Tips and tricks for NAPLAN Online
2 min
NAPLAN
Admin SEVEN STEPS
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Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 are now required to sit the NAPLAN writing test online. And although many students are comfortable using laptops and tablets, it’s important to explicitly teach the skills that will make writing creatively online smooth sailing for everyone.
Get ready for NAPLAN Online
Assessing writing online is particularly controversial, as discussed in this article: Will NAPLAN’s online move hurt creative writing?
To address the concerns around NAPLAN Online, it’s vital to provide students with plenty of opportunities to write creatively on desktop computers, laptops and tablets.
Top tips to prepare for NAPLAN Online
- Familiarise students with the layout of the QWERTY keyboard. Run short, sharp activities using the keyboard to speed up letter finding. Consider using keyboards (real or laminated) in spelling lessons. Ensure students know how to access the keyboard on a tablet.
- Teach students how to access a range of punctuation marks on PCs and tablets.
- Speed up keyboard awareness by using apps such as Pot Smash, which require students to scan for letters and symbols.
- Have students practise editing on-screen by placing the cursor at the correct point rather than deleting lots of text.
- Ensure students continue to plan their writing on paper. This is a crucial step in the planning process to ensure that students write complete, well-structured texts.
- Encourage students to visualise the writing graph when they’re planning their writing. Seven Steps members can access the Narrative Story Graph and Persuasive Writing Graph on Teacher Hub.
- Encourage students to draft narrative and persuasive texts electronically rather than just typing up the final draft. Completing the entire writing process digitally allows students to get used to editing online.
- Set online writing activities using the Verso app. Have students post their responses and comment on each other’s work.
- Have students practise wearing headphones and clicking on prompts to get instructions.
- Use typing games to increase students’ typing speed, e.g. Typing Games Zone, Flappy Typing, Ghost typing (for older kids) and Typing Race.
- Use NAP’s Public demonstration site to familiarise students with the format of the writing test online.
- Switch off autocorrect and spellcheck on students’ devices.
A huge thank you to Jane Weir from Bertram Primary School for sharing these fantastic tips based on their preparations for NAPLAN Online.
Seven Steps founder Jen McVeity has sat the NAPLAN writing task 10 times. Seven Steps members can check out her expert insights in this series of bite-size videos on Teacher Hub.
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