“I’m upgraded!”

Those were the words of one of my darlings a few weeks ago on the playground when in conversation with myself and another teacher.  The student had just finished talking about how excited he was about the test he had written earlier in the morning because he knew that he had done his best and was confident that he had shown his true understanding on the test.  Being a true supporter of children, the other teacher (a teacher who had previously had this student) expressed excitement about how this student had changed — “I like this new (insert student name here) — very different from the (insert student name here) in grade (insert previous grade here)!  To which the student responded, “I’m upgraded!”

Fast forward to yesterday after this student and I had shared a seat on the bus for a field trip.  The student had shared what he viewed as his successes thus far this year: taking more risks in class, being more confident about learning, and knowing how to assess himself after new learning — these were his words.

Obviously, this student takes to heart my talking about how we all learn differently and at different speeds but that we’ll all get there if we support one another.

It’s easy for students to determine their value based on answering a question incorrectly in class or by a poor test score.  Although much is determined by scores and achievement levels, we, as educators need to make sure that we don’t allow students to focus solely on their performance on such tests.  Instead, we need to ensure we are providing teaching and activities that allow students to be self-reflective and we need to support them in their growth as people who do their best regardless of the consequence — people who do their best for themselves!

I have full confidence that this student will perform well on any upcoming achievement tests — not just because he will have practiced and studied the material, but because he will know that the test is an opportunity to prove his understanding and because he will value moments when he has tried his best. Sharing my own experiences as a learner, using the ‘Take a Risk’ poster (see SIOP Newsletter 3), reflection responses after learning, and activities such as those where students have to justify their response and such responses (right or wrong) are acknowledged, help students grow to understand that learning is about themselves.

In a society in which we’re constantly obsessed with upgrading the things around us, what a great idea this student had to upgrade himself.

So, it’s time for MEAP preparation.  I”m always conflicted about this…how to ensure that I’ve reviewed GLCEs from Grade 4, while not focusing too much on MEAP.  What I mean is, how do we ensure that we are combing our way through those cobwebs that have inevitably spun their way through our students’ minds during the summer, while also ensuring that we don’t allow test review to dominate our days.  It’s a tricky one.  And one that is evidenced in the comic below:

This has Grade 5 written all over it — the MEAP in ELA, Math, and Science.  Today my students were exhausted by the end of MEAP preparation!  And so was I.  In the days ahead this week, I’m challenging myself to cover those GLCEs but not make them quite so dry.  Perhaps a game of Garbage Ball is in order?  The class is split into groups and once they answer a question correctly, they get a shot at the garbage (I use a milk crate).  If they get it in, they get to add 2 points to their score…3 pointers optional!  ELL students are provided a safe environment in their group and all group members must agree on the answer before the speaker states the answer to the whole class.  I”ll keep you posted on how it goes!

This is Amy signing out.