It’s spring! Just like the narrator says in the 1947 educational film Body Care and Grooming, “Ah, spring. When birds are on the wing, when flowers bloom… Spring, when a young man’s fancy likely turns to….”—Author unknown
The answer has to be testing! High-stakes testing! Advanced Placement testing! American College Testing or even the SAT! Students feel pressured to work hard to prove themselves in this world of achievement.
“When I took the practice ACT, I started out with a 24, but I’m hoping to get a 30!” one junior told me. Not all our students care this much, but there are those who do, and they are looking for great resources to help them prepare for the tests. Students are also looking for study assistance, and often checking out all of our ACT practice books and loading up on ACT flashcards. They’re also looking for online resources.
SHMOOP is a terrific homework site with loads of incredible resources for free. The site offers literature guides for almost every text taught by my school’s English teachers. Novels like Lord of the Flies and The Great Gatsby are among the hundreds that are featured. Even secondary novels, like Kafir Boy and The Awakening, are showcased in remarkable detail. Each is supplemented with snappy summaries, thoughtful themes, quintessential quotes, creative character analysis, quirky questions, and even quixotic quizzes and formidable flashcards. (OK, so maybe that was too much!) There’s even an essay prompt and a teacher area for each book.
Not only that, but SHMOOP has free learning guides for many other subjects, including algebra, calculus, biology, music, American history, civics, poetry, Shakespeare, mythology, best sellers, and even E\economics. Each section provides support for students working to increase their skills and abilities. From what I’ve seen, the materials are solid. But it’s free, so there are ads and pop-ups throughout.
Right now, my students really need ACT help. They are lucky because this spring our district is piloting the fee-based testing portion of the SHMOOP service. We introduced the ACT section this month and have been working with the teachers, too. So far, these testing support tools have been terrific for the students to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses in the four major areas of ACT. After identifying areas of weakness, they can drill and practice to build their knowledge and skills. Some students just need to practice their timing as they take the exams, which is facilitated by the automatic timer accompanying each tool. Finally, there are five practice ACT exams, which is great because research indicates that most folks raise their score each time they take the test. I think we’ll see good support for our students that is worth the cost of this portion of the site ($23/individual, district pricing variable).
This website isn’t the only answer. My students have other community resources at their fingertips, too. We have a terrific public library with 24/7 online services, including test preparation and skill strengthening. And thanks to their library cards, every student has the opportunity to use Learning Express, which has not only ACT test prep, but a plethora of study skills, job skill building, and career licensing practice exams. There are even citizenship exams that I have all my library student aids take for part of their world knowledge requirement.
So this spring, when your students are distracted by the birds and flowers, help get them back on track with some of these great community and online resources. With a bit of help, they’ll get into their college of choice, rake in the scholarships, and reap great rewards—and then, of course, come running to thank you for making it all possible!