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How can Executive Function Skills Help for Gifted Tests?

Children, as you may have realized are often “free-thinkers”. Left alone, they’ll decide when they’ll do their homework, what type of food they want, or even how long they want to play on their iPad for. It takes parents’ guidance to help their kids develop self-discipline. While there’s an appropriate place and time for free-range kidding around, it’s the last thing you want while your child is taking a gifted test. Developing your child’s executive function skills can help them stay focused during the test.

Executive function skills are thought processes we used to successfully navigate through the world. These skills are also widely used through the gifted and talented exams offered. To learn more about this, a couple of example executive function skills are shown below – each with an example that pertains to upcoming gifted and talented tests.

Impulse Control – Helps your child to think before acting.

The SCAT Test requires your child to choose the best pair of words to complete an analogy. It may appear that more than one answer fits the analogy, and there are often answers that are designed to mislead your child, so this learning this skill would prove beneficial in thinking before choosing the correct answer.

Flexible Thinking – Allows your child to adjust to the unexpected.

The NNAT Test, requires recognizing a wide range of patterns and filling in an empty box. Your child may see patterns he or she doesn’t recognize, or that weren’t in practice questions, on the actual test and will be expected to still choose the right answer.

Working Memory – Prepares your child to keep key information in mind.

The Woodcock-Johnson Test, requires listening to uncompleted sentences and supplying the word that is missing. Your child will need to learn how to remember important information to perfectly answer the questions.

How can GoGoBrain help your child?

As you can see, these skills are crucial in your child’s life, especially when taking these tests. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to teach these to your child. The games offered on GoGoBrain is a great way to keep your child engaged while learning about these executive function skills! Our games can offer a low-stress environment to hone their skills. GoGoBrain will help your children develop skills in listening, following directions, self-control, focus, working memory and visual-spatial reasoning.

Does your child need more help?

For additional help with teaching your child about these important executive function skills, Testingmom.com, has been proven to be beneficial for a child’s success. With their 40+ partner programs and their 100,000+ practice questions, be sure to utilize this important resource! To learn more about the upcoming SCAT, NNAT, and Woodcock-Johnson tests – Gifted and Talented Test Information, will brilliantly outline the structure of the tests, explain the best ways to prepare, and offer free practice questions.

Answers: C, C, Moon or Stars