Last Monday was game day for lots of English I students across the state of Texas. But it was also a big day for me and 15 other teachers and about 400 sophomores. While all of the English I students tested, our English II kids came for our EOC Blitz--a skills-based review session that utilized fast-paced and engaging lessons specifically designed by yours truly to give them a rigorous pre-game warmup. We made it clear to our sophomores that our expectation is for them to take this test ONCE and be DONE.
I know what you're thinking. Thanks, Lori. Now you tell me. But now is your perfect chance to get the Blitz materials for your very own prep session. And...best of all...I've already run it once and worked out all of the kinks out for you!
My advice is to beg and plead with your principal to run this as a campus-wide initiative right before the test next spring. Bribe your testing coordinator or registrar or whoever else you have to in order to get all of your English kiddos in one place for a measly little 3 hours. Logistically, I simply created 5 "teams" of 3 teachers and students rotated from session to session within their "team". This package was originally designed for English II, but it absolutely works for any secondary grade level (maybe even elementary)!
And even if you're not blessed to be in the great state of Texas, the lessons are skills-based (yay!) rather than just test-based (boo!). They are aligned with standards found in both the TEKS and the common core.
If all else fails, and your principal won't budge (but something tells me he or she will once you show him or her this resource), you can at the very least use it for tutorial lessons in the fall or in the spring.
Next spring, you call the major plays on your campus--Once and Done!
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