Spring is in the air… Which means it's time for testing! As a Spanish teacher, testing technically doesn't affect me at all. But with PARCC and MAP testing back to back, testing can feel overwhelming for both students and teachers. Not only are students’ brains a bit friend, but also, I miss classes due to the testing schedule.
Testing, however, does not need to keep you from teaching. In fact, this is a great opportunity to try a new idea you had or to play with the way in which you and your students interact with the curriculum. Here are just a few tips for keeping the learning alive during testing:
1. Turn everyday games into live action. Games are a great way to work with content without students thinking it’s work. Even better, live action games get students moving and expending energy as they think. Whether you want to focus on vocabulary or practice asking and answering questions there’s a game for you.
Human Tic-Tac-Toe: Set up a tic-tac-toe board on the ground and divide the class into two teams (X and O). Students answer a question (or ask a question about a vocabulary word) in order to move into the correct space. You can do this as a class or get multiple games going to get more students involved. Provide each group with a stack of pictures, words, definitions, etc. to work from so they can continue to play after one team wins.
Flyswatter: Everyone loves a chance to hit the target, but the way it’s traditionally played doesn’t keep the whole class involved. Change this game around by printing multiple sets of pictures of your vocabulary list and place the pictures all around the room – on the tables, floor, walls, etc. Divide the class into multiple teams (if you have 3 of each picture, make 5 teams, for example) and give each student a number. Call the number and call a word. Students with the number called find the word around the room. The students that find the pictures get a point for their team. Make sure to set some ground rules, though: walk don’t run, only one student per picture, play in silence, you have to give a sentence for each picture to get a point, etc.
Testing, however, does not need to keep you from teaching. In fact, this is a great opportunity to try a new idea you had or to play with the way in which you and your students interact with the curriculum. Here are just a few tips for keeping the learning alive during testing:
1. Turn everyday games into live action. Games are a great way to work with content without students thinking it’s work. Even better, live action games get students moving and expending energy as they think. Whether you want to focus on vocabulary or practice asking and answering questions there’s a game for you.
Human Tic-Tac-Toe: Set up a tic-tac-toe board on the ground and divide the class into two teams (X and O). Students answer a question (or ask a question about a vocabulary word) in order to move into the correct space. You can do this as a class or get multiple games going to get more students involved. Provide each group with a stack of pictures, words, definitions, etc. to work from so they can continue to play after one team wins.
Flyswatter: Everyone loves a chance to hit the target, but the way it’s traditionally played doesn’t keep the whole class involved. Change this game around by printing multiple sets of pictures of your vocabulary list and place the pictures all around the room – on the tables, floor, walls, etc. Divide the class into multiple teams (if you have 3 of each picture, make 5 teams, for example) and give each student a number. Call the number and call a word. Students with the number called find the word around the room. The students that find the pictures get a point for their team. Make sure to set some ground rules, though: walk don’t run, only one student per picture, play in silence, you have to give a sentence for each picture to get a point, etc.
2. Think Outside the Classroom. A lot of times, testing affects multiple teachers’ schedules. While it can be a pain for everyone, it also gives you the chance to do some shared activities. One great activity is a scavenger hunt. Divide the class into teams and create clues for them to find certain teachers. You can make the clues as easy or as difficult as you want. At each stop, have students ask a question. For example, students ask the librarian her favorite book or the art teacher her favorite artist. If a teacher wants to participate but won’t be around, just leave their picture hanging with the answer. J Once the clues were written, it didn’t take much to organize the clues and get the treasure hunt set up. Want to extend the activity? Have students work in groups to write different clues and create their own treasure hunt around the school.
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3. Involve the students. Testing can be a perfect excuse to let loose and play some games. My students really wanted to play Quizlet Live, but I didn’t have the decks set up for them. I was able to quickly create sets to match word and picture, but I wanted something more. I created a list of as many vocabulary words as I could from the year and previous years in a Google Doc. I shared the Doc and asked students to write a description for as many of the words as they could. We wrote some sentence starters and talked about what kind of things they could write and it was off to the races! I was able to quickly create a deck of over 50 words in one class period to use with them the next day. Not only did they have a blast playing the game, but they did all the work!
4. Make them move. Right after finishing a test, it can be a lot to ask students to sit still for another 30 minutes; especially at the elementary level. To keep it Spanish focused, however, I didn’t want to take them out to the playground to run around. Instead, we moved all the tables to the side and did some kid-friendly workouts in Spanish. You can search YouTube and find some great stuff – just make sure to watch it first of course!
4. Make them move. Right after finishing a test, it can be a lot to ask students to sit still for another 30 minutes; especially at the elementary level. To keep it Spanish focused, however, I didn’t want to take them out to the playground to run around. Instead, we moved all the tables to the side and did some kid-friendly workouts in Spanish. You can search YouTube and find some great stuff – just make sure to watch it first of course!
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