So Many Tests and So Tired of Study Guides

Are you tired of end of the year tests?  I am burned out.  Our last social studies test is very vocabulary heavy and I knew the kids wouldn't be responsible taking their Social Studies Journals home sooo we made a vocabulary study guide foldable!  I love a good foldable and so do the kids so its win win!

Prep
All during the unit the kids took notes on their social studies words.  We use 3 column notes, which are a progression towards Cornell Notes that our middle school and high schoolers use.  First I teach how to read the word and give the kids the definition.  Then once we have talked about the concept and read about it the kids go back and draw a picture or write an example.

Like this

I love his example for limited resources!

Project


So in a perfect world the kids kept up on all their work and have all their vocabulary done.  I listed the words on the board and told them if they didn't have them in their notebook they could look them up or borrow a friends notebook.

Then I cut paper in half the "hot dog" way and note cards in half.  The kids wrote the term on the bottom of each card so only the word showed.  Then they wrote a picture or example on the front of the card, but this part would be covered up.  The challenge was to know what the word meant wihtout the example but they had it there as an aid to help them study.  The definition of the term is on the back.

After I graded it I sent it home as their study guide for the test.