What is "Practice How We Play"?
What is "Practice How We Play"?
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Practice How We Play is Birdville ISD’s district-wide initiative to build a culture of digital fluency, academic readiness, and future-ready confidence. Just like athletes, performers, and competitors prepare through meaningful practice, students strengthen their minds and digital muscles each day as they read, write, create, and problem-solve using technology. By weaving purposeful digital experiences into everyday learning—typing, navigating online tools, and creating with confidence—students develop the skills and stamina to thrive on assessments and beyond. When students “practice how they play,” they’re not just preparing for tests—they’re preparing for life.
Practice How We Play.mp4Our Key Plays
Our Key Plays
Each edition of Practice How We Play spotlights a Key Play—a focused area of digital fluency designed to help students build confidence using technology in authentic ways. Each Key Play offers practical ideas, classroom-ready strategies, and simple ways to embed digital skill practice into daily instruction. Campus staff can use these activities to give students meaningful opportunities to strengthen essential online skills while engaging with content.
Future editions will highlight additional key plays such as:
Accessibility & Digital Communication – Using tools and strategies that help all learners participate and create.
Interactive Questioning & Composing – Practicing drag-and-drop, highlighting, and digital writing strategies.
Reflection & Mastery – Building confidence through review, creation, and digital showcase projects.
Key Play #2 - Speaking Practice & Interactive Questioning Types
Key Play #2 - Speaking Practice & Interactive Questioning Types
The Game Plan
The Game Plan
Online assessments like TELPAS, STAAR, and AP exams don't just ask students to type. They ask students to explain, identify, and manipulate information on the screen. In the case of TELPAS as well as some AP exams, students also have to be comfortable speaking and recording responses. Hot Spot, drag-and-drop, and speaking questions require both content knowledge and comfort with the tool mechanics.
Short, routine exposure and opportunities to practice these types of responses builds confidence. Students learn how to pace their voice, record when needed, click with precision, and manipulate information accurately. These skills reduce cognitive load on test day and keep the focus on thinking, not on how to use the test's tools.
Game Day Moves
Game Day Moves
Build these plays into regular instruction so students use critical thinking skills in familiar formats.
Embed speaking and interactive responses into everyday routines. The first time students see a hot spot or drag-and-drop should never be on test day!
Identify DCA and test questions that require interactive responses or constructed answers, then weave those formats into daily instruction.
Rotate question types so students are ready for any format. This helps you see whether gaps are in content understanding or in how the question is presented.
Keep practice short, frequent, and meaningful. Warm-ups and exit tickets work well for quick data points.
Celebrate progress. Use simple trackers to show growth and build confidence.
Drills for Success!
Drills for Success!
Speaking Drills
Use the tools below to help students practice their speaking skills. They can verbally respond to questions, share their thinking, explain a concept, respond to peers, etc.
Canvas Media Recording (K-12): Use this tool in a regular assignment to get your students speaking. They also have it available in Canvas discussions to be able to verbally reply to peers
Canva (K-12): Have students record their presentation using Canva's video record tool, they could also create a video recording their thinking, or talking through a concept. You can also connect Canva with Canvas to guide students in their recording while still using Canvas to assign your assignments.
Snorkl (K-12): Use this tool for students to be able to respond a question in a variety of ways including verbally!
Seesaw Voice Tool Frame (PreK-2)- Use the Frame tool to help guide students to do a verbal response for exit tickets, reflection questions, share their thinking and more!
Lumio (PreK- 5): Students now have the ability to record themselves on a student workpage in Lumio! Now they can verbally answer questions or explain their thinking.
Hot Spot Drills
Upload images, tables, or reading passages that students select one or more location, feature, or evidence by clicking directly on the image.
Drag and Drop Drills
Students move words, numbers, or symbols into the correct position of a sentence or under a category. These questions check understanding of relationships, sequencing, and classification.
Seesaw (PreK-2): Any text or image you add to a seesaw activity can be moved around, but you can also use the Drag and Drop question type in the Assessment tool to help support students with this question type.
Lumio (PreK-5): Use the interactive activities like Fill in the Blank, Rank Order, Super Sort, and Match 'Em Up to practice dragging and dropping.
Canva Code (K-12) - Describe the activity you want to build and then refine using the AI chat. When finished, click Publish to create a link you can share with students.
SCR/ECR Reminders
Constructed responses require clear thinking and efficient writing. Frequent digital practice builds stamina and prepares students to respond confidently on assessments.
Strategies:
Have students plan what they are going to speak about before they start recording by writing down their thoughts
Plan activities that include writing and speaking as responses about a topic, story, etc.
Key Play #1 - Incorporating Typing Through Digital Writing
Key Play #1 - Incorporating Typing Through Digital Writing
The Game Plan
The Game Plan
Just like athletes build muscle memory through daily drills, our students strengthen their skills through consistent typing practice. In the elementary grades especially, typing is a key part of digital fluency—it builds the foundation for success in digital writing, online assessments, and communication.
Even a few minutes of purposeful typing each day helps students improve accuracy, speed, and focus. More importantly, it prepares them to express ideas confidently in the digital world.
Typing and digital writing empower students to communicate as Empowered Learners, act as Responsible Citizens, and grow as Global Competitors and Entrepreneurs. To build these habits, teachers can incorporate frequent, structured opportunities for typing and digital composition into authentic classroom routines—like reflections, quick writes, or responses in Canvas, Lumio, or Peardeck. Each keystroke moves students closer to becoming confident, capable digital communicators.
Game Day Moves
Game Day Moves
Practice these plays in the classroom—and across campus—to have students ready to score! Typing practice is a district-wide priority and a key focus for elementary campuses. Every student should have regular, meaningful opportunities to type, write, and create digitally.
Embed typing into everyday routines. Use warm-ups that include short typing prompts or quick reflections.
Replace paper-based quick writes with digital entries using Canvas, Peardeck, or Lumio.
Model and reinforce proper keyboarding strategies—home row, shortcuts, posture, and accuracy.
Assign exit tickets, ECRs, or SCRs digitally to build fluency and stamina.
Provide campus-wide typing opportunities—library lessons, computer lab rotations, classroom centers, or before/after school practice.
Celebrate progress! Track growth with class leaderboards or goal charts to keep motivation high.
Drills for Success!
Drills for Success!
Teacher Led:
Canvas Text Entry Assignments (K-12) - Text entry assignment are great ways to collect exit tickets, quick writes, and warm ups.
Canvas Google Assignments (K-12) - Google Docs or Slides provide a structured place to plan and write.
Pear Deck Short Answer (6-12) - Pear Deck Short Answer activities allow for quick collection, review, and peer discussions.
Lumio Shout-it-Out Activities (K-5)- Use this for exit tickets, quick writes, and warm ups
Seesaw Text Tool Frame (PreK-2)- Use the Frame tool to help guide students to do a text response for exit tickets, quick writes, and warm ups.
Student Owned:
Typing Practice: typing.com, typetastic.com
Digital Journal: Use Canva, Google Docs/Slides
Write a Story: Use Canva, Google Docs/Slides
Templates:
Classroom Scores
Classroom Scores
Use the Typing Champion leaderboard to encourage and gamify typing practice in your classroom! Click to edit and print the template file then update as students practice typing. We recommend a 1-3 minute typing test on a site like typing.com or typtastic.com and requiring an accuracy score of at least 95%!
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