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Students will understand and apply the concept of 'test' by the end of the lesson.

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What is a 'test' and why is it important?

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Introduce the concept of 'test' with simple examples and explanations.

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Testing and Trials: Crash Course Kids #44.2

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Discuss the concept of 'test' in small groups and formulate your own examples.

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While test prep games are secretly one of my favorite things, I ultimately hope test prep is an obsolete term soon. But until then, let's make lemonade. Out of lemons, that is. In this case, testing is the lemons. Leaving a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Which brings us to test prep games, the sweet, delicious lemonade.

But I digress. While testing remains mandatory in a large number of schools, it's our job (unfortunately) to prepare our students for it. In my most recent teaching years, it was my mission to make this undesirable part of the year as tolerable as possible-and dare I say, even fun?

This concept is easy, low prep, and fun. We coined this the "review ring" and it was a staple from Spring Break on.

If you are one of the fortunate souls who don't have to test and therefore prep, then consider all of these game suggestions for end-of-year review, just for fun, back-to-school review games, etc.). There is so much fun to be had no matter the circumstances!

Now, of course, we have the inevitable elephant in the testing room. Worksheets and review packets reign supreme in many classrooms (unfortunately) and I'll throw these paper hogs a bone-there is a time and place for these printable items.

However.

We are in unprecedented times and in our current educational landscape, we need to make sure our students and classrooms are as fulfilled as possible. I'm a huge proponent of play in any form, but there's something about a good old-fashioned team vs. team game, group games, and movement games that can light any classroom up with excitement.

Here are a few of my favorites. Click the link at the end of the post to make your own review ring.

1. Around the World

If you're thinking this is the old classic where one student travels from one student to the next, you are correct. As an overachiever/teacher's pet, this game was right up my alley. But as a teacher who has calmed down quite a bit over the years, please remember your more reserved students and determine if this game is right for everyone. A happy medium I prefer is to use components of Knockout (#4 below) during Around the World to ensure a fair playing field.

2. 4 Corners

Gosh, I love this game. It's simple. Assign each corner or 4 areas of your room a topic, number, etc. For example, if you are reviewing fractions in 1st grade, you might consider labeling each corner 1/3, 1/4, 1/2, 1/5. Make sure you (the facilitator) have large cards labeled with the same numbers. Students begin playing by choosing a corner-quickly and safely. Once all students have chosen, the facilitator removes 1 card from the bag or pile. Whoever is standing in the corner matching the number on the card is out and must return to their seats. Play continues until 1 player is left standing.

3. One Word Game

This game is best played with ELA topics since it is more of a description-based game. One student sits on the hot seat, a chair with its back to the board. Above and behind the student, a word is written on the board. For the sake of this example, let's say you are reviewing U.S. presidents with upper elementary students. George Washington is written on the board. The class (sitting on the floor facing the hot seat student) gives the person one-word clues such as "first" and "Martha." Play continues until the student guesses and a new hot seat student is chosen.

Alternative: Play with 2 hot seat students and their respective teams! Teams take turns giving clues to their player.

4. Knockout

This is my JAM and if you want to skip straight to allllll the details and good stuff, you can read this article about how to play Knockout. But in a nutshell: 2 times line up facing the board and the slides are divided into 2 sides. The first player in each line faces off; the first one to call out the correct answer is the winner and returns to the end of their line to stay in the game. The ousted player heads to their sidelines to cheer on their teammates.

But all hope is not lost-special slides like "Free Pass" or "Pick a Pal" could ensure you have more good luck than bad. Play continues until one team is left without players.

5. Secret Skill

This one isn't so much a game as it is a concept. Essentially you create a mini-challenge in the midst of a regular assignment. For example, you know your students could benefit to brush up on their use of capital letters at the beginning of a sentence. During the writing workshop, you announce that you are watching for a "secret skill" in the students' writing. At the end of the workshop, students who did follow the rules for the secret skill get a special sticker, high five, etc. The alternative is selecting a skill using the randomizer below and then checking to see which students followed it.

You can always bookmark this page but you can also download your own copy of this video and a set of stickers that match each skill here (don't worry, it's free):

6. Stinky Feet

This one is a game I picked up from Teaching in the Fast Lane. You draw a large foot on the board with sticky notes surrounding it. On the back of each sticky note, it will say something like "+5" or "-5." Student teams will be asked a review question then when their answer is submitted, they pick a sticky note from the board. The number determines what adjustments are made to their team score. The game continues until a winning team is crowned or time runs out.

Runners Up:

Escape Room - I've never personally done one with students but there are a ton of cool ones to choose from on TpT. Here's a link to all the free ones!

Jigsaw activity - This is a rather old-school method but effective if you are looking for more explicit review of content. Students are put in groups to review a certain topic (for example, habitats). They create a chart or a way to share back to the class what they reviewed about habitats in a 'turnaround teaching' style.

Like what you see? Click here to download cards for your own review ring.

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Test Prep Games That Won't *Actually* Feel Like Test Prep - Erin Waters EDU

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Test prep games are the tried and trued method I've used for any sort of review in my classroom over the years. Here are 10 test prep games you can use today.

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Complete a worksheet to practice identifying and applying the concept of 'test'.

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Do you like learning about new things in English? We have lots of activity sheets about many different topics. Download and print the worksheets to do puzzles, quizzes and lots of other fun activities in English.

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Create a mini-project illustrating the concept of 'test' using drawings or written descriptions.

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Engage in group discussions and observations to assess understanding of 'test'.

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27 Easy Formative Assessment Strategies for Gathering Evidence of Student Learning

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All 27 of these formative assessment strategies are simple to administer and free or inexpensive to use. They provide the teacher with the evidence of student learning needed to make lesson plan adjustments and keep learning on target and moving forward.

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Take a short quiz to evaluate comprehension of the 'test' concept.

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65 Top "Quiz Template" Teaching Resources curated for you

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Fedezz fel nyomtatható és interaktív oktatási segédanyagokat gyerekeknek! Szuper feladatok, PowerPointok, játékok, készségfejlesztők és megannyi ötlet vár rád az oldalon.

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Reflect as a group: Discuss one new thing you learned about 'test'.

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Self-reflection is a tool that kids and adults can benefit from. Reflecting on one's actions and behaviors is a great way to grow as an individual and to meet personal goals. Think about a time you've set a personal goal. Maybe you wanted to start exercising and lose a few pounds. By self-reflecting on a day's events, you can determine what worked in meeting your goal and what didn't work. You can intentionally put a finger on the parts of your day that helped you meet your goal of going to the gym and what stood in the way of eating healthy meals. Self-reflection is essential for goal-setting! Most of these occupational therapy activities are free or inexpensive ways to address self-reflection in kids.

These self-reflection activities can be a vehicle for helping kids to address areas of functioning in several areas. Improving self-reflection can help kids with self-regulation, knowing what coping strategies to pull out of their toolbox, how to act with impulse control, how to better pay attention, how to improve executive functioning skills, and how to function more easily.

Additionally, self-reflection pays a part in mindfulness. If we are practicing attentiveness in the moment and attending to internal and external experiences, we can self-reflect on what worked, what didn't work, and how to make things work better next time.

Self-reflection can be so helpful in social-emotional skills, academic learning, functional task completion, organization, and well-being!

Self-Reflection Activities for Kids

One of the first steps in raising self-reflection to to help kids be more self-aware. They can use tools to improve mindfulness to notice how they feel, how the react, or how they behave. Most kids will struggle with this ability in the moment (It's tough for adults, too!) but they can identify what worked and what didn't work in a particular situation through conversation.

Using self-control strategies like the Zones of Regulation can be helpful in talking about feelings and self-awareness.

Explore along with the child. When a child is playing or exploring their environment, it can be helpful to play right along with them. Use play experiences to communicate through play.

Use play experiences to mirror actions. When a child is playing, play right along with them! Mimic their actions and words to be more aware as a caregiver of the details of a child's interactions and to bring awareness for the child. Use this tactic only when the child is in a positive mood. Mirrored actions should not be completed when a child is behaving poorly or to bring attention to behaviors.

Reflect on the day as a family. Plan a family meeting and talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the day. It's a good way to talk about ways to work on areas of need.

Create a Choice Collection. Come up with options that include coping strategies or tools to use in different environments. These could be part of a sensory diet or self-regulation strategies.

Use a journal to self-reflect through words or drawings.

Act out situations and how the situation played out. Consider adding dolls or toys for characters in the situations.

Model appropriate behaviors and self-reflection through conversation.

When saying "calm down" just isn't enough...

When a child is easily "triggered" and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement...

When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies...

When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown...

When you're struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow...

What self-reflection strategies do you use?

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Self-Reflection Activities for Kids - The OT Toolbox

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Self-reflection is a tool that kids and adults can benefit from. Reflecting on one's actions and behaviors is a great way to grow as an individual and to meet personal goals. Think about a time you've set a personal goal. Maybe you wanted to start exercising and lose a few pounds.

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Write one sentence about what 'test' means to you and share it.

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Free printable exit ticket templates you can customize | Canva

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Get your students’ thoughts about the day’s lesson using free, editable exit ticket templates that can be customized online.

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Complete additional exercises about 'test'.

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Design a collage or write about your experience understanding 'test'.