“The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business. The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: an action plan.”     -John Tesh

 

“You use math stations, small groups, and hands-on instruction, so…

What did you do to keep them engaged and sitting for 4 hours while they take the state test?

 Even during the district math benchmark tests they slouch down in their seats or lay their heads down while they are working.”

I’m asked this question multiple times every year since the instructional method I share, the Tabor Rotation Framework, is focused on active student engagement and in-depth understanding instead of paper and pencil tasks. Many teachers who use Tabor Rotation asked me to share the information in my blog so others can use the ideas.

The first step is to think of training to take lengthy tests the same way you would for a marathon since it’s an academic marathon. Below are the rest of the steps I took that have proven to be extremely successful with each of my classes. I did this with them from the beginning of the school year, but if you consistently use these strategies until the state test date it should bring the similar results.

Steps for Success in Academic Marathons

Step 1: Have your students take a 30-minute assessment or complete a set of worksheets that are formatted in the same way as the state test.

Stop every 5 minutes and have the students conduct an attention check. I posted these questions around the room.

“Am I paying attention?”

“Am I on task?”

“What ways am I engaging with problems that I find boring?”

“What do I do when I don’t know a word?”

“What do I say inside my head to keep me going?”

“What is my reward for staying on task?”

Give your students a sticky note to place next to their papers and tell them to “pay” themselves to place a tally mark on the sheet for every 5 minutes they stay on task and work hard on the problems they are given. Each tally mark is worth $5.

At the end of the test my students added their “money”  to their checking accounts. See M-Cubed: Meaningful Math Management on the FREE RESOURCES page of glennatabor.com.

Do this multiple times. If you are starting this academic marathon training at the beginning of the year, then this could be done once a week and incorporated into the formative assessments and checks for understanding you’re already conducting.

Celebrate their achievements in staying on task. (The same thing that runners and cyclists do after a training ride or run.) Conduct a Mathematician’s Circle and ask students to share their strategies for maintaining engagement and resolving any challenges in the problems. Post these cumulative lists, too.

Step 2: Do the same as above but extend the time checks to every 10 minutes and have students give themselves a tally mark that is worth $20 if they have stayed on task and worked hard. The amount of money increased because the time in between checks increased.

Step 3: Now give hour-long assessments (or as long as your class periods allow) and sets of worksheets. Continue with the 10-minute checks. Do this at least 2-3 times.

Reflect, and share strategies. Discuss what strategies worked best for each student and for each type of problem.

Celebrate their ability to stay on task, focused, and engaged for an entire hour! If an entire room of adults could do this we would be thrilled!

Step 4: Keep extending the time till your students have practiced up to 90-120 minutes with 10-minute checks. Have students put tally marks on a scratch sheet similar to the ones that are allowed in high-stake test situations instead of on sticky notes.

Continue reflecting, strategizing, and celebrating. REMEMBER that this is training for a marathon and “centering” your efforts always pays off in the final “run/ride.”

If your students are doing well with 10-minute checks and want to challenge themselves, for more money or course, have them conduct 15-minute checks as they take the longer tests. 15-minute tally marks could be worth $45.

Step 5: Reflect with your students on what their brain is doing. Your students will have now formed mental habits of mind that will extend into district and state-wide testing. They can’t use a sticky note on a test, but they can give themselves a check mark on a scratch sheet.

Step 6: Have your students to write about their journey and compile these into an electronic book or a slide show. Post this online and give parents and community members the link so they are aware of just how hard you and your students are working.

Congratulate and reward yourself! You care about your students and have changed their lives in more ways than you can imagine. Just ask them in 20 years…mine keep finding me on social media and recalling every moment they spent in my class…

“What I think a lot of great marathon runners do is envision crossing that finish line. Visualization is critical. But for me, I set a lot of little goals along the way to get my mind off that overwhelming goal of 26.2 miles. I know that I’ve got to get to 5, and 12, and 16, and then I celebrate those little victories along the way.”     -Bill Rancic [Croation/American entrepreneur  who was the first candidate hired by The Trump Organization at the end of the first season of The Apprentice.]

“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.”     -Emil Zatopek

Zatopek  was nicknamed the “Czech Locomotive” and was the first athlete to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10,000 meters in 1954. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20th century and was also known for his brutally tough training methods. He is the only person to win the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and marathon in the same Olympics.