Just before Spring Break we got the results of our most recent District Benchmark and although I was proud of how my class scored on their exams, I spent my Spring Break examining the standards that my class struggled with the most. Across the grade level (and EVERY YEAR) our kiddos have a hard time with the Writing Application and Writing Strategies questions. These are the questions where they give you a passage and the students are asked to do things like rearrange, add and delete sentences as well as examine verb choice, multiple meaning words, roots, and sentence combining. I think that the reason why these standards are so difficult for the students to master is because they have to act as the “teacher” and edit a passage that they did not write. It doesn’t matter how many different ways I have taught writing, presented these different standards in collaborative and fun ways… when it comes to these standards presented in a “high stakes testing” format, the students struggle. That being said…. I have created six different activities to help prepare and review my class for these types of questions that are coming up on their state test in 3 weeks… ((eek!)))
Say hello to my little friend,
Writing Test Prep for Editing and Revising
I wrote out various passages ranging from a how to composition to expository social studies and science ones. I paired the passage with various Writing Applications and Writing Strategies questions that focus on these skills:
Each passage has 6-10 questions as well as an answer key. See below for a couple examples:
These can be done in class or assigned as homework. I am going to be doing these in class and then diving into the skills more with additional worksheets and games that review the concepts tested. I am looking forward to using these over the next couple of weeks because I have searched high and low for worksheets that review these commonly missed standards and have come up empty handed. Plus, chunking them in this way, on separate worksheets, the students will not get overwhelmed!
I hope that these will help some of you out there too! I will be emailing the first 5 people who leave a comment stating:
1) Your email
2) How you plan on using these in your class
3) What standard(s) you are reviewing the most for the up and coming state test!
Happy test prep to you all! I can’t wait until these tests are OVER!!!!!
I am linking up with other amazing teachers who have fabulous ideas for prepping for that dang test!
annachiang222@yahoo.com
I would use these during test prep period. Students work independently then discuss in small groups. We also work on test taking strategies while reviewing the answers. My students have the hardest time with Writing Strategies and Applications too!
Anna
luckeyfrogslilypad @ gmail.com
We've actually had 2 sections of state testing already, but there's more to come this month. I would use these in the week before the test to work through as a class and go over together.
I'm spending extra time on determining the operation, working with tables, and everything grammar! I think these would be so great for the way things are worded in tests- not always so intuitive, so very helpful to practice beforehand! Thanks!
Jenny
Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
These are great! I'm so glad I get a chance to grab a copy 🙂 We have testing in 3 weeks and I am already losing sleep over it.. ugh! We are working hard on testing strategies and writing applications. My students struggle the most with identifying details and putting them into their own words in their answers! I would add this to our work on writing center for extra test prep!!
mrscap6@gmail.com
Amelia
wherethewildthingslearn
Hi,
These look excellent and I would be honored to have a copy. I could see myself using one a day during our reading/writing block as a test prep tool.
I am currently working very hard on writing with my students and encouraging them to spend the time to revise and edit. Our state test has 2 full days of writing including one fantasy prompt and one essay prompt.
Thanks for creating this!
mswilliamseagles@gmail.com
Just stopping by as I'm always inspired by your cute creations! I would be honored if you would assist me in my upcoming giveaway. I'm planning to celebrate my birthday month and gaining 200 blog followers! If you're able to contribute, please shoot me an email at rivas423@gmail.com with a snapshot of your product and/or your blog button so I can send them over to visit your page as well! Anything end-of-the-year, May-themed, or just stinkin' cute would be great!
🙂
Antonia @ forkin4th
These are so cute! Too bad I'm #6! But I would love this. Probably going to have to get this for test prep in May. (UGH)
Your stuff is so cute!
This looks really great! Do you have it on TPT?
Hi Layla! I wrote a post about shared writing journals and gave you a shout out:) I love the covers I purchased from you last summer. Your pack above looks amazing too!! Thank you sharing your talents:)
~Holly
Fourth Grade Flipper
While vocabulary can be one of the easiest sections for which you can ensure success in standardized tests, it’s also usually one of the most intimidating for my test prep students in Dhaka City.