Title One Newsletter
March 2018
Bullseye
Spring is finally upon us! It’s the season of flowers popping up, birds chirping, and...test taking. While 3-6th grade have already had one round of ISTEP, there is still another quickly approaching. Also, students will be taking their last round of NWEA testing later in the year. Along with these state and district-wide tests, students will continue to take tests in their classrooms for the remainder of the year. This month’s Title I newsletter topic is test-taking strategies and ways to manage stress that comes along with tests.
While nobody really likes taking tests, there are ways to make tests less stressful. The first of these tips is to know how to attack multiple choice questions. The upcoming ISTEP test is full of multiple choice questions and several classroom tests are also this format. Learning how to narrow choices down is a huge advantage to students when they are answering these types of questions. In a recent Smekens-based workshop, MRE teachers learned about a strategy called the Bullseye Answer, which helps students select the BEST option for the answer. Here is how Bullseye Answers work.
Students have a picture of a colorful bulls-eye, like the one pictured below. Students can think about the answer choices and place them in the appropriate ring to help them narrow down the choices. If the answer given has NOTHING to do with the question, it is a black ring answer. If it is a true statement from the text but doesn’t really relate to the question, it is a blue ring answer. If the option is true and might answer the question, the option is a red ring answer. Finally, when the student has figured out the BEST option for the question, they can put that answer in the yellow ring, showing that it is the final answer. Students can physically have a picture of the bulls-eye and sticky notes, visualize the bulls eye, or draw it them self. This strategy helps students figure out the BEST answer when options are very similar. It makes them think deeper about the answers to find the correct one.
Test Taking Strategies
This article gives multiple strategies for taking different kinds of tests. You could go through each method with your child and see which one(s) would work best for him/her. https://goo.gl/gLHo6w
Working It Out
Along with being prepared for tests, students need to make sure they are not filled with anxiety and stress before they take them. There are, once again, hundreds of ways to manage stress for children. The following picture shows some great strategies that are extremely simple and don’t take a lot of time but are very effective in relieving stress.
Exercising is a great way for students to manage stress. It lets them exert their energy and focus on something else other than their test. Playing outside and sports are a great way to get physical, however, there are other ways that help students focus and relieve stress too. Yoga has recently become very popular to use with students. There are many YouTube videos that are quick, simple, and entertaining for children to learn the practice of yoga. Here are a few links to kid-centered yoga videos. https://goo.gl/qkPTHd and https://goo.gl/SJEPbW. Sometimes just getting up and moving will help students be able to relax before taking a test or even studying for a test. This channel on YouTube has great “brain break” videos which help get the nervous energy out! https://goo.gl/7FqxcG
I hope these strategies are helpful for all ages of kiddos as we enter the last stretch of the year which is unfortunately full of testing.