Testing Season Letters that Your Students will LOVE

As we approach testing season, you probably have some students who are feeling anxious about taking the big tests. One of my favorite things to do with students and families this time of year is to prep testing letters of encouragement for the students to open during the biggest testing days.

The first time I did this, I taught fourth grade…and we only had three days of testing. We had a reading test, math test, and a science test (the social studies standards were under review for so many years, so we didn’t have a test), so the students opened one letter a day right before they took their test, and it worked perfectly!

Nowadays…there’s two days of ELA testing, two days of math…science and social studies. My state spreads it out over almost three weeks, so it would work for me to give my students a letter before each of the new “sections” (ELA, Math, and Science/Social Studies).

This is how to get these letters organized and written in your room!

1.) Have the students draw names. They will write a letter of encouragement to someone else.

2.) Send home to parents. Ask parents to write a letter of encouragement to their own child.

3.) Write a quick letter to each kid yourself. You may want to start on this a little early, depending on how many students you have. I have had years where I hand-wrote heart-felt cards to each kid, and years where I have printed out a batch of matching cards with my name typed in. It depends on the year, and the amount of time you have.

As the testing days arrive, you can have one of the letters waiting for them on their desks! My kids REALLY loved this tradition for the years that I taught a tested grade. Now that I am in the primary grades, it’s the one thing about testing season that I miss. ;-) Such a great community builder!

If you want templates that are just print-and-go for these letters, I have a pack on TPT just for you! I also have other little encouragement cards included in the set, so if you have more tests than there are letters, you can sprinkle some little notes + gum on the in-between days!

If you try this out, be sure to tag me on Instagram @thetennesseeclassroom! I love to see what y’all are doing in your rooms. It inspires me to step up my game in my own!