Quiz Retakes Formerly Known as SBG

If you've read my blog at all I'm sure you've already read something I complained wrote about SBG before.

This is my best idea yet.

For our first test in each of my classes, I allowed them to use their INB. But of course I didn't tell them this until the test started.

Some of my older students were used to me offering test retakes in former years...even though most of them never actually did them. So when they asked about it this year, I kinda felt like a butthole to say no.

Here's what I decided. They can retake quizzes as many times as they want, but no notebook. No retakes on tests, but they can use their notebook.

This has been like magic for me. Quizzes are much easier to make multiple versions of and much easier to grade. Which eliminates a lot of hassle for me. It's almost like every quiz is a formative. It shows them what they know and then they make an informed decision about their satisfaction with their knowledge.

I do it right during class which eliminates the need for students to come in on their own time and makes me feel less guilty about not having time to work with them.

It motivates studying because once they get their original quiz back, they look back in their notebook to see what they missed and why. I could never get them to do that before.

What I've seen is students asking for retakes that NEVER have in the past. Students asking why they got something wrong and arguing their thinking. Students who want to retake more than once. Students who failed a quiz improving their score to passing.  I call that perseverance.

For tests, I think letting students use their INB is more of a comfort to them than they realize. I know exactly what is in the notebook so I can choose to make my tests in whatever way I want for them to show me their knowledge. It also increases ownership of the notebooks.

I feel like tests are more a show of retention and application while quizzes are more skill based.  By students repeatedly retaking the skill based quizzes, I think they are more prepared for the application on a test.

The best of both worlds.

I do have to say that I'm not grading with a rubric which I feel guilty about but...baby steps.

Trig: Unit 1 Interactive Notebook

This is my first year teaching trig and so far I am terrified.

My first unit was all review from Algebra II and Geometry so that was a relief! (Shoutout to Meg for helping me write my pacing guide!)

This is also my first year using interactive notebooks and so far I am underwhelmed. I think they are awesome but I'm still not doing the best job at making them useful. Yet.

But alas I have finished my first unit and taking a cue after Sarah Hagan, I'm posting a unit at a time with lots of pictures!

Color coordinated table of contents and tab for every unit. *Note to self: color coordinate the pages in the INB with the TOC and tab.*

Page 7-8: Geo Review based on a worksheet sent to me from Justin Lanier.

Page 9-10: Radical foldables based on Sarah Hagan's Algebra II radical unit.

Page 11-12: I got this idea from Pinterest via this blog. I just made a6x6 circle in Microsoft Word and then we wrote on it. The right hand page came from a Kuta worksheet. I had them pick four problems and write them in themselves.

Page 13-14: I made this one myself after looking at a few different ones online. I made a Kuta worksheet and students folded it in half and taped it in for the right hand page.

Page 15-16: These two came straight from Jessie Hester's post.

Page 17-20: I used this post's idea for 45-45-90 triangles and then replicated that for 30-60-90 triangles as well. I teach these two concepts using proportions. So students figured out the ratios on their own. Then we used those on the RHPs to work out problems. I also color coded and wrote the side lengths directly under the angles to help them match corresponding sides.

Page 21-22: My first actual trig concept and I created it myself! I couldn't really find any good interactive notebook resources for converting between decimal degrees and degrees, minutes, seconds. So I looked in the book, watched some YouTube videos, and google until I finally created this. 

We lifted up the papers and worked problems from the text book underneath.

It's probably not a very important trig concept but I felt like it was easy enough and I have to ease myself into this trig stuff slowly.

So there.

Download my resources here.

Should Grades Be Tests Only?

Currently, my grade book consists of only quizzes and tests. I believe grades should reflect what knowledge of the content that students can show, not on behaviors such as turning things in on time or being prepared for class, etc.

I pretend to do SBG but really, my students do not reassess so I just have an SBG grade book.

So far this school year, I have only given quizzes. I'm teaching so slowly and I don't really know how to fix that.

This week I gave a quiz over reflections in Geometry. Out of 27 students, about 8 did well. I was unhappy with this. So I gave students a practice sheet to work through in class. Engagement was high since so many students wanted to improve their grades. Even students who only missed two wanted to retake it. After practicing, I gave a new version of the quiz. 100% of the students improved and quite a few made perfect scores.

At first, I was happy with this. I just did a whole class demonstration of SBG! Hooray! Improved scores! Learning! Yay!

But the more I thought about it...the unhappier I became. We practiced problems exactly like what was on the quiz....which I handed to them immediately afterward. That wasn't learning, it was memorization.

I started to think about quizzes. What am I measuring? Is it fair to work on a concept for a day or two and then score them on it? Do sports teams practice one or two days and then have a game?  Are quizzes fair?

So then I started to think about not grading quizzes. I've been wanting to try some different methods anyway. 1) Student feedback quizzes. 2) Feedback only quizzes. 3) Stoplight stickers.

But what would happen to my grade book? I've been teaching for over a month and still have not given a test. If I did not give quizzes, my students would have no scores in the grade book at all. How could I compensate?

Maybe it is just my teaching to blame and quizzes are completely fine. Maybe I should let students used their INB for all assessments. Maybe I need to find a way to work with students one on one. Maybe I need to do a better job of formative assessment.

Maybe I need to do a better job with assessment, period.

What Makes a Good Resource Good?

Based on Dan's post, I want to reflect on how I choose and create resources. My first year of teaching I spent every night (literally) on google or twitter looking for resources because I (literally) had nothing but a text book. At that time I was desperate and would take (literally) anything I could find.

Over the past five years I now create almost everything rather than just taking something straight off the internet. Even when I find a great resource, I still change it in some way.

So what makes a good resource good?

This is my opinion, my personal framework, my theory for what makes a resource good for me and my students.

I create/choose a resource when it is:

• One where I don't talk! Shelli's quote "The worst way to teach is to talk" has really stuck with me as an extension of my past "Be less talkative". I've done a lot of activities in the past couple weeks in Geometry, Algebra 2, and Trig that had made me realize how little I've done of that in Algebra I. I love giving students time to discuss and think and sort and work without my own voice interfering with their brain. 
• One where instructions build and students are forced to read and follow them on their own. I firmly believe that this is a skill that must be taught year after year. Even when students have had me for three years in a row, they still struggle with this. Following directions is a life skill!
• One where there is productive struggle. It can't be so easy that they fly through it and it can't be so hard that everyone has questions at the same time. I want them to be puzzled, to reread things, to scratch things out and try something else, to have a question or two. I do not want them to give up, to say they have no idea what they're doing, or to ask me a question on every part of the activity.
• One where students are engaged. It needs to have parts that are easy enough for anyone to try and extend to parts that students wouldn't have thought of on their own. I wanted to say active but being active doesn't mean the brain is engaged.
• One where students are actively thinking. I love sorting activities because students are doing so many things at once: comparing, contrasting, categorizing, looking for patterns or trends, noticing, and wondering. I like when students need to make decisions, estimate, problem solve, and answer questions.
• One where students reflect. Students should have to make decisions and then think if those decisions make sense. Justify their thinking. They should be able to summarize what they've learned from the activity and apply it. 
• One that accomplishes the intended goal. I used to just take any worksheet or activity that 'covered' a concept. Now I look for more specific goals. If it doesn't accomplish what I want, I look for ways I can alter or enhance it.
• One that is well organized. It needs to make sense, to flow, and to be efficient. I hate when things are poorly designed and take up way too much space or are crammed together. A lot of the resources I find are great, they just need to be reformatted. Less is more.
• One that is easily replicated. I blog about my favorite activities and that is so helpful the next year. I can go back and see how I set it up. If I can't easily take pictures of it or explain it to others, it's likely I won't use it that often or share it. And like Glenn says, if I can't share it, it never happened!

Best Pencil Sharpener of All Time. Forever.

Introducing the best pencil sharpener of your life and the top 10 reasons why you should love it:

#10. It is super cute! I am not a pink kind of girl but they definitely did not have teal or lime green so I picked the next most fun color.

#9. The part that holds the shavings (does it have a name?) is clear so there is no mysterious guessing if it is full or not.

#8. It does not require electricity or batteries. It is operated by hand and therefore 10.7 times quieter than any other pencil sharpener in the world.

#7. It is mobile so it can be quietly passed around the classroom when needed. But it also comes with a mount so that you can attach it to a shelf if needed.

#6. It also works on colored pencils which is MAGNIFICAL for interactive notebooks.

#5. It is created and sold by an elementary teacher.

#4. It comes in 5 colors.

#3. They make one for larger pencils too.

#2. There is FREE shipping (and it's pretty quick shipping at that)!

And theeeeeeeeee #1 reason this is the best pencil sharpener of all time forever.......

#1. It sharpens EVERY pencil in the world to the sharpest point you've EVER seen EVERY time.

I am thoroughly impressed. 

Students stood in line to try it and come from other classrooms to use it. And I don't even care because I can talk OVER it. 

It's awesome. And you can get yours RIGHT NOW: http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/

You can thank me later.