Checking for Student Understanding

The most effective way to assess student understanding is to do it while the lesson is still going on!

Asking students to fill out a questionnaire and then correcting misunderstandings during the next class period won't work because students have already moved on. 

You've got to take advantage of the moment (Teachable Moments)!

This goes far beyond just asking students to, "Put your thumb up if you understand, and down if you don't." Teachers should constantly be taking the pulse of the room in order to gauge whether or not students need additional explanations to grasp the content.

I have observed many classroom teachers across the city and found that most teachers struggle with Domain 3 of the Danielson Framework. Nine out of ten of my debrief conversations sound something like this:

ME: How did you monitor for student understanding?
TEACHER: I had the students complete the Exit Slip I created.
ME: Can I see them?
TEACHER: Sure, but I didn't go through them yet.
ME: That's ok, we'll look at it together.
TEACHER: (Takes out the student Exit Slips)
ME: Ok, let's organize these into piles: Correct, Incorrect, Some Errors (or any other way we agree on categorizing the student work samples)
ME: What patterns and/or trends do you notice?
TEACHER: More than half of the students answered incorrectly. I'm going to have to teach this lesson again tomorrow.

*The scenario above is a true account of a debrief conversation I had with a 6th grade teacher. However, I've had many conversations like the one above with teachers in Prek-8! Sometimes it's a Journal Entry that sums up the lesson, other times it's a Reflection Sheet. The above scenario could have been avoided if the teacher monitored for understanding DURING the lesson instead of waiting until the end to assess.

This is not to say that teachers should not have students complete an Exit Slip, Journal Entry, or Reflect on the lesson, but it's extremely important to understand the difference between a Formative Assessment and a Summative Assessment. 

When the cook tastes the soup - that's FORMATIVE
When the guests taste the soup - that's SUMMATIVE

It's ok to give a summative assessment at the end of the lesson, but what did you do during the lesson to ensure that the soup comes out the way you intended it to - before you serve it to your guests?

Formative assessments could simply be questions asked by the teacher to assess student understanding during the lesson. This also happens to be a very effective method of assessing student understanding during a lesson.

*This is sometimes mistaken by administrators who code it as low-level/recall questions, when in reality the purpose was NOT to challenge students cognitively but rather to assess understanding. But I'll leave that for another post =)

Please take a look at my Assessment in Instruction Packet. It includes Formative and Summative Assessments:

Assessment in Instruction

 You can find this in my TpT store: Assessment in Instruction

Clock Labels with a TWIST

I absolutely adore the cute clock labels that help young students identify the minutes on an analog clock. But what about the older students? I taught a 4th grade gifted and talented class and those cute labels were beyond them! 

The classroom clock can be a very powerful tool. I know there are times that even I can't help but look up at the clock!

 That's why I thought creating clock labels with a twist could be a fun way to help students in all subject areas!

Here is my first set of clock labels...with a twist:

Click HERE for Periodic Table of Elements labels:

Click Here for MULTIPLICATION labels:

Click HERE for DIVISION labels:

Click HERE for Social Studies labels:

I'm working on a few more themes. I'd love to hear what theme you would like to use in your classroom!

Themed Classroom Bundles

More than just decorations...these THEMED Classroom Bundles also include parent communications, student communications, and record keeping logs.

Includes:

• Desk Plates

• Where are we? Header

• 16 Where are we? Cards

• Daily Schedule Header

• Daily Schedule Periods 0-9 Cards

• 24 Daily Schedule Cards

• Classroom Helpers Header

• 18 Classroom Helper Job Cards

• Word Wall Letters A-Z

• Numbers/Word/Tally Cards 0-10

• WELCOME Pennant Banner

• Days of the Week Cards

• Months of the Year Cards

• Today is/Yesterday was/Tomorrow will be

• Weather Wheel

• Library Label Cards

• Welcome Letter – Student

• Welcome Letter – Parents

• 9 Grading Logs

• Class Contact Letter to Parents

• Transportation/Emergency Info

• Sign-out Log

• Parent-Teacher Communication Log

• Weekly Progress Log

• Hall Passes

• Student of the Week 

Don't see the theme you want? Message me and I will create any theme!

PIRATE Theme

SPORTS Theme

WESTERN Theme
HOLLYWOOD Theme

KIDS Theme

Autism Awareness Fundraiser

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I have put together a bundle of products with the help of some AWESOME TpT sellers. 

100% of the proceeds will be donated to Autism Speaks. I can't say thank you enough to all the supporters!!!

Download the previews and click the images to see all of the products in this bundle. 

BIG savings and ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE! 

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW GRADE PREK- 2 ELA BUNDLE

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW GRADE PREK-2 ELA & MATH BUNDLE

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW GRADE 3-5 ELA & MATH BUNDLE 1

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW GRADE 3-5 ELA & MATH BUNDLE 2

CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW GRADE 6-8 ELA & MATH BUNDLE

PLEASE REMEMBER that this would be an awesome gift to give to a teacher if this packet is not for you!

Thank you for your support!

The Autism Speaks mission is to find the causes, effective treatments and a cure for autism by accelerating the pace of scientific research, while raising awareness about autism and providing education and outreach opportunities.

Classroom Management Strategies

In teaching young children at the elementary level, having well thought out classroom management strategies will help you out considerably, as well as to enhance the learning experience of the students themselves. It can be quite a daunting task on some days to make sure that your students don't get out of hand, but the following strategies will help you out immensely and make your classroom much more efficient:

1. Create Fair Classroom Rules and Punishment:

Classroom rules should be established at the start of the school year and be consistently enforced, in which every student is treated equally. However, the rules should be fair and not be too harsh or unrealistic. You don't want to create a toxic and negative environment in the classroom.

2. Be Positive:
Use language that is positive rather than negative. For example, a teacher should tell students to "Raise your hand before speaking," rather than "Don't speak unless you raise your hand." This will help students to focus on what you want them to do, rather than what you don't want them to do.

3. Create a Student-Centered Learning Structure:
You want your students to feel as if they are playing an important role in their own learning. Make sure to walk around the classroom and have students engage in classroom discussions together, rather than just providing instruction from the front of the classroom.

4. Be Aware of the Rate at Which Students Learn:

Some students learn faster than others. You should be aware of the individual tendencies of each student and make sure that you help those who are behind some of the other students, as well as to challenge the ones who learn fast. You don't want frustrated or bored students.

5. Talk With the Parents:
You should always make sure that you chat with the parents about their children. Have open and honest communication with them, which will help to create a feedback system in which they will work with you to help their child.

6. Provide Students with Encouragement:
Don't just let students know what they did wrong. Tell them what they did right and encourage them. That will build up their morale and make them want to listen to you even more.

7. Show Respect:
Believe it or not, it's important for a teacher to show respect to each student, while still retaining their authority status. You should treat them with dignity and try to avoid singling out any particular student in front of the class.

8. Cut Out Bad Behavior Before It Develops Further:
If a student is misbehaving in the middle of your lesson, walk over to the student and stand close to him or her. The student will most likely stop misbehaving. After class is over, speak to the student privately and express your displeasure with their behavior.

9. Come Prepared:
Your students will know if you're unprepared for the day's lesson or disorganized. Being organized will also help the students to stay organized.

10. A Fun Way to Assemble Ideas:
At the beginning of class, get a piece of paper and write the numbers one to ten in a list format. Then, give it to a random student and ask them to write something important from the last lesson on the first line. After they do, instruct them to pass it to the student on their left to fill in number two, then three, and so on. After a few, minutes call “Time!” and have the paper passed back to the original owner.

11. Get Written Feedback:
To be sure that information from your lesson has sunk in, ask your students to write a short summary in their own words of what the lesson was about near the end of each class.

12. Try Using a “Stuff Happens” Card:
On the first day of class, give every student a card (about the size of a business card) with their name on it. At the top of it will read “Stuff Happens”, and they can turn it in if they are late, or if they need a little more time on a paper, etc. They can only use it once, but let the kids know that if they never use it, the card can be traded in for 10 points on their final grade (or next test). You can download a FREE set of "Stuff Happens" cards by clicking HERE.

13. Handling the Overly-Participating Student:

This student is loved because they take the pressure off of their classmates by being ready to answer every question. They are also sometimes hated because they speak out so much! The best way to handle this is to talk to them in private about it. Let them know in a nice way that they are doing well, but to give their friends an opportunity to show what they have learned too.

14. A Cool Way to Get to Know Each Other:
Do a little research before the first day of class on the original meanings of the names of your students. Then, as they stand and introduce themselves, reveal to them what theirs means. One source you could use is this Name Meanings Website, but there are tons of other ones online and at the library.

Managing your classroom is about planning out and implementing various strategies.  I'd love to hear about some of the unique management strategies you use in your classroom!