A sponge activity is something that teachers give students to work on as they come in the room or to keep the students busy while the teacher takes care of necessary business, like taking attendance, getting the lunch count, or collecting notes and homework. Sponge activities are also useful during transition periods while the teacher … Continue reading Sponge Activities
A student’s performance on a standardized test is influenced by many things: some obvious, some elusive, some over which educators have control, and others over which they do not. Until someone invents a magic wand, word, or potion that can be waved over, said to, or imbibed by students, educators will have to rely on … Continue reading Standardized Test-Taking Tips & Strategies: Part VII – Year Round Prep & Last Minute Tips
When we teach our students test-taking strategies, we run the risk of inadvertently implying that it is possible to do well on a test by simply strategizing alone. This, of course, is not the case. No test-taking strategy can take the place of simply knowing the material, and it’s important that this be stated explicitly … Continue reading Standardized Test-Taking Tips & Strategies: Part IV – Secrets to Acing Tests
While many of the same strategies that students use to navigate other portions of standardized tests apply to math tests, there are a few additional methods with which they should be familiar. Math, after all, is an animal all its own and routinely requires students to solve a plethora of problems by applying a variety … Continue reading Standardized Test-Taking Tips & Strategies: Part III – Taking Standardized Math Tests