It’s coming! It’s coming! Or for most of you it is already here. Every year around this time schools are focused on giving their students a myriad of tests. Whether it is the Student Learning Objectives test or the Georgia Milestones Assessment System, teachers are not only trying to help prepare students to excel on their tests but also figuring out how to keep their students engaged for prolonged periods of time in the classroom. Well, my fellow educators, don’t fret, the following activities can help you keep your students engaged as well as place the bulk of the work on them. All it requires is a little bit of planning and guidance from you.

A New Teacher in Town
This is an easy way to help review material and have students teach one another. Students should be placed in groups of no more than five and given a specific topic over a unit that has already been taught. Students are then given a checklist of concepts they must teach their fellow classmates and then told to create a lesson that they will present to help review the material. Encourage your students to be as creative as they would like. They can incorporate skits, songs, props or any other creative concept that can aid them in teaching their peers. Now it is time for them to present. Not only will they learn by creating, they will have a new found appreciation for your job as a teacher!

Games Galore
Students can also create review games over units that have been taught. Make sure you provide the students with topics and enough instructions to make the games productive. For example, explaining to students that all games require full class participation and that they have to ask at least ten questions, are two important directives to provide. Time restrictions and suggestions on what games may not work in a class environment can also help make them more effective. You will be surprised at how creative your students become when given the freedom to create their own games.

Gallery Walk
Find 5-8 pictures or quotes that depict certain concepts students have already been taught, number them and place them around the room. Then, give students a comment sheet with numbers that correspond to each quote or picture. Place students in groups of 4-5 and have them walk around the room looking at the pictures and placing comments on their comment sheets. Once all groups have completed the walk, have them sit down with their groups and discuss their comments from each picture or quote and what it meant to them. After you have given the students time to discuss their work, facilitate a whole group discussion about the pictures, their actual meanings and the students’ interpretations of the work.

I hope these activities help you brave the prolonged hours of teaching in the classroom during this grueling time of test taking. If all else fails, remember, summer is right around the corner!