STEP Right Up

Despite its many features- note-taking, highlighting, dictionaries, underlining, etc., it’s not the same as being able to highlight, take notes, and show your work right on the actual paper. This transferring of information and processing can be difficult for students. And there’s nothing more frustrating than walking around during testing and seeing a student not taking any notes or showing their work on the paper they are provided. This is why it is important to practice how they will test.

In class, we have many students writing directly on their packets or workbooks, but unfortunately they won’t be able to do that on their computers. For the next few weeks, let’s have them practice using their strategies on the paper they will be provided during STAAR.

If you haven’t already, start this process ASAP when doing any STAAR Prep:

1. Hand them blank pieces of white paper.

2. Remind them to write any strategies down that will help them so they don’t forget (RACE, Cubes, etc.).

3. Practice with them to show their strategies on the paper. (Students who get supplemental aides should have them). You can make boxes for each question, annotation foldables, short answer foldables, etc.

4. Any work they do should be demonstrated on that paper, so they get used to transferring the material from screen or packet to their test notes.

5. Practice like they “play” every day before the big “game.” This way it is second nature to them by the time they take the test.

6. Remind them that they can ask for extra paper at any time during the test, and it is encouraged.

See below for more testing tips:

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

Who says test prep needs to be boring?

Make testing practice engaging by using interactive, high-energy games and creative, hands-on activities. Effective methods include using digital tools like Kahoot and Blooket, playing games such as Trashketball, Jeopardy, and Four Corners, and using tactile tools like whiteboards, flashcards, or scavenger hunts to boost participation and retention.

Here are several ways to make testing practice fun:

Gamified Review Sessions:

• Kahoot! & Blooket: Use digital platforms for fast-paced, competitive quizzes.

• Trashketball: Divide students into teams. After answering a question correctly, they get to shoot a balled-up piece of paper into a trash can for extra points.

• Jeopardy!: Create a game board with different categories and point values for a classic, competitive review.

• Bingo: Use vocabulary words or keywords for a versatile review game.

• Kaboom!: Students pull a stick or slip from a container to answer a question. If they pull a "Kaboom" slip, they lose their points, adding a fun risk element.

• Four Corners: Label corners A-D. Ask multiple-choice questions and have students run to the corner representing their answer.

• Any Sport: Turn anything into a sports competition- earn football yards, soccer goals, basketball points, etc. Yes, It's March Madness.

Interactive and Active Learning

• Scavenger Hunt: Hide questions around the room or school for students to find and answer.

• Glow Day/Black Lights: Use highlighters and black lights to make worksheets or task cards exciting.

• Snowball Fight: Write questions on paper, crumple them, have a "fight," then pick up a "snowball" and answer the question.

• Whiteboard Race: Use dry-erase markers on desks or individual whiteboards for quick answers.

• "Stump the Genius": Students create tough questions to try to stump the teacher or a "genius" student.

Collaborative and Creative Techniques

• Escape Room Challenge: Create a series of puzzles based on topics to "escape" the room.

• Task Card Games: Pair academic task cards with board games like Candy Land or Connect 4.

• Double Puzzles: Use answers from one puzzle to solve another, making review a two-step challenge.

• Create the Test: Have students work in pairs to create their own multiple-choice or true/false questions to test classmates.

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

Having the students do their work while standing is a proven way to increase engagement and deeper learning. Plus it's much easier to monitor. These classes did a great job of showcasing that.

Teachers were holding their students accountable for giving each other feedback on their ECR's and through randomization so that every student has the opportunity to contribute.

Sometimes the stress of a test doesn’t allow us to be at our best selves. Our tone may change when we talk about the test with our classes. The classroom energy can shift. The students feel more on edge because we are on edge. But how can we not stress when there’s so much pressure?

As you’ll see in the newsletter article, "Tips to Overcome Test Season Stress," one of the ideas is putting things in perspective. I was already thinking about writing about this topic to you, when on Tuesday, I got a message that one of my former students was shot and killed by his brother, another of my former students. I had known these boys since Kindergarten and worked with them until 8th grade in my ELA class. He was also the second former student of mine that was killed in the past 2 months from that same class. And guess what? I don’t remember their state test scores, but I do remember them as really sweet and kind boys, who would play basketball with me after school and constantly try to be my class helpers. These are the moments that really matter to them and us.

You all do such an amazing job of creating cultures that make your students feel appreciated and supported, while still having those high expectations. Don’t lose that! Unfortunately, testing is an important part of our jobs, but remember...tests will come and go, and we want to do our best, but your health and well-being, and the students’ health and well-being should always be the priority. Don’t lose your amazing classroom tones (or your sanity) over a test.

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

In sports, halftime is a necessary break from the action to reassess what is going well and what areas need improvement before the second half. In the classroom, time to reassess is also critical for the needs of each class.

You finished your mini-lesson, the students have done a few practice examples, and most of the students seem to have gotten your first-teach and practice problems pretty quickly. You have three options:

1. Continue with the lesson as planned and remain at the same rigor throughout.

2. Give those students who “finished” their work “free time.”

3. Give a quick formative to see who can accelerate or who needs extra support.

The answer is C! Our goal as instructors is to differentiate in the classroom and provide an opportunity to let some students soar high above, or to support those who require extra support to meet the class objective.

What is a Half-Time Ticket?

A Half-time Ticket is a quick check to see which students have reached the level of the objective / goal for that day.

How:

After the mini-lesson (I do/ we do), do a full class check for understanding on the objective. This can be digitally, through active monitoring records, whole class signals, etc.

If a student shows mastery of that TEK / objective / goal:

• Provide extension activities for those students and up the rigor or DOK and include more options / more creativity.

• Allow them to help other students (teaching is the highest form of deeper learning).

If a student does not show mastery of the TEK / objective / goal:

• Pull those students to a small group area and do a re-teach with more personalized attention / practice.

• Provide those students with an exit ticket later to see if the reteach was effective.

Benefits of a Half-time Ticket:

1. Many teachers run out of time and never get to their exit ticket.

2. Students earn autonomy and extension activity time when successful.

3. Students pay more attention to the mini-lesson (I do / we do) to earn autonomy

4. It gives evidence for instant Tier 1 small groups interventions.

5. The intervention is instant without having to pull students later or spiral in to future lessons.

Call it what you want… “Mid-class Master,” “Halftime Hero,” etc.…just don’t call it a day without knowing who wasn't successful by the end.

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

Happy Superbowl Sunday! Whether you care about the game or not, there is a lesson to learn from these professional athletes. No one is born an amazing athlete or student or musician. It takes consistency. Success comes from getting a little better each day on small specific measurable goals.

James Clear’s wildly successful book, Atomic Habits, is a research-based account of how little measurable successes build up to big wins. How does this apply to our student growth? With roughly 50 school days until STAAR (depending on the subject), if our students can get 1% better every day, that is an increase of over 64% before STAAR. How do we ensure growth from every student in every class every day and not have to wait for a big test? Small Daily Goals and Formative Assessments.

Start of Class:

Every class should have a specific daily goal that is referred to frequently throughout the class. This is more than just an objective that is shown and forgotten about; it’s something measurable that students should push themselves to achieve by the end of the class. Every objective / goal doesn’t always have to be at the rigor of the TEK (yet); it can also be a building block to eventually reach that TEK proficiency and beyond.

End of Class:

The students should have a quick exit ticket to determine if they were able to reach the goal / objective. Leave yourself time at the end of class to give one cold-question that reflects the level of the objective. This can be done with a previously-released STAAR question or something to "show" they were successful at achieving the goal. Each student should know whether he or she reached the goal by the end of class, and the teacher will then be aware in real time to plan the next steps to intervene if needed.

Remember, it’s not about whether you taught the content; it’s about whether or not they learned it!

See the article below for more information on creating successful exit tickets, and please let me know if you need any help incorporating these goals and "gains" into your lessons.

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

We know that moving the STAAR dates is never an option; so how do we get back that lost classroom time when we have school closures, unplanned events, sub plans that didn’t get completed by the class or we are just falling behind in the curriculum?

1) Give pre-assessments. Before any unit (or even some lessons as a warm-up), find out what your students already know. Don’t spend more unnecessary time on “the know” (vocabulary, recall, etc.) and get right into “the show” (application and analysis).

2) Prioritize high-leverage TEKS. With only about 10-12 weeks until STAAR, be sure to prioritize which TEKs will carry the most weight. Lead4ward is your best friend for determining which TEKs are a priority and which may need to be set aside for now. (See lead4ward resource link below)

3) Set the Pace- Every second is valuable! Besides for teaching bell-to-bell, we want to make sure we are pushing our students to mastery at the highest level of the TEK expeditiously (without leaving students behind, of course).

• Use an agenda and timers for all areas of the lesson (direct teach, activities, exit tickets)

• Avoid time killers like 20 minutes cutting and gluing or projects that are not directly aligned to the rigor of the TEK.

• Create a sense of urgency for the students. Remind them of the objective and the exit ticket they will be responsible for by the end of class to keep them moving.

4) Analyze Formatives and Exit Tickets: By the end of each class, students should have some form of evidence that they are either successful or not. The pacing guide may say you are spending a week on X skill, but if your students have evidence that they have mastered the TEK through their formatives, you can either “up the rigor” or move on to the next skill.

There are so many great things happening in the classrooms...

STEP is a program to assist teachers who are new to teaching, new to their subject / grade, or just need extra help with classroom management or student interventions. I will be working with you as a co-teacher, collaborator, sounding board, and mentor for your classroom coaching or planning needs.

After my first semester as a teacher, I almost quit (fine, I was almost fired). My first official day of “teaching” was September 11, 2001, in a school in NJ. Our community was rocked by the 9/11 attacks hitting so close to home. I lost my best friend in the second tower, and I had classes of frightened kids in front of me that I didn’t know what to do with. I didn’t go to school to be a teacher. I was not prepared.

Luckily, instead of kicking me to the curb, my principal assigned me a mentor. I knew I had a passion for helping kids, but this mentor was able to support me and guide me through all the questions about curriculum and pedagogy and was able to build up my skillset and my confidence. It took some time, but soon, in an urban Title 1 district, I had become the top scoring teacher in the district, and I was then able to be a mentor for others.

Twenty-five years later, I am still in education. I have worked with all grade levels K-12 in some capacity: teacher, mentor teacher, demonstration classroom teacher, conference presenter, instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal. I am grateful that I had the right coaches and professional support to guide me each step of the way, and I am thrilled to be able to do that with you.