Howdy, teach! So you've selected the Test Prep you would like your students to master....What's next? In this article, you will learn how to use our Test Prep to supplement your instruction along with some best practices to keep you getting the most out of your student's time on Shmoop. If you would like to see how the test prep works from a student perspective visit this article (recommended).
Step One
Let's make sure you're in the right spot. The image below is what you see when you select the desired Test Prep. The Test Preps look identical for teachers and students. Feel free to poke around and work through the test prep as if you were a student and see how you do! Don't worry...no one will see your scores but yourself. The "Product Tour" button in the top right-hand corner is extremely helpful in showing how to get started.
Step Two
Now that we know where all of the features of the test prep live let's simplify what this all means to you! In a nutshell, your students will be completing the diagnostic exams for all sections of the test they are prepping for. Once completed Shmoop will now make suggestions to them based on their weaknesses. This will include reading review topics, completing drills, and watching videos. Rinse and repeat. As they work through these their Skills page will update and teachers can track individual and group progress through the classroom feature. *See article: How to use a test prep classroom.
Step Three
Here we are at step three feeling confident about how students use the Test Prep and how to track their progress. So what should a teacher be doing inside of a Test Prep? Mainly using the huge amount of content in the Review Topics and Videos for in-class reading/watching or flipping things around and sending Review Topic/Video links to your class for homework! You can think of the Review Topics like a living breathing textbook covering all content needed to pass the test in question and the videos as a fun little break from the norm covering the same content.
Step Four
Take a peek at this video where we run through steps one through three!