Thursday, March 8, 2012

How children occupy themselves during state testing

My poor students have 12 standardized tests to complete in a 2 week period. 12!  As if the sheer number of tests weren't enough, there is also the absurdity of collecting the tests when the students are completely finished but being required to sit out the entire 65 minute session.

I have been establishing a pretty good pattern in the carpet as I roam endlessly, (more on that forthcoming).  Even more amusing than how I keep myself awake is what the students do to entertain themselves when they are finished with each session of the test:

The children asked if they were allowed to take a nap on their desks when finished.  "Sure, as long as you are silent".  Yesterday some of the boys pulled their hoodies up around their heads and tucked their arms into the body of the sweatshirt as tight as possible.  One by one my students went from being studious test takers to turtles tucked tightly into their shells.

My favorite time waster today was using the pair of required #2 pencils to practice chop stick skills.  After carefully peeling the warning label from her pocket hand sanitizer the student worked diligently to pick it up with her makeshift chop sticks.  After several missed attempts, success!

Many more to come (I hope!)




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