The Big Test

Mrs. Hartwell's Classroom Adventures

by Julie Danneberg, Judy Love (Illustrator)

Are Mrs. Hartwell's students ready to show what they know ?

Mrs. Hartwell is preparing her class to take the Big Test. Knowing they have studied and are well-prepared, she helps the students practice how to sit quietly, fill in the bubbles, and follow the directions. She even instructs them on proper morning-of-the-test nutrition.

As her students grow increasingly anxious about the Big Test, Mrs. Hartwell realizes she has to teach the most valuable test-taking skill of learning to relax!

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, 21st Century, Teachers

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Shaimaa شيماء · Rating 4 out of 5]

ياااه.. رعب الامتحانات ده ازمة في كل مكان..
امال كنا بنسمع إن بره مفيش الكلام ده!!
والتعليقات على الكتاب إنه موجه للأطفال من أول G2

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The class from First Day Jitters is getting ready to take the end of the year test. They're nervous and worried as they use test week to review and prep. Mrs. Hartwell realizes she needs to do something to relax them so throws a surprise party the day before. This works and they go into the test confident and ready. I particularly like the illustration where she throws her lesson plans in the trash. The mark of a good teacher who knows how to reach and support her students.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite picture book for 2nd to 4th graders! This book addresses test anxiety in a realistic, but fun way. I love what the teacher does at the end, after the students have shown what they know! However, I won't tell you what she does because I don't want to spoil it for you. It teaches that after you've done all that you can do, relax, don't worry about it, and have fun!

I really enjoyed the book and the beautiful illustrations. Judy Love was the illustrator. It brought a sense of calm to me while reading it. I was actually starting to get uptight along with the students! The ending made me smile!

This book would be great for reading to 2nd to 4th (even 5th) graders during test prep time. I think it would be very effective for relieving test time jitters, especially if the teacher did a surprise for the students the day before the test like Mrs. Hartwell!

[Lauren Schlueter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book under the age of 4-7 category. This book is about preparing students for "The Big Test" whether that be a standardized test or just a test you are giving in your classroom. Throughout the book the teacher, Mrs. Hartwell, was helping to prepare the students for the test and many of the students felt nervous and worried about the test. The ending of the books shows the students relaxing before the big test and how relaxing before the test helped them do even better. I think teachers can use this book to help students who are having come anxiety about testing. I think this book would be great to read before standardized testing takes place and then have a relaxing time for the students before their actually big test so they can be remind of the book and feel as though they can achieve on the test too. Students will be able to relate to the characters in the book, which is very important, especially when the point of reading a book is to learn a lesson.

[Rachel May · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about students that have to take a big test at the end of the year. Mrs. Hartwell feels really good about the test, but the students feel differently. Each day leading up to the test they do something new to help them prepare. Each day a new student needs to go to the nurse because they feel sick. The day before the test Mrs. Hartwell takes the students to the library for a day of fun and the next day, after the test, they all feel great!

This book would be great to read before a big test in your classroom. Some students are scared to death of test and often over react. This book makes the idea of a big test seem not so bad. It also teaches students good test taking skills, like sitting for long periods of time. It makes learning test taking skills fun to learn also rather than the teacher standing in front of them reading these from a paper.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guess what, Goodreaders? Although this story stands on its own, your child can also learn some tips about how to take tests from this extremely entertaining picture book.

A particular highlight for me, and maybe some of you Goodreaders as well, is the double page spread where the kids are standing in line, waiting to enter the classroom and take their big test.

How rare it is to see adorable children in a picture book.. wearing expressions, mostly, of dread. Fortunately, that dread is situational, so you know it will soon dissipate.

The ending of this story surprised me. Maybe you'll be surprised too, however experienced you are at reading kid lit, Goodreader.

Another FIVE STAR book, with my appreciation for author Julie Danneberg and artist Judy Love.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was weird. Like... if felt like it was going to be a commentary on standardized tests.... they had lessons on "sitting-still-for-long-periods-of-time" and "let's-all-read-the-directions" and "fill-in-the-bubble" and "morning-of-the-test-nutrition." All of which send kids to the nurse's office because they are so nervous. How isn't this a commentary on time-wasting in school with ridiculous lessons and things that cause our kids anxiety? But then they had a fun test day (it really is cute) and then the test. And then everyone is happy because they did well. So it ends up just maintaining the status quo.

[Sarah Limb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know how I feel about this book. It’s not a bad book per say but I just don’t understand why it was written in the way that it was. The teacher is obviously doing a beautiful job preparing her student’s for the test, better than any of my teacher’s did. And yet the students are making themselves sick with test stress? And then she decides after seeing the kids so stressed to throw out the test completely. I agree with adjusting curriculum based off the needs of the students but I guess the getting there seemed confusing to me.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not even close to as good as the other books in the series. I feel like it was supposed to make test taking seem less scary but it kind of made it seem more scary. It also just made me mad about our education system and how we are forced to make children hate learning by making them take Big Tests. The illustrations are great though, lots of expression!

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book it's so relatable I could still remember those feelings of being in school and being beyond nervous about the big test ! .Mrs Hartwell is a good teacher wish all teachers loved their students just as much as she do.

[Gwynith Camp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book holds a very good lesson about relaxing and also highlights how common test anxiety can be. It would for sure be a good read in a classroom with students who may be struggling with test anxiety. It would be a good reminder that it is okay to relax and be confident.

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to go along with all the end of year test prep. It helps ease some anxieties and give reasonable strategies. The illustrations are what carries this book.

[معصومه توکلی · Rating 3 out of 5]

عنوان ترجمه فارسی: امتحان اصلی
(داستان های معلم دوست داشتنی ما-3)

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing. Is the surprise party the test, or is a relaxation exercise before the test? In any case, the facial expressions & body language are hilarious.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[Lashaunda Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Big Test
A teacher tries to find a way to prepare students for an upcoming test, while aiming to calm them

W6.3b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.


Focus: Using Dialogue & Quotations
Step-by-step:
1. Tell students that dialogue is a way to add life to the characters in their writing
2. Read pages 4-5 (there are 7 different character lines of dialogue) - inform students that quotation marks help show the reader that a different character is speaking and this is a way to make their writing more real
3. Point out that when using dialogue, the quotation marks fit around the actual words being spoken by the character; show them how the author uses commas and periods (on pages 5-6) to separate what is intended to be spoken (dialogue) vs. what is merely read; depending on where the dialogue occurs will determine if the comma fits inside or outside the quotations Ex: ”Yes,” said Mrs. Hartwell (comma fits inside the quotation mark) Ex: On Wednesday morning Mrs. Hartwell said, “Today we’re going to take a practice test.” (comma is outside of the quotation mark)
4. Read p.18 (students as well as the teacher are engaged in dialogue) - Point out the idea of “new speaker new line”; every time the author uses a different character to talk, she separates the speaking onto a new line of text
5. Challenge students to effectively use dialogue in their writing
6. Remind students that every single line of the writing should not be written as dialogue because it would diminishes the effect; show them how the author still incorporates regular narration

Expected Outcomes:
Students should understand the usefulness of dialogue as a means to bring character and writing to life. They should understand the conventions associated with dialogue- punctuation, quotations, and new speaker-new line. Students should appropriately incorporate dialogue into their writing where it naturally fits.

[Shelle Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Hartwell's Class has worked hard all school year and it has come down to the last big test. Mrs. Hartwell takes her class through the skills they will need to be successful on the test. Can they sit still and properly fill in the bubbles? Do they know what that a good breakfast is important? By the day of the practice test all of her student are anxious and nervous and have visited the school nurse and poor Mrs. Hartwell is feeling very bad for them.

I am the mom of anxious test taker. The poor kid gets so nervous, he is often not capable of showing what he knows. In a public school culture where the test is the culmination of the school year, this humorous look at Mrs. Hartwell's class happens all too often and it would a terrific jumping off point to discuss with students that those big tests they dread don't have to be scary. It shows the most important part of learning, how to have fun with it.

While the story is charming and quite fun, the star of the book is the illustration by Judy Love. Brightly colored in vivid detail, Mrs. Hartwell and her students practically leap off the pages. This is a wonderful class library shelf book for grades 1-3.

5 stars

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

With standardized testing happening in most schools around Canada and United States, there is often nervousness and insecurities surrounding these events. This is a great book for teachers to use with their students to help alleviate these feelings. In the story, Mrs. Hartwell takes a week to go over things with her students. She keeps telling them that they have learned a lot over the year and the test is a chance to show what they know. She keeps it low key and positive. When some of the students still become very anxious, she ditches her lesson plan and plans a day to help the students relax before they have to write the test the next day. The illustrations are great and very realistic. The details and colours are great and add to the story. This is a book that should be in every school library and primary classroom.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

With me being a third grade teacher, and now having the third grade guarantee, I caught a connection with book.The book was relate-able, and my child loved the pictures when we read the book together (she's 10). The books helps students cope with the stress of test taking and tactics that can be done to help. All of this is done in a way that does not look like you are just shooting out information. It is very entertaining. I recommend the book to all teachers, and families that have students my take the pressure of testing heavy.

[Shazzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Test anxiety can be a real monkey on your back. I felt it as a child, and I've felt it as an adult. It stinks. What Julie Danneberg's book does it build up a good head of steam, and then releases it in one huge whoosh of relief, something we could all use sometimes. I'd say this is an excellent book to share around testing time, and an excellent lesson in not letting our worry get away from us to carry with us our whole lives.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Hartwell was so proud of her students and how much they have learned over the school year. She only has a few more lessons for them: all to prepare them for their upcoming Big Test. The students don't like the sound of that at all.

I think all teachers should read this book and prepare their students for big tests like Mrs. Hartwell. I'm going to look at buying this one for my school library & recommend it to my staff!

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit it, I just don't get it. How does this book teach young children to relax about all the testing they will face? This book would make sense to me if the teacher featured taught the kids ways to relax or even gave them a party after the test. I just don't get it! On the plus side, the illustrations by Judy Love were great!

[Marguarite Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Hartwell teaches the kids to "know how to show what [they] know." This is, perhaps, one of the most difficult times for students during the school year. So many kids KNOW the information, they just freeze up or aren't properly prepared for the actual test taking. Beware teachers, if you read this to the class, they're going to expect a party before the big test! :)

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Hartwell tries to alleviate her students fears about the BIG TEST, but they seem to get more nervous. She assures them that the test is just a change to show just how much they know, but students keep getting stomach aches and head aches. Finally on the day before the BIG TEST, Mrs. Hartwell takes matters into her own hands.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the current emphasis on high-stakes standardized assessments, students and teachers can easily relate to the stress and other emotions that Mrs. hartwell's students experience with end-of-the-year testing.

[Kim Patton · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the point of the book is to show that kids just need to relax before a big test, the way it gets there may worry kids more! The teacher in the book spends the week prior to the test going over some preparatory exercises, each one causing stress in her students. In the end, all is fine.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thinking about big tests makes me nervous!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helps kids to mentally prepare and not worry so much in this age of intensive testing in schools.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a picture book for slightly older readers, or school age kids, at least. Very detailed depictions of the students in Mrs. Hartwell's class which made it stand out for me.