hear them in the comments! I am always up for trying something new to keep learning exciting!