Guest: Buzzin' with Ms. B

What do you do on those days that have just been too long and you need to sit back and relax? For me, I go blog stalking and head off to some of my favorite sites for some much needed comic relief!

Chrissy is hilarious! I can relate to her daily adventures in third grade, the things her kids say and do crack me up! I love how her personality comes shining through in every post. So grab a glass of wine (Chrissy's favorite) or a Chocolate Monkey (mine) and curly up in your favorite spot and read... I promise! It will make you feel better.





This is Chrissy from Buzzing with Ms. B and I'm a guest blogger today! woooo fancy

I hope you're not too tired of hearing about test review. I'm going to try to make it entertaining for you. Just know that, with my kids, there is no such thing as a boring day. They are very quotable. I would kill for a boring day.


Right about now, if you're like me, you're either just about to take The Test or you've just finished The Test. Reviewing for The Test is a bear.  A bear?! my kids would shout. What bear?! 
That's how literal they are, which is why reviewing for The Test is a challenge. The day before The Test (Monday), I tried to plan several activities I thought would be easy and fun. I should have known better.
One activity I purchased from TPT was designed for K-2 so I thought it would be a breeze and more fun than rigorous. It was a Drawing Conclusions Jeopardy Game, and it looked cute and simple!  It should have been. Keep in mind, my kids got tangled in a kite on Kite Day, (You can click there for more details on that adventure) so needless to say, even a simple jeopardy game is full of surprises. 
One card included clues such as "An animal that swings through trees with its tail, lives in the jungle."Our answer: Squirrel!
Well, yeah! Of course squirrels live in the jungle and swing through the trees with their tails. 
Another: "A type of food that grows on a tree, blends in with carrots and pumpkins, and is tasty squeezed into juice for breakfast."
It must be...Watermelon!
Hmmm.... that's a fancy watermelon.
My favorite: "A kind of job: I make you sit in a special chair, use special tools like brushes and picks, and you see me when your teeth hurt."
I KNOW! THE TOOTH FAIRY!Wow. We should bring in the tooth fairy for career day, cause that sounds like an awesome job. 
Needless to say, we laughed and laughed and laughed and got very little review done during that time. But we did review a lot with the freebie I'm sharing with you today. 
We spent a lot of time this year working with a variety of texts in different genre. Students developed their skills over time, identifying different characteristics of the different genre as well as the author's purposes for writing each one. To review in a fun and simple way, I put together a sorting activity (I love sorting activities. They're simple, fun, and give you opportunities to talk about characteristics and differentiate between ideas). 
The first page of the freebie is a three-columned chart with spaces for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Students have to sort through the cards on the second page for the author's purpose of each one, and the characteristics. 

Grab the freebie at TPT! 

Also, in case you missed it, grab this sorting activity for problem solving keywords; part of my Problem Solving Activity Pack. Another great way to review.

Grab this sort at TPT!

And check me out at home:  Buzzing with Ms. B