In Texas, 3rd grade takes the STAAR Reading and Math test at the end of April. In the weeks prior to the test, our district has us "bridging" to the STAAR and doing a LOT of practice reading passages. After the first week I was bored out of my mind and I know that my kids were feeling it as well. Unfortunately I really don't know of ways to make this part of the year more enjoyable. Since this is my first year in 3rd grade I am really just trying to survive and do things the "district" way. I'm hoping that next year I will be able to find ways to teach the same skills but using the reading passages as assessment only.
One thing I did find was this unit on TpT that I'm hoping to incorporate in the next couple of weeks:
It does a great job of discussing the "myths" about standardized tests, the strategies they should use, and what to expect on testing day. I think that it will be a nice break for my kiddos and a way for them to show me what they have learned so far.
Hopefully I'll post an update in the next few weeks that is a review of this with some extra ideas!
