Preparing students for the ELA standardized tests is always a stressful time – not just for students but teachers alike.

Preparation is the key and there’s one way to prepare students for the ELA standardized tests also synonymous with Naplan Language Conventions (ACARA). Students are assessed on their competency in spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills at the specific grade/year level.

So, what is that one thing that can easily be capitalized on and will instantly get a majority of students motivated to access the preparation key to being stress free – it’s technology and it has taken the world by storm presently.

By technology, I’m referring to the various digital devices that are being used by students all over the world and within the realm of Google Classroom and similar safe online learning platforms.

Combine this use of technology with some facts on a fun celebration and you’ve got interdisciplinary learning strands of the curriculum culminating – namely social studies/history/humanities and Language Arts.

Let’s take for example, the fun celebration of April Fools’ Day – a perfect celebration to not just have students laughing at all the ridiculous facts, but also subtly preparing them for testing.

So, how does that work?

Well, for one thing students will first read a fun fact on April Fools’ Day by accessing their Google Drive in Google Forms (that’s the technology part).

Next, they will read and analyze the fact card not just for the fun fact but also for the language used to express that fact (that’s the testing part).

Interestingly, the question subtly employs the language used in the fun fact to target skills related to

spelling,

vocabulary,

grammar,

and punctuation.

Everything is not so straight forward too – as fact cards feature deliberate errors that students have to spot.

This kind of preparation has a dual benefit. Other than benefitting the student, it benefits the teacher as well.

How so?

By alleviating the need for – marking!

Once students submit the fun-facts celebration quiz targeting essential ELA skills, they get instant feedback in terms of an instant score and breakdown of errors.

The teacher too gets a summary report of all student responses, individual questions and an individual student’s response.

How innovative is that?

Data at the tip of your fingertips to dictate further teaching and learning.

State testing for the year 2020 is cancelled or maybe cancelled at your school due to yet another adverse repercussion of the pandemic – but you know what – all bad things (and good for that matter) come to an end and it won’t be long when life is back to normal and testing is back. But our students don’t have to worry for we have subtly prepared them to be resilient in the most light-hearted of ways.