Thursday, February 15, 2018

Get the Wheels in Motion


Get the Wheels in Motion

It’s that time of the year again. The state test is only a couple of months away. So, how do I prepare my students to take the test without getting trapped in a fruitless “teaching to the test” cycle? I don’t. I equip them with the tools they need to face the test. I teach my students to think. I help them build endurance. Knowing how to think, to really think, prepares them by default.


Empower yourself with knowledge so you can empower your students to succeed.

Every August, I wonder how on earth these little cherubs will be ready to take the SBAC in April. Holding up one finger at a time I recite the months of the year--August, September, October November, December, January, February, March April. That’s only nine months and that’s not counting weekends, vacations, student absences, and all the other obstacles we have to overcome. Weren’t they just second graders a few months back? The task appears insurmountable.  
        I have exposed my students to the “language of the test” by making it a natural and everyday component of our classroom vocabulary. My students know that support your answer means you need to provide evidence for your position. Depending on the circumstance, that may mean providing textual evidence or relevant arguments. Of course I don’t know exactly what questions will be on the test. But here’s what I do know. The questions will be based on the Common Core standards and those standards are not being kept behind lock and key. We all have access to them. Let’s build expertise so that we can make informed instructional decisions all year long that don’t just prepare our students for “the text,” but for any endeavor they will undertake..

    
  

Still spinning my wheels...

Lola Jollie

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