Standardized Test Success
Practice Skills at Home: There are a number of skills that you can easily incorporate into your home routine.
Reading
When reading a book or watching a television show or a movie, ask your child to repeat the plot, the story’s characters (including the main character), and the setting. Ask him to retell what happens in the beginning, middle, and end. After you read a book together, ask him questions about what happened.
Language Arts
Work on increasing your child’s vocabulary by using and defining more difficult words in everyday speech. Use a dictionary to check the meaning. Practice using antonyms and synonyms. Have your child become proficient at alphabetical order by organizing materials that way – books, kitchen supplies, videos, etc.
Writing
The writing portion of standardized tests usually asks children to respond to a writing “prompt”. This prompt is meant to structure their ideas. You may also want to review basic punctuation and capitalization.
Math
Rather than concentrating solely on computation, standardized math tests usually involve spatial skills, patterns, and sequencing. Encourage your child to learn to count by twos, threes, and fives. Create graphs based on family activities and practice reading graphs together. Practice time and money concepts.