Getting Ready for "The Test"

Copiers are firing off worksheets and pencil sharpers are grinding away. This time of year, The Reading Workshop, like almost every other classroom in the United States is focusing on preparing for the Achievement Test. Last year, Laurelville students received an excellent rating. This sets a high standard for this year, and students are working hard to prepare for testing beginning the week of April 20.

Some of the activities include:

1. Before school intervention classes with small groups of students are held each morning to assist fifth and sixth grade students with specific skill needs.

2. Peer tutoring on Study Island in areas of specific weaknesses help students address each content area.

3. The sixth grade will have a practice run-through of the Achievement test on Monday, March 23 for reading, and Wednesday, March 25 for math.

4. Students will review scored practice tests and rewrite incomplete or wrong short answer and extended response questions.

5. Students are taking past OAT written response questions and learning the proper format to most-likely answer correctly.

6. The 2006 Seventh Grade Reading Achievement Test is being used to practice on typical, although somewhat harder passages.

7. Group work and cooperative learning activities help students share techniques for comprehension and finding information with peers.

8. Daily class discussions focus on addressing students' needs and sharing ideas that make success more likely.

Students are working hard and learning many skills that will make them better test takers. When the time comes, I am sure their results will reflect the effort they are putting forth each day in class.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiw/302995395
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If a 12 Year Old Gets It, Why Don't You?

Constant controversy about spending on education, NCLB, and the value of technology in education controls the news media. In this Reading Workshop, one twelve year old brings it down to the most basic level.

Seth said:

I like typing on the wiki page because if I have something to say that's very exciting I can type it. I just finished a book called Soldier`s Heart and I couldn't tell my friend Dylan because he is reading the same book. I didn't want to spoil the ending for him so I am anxious to get it out. So I typed it on the wiki page and I felt relieved after that. I like this year because I'm using the computer more and having fun with it at the same time.

There are those who doubt the value of technology in our schools. They don't think the dollars spent are worth it. They believe schools should focus on the three R's. They want high test scores. They want students in their seat, being quiet, and doing their work. When they picture a class, they see the teacher in front lecturing, while students sit in their seats, taking it all in.

I say, please get out of your Model T. The Industrial Revolution is over. We are moving on. There is a new expert in town. His name is Seth and he is a twelve year old that knows what makes school and learning challenging and interesting.

The time to move on is here. Hey Jr. High, are you listening? We are sending you tech savy students that want to be challenged. Quit diagramming sentences and figure out how you are going to make learning meaningful for Seth.

Excellent School Rating

Laurelville Elementary received an EXCELLENT rating on the State of Ohio Report Card. Each year, the Ohio Department of Education rates schools based on student performance on Achievement tests. Laurelville's Report is available on the ODE website.

The great news is, based on the number of students passing the Achievement tests, and the growth (in most cases more than a year) shown by our students, we made Adequate Yearly Progress. This is the second year in a row that Laurelville students have exceeded the growth criteria.

Great job to all of the staff and students at Laurelville Elementary for reaching our goal of being rated as an Excellent School!

Achievement Test Tips

Laurelville sixth grade students compiled a list of the top 10 Achievement Test Tips.

Here is the Real Top 10, Baby!

1. Go to bed early, and get a good night’s sleep.

2. Eat a good Breakfast.

3. Come prepared (three sharpened pencils, erasers, highlighter, SSR book)

4. 10 Questions every 30 minutes

5. Read the questions before you read the passage, so you know what you are looking for.

6. Skim the article

7. Highlight the important information in the article and the questions.

8. Reread questions and look for key words. DON’T GUESS if you don’t know the answer to a question. Take a deep breath, read the question again, and look back into the selection.

9. Restate the question and number your answer

10. When you are done, go back and double check your answers.

Practice Makes Perfect-Achievement Test Preparation

Today we took a practice run at the Ohio Sixth Grade Achievement Test. We tried to make today as similar to the actual test as was possible. The test format was the same. Passages and questions were from a previous test. The time allotted and class structure was the same as when students will take the reading test on May 5.

On March 28, Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Caudill, and I will score the tests using the same score sheets/rubrics as the state used. I will share the results with students on the week of March 31, and we will review areas of difficulty.

The practice today serves several purposes. When students take the actual test in six weeks, hopefully they will be familiar and comfortable with the process. This should allow them to perform at their highest level. The data from the test results will help me intervene on an individual and classwide level. I will be able to see specific academic areas that need addressed, and other areas that students have mastered. I can tailor instruction to best help the students learn what they need to learn.

The Ohio Department of Education has set up a website with a lot of usual information. There is a section just for the Ohio Achievement Test. Students can practice using test passages and questions from previous years. They have a choice of setting up an account to save their results, or they can Take a Test without Logging In. Parents and students can see what is expected, scores, and what they mean.

Students worked extremely hard, and with their accomplishments, the results will help us do the best job possible in preparing for the test, and learning what students need to be successful in upcoming grades.

Great job to all of the sixth graders for their effort!

Singing in Class

We sing daily in reading class. The lyrics are shown on the wall with a DLP projector. Students read the words as they sing. This helps students build fluency. They learn to read words in chunks, and look for familiar phrases. We also work on vocabulary. Since we started this several years ago, it has consistently improved students' reading levels, and improved test scores. It also is a great way to learn while having fun.

Currently we are singing Welcome to the 60's. This is from the movie Hairspray.

We are revising the friendly letters. We have been working on writing on topic, and supporting that with details from the book. We are also editing with focus on capitalization, punctuation, and correct letter format.

A student (who I won't name Shayna) followed the rules for capitalization to the T. Our NOTES for the day were:

Capitalize
1.first word in a sentence
2.proper nouns—names of people, places, and things
3.first letter of words in a title
4.I

When this unnamed student (Shayna) brought up her paper, every I on the page was in cap's. The NOTES now say, "I when used as a word." She made my afternoon and I am still smiling about it.


Congrats to our Study Island Students of the Day, Shelby C. and Caleb F.

Read at Home Logs are due tomorrow--Friday, September 7.