Gallery Walks!

One of the easiest ways to incorporate MOVEMENT into your day! A GALLERY WALK!

In the example above, I pulled photographs and pictures from our current ELA unit. I had kids walk along and write what they notice and wonder on sticky notes. It was a type of formative assessment because these were familiar pictures from texts we already read. Just me checking in to see what the kiddos were retaining/still thinking about.

Another option? A a pre-assessment! I could have used these same pictures BEFORE starting the unit to see what my students already know about the topic. It would guide my instruction for that unit.

How about yet another option? A super engaging culminating activity where kids can show what they know!

Any way you use a gallery walk, the kids will be MOVING, COLLABORATING, and ENGAGED!

By the way, I always have a number associated with each student in my class. They just put their number on the sticky note so I know for sure who wrote what. :)

Show What You Know: Formative Assessments that are actually QUICK AND EASY!

FLASH BACK TO TEN YEARS AGO!

This little gem saved my formative assessment game!

I used this Show What You Know Chart every single year I was a classroom teacher. (I am currently an interventionist and instructional coach.) I had my students each given a number. When I wanted to do a quick check in ANY subject, I asked them to jot their response on a sticky note. They put their sticky note on their corresponding number. Typically I used this as an exit ticket or a ticket out the door.

When it came time for me to check, I tossed the answers that were appropriate and could easily see the students who needed a reteach or some extra support. I also knew right away who did not turn their response it because their number was still showing. 

Recently I was working in a classroom with a teacher. She had the kids do a quick right after their Individualized Daily Reading on a post it and asked them to stick them to her desk. It was literal chaos. Some kids put the sticky notes on her desk, others put them on the front, and NOBODY had names on them. So, I pulled this little gem out! Reprint, laminated, and VOILA! Organized, easy, quick formative assessments that WORK!

State Testing - Try this short response resource!

Good morning!

We're in it. And by it I mean testing season. As an instructional coach, I'm helping kids AND teachers prepare for upcoming state assessments in New York. I made testing survival kits for my teachers - motivational coloring pages, secret parent notes for encouragement, testing treats, letters to the students for support, and these short response checklists!

I love using pens with my kids to color code their Restate, Answer, and two pieces of Text-based evidence. When they become automatic at it, they will write with one color and use different colored highlighters to check their response. It's difficult to get full credit on the written response without a strategy like this!

While kids can't use them on the test, they can use this leading up to the test and we can hope it sticks! I have several strategies - RATT, RATTS, RAPP, and RAPPS - depending on the strategy different teachers use in my school. What strategy do YOU use successfully for short response questions?

Click here for this resource!

Seesaw Ambassador!

Hello, everyone! I am now a proud Seesaw Ambassador! I started using Seesaw in my classroom this year and really love it.  There are all different ways to use Seesaw in your classroom. For me, I do not have much technology, so I downloaded the app on my phone and iPad. I am the only person who takes pictures of students, snapshots of work, videos of them publishing their writing or reading, etc. I then upload it to the app and tag only those students in the pictures, so only their family members see it. I also use Seesaw to take pictures of our anchor charts, read aloud texts, and classroom to upload for EVERYONE to see. Parents love being involved in the minute to minute happenings in our classroom and knowing exactly what their child did at school.

Some teachers use Seesaw for more formative assessment. Since you can see this digital portfolio and even tag certain skills (and assess those skills using Seesaw Plus!), it is easy to use to monitor progress on a daily basis. Parents can even print their child's Seesaw portfolio at the end of the school year.

Sign up today using my link and we’ll both get an extra month of their premium features for free!

https://app.seesaw.me/invite/?code=vL10gDRetzL7BkX-iIg2SgKprVuf_GQIrY9dtWZaSvBS_1uzC6WGgMXKY9M_5pP6PHU0r56gT54Wkq0meuEV9g%3D%3D&type=REF

Let me know if you need help getting going - I think you'll love it!

Spark Student Motivation Saturdays

I'm here to link up with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation Saturdays!

I was a fourth grade teacher for five years, and last year I switched to second grade. It has been a GREAT transition. One area I've always struggled with, though, was word work. I could create spelling activities, but coming up with the making and changing words activities on the fly was a big challenge for me. I felt like I was always making my word work too easy for my second graders.

Then, I thought about my close reading and my read aloud time. In the beginning of my career I thought I could come up with text-based questions in the spur of the moment. When I started to re-evaluate my close reading and read aloud time, I realized that my questions weren't always text-dependent. I started jotting down some questions ahead of time on a Post It and saw great results. So, I applied that same strategy to my word work!

I spent my February vacation generating 267 Making and Changing words lists, organized by text level, to implement during my Daily 5 time as a partner activity with whiteboards AND for my own use during small skills groups. I am super duper excited about this addition to my classroom and I think it will be SO motivating for the kiddos!! I mean, come on, kids love whiteboard time! (And if they do a nice job following directions during Making and Changing words activities, I usually give them 30 seconds of doodle time. They LIVE for that!)

Check it out here! :)

Spark Student Motivation Saturday: Plickers

I'm linking up on this relaxing Saturday with Joanne over at Head Over Heels For Teaching. You know what that means...Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

This is a sweet idea that one of my colleagues found online that I've been fiddling with all morning! A neat way to quickly assess students through the use of multiple choice questions...

PLICKERS!

So, here's how this free site works. Sign up FOR FREE using an email address. Create a class and add your students. Print the cards. (Each kids receives their own card, and the cards look kooky...but by turning the cards, they create A, B, C, or D answers) The teacher downloads the plicker app to a phone or iPad. When asking questions, the teacher scans the room as kids hold up their individual cards. Immediately, the responses are graphed on the iPad! You can display the data and discuss or use it to drive instruction!

Kiddos hold up their individual cards. Directionality determines their answer choice.

Cards!

Immediate results!

This seems like an awesome way to motivate students and act as a GREAT formative assessment tools for teachers! I'm trying it this week!

Fist to Five

One of the protocols I discovered on EngageNY was Fist to Five. I really liked this type of formative assessment because it was quick and easy! If you haven't used it, basically it goes like this. You hold up five fingers if you totally got what the teacher was saying. 4 if you basically understand it. 3 fingers if you got some of it, but might need a few things re-explained later. 2 if you have a lot of questions still. 1 if you're really didn't understand most of the lesson. And a fist if you basically dozed off during the lesson.

Let's hope this works...
I'm linking my GoogleDocs up. I want to share the Fist to Five posters I've made, along with some other fancy schmancy consequences/rewards posters. Enjoy!

Fist to Five

Tried It Tuesday: Quick Writes

Let's link up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday!

When doing a read aloud, I usually have a novel study that goes along with the text. Usually the kiddos have short response questions to work on for each chapter. But sometimes we don't. So, I have Quick Write Sentence Starters taped down to their desks. When we finish a chapter or a picture book, I will sometimes have the kids head back to their desks and pull out their Post Its. Students will then use the Quick Writes sentence starters to response to the text. When they are finished, they stick the Post It to the number I gave each child in September on the Show What You Know chart.

This type of formative assessment takes only a few minutes and is very telling! It gives you quick information about what your students took away from a read aloud session, and what you still need to work on.

And don't forget about the big TpT sale! Check it out!

Tales and Teacherisms TpT Store

Show What You Know!

I found this neat-o idea on another teacher blog. (The link for the free printable is located below.) It's sweet because I number my kiddos. When we finish a lesson, I might have them pull out their post it notes and respond to the lesson in some way. Maybe a 3-2-1, maybe a question, or maybe I have them make a connection to the text...anything! After they respond on the post it, they stick it to their number. I can easily check the responses, and see who did not turn one in. I usually wind up throwing these away after I check them, unless there is a major issue. Anyway, this is a cool formative assessment tool to integrate into any classroom!

Mrs. Heeren's Blog

Quick Write Responses - Formative Assessment at its EASIEST!

So, I've been looking for more formative assessment to use with my read aloud novels. I saw another teacher on pinterest used something called "Quick Writes," so I developed my own. I typed up some sentence starters to use in response to readings. I shrank them down and laminated them to keep on desks. When we finish a chapter, I have the students use Post Its to write a one sentence response to the text, using a sentence starter from our Quick Writes.

The coolest part is that I don't need them to write their names. I give each child a number on the first day of school and EVERYTHING gets labeled with that number. So, on the back of one of the bookshelves in the classroom, I have all of their numbers written. Kiddos finish their Quick Write and stick their Post It on the bookshelf, covering their number. I can easily see who has finished, and who might need to reread the chapter. I use these during math as well. I'll give the kids a quick question, like an exit ticket for those familiar with the CCLS modules, and it is awesome formative assessment.

Voila!

Here are the Quick Writes I use in my fourth grade classroom.

Quick Write Response:

I predict…

I infer…

I wonder…

I question…

The characters…

I would change…

I noticed…

I visualized…

I like/dislike…

The author…

The author’s purpose is…

A meaningful connection…

The setting…

I didn’t understand when…

As I’ve read, a change I noticed is…