Spy Photos: Self-Checking Writing

This was spied in Mrs. Maxwell's first-grade classroom.

Spy Photos

So, I was poking around in Jeana Turner's stuff, and look what I found: a little guided reading toolkit.

Let's see what's in here.

Jeana Turner's Guided
Reading Toolkit

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge. Mm-hm.

Comprehension Prompt Cards!

What!? MORE Comprehension
Prompting Cards?!

Oh, that seems fun.
One mini-crate per reader.

Hope for the Future

My second-grader took the initiative to create a standardized test for Kindergartners.

I discovered this as I stopped by the Art Table to peruse the latest creations. There on top sat a multiple-choice, bubbled-in test of four questions about Littlest Pet Shop in an eight-year-old's handwriting. She had administered the test to her six-year-old brother after instructing him to bubble in his answers completely.

After a quick data review, it became apparent that the six-year-old boy performs at the Proficient level when it comes to Littlest Pet Shop (LPS). He missed an Advanced score by one question, but—to be fair—there were only four questions on the test.

“What did you want this information for?” I asked the test creator.

She looked at me blankly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you want to see what your brother already knew about Littlest Pet Shop? Did you want to know what he was ready to learn next? Was it a baseline assessment so that you could show growth in the future? Were you applying for grants?”

“No. I made these Littlest Pet Shop worksheets. If he passed the test, then he would win them.” She showed me the worksheets, which were small and resembled trading cards.

“Did he pass?”

“Yep,” she said.

“May I borrow your test?”

“Just bring it back.”

As I scanned the two-page test into my computer, I couldn’t help but marvel at what a great test it is. In the multiple choice options, the detractor choices are plausible; the correct answers are almost equally distributed among A, B, C, and D.

This gives me great hope for the future. So far, our daughter has told us that she wants to be a writer, an artist, and owner of a restaurant, and we have encouraged her to chase these desires. If she does all three simultaneously, she might earn enough to live in our basement. Perhaps she should consider writing state-mandated assessments; after all, the state of New York alone paid Pearson $32 million last year to produce a standardized test. If she writes test questions for Pearson, runs a restaurant, writes books of poetry, and sells her art, maybe we could live in her basement.

Pinterested in Literacy?

Batman and Robin Bambrey, of course!
Holy Pinterest, Batman!

Check out our very own Robin Bambrey's elementary literacy pinterests. Of course, you'll have to do that at home. Some things are too pinteresting for the school firewall.

(Thank you, Robin!)

Are You Having Fun Yet?

Word Study Games!

There are a bunch of ideas in the Words Their Way book, you can print off pre-made games online using your code in the back of the book, or you can make your own.

Our HCSchools/Literacy site has lots of blank game boards and a super-trendy spinner for you.

And...we can make stuff. If you want something custom made for you, leave a comment below or e-mail Jeff Paulson.

Game Boards (Look under "G" for Games)
Spinner

Justifying Thinking

Check out this gem from Diane Huseman's class. Common literary themes are posted on the wall. After a read aloud is finished, students discuss in small groups which theme best describes the text.

The group comes to a consensus, writes out their declaration, and then--here comes the meaty part--they justify their thinking using evidence from the text. Each group shares out and a class determination is set; a miniature copy of the cover is posted under the categorical theme.

(Check out the Comp & Flu pages 232-234 about keeping a class record of read alouds, too!)

Word Study Resources

These resources are in your building! Ask your literacy coach!

Students Cite Evidence from Text

Citing evidence from a text is a big deal in Common Core and in Constructed Response Testing. I introduced some third graders to this idea a few weeks back as they were learning about genres. Students read an excerpt from "Tops and Bottoms", and then wrote a formulaic response to it. One student wrote:

"Tops and Bottoms" is a fantasy text. Fantasy storys include elements that are impossible. For example, the athr rote "I'm hungry," Bear said.

This author of this three-sentence text response did several things:

• Made a claim: Determined the genre of the text.
• Described the genre.
• Cited evidence from the text to support the claim.

The student showed me:

• That he understands the genre of fantasy.
• That he can apply his knowledge of genre to a text.
• What he applies regarding grammar and word knowledge.
• That he can reference an anchor chart ("...include elements that are impossible").
• That he can cite evidence from a text.

Now, we're ready to apply this skill at a deeper level! Oh-ho!

Check out this anchor chart from Jennifer Hartley's 5th-Grade class:

Holy Common Core Resources, Batman!

Have you seen the onslaught of amazing and free Common Core resources on the HCSchools site? Check this out:

• Common Core Scoring Rubrics by grade level (I'm not making this up.)      [Getting ready for report cards, K-2?]
• Student-Friendly "I Can..." Statements by grade level (I know you've seen these, but what if you lose them? Look! They're right here!)
• An Alignment of Common Core Standards and the Literacy Continuum by grade level (This is absolutely true!)
• Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks (I know! Right?!)
• Tons of cool things like Text Complexity Bookmarks, Qualitative Rubrics for looking at texts, and Essential Questions! (Crazy!)

These are all at http://www.hcschools.org/literacy > and then click on the Standards tab. (Or just click here.)

Standards Based Grading

I have gotten a lot of questions about the concept of standards based vs. traditional grading. Apparently, this concept is really throwing some people for a loop!
Here are the basics:

Traditional Grading System

Standards-Based Grading System

Based on assessment methods (quizzes, tests, homework, projects, etc.).  One grade/entry is given per assessment. Assessments are based on a percentage system.  Criteria for success may be unclear. Use an uncertain mix of assessment, achievement, effort and behavior to determine the final grade.  May use late penalties and extra credit. Everything goes in the grade book - regardless of purpose. Include every score, regardless of when it was collected.  Assessments record the average - not the best - work.

Based on learning goals and performance standards.  One grade/entry is given per learning goal. Standards are criterion or proficiency-based.  Criteria and targets are made available to students ahead of time. Measures achievement only OR separates achievement from effort/behavior.  No penalties or extra credit given. Selected assessments (tests, quizzes, projects, etc.) are used for grading purposes. Emphasize the most recent evidence of learning when grading.

Adapted from O’Connor K (2002).  How to Grade for Learning: Linking grades to standards (2nd ed.).  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.