Testing Begins!

This week we begin state testing--this week is usually filled with lots of feelings! I feel nervous, excited, sorry for the kids, and I wonder if I have done all I can do to help them prepare.

I have mixed feelings about state testing. It's great to see a snapshot of their learning, but that's all it is--a snapshot.

I know that all of my students won't be proficient. I have two students with an IEP that read at a Fountas and Pinnell level G. It's so hard to watch them take the regular test, even with the read-aloud accomodation. I hate watching them struggle in frustration to complete a test that they can't read. I hate that we don't have more time and resources to help them. But that's how it is. I know I have some students that have worked all year on memorizing prefixes and suffixes and will get to the test and forget them. I have to tell myself that if I did all I could...then it is what it is!

Our school has an extremely high level of free/reduced lunch students. It's a struggle, and I have to remember that our successes may come slower, but they do come!

I fight feelings of jealousy when I see other teachers excited about their classes that are 100% proficient. I try NOT to be too envious though, but concentrate on the growth my students have made this year. As long as they have made progress, I feel like I can claim some responsibility for that :)

But in two weeks, reading and math will be over, and it'll be time for some fun!

Here are the directions for the Smart Cookie project that I adapted from one I saw on Lesson Plan SOS. I also have a Prezi presentation I will try to show, and a Promethean file to help us organize our thoughts. Hopefully it goes smoothly tomorrow! I'm hoping to remember to pull some pictures out and photo their creations

(As a side note, does photographing students often help behavior at all?? Hehe, just wondering!)

Smart Cookies