STAAR Testing

Ok, it has been extremely long since my last post. BUT! It has been STAAR TESTING! Finally DONE!  I will say my kiddos worked their BOOTAY'S off! I hope the scores come back this school year!

Those testing days sure are stressful and LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG! But I wanted to share what I did for my students to pump them up!

Day 1 of Testing - Math
We had parents write a letter and send it back sealed. We left this note on their desk the first morning for them to read before they began testing.  The kids seemed proud that their parents words were with them.

I also  had little goodie bags waiting for them when they arrived the first morning. I used small white paper bags I found at Hobby Lobby and just a few necessities. 2 Pencils - the green one was what the school got for them and it had a motivational message about STAAR. The other pencil is just a little flag of my mustache duck tape! My kids are obsessed with duck tape this year... or should I say I am obsessed?? :) I also bought neon colored erasers from the dollar store. For some reason, this neon pink one doesn't look sooooo neon... oh well. We usually pass out snacks during the test, however I stuck this little jolly rancher inside.

Now, I also stuck a cute note explaining these items. You can get that here.

 

I also created my own note on strategies to remember.

 

You can get that here. 

 

Day 2 of Testing - READING

I had the kiddos put their supplies back in their goodie bag so I could sharpen pencils and replenish candy.

I also had them keep their parent letter on their desk so they could read them again.

At the last minute before the kids arrived I was panicked about how to pump them up for the reading part. I grabbed my green GLITTER, put it in a little cup and as they walked in the door, I tossed some GLITTER over their head and sang MAGIC BRAIN POWER! My kiddos probably thought I was nuts, but I wanted them to come in a little excited! I knew how tired they were from the day before.

That's all folks! :)
Coming this week - 30 Days Left! Activities - How to keep your kids motivated to have good behavior after the state testing is done!