Snow Days = PARCCing Delay!

The snow set us back a few days but later this week we will venture into uncharted territory in the area of standardized testing with the administration of the PARCC. New Jersey students will be taking these newly-developed tests in place of the NJASK. Here at MWES, a K-5 public school in central New Jersey, we have used what we've learned about the format of the tests throughout the school year to differentiate learning experiences to include online assessments similar to what students will see on the PARCC.

  

There are several elements we are working through as we look towards the upcoming standardized assessments, remaining mindful to preserve the classroom environment our students have grown accustomed to; the one in which they feel most comfortable learning! This list provides some good talking points for you and your child as they get ready to take the test. 

1. The test is on a computer (for us, Chromebooks). For most students, this is a big YIPPEE! For others, it is not as exciting as some might predict. Keyboarding familiarity is important, as are some basic computer skills our students are honing. Every minute students spend learning digitally is a step in the right direction, and we have provided time to become familiar with the technology skills students will use on the PARCC. 
2. This isn't your grandmother’s multiple choice. The multiple-choice questions on the PARCC test are not always asking for one answer; sometimes they are asking for more than one. Often the test asks us to choose an answer for #5, and then #6 asks us to choose the best reason to support that answer. We keep reminding students to choose the best option, even though there might be other reasonable ones. These questions make us really think. As we practice test items similar to the ones our students will see on the PARCC we discuss the answers to these questions and the reasons for choosing particular answers.
3. What are students thinking? The PARCC folks want to know what students think after they are exposed to two or three selections on the same topic. They want to see how kids compare, contrast and convey their understanding. We have been doing this since the fall, and we are very impressed with how students are now diving back into the reading (close reading) to find supporting evidence when constructing answers. One of the biggest challenges our students are facing is the fact that they have to include so many parts in their written answers. With consistent feedback, modeling and encouragement, we have seen growth in our students’ ability to express opinions using evidence from their selections. Yea!!! 
4. Basic Skills Remix: In math, students are required to apply basic skills they have acquired over the past several years. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills will be pushed to the limits as students decide how to apply them in challenging problems. We remind our students that they already possess skills necessary to succeed. They only need to commit those skills to their problem solving to make it all come together. 
5. Families can STILL help! If you are the lucky family member of a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader, you can still provide valuable support! Make sure students are getting adequate sleep, eating healthy and staying active. Remind them every single day that effort affects everything, and that everything we do in school is important.

Yes, our young students are faced with challenging assessments, and have already demonstrated success using the computer to participate in such assessments!  We know they will work hard to do their best on the PARCC, but in the end it is the rest of our interactive, reflective learning that determines the success of our school year.

Thank you to Falmouth, MA fourth grade teacher Suzy Brooks for her March 8th blog post, Searching for PARCCing Spaces. The content of this blog post is taken from her blog, but has been modified to better match NJ students, more specifically the students and families in our K-5 community. 

PARCC Practice!

Use this Symbaloo webmix to expose students to online practice for the PARCC!

Taking a Closer Look at Close Reading!

As marking period two comes to a close, we reflect on how far our students have come and how far they have to go! We celebrate their accomplishments and we use what we have learned from their struggles to form future instruction. Our students continue to improve their reading skills and are learning how to read more closely, getting involved with the text, and becoming aware of the features and language used by the author. Students are asked to think thoroughly, and methodically, about the details in a text. Students think about their own thinking and activate reading strategies to better understand text. Teachers help students determine how a text is organized, and understand the effect of the author’s word choice in a certain passage. 

In his blog, iTeachiCoachiBlog, Court Allam shares the following close reading strategies he has found to be successful with his students. 

1. Number the paragraphs

The Common Core asks students to be able to cite and refer to the text. One simple way to do this is by numbering each paragraph, section or stanza in the left hand margin. When students refer to the text, I require them to state which paragraph they are referring to. The rest of the class will be able to quickly find the line being referred to. 

2. Chunk the text.

When faced with a full page of text, reading it can quickly become overwhelming for students. Breaking up the text into smaller sections (or chunks) makes the page much more manageable for students. Students do this by drawing a horizontal line between paragraphs to divide the page into smaller sections.

At the beginning of the year, I group the paragraphs into chunks before I hand out the assignment. In the directions I will say, “Chunk paragraphs 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.” I look at the paragraphs to see where natural chunks occur. Paragraphs 1-3 may be the hook and thesis statement, while 6-8 may be the paragraphs where the author addresses the opposition. It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong way to chunk the text, as long as you can justify why you grouped certain paragraphs together.

By the end of the year, I begin to let go of that responsibility and ask my students to chunk the text on their own. They number the paragraphs then must make decisions about what paragraphs will be grouped together. Usually, most of the class is very similar in the way they chunked the text.

3. Underline and circle… with a purpose.

Telling students to simply underline “the important stuff” is too vague. “Stuff” is not a concrete thing that students can identify. Instead, direct students to underline and circle very specific things. Think about what information you want students to take from the text, and ask them to look for those elements. What you have students circle and underline may change depending on the text type.

For example, when studying an argument, ask students to underline “claims”. We identify claims as belief statements that the author is making. Students will quickly discover that the author makes multiple claims throughout the argument.

When studying poetry, students could underline the imagery they find throughout the poem.

Circling specific items is also an effective close reading strategy. I often have my students circle “Key terms” in the text. I define key terms as words that: 1. Are defined. 2. Are repeated throughout the text. 3. If you only circled five key terms in the entire text, you would have a pretty good idea about what the entire text is about.

I have also asked students to circle the names of sources, power verbs, or figurative language.

Providing students with a specific thing you want them to underline or circle will focus their attention on that area much better than “underlining important information”.

4. Left margin: What is the author SAYING?

It isn’t enough to ask students to “write in the margins”. We must be very specific and give students a game plan for what they will write. This is where the chunking comes into play.

In the left margin, I ask my students to summarize each chunk. I demonstrate how to write summaries in 10-words or less. The chunking allows the students to look at the text in smaller segments, and summarize what the author is saying in just that small, specific chunk. 

5. Right margin: Dig deeper into the text  

In the right-hand margin, I again direct my students to complete a specific task for each chunk. This may include:

• Using a power verb to describe what the author is DOING. (For example: Describing, illustrating, arguing, etc..) Note: It isn’t enough for students to write “Comparing” and be done. What is the author comparing? A better answer might be: “Comparing the character of Montag to Captain Beatty”.
• Represent the information with a picture. This is a good way for students to be creative to visually represent the chunk with a drawing.
• Ask questions. I have found this to be a struggle for many students, as they often say they don’t have any questions to ask. When modeled, students can begin to learn how to ask questions that dig deeper into the text. I often use these questions as the conversation driver in Socratic Seminar.

If you respond to new information better in a visual format, boards dedicated to Close Reading on Pinterest may be where you turn your attention.

Additional Pinterest Boards with a Focus on Close Reading:

Close Reading Strategies from We Are Teachers

Close Reading from Internet4Classrooms

Close Reading in Second Grade 

Whichever strategy you choose, remember what is most important...KEEP YOUR CHILDREN READING! This love of reading and exposure to a variety of books, will naturally foster a child's ability to be a "close" reader!

...And We're Back!

In the midst of frigid temperatures, and even some SNOW, Students returned to school on Monday with smiles; happy to see friends they had missed over the winter break, and of course, happy to see their teachers and get back into the swing of learning!  Many students returned to school with a new book or talking about a book they had read or began reading over the break. (Some even stepped off the bus with a book in hand!) Opportunities for students to read for pleasure are provided daily, and in every classroom I visit it's a pleasure to see students enjoying a good book! Don't forget, if you like reading, you might want to sample some online book reviews at sites such as Guys Read, A Mighty Girl and Biblionasium. Parents, if you have a GoodReads account, you might want to use this as a resource to find books of interest for your child. Whichever tool you choose, remember to keep on reading!

Sample a PARCC-like Assessment!

https://www.readworks.org/sites/default/files/lessons/810_macy_the_elephant.pdf

Teachers at the Marshall W. Errickson School have been hard at work creating PARCC-like assessments for the students in their classrooms. They are using GAFE (Google Apps for Education) to facilitate this process and are working with the building supervisor and technology integration coordinator to become more familiar with creating online assessments. Web sites such as ReadWorks offer teachers authentic, leveled non-fiction and literary passages,(at no cost), providing the most critical elements needed, both text and assessment questions. For our teacher-created assessments, the text to be read appears on the left-hand side of the screen and students scroll down to read the entire text. Next, students take the assessment featured in the right-hand column. Students are reminded to refer to the text as they complete the assessments. This format is very similar to the online format found on the ELA PARCC assessments for elementary school children.

Why not sample one yourself?

Click on this link to launch the assessment page.

The text and assessment questions used in the assessment above are from Readworks at http://www.readworks.org/passages/macy-elephant

Getting ready for the PARCC!

In preparation for the PARCC assessments coming in 2015, our teachers have been revisiting district curriculum documents, regional & state documents and the CCSS to ensure that our lessons effectively address these standards. As a Google App school district we have embraced the tools offered to create PARCC-like assessments for our students. Embedded professional development has been provided to our staff, supporting our school's PLN in its latest technology driven initiative. This blog post shares some of the tools we have used to support the creation of digitally enhanced assessments. Check back often for updates, as the number of resources grows daily!

Eric Curts has created a web site filled with resources for those preparing for standardized tests based on the CCSS. Assessments, the Next Generation is filled with all the resources you need to prepare for these tests. For those wishing to create PARCC-like assessments, visit the Apps User Group  created by Eric Curts, the purpose of this site is to "connect and assist schools in the use of Google Apps for Education.  The site contains resources for implementing and using Google Apps, news from the Google blogs, links to schools that use Google Apps, a discussion forum, and more. All users are encouraged to share resources, ideas, questions, and comments." 

Natalie Franzi, a curriculum & instruction supervisor in NJ has created this well-organized page of PARCC resources. 

Creating PARCC-like Assessments...
This video, created by Technology Integration Coordinator, Monica Hittenger, is one of many resources shared on this page filled with assessment creation tools!

Grade student work automatically using Flubaroo and Google Forms

ELA PARCC Vocabulary

PARCC Tutorials for Students
These brief tutorials for students, are a sample of the videos created and shared on YouTube by educator Eric Hibbs. These videos allow students AND teachers to become more familiar with the types of tasks students can expect to see on the PARCC and the technology skills necessary to be successful. To see the entire library of tutorials, click here.

Providing Students with Access to Online Text
Read a previous post which shares links to a variety of online sources of text.

Summer Vacation!

Today our entire school population lined the hallways to pay tribute to our fifth graders...giving them a "clap-out" as they officially left the building for the last time. There were tears, hugs and high-fives from both teachers and students as the fifth graders, led by retiring kindergarten teacher, Sue Collins, paraded through each wing of the building. This emotional send off reminds us all how much a school is like a family and how, as with family members, saying goodbye is hard. We are all looking towards the summer now. Classrooms have been packed up and are ready for cleaning and/or moving. Before you know it, we will be back here again, this time welcoming our newest members of our school family, the kindergarten students, the class of 2027! Until then, take some time to renew, recharge and relax, perhaps following these 10 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Summer Break adapted from Vicki Davis @http://www.coolcatteacher.com/10-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-your-summer-break/

1. Take time to rest. It is OK to sleep if you're tired and are behind. Loss of sleep is cumulative so get back on track.
2. Take time to remember. Breathe deeply and relish the good memories of the year. Learn from them.
3. Take time to forget.  Give yourself time to be a human for a little while and not a teacher.
4. Have a few days without a list. Sometimes we need to be a human BE-ing not a human DO-ing. 
5. Take time to heal.  The summer is the time to retread our heart and soul so we can make it.
6. Take time to learn.  Reading is part of rejuvenation. Fiction and nonfiction.
7. Go offline for a while.  Unplug. Put on your vacation auto-responder and forget about your email. Go outside, get away and unplug. 
8. Set realistic goals.  Three is a good number. These might be places to go and one or two things we'd like to accomplish. You might make a "goal poster" for the summer; make drawings or lists of what you'd like to get done in the summer. You can mark them off as you go.  
9. Work on one goal at a time. Start on the first goal and focus until you finish. Work on it whenever you can.
10. Look at Your Habits - Ninety five per cent of what we accomplish is based on our habits. GIVE YOURSELF A NEW HABIT. Whether it is working out, writing, or consistently pursuing a goal important to you. Your list may shape today but habits shape your destiny. Find good ones.

You might enjoy the annual Summer Rejuvenation Guide from Edutopia. First published in 2010 and updated again in 2013, this guide also offers ten tips on how to...

• Grow Your Network
• Party with the Stars
• Do-It-Yourself Professional Development
• Tell the Story of Your Life
• Try Something New
• Curate Classroom Artifacts
• Give a Little, Get a Lot
• Get Moving
• Crack the Books
• Plan Ahead for Next Summer

The "Leading with Soul" side of me is partial to Davis's list because it focuses more on knowledge of self and taking time to take a look at the little things around us we often neglect. Once you have taken care of that, you will be ready to make use of the excellent resources packed into Edutopia's summer guide as you gear up for another year of school!