March 22

Rock the Boat

Another testing season is upon us. No educator ever wants to admit it that most lessons are designed around the state assessments. No college student will ever envision that they are preparing great lessons so their future students will perform well on a standardized test. So you get out your released test items and pass out the work sheets or make your way to the computer lab to make use of that review site. The students settle in for 40 minutes while you monitor their work by walking around.Can this really show you that they are ready? Maybe it’s time for a change? Maybe it’s time to rock the boat.

Those that know me, have spent even a week with me, know that rocking the boat is something I do often. Why? Lessons are learned. Information is discovered. Courage is found while pushing limits and asking questions. How many inventions, locations, discoveries were made because the “Boat was Rocked”? How much has been learned because people followed that cliche? Let’s take the next 4-6 weeks and let the students apply what they know to make their curriculum come alive. Here is your challenge…how can you prepare and deliver a cumulative review where kids can be kids?

  • List all of the tested historical figures; create a timeline using your interactive whiteboard software; find images in the gallery that relate to figures; create a page with the person’s name/face and images. Use the page as an oral presentation.
  • Using that same list of historical figures, pair up the people who another person that join them in a story (share a passion, same type of conflict, opposite ends of beliefs) and create a comic strip or write a story.
  • Create the life cycle of a butterfly using Play-doh. Make one stage out of the substance and take a picture. Move onto the next stage, and take a picture. Continue until you have four images. If you use a small video camera such as an iphone or Flip Cam, have the student verbally explain the process. The pictures could also be uploaded into Movie Maker, iMovie or other video editing software.
  • Using Voki students can create a video vocabulary review. Describe a concept using the Voki and onlookers have to guess the word.
  • Students create their own, unique animal. Focus on the food chain, habitats, environments. Find an area in  your school where you could recreate the environment for the students. The students could play a simple game of tag, but must look for the animals in places they could be hidden (behind a tree, near water, etc.). The person who is “it” is the predator and is looking for prey. The tagged prey then continues down the food chain.
  • Create a wall on Padlet. On a sticky note type in a story problem. Have all of the students log into your padlet and explain how to solve the problem

One final question:

Which image or thought could lead to the most interesting discussion?

A. watch a video on an ancient culture and discuss how their inventions are still used today

B. complete the packet of released test items to prepare you for the standardized test

C. connect this horse to anything in your curriculum

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Posted March 22, 2013 by jkuzma in category Uncategorized

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