Saturday, April 13, 2013

Testing time is here again!

It's hard to believe it's already time for the CRCT! I can honestly say this is my least favorite time of year. We have to deal with the stress of testing, rumors of changes for next year, and it seems as though we're all in fast-forwards mode. Do you ever feel that way?

On Friday, our school held a CRCT Pep Rally! It was a huge success! The kids are truly pumped about testing. Teachers dressed as cheerleaders led the students in chants and cheers. A few of the cheerleaders totally amazed the crowd when they performed cartwheels! Others performed skits of testing dos and dont's. Our local high school's pep band came to provide music for the event. Third through fifth graders had learned the song, Test Me by Teresa Jennings and John Riggio. It's an awesome song! Look it up if you get the chance. We divided up by grade level and had students write a pledge/promise to do their best on construction paper links. The links were combined into a chain and are on display on the grade level halls. It was great fun!

My teammates and I created treats for each day of testing. I'm note sure where we saw the original idea, but we made a few modifications to suit our needs. Here's a peek!

Monday's Reading Treat - Smarties
Tuesday's English Language Arts Treat - Fruit Roll Ups
Wednesday's Math Treat - Rice Krispy Treat
Thursday's Science Treat - Starburst
Friday's Social Studies Treat - Oreos

Feel free to email me, if you'd like the pdfs for the testing treats!
elisarichardson@walkerschools.org

What do you do to help motivate your students for testing?