Reading Comprehension

I used to teach reading, and reading comprehension is just one of those things that used to give a majority of my students a hard time.  With fluency, there were hardly any problems.

But, when I checked for comprehension, I would often get the wrong answers.  Over something that they just read.  My first year of teaching, I was very frustrated with this.  My students would look at me blankly when I checked for understanding of what they just read.  I would then say "You just read it!" (Blank stare still).

First things first.  Reading comprehension is essentially understanding what is being read.  If you have a sentence that says:

"Bill ran toward the ball that was on the other side of the street." 

Several comprehension questions that could be asked in response to this sentence are: 

1)  What was Bill running toward? 

2)  Where was the ball? 

3)  Why was Bill running toward the ball? 

4)  What do you think will happen to Bill next?  

5)  Have you ever been in the same situation as Bill? 

Okay, so the first two questions are easily lower-level.   Simple understanding of the sentence.  The next three questions are a bit harder for students to grasp just reading the text once.  

The student will have to background knowledge as to why Bill was running toward the ball.  They will need to predict what will happen next to Bill.  And, they will need to connect the text to themselves. 

Often times, we ask our students those first two questions, and those are pretty easy for students to answer.  The answer to these questions is found right in the text.  The last two questions the students have to do some digging and some thinking to answer well.  

Knowing that there are different types of questions and different reading strategies that help the reader comprehend the text is critical to teaching your students to read well. 

Here are a few tips that will help your students succeed, no matter the reading strategy that you're trying to implement and teach: 

1)  Chunk the reading-  I usually limited reading together as a class (or partner reading) to about 10-15 minutes a day.  After we would read the story for that amount of time, came assignments, discussion and practice.  

2)  Check for understanding often-I would check for understanding constantly while we were reading.  I had to stop at least 3-4 times on each page to ask questions of the class.  Before, I used to ask the class questions as a whole, and not many would participate.  I gradually changed my approach to having students discuss and answer the questions in their teams or pairs (in complete sentences) while I wandered around the room eavesdropping.  If a student wasn't participating, I would ask them the question and they would have to discuss it with me.  :) 

3) Always review what was read the day before- Maybe do this as bellwork, but before you start where you left off (midway through a story), make sure you review so that the students will remember a little bit about the plot and characters.  This can also apply to previewing a story as well.  I liked to preview the stories with my students by telling them a little bit about the author and then telling them something that I really enjoyed about the story when I read it.  Often times it would be a certain character or a part of the story.  Usually those became the favorite parts that the students liked to read as well. 

4)  Go over vocabulary- Go over vocabulary with your students.  Whether you like to use context clues or the old fashioned method of looking up definitions in the dictionary, be sure that the students know the key vocabulary words, and understand the word meanings when you read.  

5)  Encourage questions and connections-  Encourage your students to ask you questions about the story.  Encourage your students to ask themselves questions.  Constantly inspire them to do something more than just reading to hear the story.  

So many of the stories that we read in class were wonderful, coming of age stories that my students could relate to well.  Ask your students questions about how the characters, plot, tone or mood relate to them.  Have they ever felt that way before?  What did they do in that situation?  

6)  Reach for more reading-  I can't tell you how important this is.  I have made this claim since I started teaching reading, and I will always stand by this claim.  

The more you read, the better the reader you become.  

Encourage students to become active readers.  If they want to read ahead in a story, I say let them.  Give them recommendations for books to read.  Be an active reading teacher- read books for the age level of students you teach.  Be ready to give recommendations that your students will love.  I can't tell you how many times I have helped students pick books from the library, and how many times they have enjoyed the books I gave them!  There was even the time that I recommended Bunnicula to one of my students (he was a little lower level than the others).  He loved Bunnicula so much he told me "thank you", and he read the whole series of books within a couple of weeks.  AND he passed his state exam.  

A love of reading will always take your students far in life. 

Back to School

I always loved the beginning of a new school year.  Just think about it:  How many jobs out there, can you basically start brand new/fresh after a 2 month vacation?  Not many. 

After my first year teaching, I decided that my second year would be at least ten times better.  And the reason why it actually was?  Because I was prepared. 

I don't think that teachers can be completely prepared for every single thing out there---life is way too crazy for that.  Students are unique and there will be different students that expected.  I remember my second year group of students, they were, what I like to say "quirky".  They were definitely different.  My third year group of students, were, if anything, better behaved, smarter, sassier and MORE quirky.  They were so weird (I actually think that goes for middle school students in general). 

Again, preparation is the key.  If you don't prepare, you're setting yourself up to fail.  Whoops.  I don't like that "F" word, but honestly, that is what happens.  I believe there are three different areas that you need to prepare for.  Honestly, as much fun as the summer is, that was the time that I actually had to work on making my classroom a safe, learning environment.  I didn't have time to make changes during the school year---that was way too hard for me.  Plus teachers and students get in habits, and it will be too hard to switch things up.  So here are the three areas to focus on when you're preparing for your school year. 

1)  Management-Procedures and Routines.  Consequences.  How are you going to teach your routines and procedures?  How much time do you dedicate to teaching these routines and procedures?  What about consequences?  It is so much easier to figure this stuff out BEFORE the kids get into the classroom than after. 

Also, figure out what you're going to have to type up and print out for your students to take home.  Some things that should be included are: Student Expectations, Procedures, Homework Policy, Consequences, Tardy Policy, Book List, Homework Expectations, Testing Expectations, Grading Policy, and a Curriculum Preview (what we'll be learning this year).  Sometimes teachers will lump all of these things into a disclosure statement or class syllabus.  Do what is best for you and your students. 

2)  Instruction-  Make a curriculum map, print and highlight your standards, get yourself a practice state exam, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE look at your textbook before the first day of school!  Make sure that you have a plan for teaching, whether it's an annual type of plan (curriculum map) or just a monthly guide of what you'll be teaching.  But, please try to make an outline of what you'll be teaching throughout the year. 

I would go through each unit, write down the theme, important vocabulary, root words and the stories that we were planning on reading (with page numbers---helps a lot guys!).  I would divide the units by the literary terms that the students were learning, and we would go from there.  In all the instructional planning you do, please always remember to refer to your state/district standards and curriculum. 

If you're a teacher, please read all of the novels/ short stories that you're planning on using in class to teach vocabulary, reading strategies or literary elements.  The students will know if you've read them before.  And it's always good to be one step ahead when you're planning. 

3)  Rapport-  I have to tell you, as important as management and instruction are, I think rapport is extremely important as well.  In order to effectively teach students, you need to have a good relationship with them.  I think the first week of school is an excellent time for lots of team building and class building activities. 

The students need to get to know you as well, so I would suggest having an introduction activity for yourself on the first day of school.  Either a PowerPoint, letting kids answer your questions or, find the fiction. 

One year I had students answer a bunch of questions about themselves on an index card (name, parent's name, phone number, favorite subject, favorite book, birthday, etc---for future reference).  I then asked them to write down a question that they had for me on the index card, any question at all that they may want to ask.  I only told them though, that after the first day, I would not answer any personal questions for the entire school year--this was there only chance.

The students enjoyed it and they asked me several things, including:  "Are you pregnant?" (I was about 7 months along at the time);  "What's your favorite animal?" (cheetahs); "What's your favorite color?" (red);  "How old are you?" (24--at the time); "Are you married?" (yes); "Are you mean?"  (yes, but only if you get in trouble/don't follow directions). 

Of course, being the literature teacher that I was in a low-income, high ELL population school, I answered all the questions in complete sentences. 

Look on the internet, look in books, there are tons of ideas.  This was my favorite book in college, and I thorougly enjoyed it!  Good luck on your first days of school!

Teacher Collaboration

Collaboration is a wonderful idea for teachers.  When teachers work together to set up procedures/routines/rules/curriculum maps/projects, there are one of two ways you can go.  First, your team can be a subject based team.  For example, this is most likely what you'll see in a high school or junior high setting. 

The first school I taught at, Landmark, I was a part of the Social Studies Department (or team).  At my second school, Mountain View, we were a Kindergarten-8th grade school, so things were set up a little differently.  We had only one teacher for each subject (with Resource teachers for math, language arts and reading, and an ELD specific reading/writing class called Read 180).  So the team I was on at Mountain View was the 7th grade team, and we would often collaborate/share ideas with our 8th grade team as well.  

Each type of department and team has it's benefits.  If you're team is grade level oriented, you can set up more common procedures, routines and rules.  This allows, in my opinion, more organized and well managed classrooms across the board (for the most part).  We did have teachers that did not follow these procedures, and while the Sevvies were great (behavior wise) in my class and a couple of my close friend's classes, they were like animals in the other classes.  Basically, they knew what they knew what classes they could get away with stuff in.

If your team is subject oriented, then you can set up more subject oriented events.  For example, with my classroom neighbor, George (also my mentor my first year teaching), helped me SO MUCH with setting up lessons and curriculum.  I really believe the only reason why I was still able to somewhat teach that year was because he was pulling me through by sharing what he was doing with his 7th grade history class as well.  On a subject oriented team, you can have common assessments, common curriculum maps, and common projects (we had a Social Studies fair at our Junior High). 

Both of these types of teams have their benefits, but I think it depends on the person.  More seasoned veterans are probably fine on either team.  They are okay with being a mentor for new teachers in regards to management (on a grade level team) or by helping with their wonderful curriculum ideas or projects (on a subject level team). 

My personal opinion on the matter:  Do what you have to.  Most of the teams are already set up in a specific way---when you go to a school, the type of team you're on isn't going to change.  But, you will need to learn and adapt.  Make the best of whatever type of team you're on and go with the flow.  If you're on a subject based team, but you're struggling with management (see MYSELF my first year teaching), then seek out the help of another teacher that is an excellent classroom manager.  Unfortunately my first year, I was too stubborn to ask for help before it was too late.  I had plenty of teachers that gave me advice that I have taken to heart from that first year teaching.  That advice helped me tremendously my next two years. 

The one thing I loved about the smaller, grade level team was that we all had the same students, and we could discuss their needs better.  And besides, on that smaller, grade level team, we had so many more meetings (at least once a week).  We really became close friends. 

I thought I'd finish this post by writing a list of ideas for making the best out of your team and future teacher collaboration:

1)  Have a good attitude---it can be so hard sometimes when it seems like you have heard the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER again!  If you need to do something to keep yourself from murmuring to your neighbor, then just zone out.  It's better to keep your opinions to yourself than to sow mutiny and discord amongst your fellow team.

2)  Go to your meetings and be active---This is so important.  You need to know what's going on.  And, if you have any say, suggest having the meetings as often as possible.  Okay, you might make enemies with different teachers, but becoming involved in the school and team is as important as staying in the classroom and teaching.  Take the intiative, take notes at meetings, and make suggestions.  If you don't participate in the conversation, then you have NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN when things don't go your way. 

3)  Help your fellow teammates---Offer to help.  Be positive, not negative.  Be responsible and respectful to your teammates and be willing to work with people.  If you have the opportunity, arrange for a sub (professional development) and go see other classrooms of your subject area or grade level and watch them teach.  Each teacher has their own, unique way of doing things and can share something helpful and informative with someone else. 

Ten Best Harry Potter Characters

This is just a fun little post.  You can have your students do this when reading a short story.  Maybe only 3 or 5 characters.  Have them use examples from the text or direct quotes.  In honor of the last HP movie, I thought that I'd write out a list of my favorite Harry Potter characters.  This is in no particular order. 

Peeves the Poltergeist
A highly inappropriate, disobedient nutcase poltergeist that obligingly lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he is constantly causing chaos with his pranks.  My favorite scene with Peeves, although there are so many, is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when the Weasley twins direct Peeves to give Umbridge hell.  I love seeing the way that Peeves salutes the twins, and causes quite an uproar from Umbridge, while the rest of the student body and the professors ally themselves with the unruly poltergeist.  I've always been sad that he's never been included in the movies! 

Lord Voldemort
 Some people might think that I am weird having him on the list, but I just have to say that I admire how JK Rowling wrote Voldemort's character.  Voldemort is pure evil.  Seriously, he is.  At one time, when he was younger, he may have been not as evil, but that nastiness has always been there.  Most authors write their antagonists with having a little bit of heart and remorse left in them, so you can feel almost sympathy with the enemy.  Not with Lord Voldemort.  He is everything a human being shouldn't be, and some of my favorite chapters in the whole series are found in book 6 when Harry learns about Voldermort's past, and how he became the man/wizard/monster that terrorized the wizarding world.  I think it's incredible to see how Voldemort became corrupted by his lust for power.  Rowling does an excellent job of writing nasty, evil villains and this is somebody that even Harry, who is a kind, well-meaning kid for the most part, can kill.  If I had to choose a person to be second to Lord Voldemort in the evil contest, I would have to say that Bellatrix and Umbridge are tied.

Hermione Granger
Hermione is the best of the best.  She is your goody two shoes, who loves school and getting good grades.  Basically, she is a model student.  If Harry and Ron hadn't become friends with Hermione, there would be no Harry Potter series.  She is the glue that holds the trio together.  Honestly, the boys are so clueless without her, and without her knowledge and skill they wouldn't have survived all their years at Hogwarts. 


Draco Malfoy
Draco's transformation from spoiled, nasty little rich boy into a young man that is essentially bullied by Voldemort really shows his true nature.  By the time that you get to book 6, most people realize that Harry and Draco are arch enemies (at least in the school sense).  They jinx and curse each other, and pull pranks.  Harry is as guilty of this relationship as Draco is.  In book 6, you finally see Draco at his breaking point.  He is bullied into killing Dumbledore, an act that will most likely kill him in the process.  During books 6 and 7, you sympathize with Malfoy, and come to realize that as "evil" as he was in the previous books, he's nothing compared to Voldemort. 


Nymphadora Tonks
I'm all about girl power.  And Tonks is a pretty hip and skilled witch that can take on some serious tasks.  You don't learn very much about her in book 5.  She has the ability to change her appearance at will, she's an auror (that has to take some skill), she is notoriously clumsy, and she likes to ask annoying questions of Harry.  I wish that they had more of her in the books, but she is definitely a B plot character.  And, she's not so awesome in book 6. (Love sick? pssh)  And in book 7, you barely see enough of her before you see that she died.  I'd like to see a sequel to the Harry Potter books that deals with the adult perspective of Voldemort's rise to power (like during books 5 and 6 of the series).

Weasley Family
Okay, I kind of cheated.  I had to include ALL of the Weasleys.  This is the family that Harry wished that he had.  And Ron, his BFF, is a part of that family.  I love Harry's relationship with the entire family.  From Ron, Fred, and George that view Harry as a close friend (almost a brother), to Ginny's childish fan girl obsession that turns into romance;   Percy's disapproval of Harry and Ron's friendship; and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's almost parent like affection of Harry.  As Mr. Weasley says in book 6, "Half of our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it... Well all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express".  On the flipside of this quote, where would Harry be without the Weasleys?  Without Ron? 

Professor McGonagall
This is a teaching blog, so I have to write a little blurb about my favorite teacher in the books.  She sure is strict, but I really think that her methods got results.  Okay, now to stop talking about her as a teacher.  Some of my favorite scenes from books 5 to 7 are with her in them.  I really liked in book 5 when she defends Harry while engaging in a yelling match with Umbridge (that's pretty unprofessional, at least she tells him to leave before it escalates).  I also like how stalwart she is---like when Harry mentions in book 5 after McGonagall is injured that he never imagined Hogwarts without her.  One of my favorite, absolute, favorite scenes is from book 7 when Harry is hiding under the invisibility cloak in the Ravenclaw dorm.  When McGonagall confronts the Carrows, they spit in her face.  Harry, in retaliation, removes his cloak and performs the cruciatus curse on them.  McGonagall, in response says, "Potter, I- that was very-very gallant of you." McGonagall, although a strict teacher, is very fair and well-liked and respected by the general student and staff population.  Maybe unknown to Harry, she is also an important mentor and guide for him while at Hogwarts. 

Severus Snape
Best written character in the story.  Snape's loyalty and devotion toward Lily Potter allowed him to protect Harry, who looks exactly like his most bitter rival (James Potter).  It's almost funny, the way that Snape bullied and punished Harry.  Especially in the 6th book, when Snape tells him that he will only be able to defeat Lord Voldemort if he can master his emotions and nonverbal magic.  One of my top 5 chapters in the entire book is when Harry sees Snape's memories after he dies.  Poor Snape, so misunderstood, but he eventually receives the respect he deserves, even if it is a little late. 

Albus Dumbledore
Harry's Gandalf.  Okay, maybe not so much.  But Dumbledore is a pretty conniving old man.  He knows what's expected of Harry, and tries to protect him as much as possible, even though he knows that Harry will have to be killed (eventually).  I like that book 7 shows a different side of Dumbledore.  Although he's always been Harry's hero, Harry realizes that not all heroes are perfect.  Do I really have to say anymore about Dumbledore? 

Harry Potter
Harry could quite possibly be my least favorite character in the series if I let all of his annoying habits (jumping to conclusions, playing hero, being a drama queen) get in the way.  But no matter how many faults he has (which show that he is human), he still has so much good left in him.  After all he's been through, he's not that bitter.  He's learned to deal with the crazy muggle Dursleys, and he's learned to deal with the backlash that comes from being famous.  Through most of the series, he's a reluctant hero.  He doesn't want to be famous and be the chosen one, but he will, because he knows what needs to be done.  I love how clueless he is with girls, I love how Harry fights and argues with his friends and I love how even though there was a part of Voldemort in him, he was still a genuinely good person. 

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology--- kids love learning about Greek Myths.  While this isn't a huge curriculum bullet (there usually isn't too much of it covered on most state exams), it is something that will pique the interest of your students.  They especially like it because they can RELATE to it and have PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of most of the content we cover.

Students will draw parallels to:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series, both by Rick Riordan; the God of War video game for PS3; the movie Clash of the Titans; and if you're lucky, they have actually learned a little bit about Greek Mythology from actual textbooks before!

I remember I learned about Greek mythology in 6th grade.  My wonderful, amazing Language Arts/ Social Studies teachers had our teams divided each into a different Greek Polis.  We had competitions against each other, culminating in a huge Olympics competition (I just remember the javelin toss was with pencils).  It was so much fun.

I usually saved Greek Mythology for the week before state exams and the week during.  I did this so students were actually enjoying themselves in class, not just cramming last minute for state exams (like that helps anyway).

I always started off with teaching about the titans (very briefly) and then we got into the myth of the Gods overthrowing Kronos.  And we took off from there.  I always started with a print out of notes for the students.  On each printout would have the names of each God/Goddess (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc), mythical heroes (Hercules, Orpheus, Achilles, Odysseus, etc), monsters (Medusa, Hydra, Minotaur, Sirens, Cerebrus) and general terms and places (Elysium, Hades, Olympus, Crete, etc).  Most of these terms tied to the myths that were from our text book.  Those myths were on:  Prometheus and how he came to give man fire;  Icarus and Daedalus and their metal wings;  Apollo and his son Phaeton, who was too proud to not fly his father's chariot; and Orpheus, who almost brought back his beloved from death by playing beautiful music.

We covered why the Gods and Goddesses were worshiped and I had to explain to students that this was the religion of the Greek people.  Most students were astonished at this news and thought that "Those fools were crazy."  (And that's a direct quote I got).  I told little stories about each God, Goddess, hero, monster, place, person, etc.  The kids saw that I loved the content/subject, and they caught on to that.   Can you guess what unit my students tested the highest on average for?  Yep, it was this unit.

We supplemented some stories.  I printed out stories about King Midas and his Golden touch, Perseus and Medusa,  Theseus and the minotaur, Jason and the Argonauts and a simplified, summarized version of the Odysssey.  The teams randomly picked their myth.  They read the myth together as a team, and then planned an even shorter skit of the myth.  They were graded on their enthusiasm, team work and how accurate their portrayal was.

I really wish that I could have taught more to the students.  Their eyes sparkled and they smiled so much when we learned about Greek Mythology.  And, don't we want our students to like learning?  I always encouraged students to keep reading the content.  I told them that if they hadn't already they needed to read Percy Jackson, not only for the content, but the wonderful middle school sense of humor that Riordan writes with.


There are Greek myths all over the place on the internet.  So, use those if you need a place to get started.  I also used the school library as a source, and had books pulled on Greek mythology.  When students were really interested in one aspect (like the myth of Theseus and the minotaur),  I would encourage them to try to read more about it on their own.

Most of all, when it comes to Greek Mythology, have FUN teaching your students.  They will love it if you do!  If you have no desire to do Greek Mythology, then try something else with your students.  Egyptian mythology, middles ages, or black plague.  Find something that you like to teach and that will engage the students and go.  Remember, that it is impossible to teach a supplemental unit like this all year long.  But it is there to break up the monotony, and give your students something to do that they'll really enjoy!

Best of luck!

What To Teach, What to Teach

This post is mainly for those teachers that have the privilege to teach reading.

There is so much involved with teaching reading and literature, just like all the other subjects.  But, the best part about being a Reading/Language Arts/English teacher?  By the time students hit middle school, reading is a review.

By 7th grade, most students have been taught elements of plot, characterization, mood, tone, and theme.  The majority of students have also learned the basics of reading functional, expository and persuasive texts.  In my opinion, this gives reading teachers a little bit more leeway in planning their reading lessons.

The best way to approach what to teach is to incorporate a few tools: 

1)  State standards
State Standards are a overview of what teachers are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn.  A lot of districts take their own state standards and make a pacing guide or curriculum map for teachers.  Most teachers are expected to follow these pacing guides.  I DID NOT!  I really, really tried to.  But, other factors were more important than following each story during each quarter of the year.

A lot of times, the persuasive, expository, and functional texts were left until the end of the year, when I tried to incorporate those texts throughout the entire year.  And the story choices were horrible.  My students didn't like most of the stories that were selected by the district.  So, I picked stories that I thought they would enjoy more.  I taught the same literary elements that I was supposed to teach with the other stories. 

2)  Textbook

This is the most obvious answer.  Every subject has a textbook or curriculum.  Become best friends (or BFFs as I like to say) with your Teacher's Edition and any supplemental materials.  Take them home during the summer when you're planning out your curriculum map for the rest of the year.  A lot of times they have lots of worksheets (I'll talk about worksheets later!), but they also have unique project ideas.  Lots of ideas for hands on activities, discussion topics, team projects, and suggestions for instructional differentiation, especially for gifted and lower level students.  The more familiar you are with your instructional materials, the better you'll be able to implement those activities. 

A lot of time I think teachers take for granted these materials, but these supplemental materials are written by education experts.  However, you always will know what's best for your students, so if some of those ideas don't work for your classroom, then don't feel obligated to do them.  Remember, teaching is all about experimenting, tweaking and trying again.  Teaching should never be perfect---if it is, how will you be able to grow? 

3)  District Pacing Guide or Curriculum Map

Try it out.  If following the district pacing guide or curriculum guide doesn't work for your students, then make your own.  I did not have a guide like this my first year teaching!  It would have helped so much!  I had no idea what I was doing, just kind of following what the other teachers were doing and looking at the textbook a week, (sometimes a day) before I was teaching the topic. 


I just realized that some teachers may not be familiar with a pacing guide or curriculum map.  This is a document that shows what you will be teaching throughout the entire school year.  It is usually divided up by quarters or semester, and it is specific.  My curriculum maps always had the name of the story, page numbers, standards, objectives and key ideas and literary elements that I was teaching.

If your district does not provide you with a curriculum map, I would try to meet up with other teachers that teach the same curriculum as you, and make complementary curriculum maps.  It's always a good idea to get ideas from other teachers, especially those more seasoned teachers.  :) 

4)  Student results from previous state tests and pretests

As always, assessments should guide instruction.  The objectives you write, should be geared to your students and their needs, not what you, as a teacher are supposed to teach.

If a class is better with tone and mood than plot, you'll just need to review tone and mood a little bit.  You'll most likely have to cover plot a bit longer for your students to get a hang of it.  There will always be discrepancies between students--- No two students have the same exact level and ability!

NO matter what I was teaching, no matter how far behind a student was or how far ahead a student was I always pushed my students to keep reading and to keep going.  I'm a firm believer that anybody will become a better reader the more they read.


Figuring out what to teach can be emotionally, mentally, and even physically exhausting.  The important point is to keep moving forward!  You can do this.  Even with all the problems that education is having these days, know that you are making a difference in the lives of your students, and they are our future!  You are doing a wonderful work---just keep going!

Student Assessments and Feedback

Because of the state of affairs in a country at the moment, I believe every single state has a state test that they give to measure how well the students,teachers, schools and states are meeting national standards. 

I don't know how many people actually like state testing, but I do know that it can be used an effective tool in helping our students progress.  Yeah, I just said that state testing can be effective.  There are so many issues and arguments about state testing, but I will not get into it here! 

Before your school year starts, it's likely that you'll get class lists (hopefully) AND if you're lucky, you may even get a print out of student's test scores from the previous year or years.  If you happen to get that list, please please please look at it before the school year starts!

By knowing how well a student has done the previous year on a test, you will be able to anticipate what they need to work on and what they just need a basic review on.  SERIOUSLY, this is huge. Imagine you walk into class on the first day of school, and you have a decent idea of where every student is at in your content area.  There are issues with state tests, but they do give you a general feel of a student's progress.

Another thing I am going to say:  Give your students a pretest.  Make it on what they will be learning either the semester or throughout the year.  And, again, type up the results. 

My last year of teaching, I gave my students a pretest and I made a list, from highest score to the lowest score of all the students.  Based on this knowledge, I then put students into teams. 

And last, but not least with student assessments:  tell them their scores.  Pull them aside and have individual conferences with them.  I gave students a print out of this:  Student Feedback.  This details test scores and shows students what they need to improve in.  I've had several students that used to keep these in the front of their clear binders, displaying proudly their test scores!