Testing Freebies & Five For Friday!

This Five for Friday is all about "The Test!"

 

Thank you Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching!

 

Next week, our sweet first and second graders will be taking the state assessment. I'm so, so excited to get this test underway so we can get back to the business of 100% focus on learning!

 

In preparation for the test, we celebrated "Spirit Week!" We are an uniform school, so this week was extra special & our students didn't disappoint! My favorite theme was "Exercise Your Brain" day...I didn't realize I could be working out in ruffles, glitter, and sequins! Here's one of my fave pics from the week:

 



We used every spare moment to prepare for the test. One of the challenges for my students is reading through every option before selecting an answer. In example, reading through the word. We used our dictation cards and played "Secret Answer." My students had to flash 1, 2, or 3 fingers "secretly" to indicate their answer:

 

 

Thank goodness our Power Hour reading intervention block has continued before, during, and after testing. I'm in my second week with my new group. This week I brought out the decoding strategy friends:

 

 

I'm putting the finishing touches on my decoding strategy friends packet & will share more soon! My students are LOVING it & are so sad when Power Hour is over! Not too shabby for April and spring fever season :)

 

 

I will have to keep an eye on Eagle Eye though. Somehow he had managed to find time to get married to the butterfly one of my students made in art. Fast mover!

 

This past week, we celebrated Author Study Night with a spotlight on Kevin Henkes. I want to give a huge shout-out to one of my FAVORITE resources:

 

 

I'm sure you already know about this amazing site! They have also joined TPT to share even more gems. I used many ideas from their Kevin Henkes packet and they generously offer a free PowerPoint highighting his biography.

 

I wanted to share some of the resources I'll be using to support my small groups during the state assessment. I will be proctoring the test 2-3 times per day and pull out all the stops to make it as positive and developmentally appropriate as possible!

 

Our first grade team is throwing a pizza party the week after the test to celebrate students meeting expectations. Here's the chart we're using:

 

 

I've put together a freebie packet with the materials I'm using (including a blank template!). Here's a sneak peek of the packet:

 

Adorable graphics from Melonheadz Illustrating

 

The packet includes a materials checklist because once I'm in the room, I know I won't be able to leave to grab any forgotten items. Here's what I have on the list:

 

Please let me know if I forgot anything!

This is the official list...the unofficial list includes the following:

 

Teddy Grahams

Goldfish crackers

Smarties candies

COFFEE!

 

I'd love to hear how your school prepares for standarized testing.

Have a fantastic weekend!