Combat the Crazy: A Music Teacher’s Guide to Surviving Testing Week

5 Challenges Solved

It’s April . . . we’re closing in on the end of the school year . . . and for most of us, that means state testing is imminent. It’s not an easy time of year for music teachers.

That final stretch of the school year is like a circus, so you may be dealing with any number of challenges during the weeks of state testing:

1. Are you actually teaching during this time, or will you be monitoring the hallway or proctoring? Either way, you’ll be out of your classroom for at least a few hours during the next couple of weeks or some classes will miss music. The best strategy in this case is to use a fluffy lesson. This is a lively and captivating activity that will be pure fun (with some review mixed in). The best part is that it’s not part of a unit, so it won’t matter if some classes miss it. An example would be my Bouncy Ball Activity. This lesson is perfect for outdoor learning with a review of the basic note names and values. Students get to toss and bounce the ball while they enjoy the gorgeous spring weather. You can get this activity free by joining my email community. Simply click this link, and you’ll receive 3 free lesson plans, including the bouncy ball activity.
2. Will your schedule change? There’s not much you can do about this. Your classes may come a random times, and your schedule will probably be all over the place. This is where positive mindset comes in. Be like Elsa and let it go. In other words, go with the flow, and try not to let the schedule changes bother you. If you’re planning to use instruments, set up the same instruments for every grade level. That way you won’t have to be constantly passing out different instruments. Learn a new song and add movement. There are tons of options, and we’ll talk about some of them in a bit.
3. Kids will be off their normal schedules, and this can be challenging. Students love structure, and when they’re schedule is hippity dippity, they get hippity dippity too. Not good. Keeping your class structure consistent will help them feel more comfortable and will positively affect behavior.
4. Your littles may not be allowed outside to play. This is a big deal, because your littles need that outdoor run around and be crazy time even more than your big kids. Plus, they may have to be extra quiet during class time which can also affect their day (ie. their behavior in your classroom). Be sure the activities you choose for your littles are easy to do and involve lots of active learning.
5. Students who are testing will have brain fry. In no way are your bigger kiddos going to be willing or able to do anything that involves a lot of thinking. That means bringing out your ukuleles and trying to teach a new chord is a really bad idea. Starting a unit on reading notes from the scale . . . also a crash and burn type lesson during testing week. Think fun, active, and very little talking. (Don’t worry, I’m going to suggest lots of great testing week activities shortly).
6. What rules should you follow when designing lesson plans for testing weeks? First, be VERY careful . . . many of your normal strategies aren’t going to work. But never fear, suggestions follow. Your lessons during testing weeks should have the following elements:
   • Review only – Do no new learning. Take an inventory of what you’ve taught so far, and figure out what your students need to review. Then pull out your funnest (not a real word) activities and use them for review.
   • No thinking – Your students are brain-fried. They will not be able to do any major thinking. Testing can be difficult and stressful, even if you’re good at taking tests.
   • High engagement – students should be having the best time ever in your class during testing weeks. Bring out your monkey noodles and your bouncy balls. Borrow a class set of basketballs from your coach and do basketball rhythm (you can find tons on YouTube). Do any easy-to-learn movement meet and greet.
   • Very little teaching – If your lesson has 5 minutes of teaching time, you should probably re-think it. I recommend no more than a minute of talking, then 5 minutes of active learning, another minute of talking, then another 5 minutes of active learning. Otherwise your lesson plans will be an epic fail . . . not good!
   • Nothing too noisy – Your school will be in quiet mode during testing. That means, you probably shouldn’t bring out your bucket drums and gong. Think egg shakers and sand blocks.
7. What exactly should you teach?
   • Steady beat activities
     • Learn to sing a fun song
     • Body percussion to the steady beat
     • Move to the steady beat
     • Play a quiet instrument to the steady beat
   • Use your fun manipulatives for movement or to show the steady beat
     • Scarves
     • Monkey Noodles
     • Streamers
     • Canopy scarves
     • Bouncy balls
     • Bean Bags
   • Rhythm play alongs or body percussion play alongs
   • Centers – Find centers on TPT based on almost any music skill
   • Escape Room – again, you can find bunches of these on TPT
   • Karaoke Day
   • Clapping Games
   • Movement Meet & Greet
   • Line Dancing
   • Games like Mr. Henry’s 4 Corners options
   • Quiet Games like:
     • Whisper Day – all talking is done in very quiet voices
     • TipToe movement
     • The Silent Game
     • Telephone with Musical Words and phrases (you come up with these)
     • Yoga poses or statues to quiet music

Testing time is one of the most challenging parts of the school year. Your kiddos are tired, you are exhausted, and no one (not even you) is really wanting to work too hard. So don’t . . . review, review, review, and have a little fun!

For more great tips & tricks on how to find peace, harmony, and joy in your music classroom, join The Happy Music Teacher newsletter. When you join, you’ll receive 3 FREE lesson plans, perfect for testing week! See you there.