Brain Discussion

Post Brain Discussions Leading Into SAT Testing Week!

 

Advisors, please incorporate these discussion pieces and activities into the rest of your week.

 

Getting your Mind Ready

Discussion:

·         EAT!!!!!!

·         Plenty of research shows that including protein at meals helps improve focus and satisfy appetite.

·         A warm, cozy bowl of oatmeal is a terrific source of fiber-rich, slow-burn carbohydrates that deliver a steady stream of energy for students' bodies and brains to draw upon all morning long. Add in some soy milk or skim milk for the protein!

·         Low-fat yogurt is a good source of protein, making it a fine foundation for a substantial pre-test breakfast.

Activity:

·         Discuss having these types of foods at your Friday B-day Breakfast. Plan the meal together and give helpful hints of like breakfasts they can plan for the following week.

·         If you want to get really creative you can give students one of the food guide My Plates and have them fill it with drawings or cut outs of food. Check out this page http://www.squidoo.com/plate-coloring-page or go to www.Myplate.gov

 

 

 

Reducing Anxiety before the Test

 

This is a cute short animation that describes anxiety in kid terms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvM_TtQi9DU

 

Discussion:

·         The next time you feel nervous or insecure before a test or presentation, try this simple trick: take ten minutes to write down your feelings about it. Psychologists at the University of Chicago recently published an article in the journal Science about this easy way for anxious students to relax before a high-stakes exam.

·         The leaders of the study aimed to better understand why pressure-filled exam situations undermine some students' performance.

·         Indeed, the study showed that stressed students who were given ten minutes to express their feelings on paper performed significantly better than their peers who either wrote about other topics or did nothing at all.

Activity:

·         Try it! Get out some paper or those journals we are supposed to be working with and give the students a few minutes to put on paper how they are feeling.

·          Then Pair Share, or rip the page out and have a snow ball fight, or play hot potato with all the pages crumpled into one big ball.

 

Reduce Anxiety during the test

Discussion:

·         Symptoms of test anxiety include sweating, shallow breathing, upset stomach, feeling jittery, insomnia and inability to concentrate. While studying ahead of time is a great way to feel more in control of the test material, there are also certain tricks to help you with anxiety during the test itself

For multiple-choice questions, eliminate and decide. Most multiple-choice questions have four possible answers. You can often eliminate two answers immediately. That leaves two possible answers. Can you decide between the two? If so, then mark the correct answer and move on. If not, make an educated guess - you have a 50% chance of getting it right.

For essay questions, brainstorm and outline before writing. Don't let yourself freeze up while staring at that blank essay form. Use your scratch paper to get those ideas moving by brainstorming whatever comes to mind related to the essay question. Then quickly organize those thoughts into a brief outline, and you're ready to start writing your essay.

Keep it moving. Because most tests are timed, it's important to pace yourself during a test and not spend too long on any one item. For example, if you have a multiple-choice section followed by an essay question, you should leave enough time for the essay. To avoid getting stuck on a multiple-choice question, use the "eliminate-and-decide" strategy discussed above. If your test allows you to skip questions, you may need to do so if you get stuck on a particular question.

Breathe and stretch. Test anxiety results from a heightened "fight or flight" biological response to a threatening event. The good news is that this response can help you to think fast. The bad news is that the jittery feelings and other symptoms can interfere with your concentration. There are two good ways to counteract test anxiety during a test: 1) breathe deeply, causing your stomach - not your chest - to rise as you inhale, and 2) relieve muscle tension by periodically stretching, or by making a fist and releasing it.

Activity:

·         Review different types of tests questions.

·         Ask students for their own helpful tips

·         Give some sample questions

·         Review the bubbling and test procedures

·         If you are really connecting with your students and think you can get them to focus on their breath you can use the CD and technique that Brandy talked with us about or you can find something online to tryout like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnXrXX0m-NE

Thank you for taking the time to help your students prepare for the week of testing!