Spelling and vocabulary tests are on Fridays. Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings we do quizzing to make sure everyone is ready.
Often the instructions are to “use the word in a sentence that demonstrates you know its meaning.” Both of my (gifted! ha!) children had trouble with this concept until we introduced The Puppy Test.
The Puppy Test is simple: Can you replace the target word with “puppy,” “dog-like” or some form of “barking?” If you can, you fail The Puppy Test and I do not believe you have demonstrated understanding.
“I meandered” fails The Puppy Test. Maybe you barked. Maybe you exploded. Maybe you don’t really know what meandered means, mmmm?
“He went to the colony” fails The Puppy Test. Maybe he went to the puppy. Maybe he went to the store. Maybe you write very boring sentences.
“Stop being contentious” fails The Puppy Test. Maybe you’re telling someone to stop being dog-like. Maybe you’re telling them to stop being fuzzy. Maybe I should have this word tattooed on your forehead because the irony, oh, it slays me.