Test Anxiety

My poor kiddos were full of anxiety today.  Tomorrow starts day 1 of THE BIG TEST.  They're ready for it, I'm ready for it, so what to do with a room full of nerves?

Spend time focusing on the fact that they DO know what to do.

I had them buddy read and complete a practice passage.  (I think they would have killed me if I made them do one more "for real.")  While answering the questions, they had to discuss the strategies they used.

After completing the passage, they worked on this at their desks:


It was a good way to spend a chunk of our day.  It distracted my little balls of nerves and helped them focus on the test taking strategies that {unfortunately} my little 8 and 9 year olds have to be so savvy about.

Here are some wise words to live by during this high stakes testing time:
                                                                         Source: behance.net via Damaris on Pinterest


Hope all my Texas friends have an event free STAAR day tomorrow!