MOteacher's comment on Ruth's post last night reminded me of those demoralized kids and the children I used to spend countless hours preparing for City and State Tests. MOteacher wrote: "Once talk of MAP testing (Missouri Assessment Program) started this week, I found myself in a tizzy about my teaching. I hate the self doubt… Continue reading Students and Standardized Tests
Category: authentic assessment
Mid-Year Self-Evaluation: Want a Copy?
It's that time again... This-coming week is Mid-Year Self-Evaluation Time in my class's Writing Workshop. I've revamped the Mid-Year Self-Evaluation to reflect the questions from not only Buckner's Book (as I have done in the past), but from Elliott's Book, along with some of my own questions. It's a lot less intensive on photocopying entries… Continue reading Mid-Year Self-Evaluation: Want a Copy?
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My Life as a Reader.
The first unit of study is coming to a close. The summative assessment is two part. First, students are to create a multimedia presentation (text + image + audio) of their past, present, and future reading lives. (Part two is an on-demand writing, where they summarize their learning about reading + a reflection of this… Continue reading My Life as a Reader.
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NCTE: Reading Assessment.
While at NCTE, I listened to Patrick Allen, Franki Sibberson, and colleagues discuss reading assessment. Here are some highlights: One assessment isn't better than another and none can stand alone. We need a variety. Look at the routines of reading workshop and figure out how to assess those routines. I should ask myself: What does… Continue reading NCTE: Reading Assessment.
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Preview: Reluctant Writers’ Self-Reflections
I've been going through some of my former students' end-of-year self-assessments in writing (adapted from Buckner's Book Notebook Know-How) that were completed in June 2007. I'm doing this to find just a couple of good quotes about the way that my reluctant writers transformed, in their own eyes. Here's what the most reluctant of the… Continue reading Preview: Reluctant Writers’ Self-Reflections
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photos + words.
In response to Ali's challenge this week, I've been thinking of stories which represent finding balance in life. This has stretched me as a writer. I find myself renewed by having a project to complete. I find myself looking at the world differently and looking at myself differently. I find myself pulling out my writer's notebook… Continue reading photos + words.
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prompt scoring.
First day back . . . and I had the pleasure of working with all of the 4th & 5th grade teachers in our corporation to SCORE WRITING PROMPTS! (Does the emphasis of the capital letters make it sound all glamorous & fun?) Here's a few things on my mind after a day of scoring… Continue reading prompt scoring.
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Gearing Up for Poetry
Poetry Portfolio Originally uploaded by teachergal It's May. National Poetry Month is over. However, that means that I'm just three weeks away from the start of our final unit of study: POETRY! 🙂 I decided to take the eight poems I had done for the One-Week Poetry Challenge and put them into a binder. However,… Continue reading Gearing Up for Poetry
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Narrative Feedback to a Student
Narrative Feedback to a Student Originally uploaded by teachergal When we returned from Winter Recess I had my students complete self-evaluations of their Writer's Notebooks. (They do this in the middle and at the end of the year. This idea was inspired by Aimee Buckner's Book on Writer's Notebooks.) Each and every student receives a… Continue reading Narrative Feedback to a Student
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Persuasive Letter Writing Rubric
A few folks have left comments asking for resources for teaching persuasive letter writing. I promised to post the rubric I created once it was finished. It's now complete and can be downloaded by clicking here. Once you to the landing page, just scroll down and click on the and downloading the PDF that says… Continue reading Persuasive Letter Writing Rubric
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Customized Spelling Lists
I've been grading my students' personal narratives this morning using the rubric I created last month. That being said, I decided not to just grade their personal narratives, but also to use them as a way to create lists of misspelled words so that I can differentiate their weekly spelling lists. My colleague Kate gives… Continue reading Customized Spelling Lists
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WN: Weekend Check-Ins
Last year I adopted (and adapted) an idea I got from Davis and Hill's Book, The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing. For an entire year I gave my students weekend writing assessments. However, they were essentially checklists that didn't inspire my students to really do much thinking about their writing. Hence, in conjunction with two… Continue reading WN: Weekend Check-Ins
