This is the first year state testing for English has been moved to April. In previous years, once back from holiday break, I would skill, drill, threaten and encourage my kids to pass the state test with a score of a 3 or 4. However, as a teacher who is firmly against "teaching to the test," I have embedded skills the students will need to pass the state test in every single unit we complete in the 7th grade.
That said, this test should not be a mystery to kids. They should know what it looks like, how to do well and how it is graded. Yes, when we return from break I am sharing the grading rubrics with my students. I use the rubrics to grade their writing all year long, why should it be a mystery what the state is looking for? I want them to see the "Quality Assurance Sets" the state provides to train graders. They should know what kind of writing will receive the highest scores. I want them to develop their own strategies.
In all honesty, it is hard to convince the students of why they need to do well. They are not the ones "punished" for not performing. Their teachers and districts are... if they blow off the test, they're placed in Academic Intervention Services they may not actually need. It seems to contradict everything teachers are trained to do... evaluate the individual, implement supports and strategies for students on an individual basis. The challenge behind this state test isn't providing my students with the skills they need to perform and pass seventh grade. It's getting them to demonstrate their skills on that day, that one single day that is supposed to give the state a snap shot of 7 years worth of education.
I do my job, I love my job. The skills the state test evaluates are important. My kids, on average do very well. The scores in our small district have been on the rise the past 5 years due to incredible changes we have made to reading programs in the elementary and careful analysis we have performed in the middle school. This is what good teachers do. They realize one test does not tell the story of a child's education. How can it? So this year, my students will again be prepared for the test. They will show what they show on that day. I will deal with whatever consequences result and plan accordingly for the future. Meanwhile I will keep my fingers crossed for another type of test, maybe one without the high stakes for everyone... maybe one that actually measures what it is supposed to measure.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Fair Trade Festival
One of my classes employs a Scholastic program, Read180. While I appreciate the possibilities of this program, the technological component and the leveled texts for independent readers, my colleagues and I noticed there was something missing ; writing! One of the challenges of planning for this class is extending the learning the kids do in their R-books, beyond the book and connecting it to the real world. (This is a challenge for any class, really.)
The students finished a section of readings on international child labor. We started discussing what kind of legislation it might take to help combat the problems they read about. The students created legislation in the language of the Preamble to the Constitution. (They were learning about this in Social Studies) We took it one step further in class and discussed the idea of Fair Trade, providing laborers with the money earned from the sale of goods they helped to produce. The kids produced Public Service Announcements to speak out against child labor and promote their legislation. Some of the students created campaigns in the form of posters and presentations to "pitch" like ad- executives. We presented all of this to our principal and other supportive staff members.
This group of kids often gets the short end of the deal. Their curriculum can get so modified, they claim they don't get to "do anything cool." This is one of the first times since teaching Read180 other kids were asking to be in the class.
Students need to see their work related to the real world. They need that explicit connection. Asking them to reflect doesn't always do the trick. They need to get their hands dirty and go beyond the text and really learn about what is going on outside of their small town.
Our next unit in the R-book has to do with peer pressure and the effect it can have on students of all different creeds. I'm still brainstorming ideas and projects to help promote the material... Any ideas?
Lastly, Merry Christmas to anyone out there who has ever checked out the blog and those who haven't.
The students finished a section of readings on international child labor. We started discussing what kind of legislation it might take to help combat the problems they read about. The students created legislation in the language of the Preamble to the Constitution. (They were learning about this in Social Studies) We took it one step further in class and discussed the idea of Fair Trade, providing laborers with the money earned from the sale of goods they helped to produce. The kids produced Public Service Announcements to speak out against child labor and promote their legislation. Some of the students created campaigns in the form of posters and presentations to "pitch" like ad- executives. We presented all of this to our principal and other supportive staff members.
This group of kids often gets the short end of the deal. Their curriculum can get so modified, they claim they don't get to "do anything cool." This is one of the first times since teaching Read180 other kids were asking to be in the class.
Students need to see their work related to the real world. They need that explicit connection. Asking them to reflect doesn't always do the trick. They need to get their hands dirty and go beyond the text and really learn about what is going on outside of their small town.
Our next unit in the R-book has to do with peer pressure and the effect it can have on students of all different creeds. I'm still brainstorming ideas and projects to help promote the material... Any ideas?
Lastly, Merry Christmas to anyone out there who has ever checked out the blog and those who haven't.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Good News and Big Plans and Help Wanted
I know it's December, but I received some awesome news about this upcoming summer. Finding employment for a teaching during the summer usually means one of two things; serving tables or teaching summer school. This year I'm able to teach what I've been waiting to teach since I was a junior in high school (eleven years ago!!). Our school received a grant to provide students with summer classes they can earn credits for. The classes are 2.5 hours long, and there is little prep time available. I am already planning curriculum for my creative writing course! After chatting with members of my department and figuring out I am one of the only ones available and interested in teaching this course... I got it . I am working on my course catalog blurb. So... writers and teachers and anyone else... do you have some ideas? What will work with students in 9th-12th grade? How can I use this short time wisely? What advice have you received from someone about your writing? What can they study? Who should we read?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Stepping on Toes...
It certainly wasn't intentional... The whole thing, which isn't really a thing, started as I was researching to reform a previously written unit. I was adding titles of short stories to a unit where my 7th graders learn the basics of literature. In order to hold the interest of 7th graders, I needed stories with a bang, so to speak. The first story I added was Roald Dahl's Lamb to the Slaughter. The kids loved the ironic twist and the sadistic Mary Maloney.
The toe-stepping occurred when I selected a short story I read when I found out Kurt Vonnegut admired it. I knew it would be a challenge for 7th graders, having been written in the 1880's, but I couldn't deny them An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The sensory imagery was so shocking and informative everyone in the classroom listened in a stunned silence. It was as if we were fighting the current in the creek, dodging the shots of Union soldiers from the bridge above; all while swirling in the current, oscillating in the waters. I didn't know until one of my 7th graders, a sibling of a senior told me, sections of the senior class had just finished reading the same story.
The day I found out, I was experiencing some serious guilt. It's difficult to explain... I suppose non-teachers wouldn't understand... even Science and Math teachers would struggle to understand... You might like it if a teacher 'before" you covers your material. You would probably appreciate it... but we English teachers... we like the glory... we like to be the ones who introduce amazing literature all on our own. We like the faces of the students, the awed comments after reading... it makes every thing worth it... that moment... those follow up conversations. I stole that from someone by using the story five years before its time. This realization opened another can of worms for me to contemplate.
Had I expected too much from my 7th graders? Did I share with them something too sophisticated for thirteen year olds? Too socially mature?
No.
They got it. A writing assignment, aimed at nuances in the text proved to me they understood more than I gave them credit for.
They told me things like "I could feel the bullet lodged between my collarbone and shoulder, MC. When you read that part- I couldn't help it. I put my hand on my neck."
And " It seems like Peyton needed to forget about his real life while he was waiting to be hanged. If that were me, I'd probably make up a day dream too."
Their comments didn't stun me... I knew they could do it. I expected them to. I wasn't thinking the story might be too much for them. This thought didn't occur to me until I heard about the seniors. Kids are surprising. I love that part of my job. I know now not to sell them short, not to omit something because it might be too difficult, too complicated. With some modeling and scaffolds in place- just in case- these kids can do it.
I don't feel guilty anymore... more like hopeful. This is just a jumping off point, no more literary limits. I have a new mantra.
The toe-stepping occurred when I selected a short story I read when I found out Kurt Vonnegut admired it. I knew it would be a challenge for 7th graders, having been written in the 1880's, but I couldn't deny them An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The sensory imagery was so shocking and informative everyone in the classroom listened in a stunned silence. It was as if we were fighting the current in the creek, dodging the shots of Union soldiers from the bridge above; all while swirling in the current, oscillating in the waters. I didn't know until one of my 7th graders, a sibling of a senior told me, sections of the senior class had just finished reading the same story.
The day I found out, I was experiencing some serious guilt. It's difficult to explain... I suppose non-teachers wouldn't understand... even Science and Math teachers would struggle to understand... You might like it if a teacher 'before" you covers your material. You would probably appreciate it... but we English teachers... we like the glory... we like to be the ones who introduce amazing literature all on our own. We like the faces of the students, the awed comments after reading... it makes every thing worth it... that moment... those follow up conversations. I stole that from someone by using the story five years before its time. This realization opened another can of worms for me to contemplate.
Had I expected too much from my 7th graders? Did I share with them something too sophisticated for thirteen year olds? Too socially mature?
No.
They got it. A writing assignment, aimed at nuances in the text proved to me they understood more than I gave them credit for.
They told me things like "I could feel the bullet lodged between my collarbone and shoulder, MC. When you read that part- I couldn't help it. I put my hand on my neck."
And " It seems like Peyton needed to forget about his real life while he was waiting to be hanged. If that were me, I'd probably make up a day dream too."
Their comments didn't stun me... I knew they could do it. I expected them to. I wasn't thinking the story might be too much for them. This thought didn't occur to me until I heard about the seniors. Kids are surprising. I love that part of my job. I know now not to sell them short, not to omit something because it might be too difficult, too complicated. With some modeling and scaffolds in place- just in case- these kids can do it.
I don't feel guilty anymore... more like hopeful. This is just a jumping off point, no more literary limits. I have a new mantra.
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