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.
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!
Hi Alyssa, thank you so much for sharing your ideas, I have adored reading through your posts on test prep one after another! Have you looked at any of the videos on the whole brain teaching site where it incorporates gestures as well as strategies to teach others? The mirror technique as well as teach ok would be ideal in rest prep I believe. Besides this, there is a wonderful game called steal, busy and swap which has always been a hit in all of my classes ( I have one of those hanging shoe organizers to keep the cards). Here is a link to the site with instructions http://www.english-4kids.com/gamestealbustswap.html
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