What's Been Going On

Hey all!
I just wanted to update you on some fun things going on in 5th grade at A.C. Steere!

Last week one of my student's grandfather came to visit our class. He is a World War II vet and was in the infantry division. My kids loved it! They learned a lot! Mr. Hines brought pictures, news paper clippings, medals, and his helmet. :) This was definitely a proud teacher moment! I was so thrilled to see the look on my student's face when his grandfather was speaking! I loved it!

Last Friday was our Toast with Teachers morning! During our fall carnival back in October, students bid on teachers to eat breakfast with them. My sweet student, Benjamin, bid on me and won! We had french toast and got to chat! I love hearing about my students' lives! :)

This week we've started completing Count Down to Common Core (a test prep portion of our Wonders series). In order to spice test-prep up, we played Numbered Heads Together. First we read a passage together. Then we used the structure to answer the questions. First the students answered the questions independently on their white boards. Then they "put their heads together" and come to a consensus. Once they all agree on an answer, I choose a number (these numbers are on their desks) to hold up their board. We then discussed why the answer was correct if the whole class got it or discussed how to get to the right answer if there was disagreement amongst the groups. 

It went pretty well! It's such an awesome teacher moment to hear students solving problems and proving their answers!

Later this week we are going on a field trip and will use the Kagan strategy Placemat Consensus. I'll update you all at the end of the week! 

Hope you all have a great week!

Pushing Myself and Students During Test Prep

Good morning all,

Next week starts the beginning of major test-prep for my students. We are taking the PARCC or a PARCC-like assessment in March and in May. I have been using cold read (reading comprehension) assessments from Wonders and from a few books I purchased at a teacher store. Next week we will be using Count Down to Common Core from the Wonders website and soon after that we will use the PARCC practice test online.

I have my students' best interest at heart, and I will do everything I can to prepare them for the assessment. I know my kiddos will be burnt out on testing.

Last week we had a professional development, and our administration showed this wonderful video. I wanted to share it with you all. Sometimes we need to push our students to succeed on high-stakes assignments and tests, and sometimes we need to push ourselves to be better teachers- more prepared, better examples, etc.

I hope this video encourages you during this difficult yet imperative time!