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Did you know that the editing questions are part of the writing claim of the Smarter Balanced Assessment? I have had students fail the performance task, but pass the writing portion because they did so well on the editing questions.

I teach grammar and conventions like most of you. I teach it through anchor charts, skills practice, and application. I use best practices and awesome resources that I have found on the internet, however, I could not find what I needed that was fully aligned to the SBA. So, I created questions that are aligned to the item specs that my students will see on their state test. After teaching each skill, I use these packets in many ways. I can use the task cards to play games or team challenges. I have used them as quick group or partner formative checks. I have written 4th Grade questions and 5th grade questions. I am working on 3rd Grade. One thing to remember is that even if you teach to the 5th grade language and conventions standards, your students can and will be assessed on the previous grade’s standards as well. I have used the 4th grade packets to review the previous years standards as well.

Grab these resources in my store! I hope they help your students apply their knowledge of the language and convention standards to test like questions.

Let me begin with… I truly believe that kids need to be kids! Kids should see learning as fun & something they want to do. I believe this wholeheartedly, however, our job as teachers is to prepare our students for their next learning experience. Their next learning experience could be…

• The next grade
• A sport
• Engaging in conversation with someone
• A job/career
• The BIG state test

I believe this even more now that my oldest daughter has begun preschool. Look how much intensity she is putting into her work! She is focused. She is doing her best. She is enjoying proving what she has learned. Would you consider this teaching to the test? Probably not, but guess what? Knowing how to say the letter, say the sound, and write the letter is a Kindergarten standard. So yes, her teacher is ‘teaching to the test.’

Answer the following questions truthfully…

1. Do you teach in the United States?
2. Do your students take any tests in your class?
3. Do your students take a state assessment?
4. Does your state have standards or learning progressions?
5. Do you teach them? Do you know about them?

I can answer YES to all the questions above, which means I should be teaching to the test. This phrase has had such a negative connotation connected to it, but I want to change your mindset about it.

You may be picturing this: Students sitting at their desks. Students doing worksheets with pencils. Students completing tasks solely for the purpose of answering test questions.

Now picture this: Students learning a skills or standard. For example, the 5th grade standard is to fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm. This is a procedural standard, however, it doesn’t have to look like the description above. So how would I teach it?

As the teacher I need to be aware of:

1. What students learned in the previous year
2. What students will be applying this standard to in the following year
3. How students will be assessed

Knowing all this, I would do the following.

• Review the previous version of the standard
• Provide students with enough time to discuss their procedures
• Use color coding strategies
• Anchor charts and/or notebooking

Now comes the test prep part… ANY TIME my students see a problem in class it is written the way the test looks. EXACTLY… the same font, size, item specifications, verbiage…etc. You name it, I follow it. Why? Because it’s what’s best for kids. Is it fair to only teach the skill in isolation? How well do your students transfer that to the assessments? In years past, my kids struggled. Once I began creating resources for my own classroom aligned to the test, my students began acing tests and their data grew immensely. Now let’s go back to the picture of what you probably think my classroom looks… kids at desks, doing worksheets. NOPE! Exposure is key!

I create these resources and use them with different activities. Of course I use them for my classroom based assessments, but other resources I use as teaching tools. I display them on the projector, clip them into game cards, or link them on technology extensions. For example:

• Students will do problems on whiteboards with partners
• Students will do problems on technology like Edcite or Google Classroom
• In games like: 4 Corners, Connect 4, Mastery Mountain, Defend your Answer, Simple board games…etc.
• Students will be discussing what the question is asking them to do, how to do the problem, and why it works.

Teaching and reviewing standards are always more fun with engaging games. When teaching such procedural standards like multiplication or division algorithms, it was hard to get to every student. However, with Mastery Mountain, you get to see each child’s work. Sign up below to receive this free resource!

Have I convinced you yet? If not, check out my resources in my store that may help you more fully understand the extent to which I create my materials. Expose your kids to test like questions and you will see a huge jump in their transfer of skills! I wish you well! HAPPY Teaching!