More Test Prep

So many teachers have been talking about using Prepdog as a review tool that I had to go check it out.

This FREE website is for 2nd through 10th grades, and has practice tests, tutorials, and lessons for math, reading, grammar/language, and science.

An activity I personally use for social studies:  Word Whomp

1. Cut/laminate all the letters of the alphabet and put them in the bag. 
2. You or a student randomly chooses a letter from the bag.
3. Start a timer for 1-3 minutes (depending on how challenging you want it to be).
4. Students write as many words as they can think of that start with that letter that relate to a particular subject.  For example, if the letter drawn is "J," students might write Jamestown, John Smith, James River, Jim Crow Laws, Judicial Branch for social studies.  **Differentiations: Students work in pairs/small group
5. 
   Compile a Word Wall list of all the found words.
6. The student with the most words gets to choose the next letter from the bag.

Extensions: 

1. Create a timeline for all the words.  For example, John Smith comes before Jamestown.  Some words will be tougher to pinpoint the exact date, so this is a great opportunity to challenge students to justify their answers.