We teachers love to say we don’t “do” test prep. We say it proudly, like we’re saying, “I don’t smoke cigarettes, and I never have.” When we say it, other teachers proudly concur. No one dares to admit, “Oh, I do a lot of test prep. It’s test prep all the time in my class. It’s Test Prep City, Baby.”
That teacher would be tarred and feathered, and the photos would live forever on Facebook’s Teacher Hall of Shame page for all of eternity.
Well, I do test prep, and it is fun. Fun test prep is not an oxymoron.
Say what?! Let me explain. Of course, test results are cumulative, and every single lesson contributes to student learning. Test prep brings to mind boring workbook drills and mock tests. I DON’T do that kind of test prep.
I’ve taught test prep sessions for many years, and it never fails to amaze me how the students who attend the sessions are the kids who don’t freak out on testing day. They know that they have every trick up our sleeves available to them, and this knowledge gives them confidence.
Due to budget cuts, this year my district decided not to offer the test prep sessions. I had to come up with a fun, interactive way to teach students how to be successful. My Don’t Flip! Test Tip Flip Book was born out of necessity and was nurtured out of love. Here it is…..Ta Da!
I am so proud of this! Ron Leishman graphics are a perfect addition, allowing me to keep the tone informal and humorous enough to keep students’ attention. I even included a blackline version for easy and inexpensive printing.
If we don’t teach students how to successfully take a test, we are failing them. We have to teach test prep as a genre. Students have to learn to identify the power words in a question. They have to learn how to approach a test, how to answer multiple choice questions, short response questions, and extended response questions. They have to learn to work efficiently and budget their time. They also have to learn how to make their brain work at full capacity. Most importantly perhaps, they have to learn how to relax. And the secret behind that is to give them some powerful “test tips” to give them confidence.
We have winter break this week, but I can’t wait to get back and create these flip books. Did I really just say I want this vacation to end? Maybe I do deserve to be tarred and feathered.
BTW. Don’t go looking for the Facebook Teacher Hall of Shame page, because I made it up. And if it does exist, all I can say is please don’t tell me if you see me there.
