The End-of-Grade (EOG) tests are approaching! Each year we make a video to support our students undergoing this challenge of showing all the wonderful things they know. Check out this year’s video!

We also had students in grades 3-5 come to the gym for an EOG Pep Rally.Here’s the calm before the storm:

We were privileged to have support from our sister school Kennedy Middle. Their band and dance teams came out to pump us up!

Look out Kennedy Middle our 5th grade Dance team is on your heels!

Shout out to our boys basketball team for showing us their skills!

Thank you to our K-2 Happy Helpers Club for your creative dance and supportive cheers!

Lots of love to my girls who practiced so diligently on the playground for weeks to perfect this routine! (They got their start cheering for the boys during their kickball games and with a compliment from the principal and a hint of a pep rally…a dream was born!)  Click on the photo to see the routine!

How does your school help encourage students to perform their best on state assessments?

The post Getting Pumped- E.O.G. Style! appeared first on Always A Lesson.

As stated in my previous post , my students have begun to review skills that will be tested on the End-Of-Grade (EOG) test. Students rotated through each third grade teacher’s classroom focusing on one math and one literacy standard per 2 hour block.

This experience was quite interesting to say the least. In my reflection of “did this work?,” “was it feasible?,” and most importantly, “would I want to do it again?” I began to write down my thoughts. Of course, any time I am thinking through a decision I list all the pro’s and con’s of the situation. I will use my up-to-date professional jargon here and refer to the categories as Plus (+) or Delta (-).

Here goes…!

+ I felt like I could really hone in on one specific aspect of a standard. I had time to thoroughly reteach the concept, engage students in a variety of ways, and then assess in a way that I was confident students would be able to demonstrate mastery  due to this focused structure.

+ My students were able to zone in on one standard at a time instead of mentally transitioning through a mixture review of topics. Students were able to get really good at a particular skill before moving on. The momentum of success was infectious!

+ Teaching the same lesson repeatedly to each third grade class helped me fine tune my technique and deepen my understanding of the content. At first, I thought I would be sick of my literacy and math lesson after two weeks, but I was able to reflect after my first delivery, make a few tweaks, and try again the next rotation. Student behavior and data gave me feedback on the quality of my instructional practice.

+ Many skills intertwined into multiple standards. So students were able to hear and practice the skill in another environment, apply it in a new situation, and deepen their understanding of the content. Student assessment results began to increase after each rotation.

+ Exposing children to multiple teaching styles is imperative. Students get comfortable in a teaching style they like, and shut down in a teaching style that is less becoming. This process encourages students to hear material that they have already learned in a new way by a new teacher. This prepares them for their educational journey through middle school, high school and beyond. Students adjusted well. The break was refreshing for us all!

– I MISSED MY KIDDOS LIKE CRAZY!!! (not joking!) Being in a classroom for hours on end, day after day really builds a community. Our relationships have deepened and strengthened through trials and celebrations. I realized that I missed my students because they got my jokes, knew the routine, and are so gosh darn smart!! [insert bias here]

– It is evident which teacher’s classroom has structure and which is more, shall we say, free. My Type A personality and my need for productivity/efficiency came to a screeching halt on a few occasions. I decided to choose my battles and focus on the instruction, not the behaviors created due to a different teaching style.

So after looking at my list, it is quite evident that it was a success overall. I will certainly encourage my teammates to try this again next year!

How has reflection helped you make an important decision in the classroom?

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