5 Fun and Easy Ways to Gamify Your Review

5 Easy Ways to Engage and Assess Your Students 

As we are closing up the school year and looking for ways to review and keep students engaged games are a big one! You may be looking for ways to do your end review, or even to review for a unit, or simply end the week.  We are all tired, hot, and looking for some ways to make school more fun. 

 

I get it. Elementary school students are almost done with their year, they are silly, tired of state testing, and probably watching movies in some classes.  High school students are hot, tired, more interested in talking about prom and summer plans than classes.  But you still want to teach - you can! 

Here are top 5 favorite ways to introduce technology engage students and make review more fun:

 

You can keep your students engaged and doing some serious review! 

Top 5 Engaging Review Strategies

• Kahoot  - You set up a series of questions and answers ahead of time (or you can use shared templates created by other teachers). Students can play on their own or in teams, and on any device (chromebook, phone, tablet, etc).  Students get points for both speed and correct answers, so it gets very competitive!  Kahoot.com describes it as “It is a game based classroom response system played by the whole class in real time.” I have seen it used with elementary to high school ages students, all of whom were very engaged.

• Quizlet Live - Quizlet Live is very similar, it is a real-time, team-based classroom game. In this case it is better based on vocabulary, formulas, or other things that can be matched (as opposed to multiple choice questions). It emphasizes accuracy over speed, but still gets competitive. 

• Quizziz - Quizziz is also a multiplayer quiz game.  It can be done real-time, or assigned individually outside of class (or in class). It also emphasizes giving the teacher detailed data. Students play together on the same questions, but at their own pace. 

• Plickers - This is a more short term option. Maybe you just want a few quick review questions, a ticket out the door, or even a formative assessment built into a lesson.  Plickers aren’t as much to gamify a series of questions, but to quickly and easily collect answers in a fun and novel way.  Plickers are described as “a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.”  Students get pre-printed cards that they hold up.  You have an app on your phone that uses the camera to collect instant (almost) data on their answers. Pretty AMAZING! 

• And a bonus (non-tech) option recommended to me by a friend - Bazinga!  This one I have not played before, but it sounds like a LOT of fun.  This came from a great discussion with Brooke in my Facebook Group. If you aren’t in it already, check it out here 

 

Why are these types of review important? 

We know how important it is for students to review, but they often don't see the connection between class, exams, and the need to review. It's obvious to us how important it is to review, but once they're done, they're checked out!  Many students are not focused on their review, or if they don't feel successful then they don't want to participate. 

 

These types of review give options for team or individual play and they all have an element beyond just getting the right answer.  This keeps students engaged especially near the end of the year when it's difficult to maintain focus (for both us and the students).  Students can review and feel like they are playing a game, rather than working!  And you get some serious review and get to raise your test scores, while your students are playing a game! 

If you have another review strategy that you love, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear your favorites! If you try one of these, please comment below or email me and let me know how it goes! 

3 Fail-Proof Strategies for Students with Low Literacy Skills

3 Fail-Proof Strategies for Students with Low Literacy Skills

A few years ago our evaluation scores were based on test scores, and we had to predict early in the year how students would do on those tests, and set goals, with our administrators.

This led to a lot of looking at data in order to set realistic, but reasonable goals for students. Because I am science teacher, there weren’t as many benchmarks as there are for reading or math. There is a lack of previous scores, and earlier science classes aren’t always indicative of how the students will perform in later classes. After looking at a lot of data, I found that the best predictor for my students’ science test scores was actually their reading level.

This is so frustrating for us as teachers because the content we teach them is only part of the picture. It is also frustrating for students because they can’t really demonstrate what they know. As teachers we do have obligation to help fill some of these literacy gaps, but we also want to teach content, and not have the content get lost in the reading difficulties.



Where I teach there are so many students in my classroom who struggle with low literacy skills, and this is problematic for them in school, particularly in the upper grades where reading is no longer taught. Students who have lower literacy skills struggle and become disengaged with school, but as content teachers, or teachers of higher grades, we are not always equipped to teach reading skills. So what do we do? How do we help them in class?

• Find other ways to get them the information
• Find other ways for them to express their knowledge
• Use scaffolding tools such as text to speech, word walls, integrated instruction of vocabulary and more to allow them to build on their strengths, instead of focusing on weaknesses. 

Find other ways to help them get the content

Especially now, not all content has to be taught through reading and writing. We can, of course, lecture, but this may not hold students’ attention. Whether you want students to work independently, or in stations, another great way for students to learn new content is through videos, often with some type of guided notes, graphic organizer, or reflection tool.

Some of my favorite science YouTube channels are:

• Brainpop (if your school subscribes, although certain videos are free without a subscription)
• Scholastic Study Jams
• Amoeba Sisters
• Crash Course and Crash Course Kids

Comment below with your favorite source for science videos

Let them demonstrate their knowledge in other ways

The options here are countless. You can still require students to use key vocabulary terms, but some students may struggle with the organizational/spelling/writing aspects. Instead, they could show their knowledge in other ways. Here are just a few options. If you have other ideas, please feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear!

• Draw (create a comic strip to show a process, or a poster) 
• Create a PowerPoint (or Google Slide presentation)
• Record a podcast or video (easy with iPads or Chrome extensions like Screencastify)
• Create a brochure
• Create a commercial or skit
• Create a concept map (discussed here)
• Use graphic organizers or foldable organizers

Scaffold their reading skills

Some students cannot read content very well because they struggle with the vocabulary (either content vocabulary or tier 2 vocabulary). I have already written quite a bit about how I tackle vocabulary in my classroom in this post, here, and here and even for homework.

In addition to vocabulary other reading skills can be taught. Students can practice making their own test questions, with answers to get used to the structure and language of test questions. They can also be taught to read and understand diagrams better. Particularly in science class there are often questions that involve diagrams. Even students who struggle with reading long passages of text can often understand a diagram and answer questions correctly.

Next time you are working with a student whose reading levels are way below grade level don’t give up! And don’t let the student give up! Remember your goals: teaching content, assisting with reading, and teaching strategies. Both you and the student might be very surprised at how much he or she really understands when given the chance to express himself in other ways. When a student is more successful and confident in your class, they are more likely to continue to try harder and achieve greater success as well.

If you try out any of these strategies, I’d love to hear how they go. Please leave a comment below, or send me an email If you would like to see any of the resources that I use with my classes, please feel free to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers Literacy Items.

Tips for a Successful Year End Review

Tips for a Successful End of the Year Review

Reviewing for regents exams, or other state exams can be overwhelming. There is so much content: labs, diagrams, vocabulary, and just facts to know. Students want to do well, but they are tired, and they often don’t know how to study on their own. They don’t want to listen to you lecture, and you don’t want to lecture, but they need direction.



When reviewing for state exams, in particular, it is critical to look back at past state tests and to see what has often been asked. For New York State those exams are available here. However, students quickly get bored and frustrated with simply doing past questions. This doesn’t give them a study tool, it often just shows them what they already know, or what they don’t know. Many students are not able to take this to the next level and use it as a study tool.

We as teachers want to help them succeed, and want to feel like we have done everything we can, but many teachers struggle with ‘what to do for review?’ or ‘how to structure the review to cover the right content?’

This is How I Structure My Year End Review

Homework

For my year end review I like to assign something fairly open-ended, with choice for homework. This is something that students can make progress on their own, and won’t be studying ‘wrong’ but will be learning some study skills. One choice would be this free Review Assignment (applicable to any subject). This also eliminates the problem of cheating on practice test questions assigned at home.

Break it up

This is also a good time to utilize games and puzzles to break up review after students get bored of lecture and/or practice questions. A very popular way to do this is the use of Tarsia Puzzles (also called Magic Squares).

The ‘Meat’ of the Review

The bulk of my review, however comes from this resource, which I have created. It is organized by main topics within the New State Living Environment Course (Biology). Each topic has one or two pages. It is in guided notes format, with key diagrams that need to be labelled, or bullet points that need to be filled in. It can be used in several ways.

Depending upon the group of students that I have that year, I may use this resource in several ways:

• Hand out the entire packet at once, or I may hand it out one topic at a time, or only use some sections and review other sections in other ways.
• I will often put students in partners (or on their own) to complete a short section, then regroup and go over it.
• I have also had them complete a short section, check with a partner, and then check their answers against the key.
• A teacher answer key is included, so it is a very easy option if you want to copy the answer key for students (or a portion of it).
• I have also had students lead, up at the board, going over the answers with the answer key.

Here is a free sample of one topic if you'd like to give it a try!

It is open-ended enough that it keeps students actively thinking and engaged, but complete enough that it gives them a great study resource when they are finished.

This includes sections for the New York State Required Labs (Beaks of Finches: Evolution, Relationships and Biodiversity: Evidence for Evolutionary Relationships, Making Connections: Experimental Design and Homeostasis, Diffusion through a Membrane) as well as the following units of study:

• scientific inquiry
• classification of living things
• microscope, cells 
• macromolecules
• enzymes
• cell membrane
• photosynthesis and respiration
• nucleic acids
• mitosis and meiosis
• genes and heredity
• modern genetics
• evolution
• human body systems
• reproduction
• homeostasis
• ecology
• and human impact on the environment. 

The main points that are reviewed in each section are based on questions and topics that are most commonly asked on state testing.

What Else do I do In Class to Prepare them for the Test?

I usually review a topic or two using one of the above discussed methods and then do some practice past state test questions that draw specifically on that topic. This allows them to see the relevance and value of the review, and to have more success with the questions by being active participants in the review.

I know the end of the year can be chaotic, but end of the year testing is still important to both you and the students and we all want them to do their best. This can even ben a time to try some changes to routines in preparation for next year, and to keep things fresh at the end of this year.

I find this review structure (with some use of games or stations periodically to break it up depending upon your group and your time schedule) to be successful because students know what to expect, and they can see the purpose behind it. It is important that students buy-in to the review strategy, and understand what that the plan is, and the reasoning behind what you are asking them to do. Sometimes I even kick-off review with a contract that I have the students create and sign regarding which actions they plan to take to ensure that they do well (study each night, stay after school for extra help, participate in review, etc). This makes it clear where they are going. They can feel success as they complete it, and they also have a study resource when they are finished. Instead of being bored, students actually look forward to the structure, knowing what’s coming next, and seeing some progress in their learning and their scores.

I hope you will head over here, check out the previews, and try it out for yourself if you teach Biology. Please let me know what you think!!

3 Simple Strategies For Improving Comprehension

Background Image Attribution “seventy; words” flickr photo by RCabanilla https://flickr.com/photos/47662183@N04/4564071101 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

Welcome! I am a secondary science teacher in an urban district in upstate NY. I am taught Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Science, AP Environmental Science, as well as middle school integrated science. I am excited to share some strategies with you to help your students be more successful. You can see more of my teaching ideas and resources at my website.

Many times I teach students content, and I do believe that they know the content. However, when given test questions, they cannot demonstrate their knowledge. So frustrating! I have tried a lot of different strategies to be help them be more successful with mixed results.

To read the rest of this post, click over to Performing in Education. This was a special guest post but I wanted to make sure to share it with you.

5 Ways to Engage and Assess Using Task Cards

5 Ways to Use Task Cards in the Classroom

I looked out at my class, trying to get their attention as I stood at the board.  It seemed, even to me, like the class period would never end.  I was tired to trying to remind, redirect, and 'perform' to hold their attention.

My class needed a change so that students were active and helping each other learn.  I started researching task cards, and they quickly became a necessary part of my classroom.  The focus changed so that the students were active, eager to participate, moving around the room, and even doing some self-reflection.

If you've research task cards before, you may see that many of the resources available are geared more towards elementary students, or to subject areas other than science.  I want to share with you some great resources for more information on task cards, and the 5 ways that I find them most useful in my classroom.  It really is possible for your students to be more engaged and accountable for their learning.

Tweet: Task cards can be a valuable tool to assess knowledge and keep students engaged in creative and differentiated ways.

Student Reflection: New Year, New Classroom

My Classroom New Year's Resolution: Student Reflection

As teachers we often put a lot of time and effort into our student's learning, and lose a lot of sleep over them.  We may wish that our students put forth some reflection and responsibility (felt some of that urgency) on their own as well.  This year, starting mid-year, I am introducing my students to a tool to do just that. 

The New Year is the perfect time for students to reflect, along with you, and look forward to making some changes in the second half of the year. 

 We get frustrated when it seems like we care so much more than our students, or when our students don't seem to take the obvious (to us) steps to reach their goal.  However, they may need assistance to do so and this is where this tool comes in handy. 

Full Year Formative Assessment Bundle: Many Options For You!!

The Importance of Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is a very important topic to me.  When we are up at the front of the room teaching, it become easy for both us, and our students, to think that they understand what we are trying to teach.  Then nod and say they understand, and we believe them. No one is being deceptive, but its hard to determine.  

I think it is critical to use formative assessment very frequently.  That may be assessments of prior knowledge when starting a topic, or an assessment during or at the end of a lesson.  I have written before several times about formative assessment, in terms of warm ups, bell work, tickets out, or even station work that reviews and assesses knowledge on a few lessons at a time.  You can read those earlier posts  here, or here :) I think the particular way in that you choose to do formative assessment depends on your classroom routines and structure, but it is SOO important, for both yourselves and your students to have frequent checks on their understanding.

Grading Formative Assessment

When my school started using chromebooks, I made my daily warm ups in Google Forms.  I wrote here, about how I was able to grade work efficiently.  Whether you grade formative assessment for completion or only for effort is a topic for a whole other post (or several).  In my district, I found that students were less likely to complete it and take it seriously if it wasn't graded, but I never gave less than half credit unless refused to do it.

So How Can I Make This Easier For You? 

Does it seem like a lot of work to make up formative assessment questions on an almost daily basis?  It is!  But the good news is, the work is done for you.   I have created a year long bundle of formative assessments.  These are available in a large bundle of 10 units, 18 assessments each, and a bonus pack, or individually.  Here are a few points of information: 

• The units are correlated to my year long Biology Course Objectives, to ensure that all objectives are addressed.
• Each slide or form has 2-5 brief questions that should take students approximately 3-8 minutes to complete.
• Each unit is available in Google Forms, Google Slides (to be projected or used as digital task cards), and PDF

The full preview and description is here

Because of all the options available, the teacher (you) has a lot of easy options for differentiation.  

I hope these are a helpful to you as you work with your students. Please feel free to email me with any comments or suggestions, or to comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Top 5 Awesome Websites for Science Animations

Science class is a great place for hands-on activities, but there are some activities that you can't do hands-on.  Its great to be able to at least give students some experience with those activities in a virtual environment, as opposed to just lecture. There are many alternatives for doing online 'virtual labs.'  Here are a few of my favorites.

Advantages of Virtual Labs

There are advantages to doing a virtual lab.  Sometimes you don't have the materials, space, resources/weather etc to do a particular activity in class.  There might be something that needs a high powered microscope, or a topic that has to be done outside that you can't carry out during class time. Some topics just CAN'T be hands-on.  There are some great visualizations to understand and model things that are too small, or too abstract to do hands-on.  They have to be done through a model.  Sometimes a model is preferable because students can test different variables, repeat it, and pause/slow down/speed up at their own pace.  Maybe a student missed class, or needs an extension or extra credit, or an additional project on a certain topic.  

Hands-on is great, but there are lots of good reasons to use a virtual lab as well.

Just to be clear, these are not just game sites, or simple animations, but actual online labs.  Most have questions or activities that go with them, and they are really designed to help students work on higher level topics.  

Here are a few of my favorites... 

How to Make a Traditional Science Lab More Inquiry Based

5 Easy Steps to Add Inquiry into your Science Labs 

We all know that there is a big push to increase inquiry in our science labs, but this is not always as easy as it seems.   Often students are not ready for full-blown inquiry, and we as teachers do not have the time, materials, or resources to allow students to investigate their own questions within a classroom setting.  

However, inquiry is based on student interest and relevancy, and on developing process skills so that students are acting as scientists, rather than just students.  This can (and probably should) be done in small steps.  Here are 5 easy ways to introduce more inquiry into your classroom. 

Easy Differentiation Strategy For You to Use Today!

Easy to implement differentiation strategy

In any given class, at least in the district where I work, there is a huge range of abilities. There may be one or two students who above grade level, some on grade level, some who struggle with reading, some ELL's, and some with other special education needs, all in the same classroom.  In order for students to be successful, they need differentiation, and they need varying levels of support.  It can be difficult to provide the appropriate level of help when students are working independently or in groups. In order to do so, there is often a huge amount of work involved on the teacher's part.  Here is a quick strategy that can be very successful!

Types of differentiation

When thinking about differentiating, I try to think of a few things: 

1. What is the overall goal (objectives) of the lesson?  How can students achieve that goal in various ways?  This is where we start thinking about differentiating the output, the number of questions, the format, etc.  

2. What additional scaffolding will they need to be successful?  (How would I help the if I were tutoring them, or sitting with them to complete the assignment?) 

It is the second area that I want to focus on in this post.  There is a lot already written on the type of differentiation stated in number 1, and perhaps I will touch on that again another day.  Today's post will focus on the type of differentiation in point number 2.

The bottom line, however, is that there are many ways we can help students if we are sitting with them, but when we want them to participate in group activity, or do a lab, etc. as part of a whole class, we can't sit with them and provide that extra support.  Often the special education teacher can't do that either. But we can provide that support!

Hint Cards

My personal favorite strategy is a hint card - or even more than 1!  This is part of universal design.  It is available to everyone.  I was concerned at first that it would be abused, but that generally hasn't been a problem.

Planning and Preparation

I try to think through where students will get stuck, or what they might struggle with, and I create "hint cards."  I write the hint on the index card, or occasionally on a blank copy of the student work.

Implementation

I put it where it is accessible, but flipped over and taped down.  I usually write "hint" on the back and/or include in the directions that if they are really stuck, they can use the hint card.

Surprisingly, the higher students don't use the hint card most of the time. The middle students often use it to check themselves, just as you would want. The lower students use it regularly.  That's fine!  It provides them the necessary support to be able to complete the activity independently.  And it is a learning piece for them.

Specific Examples

Do you want specific examples?

Sometimes I do review stations where students are going to different stations to answer questions, or do review activities.  At some of the stations where I know the questions are more difficult, I will put a "hint card."  As students are working through the stations, they can use the hint if they need to.  The hint might be something as simple as a vocabulary word in the question that they are likely to struggle with, or it could be eliminating 1 or 2 answers.

When students are working on a graphing activity, I know students will struggle with setting up the graph scale.  At each table I add an extra copy of the student worksheet.  The graph is set up.  The paper is flipped over, taped to the table (or you could put it inside a folder) in add a little suspense and to keep it secure.

If students are struggling to write a constructed response question or short essay, it is easy to make a 'hint' with sentence frames to help them get started.  

If you really want to get fancy, you can always break it down into two step hints.  For example, the first hint could be just one graph axis set up.  The second hint could be both axes set up and the first point plotted.

Sometimes I just hand write on a student copy and make a few extra copies, or hand write on an index card before class. 

Try it!  I think you may be surprised at which students use the hints, and how they get used.  At least in my classes, students didn't use the hints to cheat, and the students who needed them generally used them appropriately.

What happened in class?

They freed me up to help students with other questions, or students who needed additional help, and allowed students to build confidence, learn while doing a difficult activity, and provide scaffolding.

Some Examples

This strategy works well with a variety of activities, but I have used it with the most success with activities where students are working through something more independently. This, in fact, allows students to be more independent.  Some examples would be my Enzyme Lab or Organelle Gallery Walk which are already differentiated.  This strategy could easily be applied to other labs such as the Circulatory System Lab, or Erosion Lab, or really to any content area.  

How to Manage Time in the Science Lab Classroom

One of the more difficult classroom management aspects of being a new science teacher is learning to manage time in the science classroom, particularly when doing hands-on science.  Science can be more difficult to manage class time than other courses because of the need to set up and clean up equipment, and the fact that students are, more often, engaged in hands-on group work and may work at different paces.

There are quite a few tips that can help a science lab run more smoothly.  They are divided into things you can do before the lab, during the lab, and after the lab.

Tips for Year End Success: Calming the Chaos

As a teacher, there are so many chaotic moments at this time of year.  It is chaotic for you as well as your students.  However, as much as you (and they) are counting the days to the end of the school year, there are some steps that you can take to both calm that chaos now, and reduce the chaos in the fall.

Read below for some great tips, and a chance to enter to win a $60 gift card

Lessons My Students Taught Me That Will Make You Rethink Your Role

As a teacher, and even a veteran teacher, I learn a lot from my students (yes, I know its a cliche, but its true!)

They fill me on and make sure I learn about clothing and music trends, and which rappers and TV shows to watch.  I learn about struggles that young children and teenagers have to deal with that I could never imagine, now, as an adult. I have learned what it really means to live in poverty, and gained an appreciation for the drive, ambition, and pride that some students have, against all odds.  When you teach in an urban area, in a very impoverished setting, and come from a middle class background, you learn a lot.   

However, across different grade levels (7th grade through college), different achievement levels (AP to credit recovery and special education), and different backgrounds, one thing sticks out to me.   

Cutting across all of those groups,  I think the biggest thing that I have learned is how important positive feedback and recognition is. Students will work harder in your class if they feel successful.  You have the power to make sure they feel successful during class, regardless of their grade. Yes,  there are ways to make lessons more fun, more relevant,  more engaging,  but beyond all of those students need to believe that they are appreciated, recognized and successful in class to take a risk and be a part of those activities. 

Students quickly decide that they 'like' or 'hate' your class, and a lot of it has to do with feeling successful. They can also change their mind! You can control this!  I don't mean by changing your expectations or your grading system.

How can you make students feel successful?  Compliment them.  Compliment them on the skills that you want them to continue to utilize.   Reinforce the behavior that you want them to do. Reinforce when they are doing well.  Praise them for using those skills and behaviors.  Its a win-win -- they are feeling successful and are likely to continue or increase those behaviors.  

Let me give you a couple of examples.  My own son does taekwondo.  At taekwondo, when he struggles with learning a particular kick or gets beaten at sparring, he sometimes doesn't want to go back.  When he gets praised from the instructor, wins a contest, or gets a compliment from a peer, it makes his day. In fact, not only does it make his day, but it makes him that much more excited to go again, because he feels like he's good at it.  

This same principle applies in the classroom, but now, instead of starting with a blank slate, you are starting with students who may have previous 'scars' and preconceived ideas that they are not good at school, especially be secondary school.  

I have done a ticket reward system several times in my classroom over the years, depending on the group of students that I have, and the building in which I am teaching.  In most cases, the students who are the most responsive to it are some of the lowest performing.  Also, in most cases, they don't really want the prizes.  There are a few students who are really after the prizes, but most want the points/tickets -- they want the recognition!  That's not something they are used to getting in class! And when they do collect prizes, one of the most popular prizes (yes for high school and middle school students) is a positive note or phone call home.

I give tickets or points for things like getting to class on time, answering questions, taking notes, helping a classmate.  These are basic classroom behaviors, but often it is our weakest students who aren't doing these things.  It is part of our job to teach these steps.  And then when students do them, recognize that!  Then it is cyclical - as they do those behaviors they become more successful and it builds.

In thinking about praise and recognition is, and what kind of non-materials rewards we could give students I started a google search.  I typed and this is what I got

Yep! The top result is for employees!  Yes, I clicked on it.  And you know what, a lot of the ideas suggested I think would be great.  Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and recognized.  I would love to work in a place where there were things like comp time off (does that sound similar to free time to time to listen to music in class?), or a nice card from a boss, recognition at a meeting (similar to a note home, or recognition at an assembly), a better parking spot (not so different from a special seat in class).

School shouldn't be so competitive.  Who wants to come to a place every day where they don't feel successful and appreciated?!  I wouldn't want to work in such an environment, and I doubt you do either.  Not everyone fits into the one-size-fits-all approach that is present at schools.  Part of our job as teachers is to help all students feel successful, welcome, and appreciated for who they are.

I do my little piece by greeting them by name, making positive phone calls home, recognizing in class when they are working particularly hard or helping a class mate. None of those cost a cent! A ticket or point system, I believe, is really in place to make both sides of this process (teacher and student) more tangible, and to serve as a reminder. 

What do you do to help your students feel appreciated and successful in class? 

Test Taking Strategy You Need to Know

When my students take a test, I want them to reason through the answers, read carefully, support their thinking, and make connections to what they know. Don't you? 

I don't know about you, but this is not often the case. When it is the case ,it is usually for my stronger students, but my weaker students (who most need to utilize these strategies) often don't do so.  Instead my weaker students are more likely to just pick answers, sometimes randomly, or even to leave questions blank.  

Like many of you, I have tried many other strategies to help students develop their test taking abilities and strategies, but with limited success.

My favorite is to allow students to work with a partner.  However, I don't tell them this right away.  I let them work on the test for the first half the period or so.  Then I will allow them to choose a partner.  They have to finish the test with a partner, or use their partner to check any that they aren't sure of.  Sometimes I tell them they need to turn in only one answer sheet.  Sometimes I allow them to turn in two answer sheets.

The results are amazing!  Students are already quiet, and for the most part engaged, but may be struggling. They are in a good spot to collaborate. All of a sudden I walk around the room and hear students saying things like,

"I think it has to be B because...."
"Well it asks us to compare, that means we have to talk about how they are alike and different"
"Did you look at the diagram?"

They suddenly have a reason to explain their thinking. They are encouraged to go back and look more closely at the question, the diagram, the vocabulary.

This works better than open notes, in my opinion because my weaker students often don't have good notes from which to pull information.  Here they have a crutch, but they have to convince another person of what they know, or work together with another person to agree upon an answer.

This has been an amazing strategy in my classroom to encourage even the weaker students to work through the questions, just the way that we want them to!  As they do, they learn from talking through the questions, using vocabulary, and also they gain confidence when they see what they know.

This is one of my favorite strategies. It can't be used all the time, but used sporadically it has great results.  One time my kids were taking a test this way and the director of science for my district walked in. He was very impressed with the conversations that he heard taking place!

What are your best strategies to build confidence and help students learn to think through difficult questions?

This Will Make You Want to Use Google Chrome With Your Struggling Students

As we know, reading and writing are often huge barriers learning content for special ed students, ELLs, and others.  If you have access to technology, there are some easy tricks to help differentiate, and break down that barrier with your students.  Specifically, within Google Chrome, or on a chromebook there are some easy ways to modify assignments and make them more accessible!  Help level the playing field for your students!

What happened when I was asked "How do you use information about your students?"

I recently was asked "how do you use information about student's families and communities" to inspire them in science.....

At first I thought this was a difficult question because of where I teach (high school in a very urban, free and reduced lunch, high poverty area) I don't always have good success with parent involvement in the more traditional sense.  I can't always get a hold of parents.  I set up a field trip last year and we had parent chaperones lined up.  Unfortunately a couple didn't show up.

I feel like there is a bit of a divide, or a culture shift between my culture and my students' communities.  I live five miles from the school, but it is a very different culture.  It is suburban. I grew up in a middle class suburb.  I have taught in my current district for 10 years, but I still feel like there are barriers or differences that I will probably never be able to cross.

Then, as I thought about this question, I took it a completely different way and realized that I do use information about families and communities.

• Because my students home lives are often chaotic, and they often don't have school supplies, I make sure that I always have extra paper, pencils etc. available in the classroom.
• Because my students may not have homework support at home, I always give homework that can be done independently (a menu of choices to practice vocabulary words, for example).  And I don't ever assign homework that is due the next day.  I always give some flexibility.
• Because my students, in general, have a lot of other responsibilities outside of school, I don't give a lot of homework.
• Because there are a lot of reasons that school is missed, or homework doesn't get done, I am flexible on accepting late work.
• Because there is a huge range of abilities, I try to differentiate and provide multiple pathways to success and multiple reading levels.
• Because they may not have background experiences, I try to start most units with common background experiences and build in some background knowledge and engagement, as well as feeling for success early on.
• Because the way for them to change their situation is by passing these high stakes exams, earning high school credits, and graduating, I still hold them to a high academic standard. I do not dumb down the content, and I do not excuse them from assignments.

Many of these have become such a part of my practice that I don't even think about them anymore. But my teaching style does reflect where I teach...

How about you?  How does your teaching style reflect the families and communities where you teach?

Learning Reflection Sheet Exclusive Free Gift

In secondary education I feel that we don’t spend enough time building relationships, and 

nurturing our students’ curiosity because we are bound by curriculum and pacing.   This sheet is something that I often use at the end of the class period in my own classroom.  We are only two weeks into school and I  and have already found that students are looking for my response each day, and are thinking about what to write during class (reflecting upon what they learned, or jotting down questions). 

This tool has become a great tool for formative assessment, and especially for 

differentiation. It is open-ended enough that the lower level students can simply 

state what they learned, or ask a question about the lesson, where higher level 

students can ask more in-depth questions, and I have an easy way built in to 

respond to them. 

I think it is critically important for students to reflect on their own learning, and, if needed, I can give a more specific prompt for the day. However, sometimes it is better open-ended.  On Friday I had one student write "I learned today that I need to come to this class ready to work, not fool around" .....If he learned that, I'm happy as well :)

Innovative Technology: Google Drive and Google Chromebooks

I have been meaning to blog more often this summer, and haven't done so. The last couple of weeks I have been deep into learning about Google Chromebooks and Google Drive (which I was familiar with) and how to use them in the classroom. My school is going to be a 1:1 Chromebook this year as part of a pilot program. I was asked to be on the technology committee, so I have been at many meetings planning logistics and rollout procedures, as well as staff professional development.

I have learned several things from this Chromebook experience, before school has even started, and I will definitely keep you posted as the year goes along.

1) Roll out and logistics procedures are critical for things to go smoothly.

We have spent a lot of time developing procedures for checking in and out the chromebooks, labelling them, determining what the procedures will be for late entry and early dismissal students, where they will be stored and how to access them, how to carry and store them, etc.  These clearly stated and communicated guidelines and procedures will (hopefully) eliminate a lot of problems later on. The same is true in the classroom!  It is so important to think through all of these details and what-ifs ahead of time, and to develop, organize, and communicate with your students.

2) Staff training, comfort level, and staff being on the same page is also critical.

The IT Department from the district came to do some training with us.  They began by stating that they expected people to be anxious and fearful, or opposed. Our staff was mostly not.  They were very excited.  We have a great staff.  However, I think a lot of the positive attitude was also due to keeping people informed ahead of time, providing resources and training so they are comfortable, and providing ongoing support and training so they  know they won't be lost.  I think people are much more likely to try something new when they are comfortable and feel successful in what they are doing, and know that they will have support.

Again, the same in true in the classroom!

3) I think this technology has the power to change the classroom, as we know it.

I used a smartboard, and powerpoint, but I don't use them extensively.  They are a great way to present graphics and diagrams, or do whole class instruction, but most of the best educational practices are not geared around whole class instruction with the teacher at the front of the room.  If you are using these technologies a lot, I fear that is what is happening.

Google drive, however, offers a way for teachers to spend less time copying and organizing work, and for students to keep their work organized.  It automatically saves, and teachers can provide templates or work to students to complete right in their Drive.  It also offers real time collaboration, commenting, and feedback, as well as research resources immediately in the hands of every student. It allows them to look up information, search for help, spell check, create documents, critique each other's documents, and watch videos or take notes, somewhat at their own pace.  They can go back and edit, go ahead, or re-watch something. I also see many opportunities for individualization and differentiation, from additional research questions to apps that allow text to be read, or making the screen size different or changing contrast.

I am really excited about this opportunity, and I hope my students are too!

Use Socrative For Colorful and Innovative Analysis and Test Prep

I don't  know if you are in a state that has Regents exams, or if you are in a state that has other state exams instead.

Here in NY, we have Regents exams.  They are exams given at the end of the course, in most high school courses, and passing a certain number of them in each content area is a graduation requirement.

I teach in an urban district, where the passing rates are fairly low.  I am always looking for ways to help students be successful on those tests.  I have tried many other things (which I may write about in other posts).

A colleague and I are trying a new strategy now.  Here is our plan (really, it was my colleague's plan first, and then I have adpated to my class):

 - Analyze the past few years Regents exams, correlate them to the NYS standards, to determine which topics are the most heavily tests, and what those test questions look like.  In other words, which standards are emphasized on the exams, and how are those standards translated into test questions. 

- Starting about now, give students weekly 10 question quizzes.  The quizzes will be made out of the most commonly tested standards.  

- As students get questions right, the quizzes will adapt to include the next most commonly asked questions.

- The quizzes are being done on www.socrative.com.  This allows me to add an explanation to the questions.  Students can take the quiz, know immediately how they did, and as they see their answer, see an explanation of why the correct answer is correct.  I am encouraging them to take  notes, and study those notes.  If they are getting questions wrong, there is a good chance that they will see the same questions next week.

- As I see a question that the class as a whole is not progressing on, I can go back and target that for a quick 'intervention.' 

So far, students are enthusiastic.  One of my top students even said "So we are starting review now?!"  

Me: "Yes, a little bit of review"

Student: "That's a good idea, then when we get to June it won't be so overwhelming!"

That's the idea.  Those students who advance faster through, will get more review, but those who advance slower will still review and hopefully "get" the most commonly tested concepts.

Teaching with Poverty in Mind Chapter 3

I have shared my previous book circle discussions for Chapter 1 and 2.  Here is my discussion for Chapter 3.

As the book progresses, it gets more specific on suggestions that teachers can implement, or schools as a whole can implement to improve success rates for students.

This chapter was about IQ being fluid, rather than static, which is dramatic if you really think about it.  It also talked about other factors that are critical such as self-discipline, and teaching problem-solving skills and social interaction skills.

I went to a PD recently that dove-tailed with this.  It was actually on classroom management, but the presenter touched on research by John Hattie, as well.  If you have never heard of John Hattie (as I haven't), he is an educational research who did a meta-analysis of thousands of other research studies to look into what practices actually have a positive effect on student achievement.

He found that some of the most important factors are feedback, and student-teacher relationships (rather than many of the other things of which we constantly hear discussion.

If you are interested in more details on his research, look at this link  or simply google John Hattie or Visible Learning.