Letters to the Reading DCAS(Our State Test)):My Students Write How They Feel!

When my kids were finished their DCAS Reading  test last month, I had them pretend to write letters to the test. I am posting some of the letters they wrote.

Dear Reading DCAS,

Why do you have to be  hard?  I know I do your tests in the beginning, middle, and end of the year.  But doing 55 questions in 3 days is a lot.  We have to take our time to get a good score, otherwise we might get a 1 and that’s not good.  Can we see what questions we got right and what questions we got wrong at the end of the test?  So that way we can understand why we got whatever we got wrong was wrong.  I think that could help us a lot.  How about that idea for next year?  It really could help.  Otherwise DCAS has to be THE WORST THING EVER!!! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Sincerely Z

Dear Reading DCAS,

I am taking you right now and you are being very harsh. You are being harsh because you make the questions hard. So can you please make the questions easier so I can get a 4? Also, do you think you can make less questions so there are only 36 instead of 54. So it don't take 2 entire days to finish it. Finally, instead of 4 being the highest point to score make it 10. So it is like the scale of 10. Well anyway Thanks!

Your Friend,

A

Dear Reading DCAS,

You  just stress me out every min I take you. Why do you have to be so hard? Can you  have at least 10 questions instead 54. When I take you, you  make me wanna throw the laptop. Across the floor and rip every single of my hair out. Then I'l be bald. See what you do to me? I just can't stand you DCAS. I never wanna take you again. No hard feelings DCAS. It was just my opinion. So please don't give me a bad grade for telling the truth. But I need you to ease up on me.

From,

T

Dear DCAS,

I really can't stand you!

You make me so nervous every time I have to take you.

You make me stressed out then I forget everything when you're in front of me.

When I'm done taking you it all comes back to me.

Maybe one day I  will beat you.

 I would be a lot more happy without you in my life. The only good thing about you is on Math Dcas

you have a calculator to help me.

K

 Dear Reading DCAS Test,

   I don't understand why the company created you. You make life harder than it needs to be in school. Now all our field trips are moved to the end of the school year and we only have one field trip. I am so mad and frustrated because of your pointless questions. Some of them don't even make any sense. The only good thing about you is when we have extra recess. It's so tragic!!! Also we usually don't have to learn anything. It is in the way of school even though that doesn't really bother me. If we already do regular tests, whats the point of having a DCAS test? It takes too long to even remember what you learn before the DCAS. It's just confusing. I don't get the whole concept of taking the longest test that I have ever taken. The whole process is crazy. You make me freak out with anxiety about my score.

                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                             B

Dear DCAS,

 Thanks for giving me a good score. All the hard work paid off. My mom and my dad was really proud of me. I took my time, highlighted the answers and  got a good score.I never felt better about myself for getting a good score on the type of subject. I hate reading but I still got a good score and I’m proud of it.   

From J

                                                                                                                                             

GoAnimate Grabs Their Attention:Bringing a Math Problem to Life!

What would you rather do to grab your students' attention? Write a word problem on the board or create a short video of the same word problem, using GoAnimate?  I choose GoAnimate!

More and more, I have geared my Math lessons toward problem solving, and away from numbers on a page or a worksheet. I want my students to problem solve. When I watch them work to solve a "real world" problem, it makes me proud. So, how did I get to match GoAnimate with problem solving?

I was trying to think of a way to start a unit with a Math problem that introduced the unit, and grabbed their attention. I thought of GoAnimate, which I was familiar with, but hadn't used in a while. It is very simple to use. They have tons of characters and templates that you can use. You can use your own voice or type in the words. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

 You can use the FREE version, GoPlus, or GoAnimate4schools. I have a GoPlus account and a GoAnimate4schools account. I love the fact that GoAnimate works with social media. You can embed, tweet, Facebook,  upload to Youtube, or download. Of course, some of these privileges only come with GoPlus. There is also a FREE and premium account when you are using Gonimate4schools. The premium account allows you to create accounts for your students, and moderate the accounts.

I'm going to plead with my principal to pay for that for my classroom. :) I will definitely have my students create their own videos, which will be very interesting, not to mention educational, and lots of fun! Give GoAnimate a try, and see if you can't grab their attention!

"Ouch! My Brain Hurts!": Rigor in the Classroom

I watched this video, and cracked up! I was trying to find articles about rigor and bumped into this video. It's a bit long in making its point, but I get it. This poor teacher is being hounded by her principal, to "perform" , so that her students can learn the parts of speech. I don't have a problem with rigor in the classroom, I embrace it.

I love how a contributor to the article, Rigor:What Does It Mean to You?, described rigor. She said,"Rigor makes you want to get up in the morning and learn something new!" However, I can understand the consternation and frustration of the teacher in the video.  Her principal is dead set on making her use "rigor" in her classroom, this magical thing that can make students learn.

It seems as if the principal is looking for "rigor",  as if it's a word that can be checked off on an evaluation form, and it is so far from that.  The teacher explains repeatedly, that she's jumped through hoops to teach the concept, (I'm laughing while I write, thinking about the video). The principal and the teacher, however, continues to equate rigor with  "fun".

 Rigor to me means that my students are challenged.  Rigor is not always fun, not the way we usually think of fun.  A teacher in my school described it the same way one of the authors in the article described it, she said, "It makes your brain hurt."And I believe our students want that. Not all, at first. But they become used to it, used to the challenges offered every day. 


 Why give out a worksheet with 10 figures and ask them to find the perimeter and area, when you can give them a real world Math problem that requires them to, not only determine which they need, but also calculate how much money they will need? Which one will make their brain hurt? 


 Why ask them to read p.456 in the SS textbook about the U.S bombing Japan during WWII, when you can break them up into two teams, who use their notes to debate whether or not the U.S should have used the atomic bomb on Japan. And you know what? They had fun doing it!And even more, they cared! 


 They cared about figuring out the answer to that Math problem, and they cared about making their point during the debate. (Boy, did they care!)  After each of these lessons were taught in my room, my students were hyped!  No, they didn't stick their fingers in pudding, or make up a song( which is a cool thing to do), but they had a great time challenging themselves, and being satisfied, whether they knew it or not. 


 When I was nominated for Teacher of the Year, a teacher that used to push into my class for writing, noted on the nomination form, that rigor was present in my classroom every day. I hope so, because I want my students to care,  and I want their brains to hurt!:)

Digital Educators Needed For 21st Century Digital Learners!

I am not a digital native by any means. I am 52 years old and have been teaching for 27 years. I am the teacher people assume is scared to touch a computer for fear of contracting a virus. I am the teacher they assume has dust gathering on the classroom computers like moss on a stone.I am the teacher they assume says playfully, "I have to get my grandson, nephew, niece, to open my email." I am the teacher people assume still uses the overhead. I am none of these, and young or old, no teacher should be. This is the 21st century and our students are 21st century digital learners!

 About ten years ago, I took a course in instructional technology and fell in love. There is absolutely no way I could go back to teaching the way I used to. I realize I am fortunate. I teach in a school with laptops, (even though I would love Ipads), we have two computer labs, and approximately 4-5 classroom computers in each room. But, we didn't always have these resources, and I still found a way, to not only educate, but to engage my students, digitally.

What is digital learning? Here is the definition from the Digital Learning Day webpage: "Digital learning is any instructional practice that is effectively using technology to strengthen the student learning experience. Digital learning encompasses a wide spectrum of tools and practice, including using online and formative assessment, increasing focus and quality of teaching resources and time, online content and courses, applications of technology in the classroom and school building, adaptive software for students with special needs, learning platforms, participating in professional communities of practice, providing access to high level and challenging content and instruction, and many other advancements technology provides to teaching and learning. In particular, blended learning is any time a student learns, at least in part, at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and, at least in part, through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace."

 That's a mouthful! Here is what digital learning means to me. It means allowing students to take control of their learning using technology as a guide. It means creating comic strips to depict a situation where the Bill of Rights is being violated. Having discussions about shared books with students across the world on Edmodo. Completing research projects with Qwiki and then posting them to a worldwide audience using Kidblog. Reading a story and creating a word poster about it using Wordle or Tagxedo. Implementing QR codes as a classroom tool. Sharing a Black History project using an avatar from Voki. Using your IWB (I have a Smartboard) to make your lessons interactive. Skyping with a marine biologist in another state to bring a story to life. It means so many things, but most of all, it means using technology as a tool to engage and challenge our 21st century learners!

 Looking at the list above could make digital learning a scary prospect. Time is not something that a teacher has a lot of, either at work or home. But you don't have to do everything at once. It took me a while, and every day I still learn something new. Take baby steps, try one new thing a month. Let the students show you, or give you suggestions, on what you can do with the myriad of tech resources that are available. Grow your PLN!(Professional Learning Network). Join Twitter, and then drop in on some of the Teacher Chats that are available. It's amazing how much you can learn from your peers!

 Dip your toe into the 21st century, it may be cold at first, but it warms up very quickly. You'll find that technology is a tool that not only engages and challenges the student, but the teacher as well! "If we teach today's students as we did yesterday's, we are robbing them of tomorrow." — John Dewey

What's Love Got to Do With It? Ask Your Students!

     Once upon a time there was a little 2nd grade boy. He was new to a school, and he brought with him, all his problems and issues.  Sent to live with dad after mom "couldn't take it any more", a pre-primer reading level, an evil stepmother, and siblings who did not like him, he didn't stand a chance.

 After a couple of weeks, it became apparent that this child was a "problem". Inappropriate language, bullying, no work, etc...His teacher (not me) knew this, but she also realized that he came from a place of trouble. So, instead of scolding him constantly, she decided to love him. Instead of throwing up her hands in despair, she found ways to get him the help he needed. And most of all, she loved him, and he knew it. He was disciplined, and he had consequences, but, she loved him nonetheless.

 While she struggled to help him, "they" began to plan how they would get him out of their school. They had his teacher attend meetings, and asked her about his aggressive nature. She refused to go along with their program, and forced them to help him, instead of making him "someone else's problem." And he changed. Little by little, he changed. By the end of the year, he wasn't a brand new child, but he wasn't the child that had entered that school. And as difficult as it was,  his teacher made a decision to retain him because he wasn't ready.

  Fast forward. His dad is in jail for a while, so he has no buffer between himself, stepmom, and siblings. But  saddest of all, he has no place to be loved. His new teacher sees him as a problem. She recounts stories of how she disciplines his every little transgression to his former teacher with relish. Where is her humanity? She resents the fact that every morning, yes, every morning, he visits his former teacher. Where else can he get love? Where else can he  have someone listen to his stories of a  life that would be difficult for most adults? Unfortunately, I have no idea how this story ends, maybe his former teacher is enough to buffer the negativity in his life, and allow him to change for the better, maybe not.

 I think of those two words Angela Maiers promotes, "You Matter."  I am blessed, I know I matter. I have many people in my lives who let me know that. Others are not so fortunate, especially our students.  We have to remember that we may be the only good thing that happens to them all day. We have to care. Sometimes we have to overlook their negatives and try to find a positive.  We have to let them know they matter.

Update: He moved so I really don't know how his story ends. But, I know in his next grade, with a different  teacher, he thrived.