Even though many states are scaling back on spring testing, before the 2019/2020 school year standardized testing was mandated in all 50 states. Some states used PARCC or Smarter Balanced; some states created their own tests, and some used a hybrid of the two. On top of this, about half the states required students to take the SAT or ACT.[1] For the fall of 2021, three-fifths of 4-year colleges are test-optional.[2] Now politicians have asked to pause testing.[3]
Still, teachers are required to give grades and testing is likely to return. Preparing students to take tests is important as odds are students will take tests (whether standardized or not) throughout their school years. This series of blog posts provides practical test-taking strategies beginning with multiple-choice tests. This is the first of a five-part series. Come back each week to learn about True/False, Matching, Fill in the Blanks, and Essay test-taking strategies.Continue Reading
Writing a thesis statement is an extremely difficult skill for some students. This post provides step-by-step instructions. Student-friendly language helps students understand the concepts. To learn the rules, students watch a Google Slide presentation. While watching, they complete organizers. The printable organizers may be placed in an interactive notebook. Digital organizers are also provided. They may be housed on Google Drive. Students may use these organizers as reference tools any time they write essays.
I love books about kids who turn their lives around. That is the main theme of There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom. The story begins withBradley Chalkers, the oldest student in 5th grade because he repeated 4th. He is known by all students and teachers as the biggest bully in the school. Bradley sits in the last row, last seat of Mrs. Ebbel’s class, so he won’t disturb the other students. He spends his time cutting paper and scribbling on his assignments.
Book Summary
Jeff Fishkin
A new student, Jeff Fishkin, moves to Red Hill School from Washington, DC. He is assigned the seat next to Bradley because all the others are full. Bradley begins a relationship with Jeff by first taking a dollar from him and later saying he will give him a dollar if he will be his friend.Continue Reading
Your students are going to love these Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes activities!
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Summary
The atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. At this time, Sadako was two years old. The story begins eleven years later. Sadako wakes up energetic and excited because she enjoys the celebrations of Peace Day.Continue Reading
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing will have your students rolling with laughter. The story tells about Peter Hatcher who lives close to Central Park in New York City with his parents and younger brother Fudge. The novel centers around the events that take place during Peter’s fourth grade year. Most of Peter’s problems are due to the misbehavior of Peter’s 2-3 year old brother. Chapters in the novel are individual episodes of Peter’s life.
Summaries of the First Chapters
Peter goes to his best friend’s birthday party and wins a small turtle by guessing the closest number of jelly beans in the jar. Peter is super excited with his new pet and names the turtle Dribble.Continue Reading
By learning root words, students can better understand language. Learning just a few root words can increase word knowledge ten-fold. This post includes both free materials and ideas to make learning fun. Begin with this idea…Continue Reading
