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