Test Prep Fun!

Hey all!  I don't know about you but all this testing nonsense really has me stressed out.  I can not stop thinking about how I can ensure my kids go from not knowing to mastering skills in days.  While I recognize that it is not possible- I do know that there are simple things that I can fix.  Lots of times my scholars have a hard time deciding what "trick" to use to add, subtract, multiply, or divide fractions.  Or when they set up a line plot they never put the fractions in order.  Or worse yet- They STILL don't use a place value chart to answer any question about place value- they would rather guess.

So I talked it over again with the most amazing co-teacher in the world and we came up with a GREAT idea!  We decided to take away our children's special (before you kill me hear me out.  I work at a school where 4 out of the 5 days of specials have a sub, and in the last week we have had 2 physical fights, 1 student embarrassed and parents calling mandatory meetings, and 5 days of NOTHING done).  We wanted to make it fun and NOT stressful at all because when we stress them out they obviously don't do well.  We make 6-7 centers depending on the week that reinforced or taught simple skills the scholars are getting wrong.  My kids would graph each day how they did and would work towards getting better at the skill,


It was AMAZING! Attached are some pictures of them working on the centers skills.  I included all documents I made.  Please feel free to use them or change them based on your needs.



Here is the graph that my students used to plot how they did:






Here is an example of the direction cards I made:

Here are the different pieces needed:

The Cover Page

The Centers Page the students write on

The task Cards I used

This is for the first week- I will gladly attach the centers we did for the 2nd week if you like!




Love,

Science?!

So in DC, our 5th graders take a Science state test.  They don't actually count towards our state goal, but it is still something our students need to learn.  In a chart school where making gains on ELA and Math are the sole focus- Science will sometimes get pushed off to the side.  Last year we never even put it in the schedule.  We've tried to hire science teachers as a specials, and have spent lots of money on kits to make life "easier" for the teacher.

Over the holiday break I really tried to figure out what I was supposed to use as a guide for 5th grade science, and what I needed to ensure my kids were ready to answer questions about.  In comes:  The Next Generation Science Standards.  These standards are supposed to become the Common Core of Science.  The one thing I love- THERE ARE STANDARDS! I was just pulling out of a hat what to teach.  

Right now they are just in the stages of producing the standards, but as always I go to my favorite teacher research site aka pinterest and I clearly see that there are lots of teachers already trying to create things to make the NGSS understandable for teachers like me (who have no idea how to teach science!).  

The first site I wanted to showcase was:  Jason's online classroom.  There I found some posters that I actually bought because they helped me break down with pictures the standards into some type of objective.  I wish that they came with some type of plan- but that is where I am trying to fill in the gaps!


So I am asking you- do you have any ideas on how I can easily integrate science?  I have about 45 minutes 3-4 times a week.  Any advice would be great!