Test question/practice website

[Sara Cupp]

Hi All,

This is a free site recently made by a sci oly team according according to a Reddit thread. 

I tested it and it looks like it would be helpful. 

Check it out and share with your team:)

Www.scio.ly

Good luck at your upcoming regional events!!

Sara J. Cupp

sara...@gmail.com

Cell:      425-753-0540

[Kelly Bell]

Just be careful not to trust the answers as being 100% accurate.  While the content that I've seen so far is basically good, there are some wrong answers out there.  So, if something sounds incorrect, check some sources before you accept it as true.

That said, it's ALWAYS good to get new resources to keep the kiddos on their toes.

[Sara Cupp]

Yes - I noticed some questions are based on an image that is not included, so those are easy to tell.

We just took first in Entomology at regionals and the team used this resource quite a bit:-) Does anyone have any Div. C tests in Entomology beyond those listed on SciOly website that they could share?

Thank you!! Sara Cupp

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[Kelly Bell]

I don't have any entomology tests.   When I had a kiddo on an ID event (entomology, forestry, invasive species, fossils, rocks/minerals, herpetology, etc) I often would run out of tests online but here are 10 activities/challenges that might increase their knowledge:

1)   What is your state's official insect?   What insects off the list are native to your state?   Are exotic or even invasive to your state?

2)   Binder drills.   Pick an insect that they don't know a lot about and ask a question about it and see how fast they can find "What eats carpenter ants?" (I am not familiar with this year's list so this is just an example).   Perhaps set a 5 minute timer and they get a small candy, a quarter, or whatever for each question they can correctly answer in that time.

3)    Get an old insect field guide (cheaper to buy from a thrift store or used book store) and cut it up and make physical flash cards that can be used during breakfast, car rides, doctors' waiting rooms.  

4)   Compare two insect species:   Create a website or printed page with two maps, two descriptions of life cycle, two photos of eggs, two photos of tree/crop damage - whatever - and ask them to choose which of the two fits which species.   

5)   Take old practice tests over again.  Those tests that were overwhelming in October should be much easier now.

6)   Use old practice tests as a format to write a new one based on new insects.

7)   Use games like Kahoot! online to increase their speed.  You can use simple offline games like "I am thinking of an insect that has wings."   Keep giving clues.   

8)   See if the binder can be improved.  I like to use binders that have a clear window pocket on front (tape down a page protector to add a clear pocket to its front) and slide in what is basically an information sheet of commonly used knowledge (a vocabulary section, an anatomy chart, etc).  Make sure that the tabs on the sides of the pages make sense - not too many of them, and not too few.   If you can use mnemonic devices (when we were studying forestry, the "beech" trees had a blue tab like a blue beach, evergreens of course had a green tab, willows had a yellow tab because willow sounds like yellow and gingko trees had a pink tab and the kids said "gingko, stinko, pinko" to remember the pink tab for this stinky tree).   Some students have a second set of tabs at the top of the binder to indicate often used information, but I like tabs at the bottom of the pages - they are easier to see from a seated position.  Have the students give their binder a checkup and they will learn a lot in the process.

9)   If you are blessed to be in a school with 2+ teams (perhaps a JV team, perhaps both Div B and Div C), challenge each team to write a test for the other team.  The test-writing process teaches at least as much as the test taking process.

10)   Seek out a local bug enthusiast to either visit a study session or host a field trip at a museum or classroom.

Good luck!