Testing Time Out

Reminder to new teachers: Tests are all temporary constructions! They give little indication of the future success of your students or insight into the effectiveness of teachers. I don't need a case study to back up what all teachers already know, but in case you want one, here are three that will support my point:

•  Standardized Tests Not Always Best Predictor of Success 
• To predict a student’s future success, look at their grades, not their IQ or SAT score 
• Students’ test scores tell us more about the community they live in than what they know

After 33 years in education, I have watched as "experts" imposed their ideas on generations of teachers and students. Teachers jumped through the direct instruction hoop and then were redirected to whole language instead. Then chalk became the enemy and we all had to have whiteboards to eliminate chalk dust's danger. We dumped tracking for flexible groups and mandated kindergarten. Students could no longer sniff the papers that were still damp from the mimeograph machines, and reel-to-reel projectors were replaced by movies on VHS. STEM education became the new buzzword and then was replaced by STEAM, and technology became the answer to our educational problems. I have gone to workshops on writing the 5 paragraph essay, 6 Traits of Writing, and responding to reading. Each one said the other was outdated. We have had Reading Recovery, Response to Intervention, Race to the Top, Mastery Teaching, No Child Left Behind, Multiple Intelligences, Constructivism, and Common Core. Gradually our once a year standardized achievement tests from 1983 were replaced by IGAP, then ISAT, PARCC, and now IAR. And where have all the acronyms gotten us? According to Education Secretary, Betsy Devos, nowhere! 

I want to quote my teenager on this one... Duh! Perhaps one of these days, some of the policy-makers will accept this timeless fact: Quality teaching hasn't changed over the years and teachers don't become better at their jobs by adding superfluous mandates. If we want to improve our educational system, it is time to start listening to teachers, respecting our profession, and giving control of our schools back to our local districts where it belongs.

So, teachers, just take a deep breath and carry on. Don't waste another second on teaching toward that test. The IAR that you are so worried about is just more educational flatulence, but your impact on the next generation will last long after the smell has wafted away.  

Snow Day Flight Challenge 2019

It's a Snow Day! It's a Snow Day! I am excited and I hope my students are, too, since I have been teasing them with this opportunity since the first day of school. Today I launched our Distance Challenge through the Smithsonian Institute website. If you haven't checked it out, you should. This site has interactive elements to help students learn about lift, weight, thrust, and drag. They can build their own virtual planes and test out different components interactively. Best of all, we will be launching a virtual paper airplane through their Distance Challenge and watching its progress as it lands in countries around the globe. Last year, my students racked up over 400,000 miles and earned a place in the top 10 flights of all time. If you want to check out my Pear Deck slides for this project, complete with links to EdPuzzle and Book Widgets. Check this out!

https://sharepeardeck.com/pjvl6k

Making the "Pear"fect Lesson with Pear Deck

I don't get paid to love Pear Deck, but it is my new favorite tool. Presenting a small group breakout at our January in-service was a no-brainer. Here is the Pear Deck I used for the interactive presentation. Hopefully, my enthusiasm will catch on...

Professional Development Breakout Session: Hapara

For the January 2 in-service, my first breakout presentation was on using Hapara to access and monitor student learning. I really don't know how I would manage a 1:1 Chromebook classroom without Hapara! Students know that I can access their screens, files, email, and even the trash from my Hapara account. Just knowing that I can and do monitor them has curbed most of their off-task behaviors. Check out my Google slides for more information.

First Thanksgiving Digital Breakout!

After learning about Digital Breakout activities at IETC 2018 last week, I tried making my own. It was easier than I anticipated and I only had a few glitches. Although I set the data validation for each question and set up the sections to work properly, I did forget to make the quiz self-grading. My first students to finish needed for me to manually check each of their answers. Not too bad for my first try!

A couple of hints to remember:

1. Put students into groups of no more than 4. I think the groups of 2 and 3 worked more productively than the larger groups of 4.
2. Allow much more time than you expect for it to take. My students were all working on question 2 of 4 when the time limit expired.    Next time, I will allow 45 minutes instead of 30.
3. Double check the data validation carefully. Google does not allow more than one possible data validation option, so plan the questions carefully so that students are not struggling with whether to write a plural form. I used the hints to help with this.
4. Add a Certify em' certificated by using the Certify em' add on for Google Forms. Then your successful students will automatically be mailed a completion certificate.
5. Plan another activity in case the Internet goes down. This has not been a problem all year, UNTIL I started this activity. Ugh!
6. Don't forget to set the answer key, too. Once I put correct answers into the data validation fields, I forgot to add the same responses into the correct fields for self-checking.

I would love to find a timer that would embed into the Google Form or that would automatically countdown. For now, I just used the Google timer found by typing timer into the Google search bar. Displaying this on my Smartboard worked fine.

Here is my First Thanksgiving Breakout using the Scholastic First Thanksgiving website for searching for answers to the questions.

Wonders Resources for Grade 5

As I am creating resources to accompany the Wonders Fifth Grade Reading program, I will post them here. I hope to create one or two resources per week as I use the series this year. Check back for the links to Google Slide Pear Decks for introducing skills and vocabulary and Book Widget resources review. Subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out!

Wonders Pilot

As a pilot teacher of the McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders series, I am just starting to feel like I am figuring out a workable routine for this series. Here are my initial thoughts to anyone who is just beginning to use the Wonders Reading Program.

The website is not teacher friendly!

After completing Unit 1, I can finally locate resources that seem to be hidden away in the depths of the digital program. In fact, I bought binders to organize the weekly resources including pocket dividers for vocabulary cards and extra binders to hold copies of the annotated teacher's edition of the Your Turn workbook and Grammar Workbook. It is tiresome searching online each time that I want to grade an assignment.

Take Your Time Setting Up the Calendar

I also finally figured out how to adjust the calendar feature and redistribute lessons as needed. The digital tutorials were not as helpful as they could have been. A hint to remember: setting up the calendar is an essential part of utilizing this program. Take your time to do it right.

Take the Tests and Complete the Worksheets Yourself

The Weekly Assessments are very difficult, so try them yourself before using any of them with your classes. I have heard repeatedly from teachers that the approaching level test is the one to use during the first year of implementation. I agree! You will also want to teach strategies for completing these tests that are fresh reads for the students. Pay attention to any vocabulary included in the questions that could be difficult. My students knew the meanings of the vocabulary words for the week, but they did not know some of the words that were included as synonym choices on the tests. Vocabulary and finding text support for answers are heavily weighted in this program. You won't find the pitfalls until you do the work yourself.

Watch for Errors 

After Unit 1, I have reported 5 content errors in the digital program, including typos and mislabeled spelling sounds, to content support. Be persistent and make sure that you follow up if you get an email saying that there is no error. Eventually, you will get to talk to someone who will want to fix the problem.

 Create Your Own Resources as Supplements

With the difficulty of the program, my students have needed additional resources and practice that are not provided in the program. I have been making my own. Some of the hidden gems that I found useful are the Weekly Writing Frames that help students to summarize and use the vocabulary from the Reading/Writing Workshop selection. I also found this website to be helpful: http://theteachersguide.com. Here you can find a weekly informational letter, printable vocabulary cards, and vocabulary lists. 

Sample of a Weekly Writing Frame

I have begun to make Google Slides with embedded Pear Deck questions to go along with each lesson. With the free Pear Deck add-on and 1:1 Chromebooks, I can present on the Smartboard and push multiple choice and short-response questions to students during the presentation to increase engagement. Without these, I struggled with the lengthy, large group instructional sequences built into the first 2 days of the recommended plan. I will be posting those Pear Deck slides in another post. Be sure to subscribe to get updates if you want copies of all of them. Here is the Unit 2, Week 3 (Gr. 5)Pear Deck Google Slides slide set as a sample:

Book Widgets and Spelling City have also provided easy ways to increase student engagement with Wonders. It is very easy to create sequencing activities, vocabulary crossword puzzles, timelines, word webs, and story maps with Book Widget tools. Spelling City integrates nicely and includes pre-made spelling lists at 3 levels and vocabulary practice for every Unit and Grade level. This is a handy addition.

Don't Give Up!

It gets easier to wade through the resources. I finally feel like I know the differences between the Reading Writing Workshop, Literature Anthology, Your Turn workbook, and Close Reading Companion books! There are so many resources, I have to choose which ones to use each week, but it is getting easier. Check back here or subscribe so that you don't miss the other tools that I am creating for 5th grade!