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Showing posts with label assessments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assessments. Show all posts

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start!

They say it takes 6 weeks at the beginning of the school year for all the routines to be mastered, and REAL teaching can begin.

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?


There are a whole lot of routines and procedures to be taught between now and then. Plus, there's all that assessment that needs to happen. What about academics?

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

We have a whole lot of teaching to do! 

Yes, we need to get to teaching academics! Reading, language, writing, math, science, social studies... those curriculums won't teach themselves! How do we do it all?

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

We want them to be learning and growing. 

After all, that's what school is for! But that real learning won't start until all the routines are in place. Once they know what to do when they enter the room, and what to do during morning meeting, and what to do during centers, and how to line up for lunch, and what to do during reading and math groups... and so on! Once the classroom is working like a well-oiled machine, then the teaching of academics can begin successfully!

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

Yet, we want them to be confident and happy about school. 

This is what allows learning to happen, isn't it! If they're not sure what to do, that doesn't build confidence. If they feel insecure about the work they're doing, they're not going to be happy in the classroom, are they? And if they're not happy or confident, they won't be learning.
Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

How can we keep them feeling good, yet still growing as learners?


Well, we shouldn't throw too much at them at once! Between all those procedures and routines that have to be taught, giving them more to learn as well is too much!

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

Have plenty of "reviewing of previous skills" to do while learning the new routine.


Studies show teachers should only introduce one new skill at a time. That means, if you're teaching the routine of using devices during centers, they should be using skills they're already familiar with while learning the device routine! 

If you're teaching the routine of independent reading, they should be reading books that are easy for them. 

If you're teaching the routine of coming to reading group, you should have them work on skills they've already learned. 

There's plenty of time to introduce and practice new skills, once they've mastered the routine.

What should we use for review? Here are a few ideas:




Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

Have more "reviewing of previous skills" for them to do while assessing and learning about their learning!

Besides teaching routines, the other "biggie" at the beginning of the school year is figuring out where the children are in their skills. No matter what our curriculum dictates, if they're not ready for a specific skill, we need to teach the previous skills.

Don't forget those things that the students can always do at their own level:
Independent Reading (See these posts HERE and HERE.)
Writer's Workshop (See this post HERE.)
Learning Math Facts (See these posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.)

Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

But to maintain a positive atmosphere and build confidence, start with "fun and easy" activities.


It's scary for the kiddos to start a new grade. If the work they're doing in that new grade is fairly easy for them, that will really put a damper on their academic mindset! 

Here are a couple more resources that are fun, easy review to start off the year:

or the same resource in for digital version:

Review Basic Concepts and Skills Review Boom Cards Bundle Second Grade


But then, there are those "high flyers!" They need something special, too! These science and social studies Boom Cards are perfect for these kids! The students can work independently, the cards give immediate feedback, and can be used over and over, learning more with each use!






How do you keep the children engaged and practicing skills while learning procedures and routine?



Fun and Easy: A Good Place to Start - How do you keep the students engaged while teaching routines and procedures?

Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick

I've been wracking my brain for years, trying to think of a way to get those basic facts to stick! 

 
There is way too much math that depends on knowing the basic facts, so we want the little ones to go beyond the "counting on fingers" or "counting on in your head" stage!
Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick: This post tells about a system for addition and subtraction facts that is research based, effective, easy to use, and foolproof!
We've been using this sequence for learning facts at my school, and I must say, the kids are getting it! We all know it's not a good idea to introduce all the facts at once. There are 200 facts to be learned, and learning them in some systematic way is necessary. My knowledge of brain based learning tells me we need to help the children make connections, use visuals like color and pictures, practice frequently, add a social component, and make it fun. This will all help those facts stick!
 

I've taken 8 basic patterns and made 8 color coded sets of cards to be practiced based on these concepts:  plus one families, plus 10 families, plus 9 families, sums of 10, doubles, doubles plus 1, plus 2 families, and the remaining facts.  The "families" include 2 addition and 2 subtraction facts for each fact.  (For example, 1+8=9, 8+1=9, 9-1=8, and 9-8=1 are all connected.) These connections help children remember! I've even included a game that's connected to the cute little pictures on each card.

Practicing the facts is only half the challenge.  The other challenge is showing mastery.  

I've included assessments with each set. There are 2 basic assessments with each family. The 2 assessments are both similar. I just thought you'd like a second option so they aren't taking the exact same assessment each time. Each assessment has 5 columns of 10 facts. I give the children one minute to complete as many facts as they can. (The timing helps distinguish between the kids who know the facts, and the kids who still need to figure them out.) I have found that kids that get 20 - 25 facts in a minute are definitely ready to move on to the next level. (This, of course, is up to you.) Some kids really need a one on one assessment with the cards, as their writing skills just can't keep up with their thinking skills.

Want to check it out? See the image below for the freebie version of the first set along with the assessments. Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency Freebie!
 
Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick: This post tells about a system for addition and subtraction facts that is research based, effective, easy to use, and foolproof!

How do you help the facts stick?


Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick: This post tells about a system for addition and subtraction facts that is research based, effective, easy to use, and foolproof!
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