While preparing for work on my masters degree in Leadership Development, I knew I’d need support to pass the GRE.
I’d been in education for over a decade and I felt a little hesitant about taking an important entrance exam for the masters program I’d chosen. (I understand most people nowadays aren’t required to take exams to enter a masters program.)
I had no idea what the GRE would look like so I chose a test prep tool that I diligently worked through. It helped because I easily passed the GRE.
All these years later, I often hear educators talk disparagingly about any type of test prep for elementary, middle or secondary students. I’m a little dismayed to hear the negative remarks.
Kids and adults alike benefit from getting an opportunity to see the structure, question types and format of any standardized assessment they’re required to take.
There are ways to expose students to testing format in supportive, engaging ways. That’s what I’d like to do here in this blog post.Third grade students in our state will have to revise and edit short text selections for the first time this year. I’d like to share a sample of a resource I’m providing here on this blog.
With these short text sets (full resource coming soon to this site), teachers can model using an entire text as they are only a few sentences long. These practice sets can also be used in whole class or small group practice with a game called Stock Market.
Kids gather in groups of four. Teacher explains how students work together to find ways to revise or edit based on the type of question. Students read the short text selection first to themselves and work together to find the correct answer.
Once each group completes the questions for the selection, the game begins. The teacher has a powerpoint that will show students correct answers for the questions. The Stock Market game instructions are provided in the picture below. (Left hand side provides instruction. Right hand side is a sheet each group receives.)
Once all students have answered the questions together after discussing as a group, it’s time to gather so the teacher can reveal correct answers for the practice text. As a part of this resource, a powerpoint with correct answers will be included.
The advantage of working in groups and playing the Stock Market game is that students simultaneously get support and practice as they work together to look for needed revisions and edits in the short selection. We know that students often need lots of practice before they are able to revise and edit on their own.
The Stock Market game is an engaging way for students to work together and learn while having fun. I’ve played this game with kids in the classroom AND adults in professional learning sessions. It’s always a hit!
What I’ve provided here in this blog post is a short sample of a much larger practice set. In a subsequent post here on this site, you’ll have an opportunity to access the full set for multiple grade levels.
Download the sample revising and editing pages included above at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mwq9sbATMsNVsrta58e8dWL4kvchY9lz/view?usp=sharing
