Throwback Thursday...on Friday...Ha!

Wow!! This is such a busy time of year!!! I have been getting my classroom together, buying school supplies {for both my classroom and the little sweeties}, and not sleeping very much!! There are so many things to think about this time of year!! I just keeping making "To-Do" lists left and right....unfortunately, posting for Throwback Thursday did not make the list, so this is my Friday edition of Throwback Thursday.  :)  Make sure to pop on over to Cara's blog, The First Grade Parade, to join in all of the fun!! :)



                                           

This Throwback post is from March of 2012.  It is a sneak peek at some of the fun things that we do
to prepare the kiddos for the standardized tests we take in the spring.  I love my awesome team! These ladies come up with the best ideas!! Do you do anything fun to prepare for "Testing Season"?  I would love to hear any of your ideas!! Have a great weekend!! :)


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This year, our class has worked so hard and we have learned SO MUCH!!  I am very proud of each and every student in my class this year.  We have had lots of fun learning together and during the month of March we will get to prove our learning by showing what we know on the ISTEP test! Of course, we decided to throw in a little bit of fun to go with our serious preparation..... :)


Right before the big day, we had "Rock Star Day" !! Of my goodness!! Was it a hit!  The students {and teachers} got to dress as Rock Stars for the day.  It was so fun! The students wrote poems about a topic that we had learned this year, and then performed the poems at our Rock Star Concert.  Of course, Pop Rocks were served at this event.  :)  It was a really fun way to get everyone pumped up and excited to "Show What They Know"!  :)  Here are some pictures:

My awesome third grade team....I was probably a little too excited about busting out my hair extensions from my wedding!! Ha! :)


And here are the awesome third grade "Rock Stars"!!!!
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The kids had so much fun, and I think it really helped ease some test taking jitters!! Below is a fun activity for preparing for the written portion of the standardized test!! :)

This little lady, whose real identity will remain anonymous, is who our class deemed as "Mrs. ISTEP", the lady who grades the ISTEP test. We thought this is how she might look like before she had the chance to read about all of OUR AWESOME ISTEP answers.  We printed her picture and the students have been brainstorming ways that we can "charm"  Mrs. ISTEP and make her our new friend.  

We created this chart together.  For number four, we have talked a lot about using  SMART answers.  We have an awesome Reading Coach who came into our room and taught us the following about using SMART answers:

1.  ALWAYS WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES
2. BEGIN BY RESTATING THE QUESTION.
3.  STAY ON TOPIC- CLEARLY ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU WERE ASKED
4. IF ASKED TO GIVE A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OR DETAIL- ALWAYS TRY TO GIVE AT LEAST TWO.


 We have been practicing this all year.  The students are doing a great job!  

This was a fun adjective activity.  First, we thought of adjectives that described Mrs. ISTEP BEFORE she read our ISTEP test, and then words that described her AFTER she had read our test.  We also drew before and after pictures.  :)

BEFORE picture 

AFTER picture