teach. - Going Undercover the Week Before Testing
The week before testing can be daunting. Reviewing for state standardized testing can be BORING...FRUSTRATING...EXHAUSTING. However, my co-worker and I decided to change that.
Last Monday, students walked into a crime scene and became active detectives in Granger's Detective Group (DDG). The room was transformed and a "possible suspects" board brought it all together. As students walked in, they were handed a detective bag. The detective bag was a Ziploc bag containing a small magnifying glass, a pack of sticky notes, and a pair of silly glasses. I even had detective/mission impossible style music playing in the background. The kids were totally stoked!
Each day after Monday, I started class with a short 15-minute mini-lesson modeling test-taking strategies. I found shorter, yet rigorous, passages containing three or four multiple choice questions and went step-by-step thinking aloud through the process. Then, I'd send students off to their crime scene for the day. Here's the low down on the crime scenes.
Four crime scenes were set up around the room. Each crime scene contained confidential information (a booklet of rigorous passages). Student detectives were required to investigate the confidential information. The student detectives submitted evidence by scanning a QR code that took them to a Google Quiz for a specific passage. Every booklet of passages was the same, but students had to pay close attention to their confidential QR code for the day in order to know which passage to investigate for that crime scene.
There were four crime scenes. Students completed one crime scene per day. I did allow students to partner up, but each student had to complete the investigation independently. Once both students had submitted their evidence, they discussed correct and incorrect answers with each other. At the end of class, we came back together as a whole group and discussed the most valuable lessons students learned that day. Valuable lessons included: slowing down and taking my time; reading through the questions and passages carefully; follow directions; read more deeply and pay attention to implicit details; use common sense and process of elimination; go back to the passage to confirm my answer choice.
The student detectives who worked hard, stayed focused, and demonstrated strong teamwork got a clue for the day. The clues were riddles about the reward on Friday. A few student detectives didn't earn their clue a day or two, and I had a few irresponsible detectives who lost their badges by Friday.
On Friday, I checked detective badges as they walked through the door. I did one more quick 15 minutes mini-lesson. Then, I got ready to present the reward and informed the irresponsible detectives they would not receive the reward. By Friday, all the students had guessed the reward. The reward was donuts. Inside the donut box was a picture of the "smooth criminal" (our inclusion teacher) with a note that said Donut stress the test. As I handed out donuts to all the responsible detectives, I could see the look of disappointment in the faces of the irresponsible detectives, and I wanted them to sweat it for a minute. Then, I called them over and gave them grace since they had all worked so hard every day. They were so happy to get that donut.
Friday, we ate donuts, did some independent reading and free writing, and took it easy. We celebrated all their hard work and growth for the year and had a short dance party. We reflected on the activities and lessons they had learned throughout the week. They told me what they liked best was the challenging passages and questions. When I proposed the question: "What was the most valuable lesson you learned about testing this week?" the overwhelming response was: "I learned not to fear the test. It should fear me." Goal accomplished!
My students are WAY more than a score. Their growth this school year cannot be quantified by a standardized test. And, I refuse to let them feel like they're just another number or score. I owe it to them to foster lifelong learners and to show them how fun learning really can be. They are little humans learning to navigate this world, and they should feel worthy. They should feel like quality learners and contributors to this crazy place we call Earth.
Last Monday, students walked into a crime scene and became active detectives in Granger's Detective Group (DDG). The room was transformed and a "possible suspects" board brought it all together. As students walked in, they were handed a detective bag. The detective bag was a Ziploc bag containing a small magnifying glass, a pack of sticky notes, and a pair of silly glasses. I even had detective/mission impossible style music playing in the background. The kids were totally stoked!
I began class by welcoming the new detectives (of course I had my silly detective glasses on) and explained someone had snuck into our classroom over the weekend and completely trashed it, and they had to figure out who it was. I also explained that focused and hardworking detectives would earn a clue each day at the end of class. The clues would lead them to a special reward on Friday. Once I explained the directions for the crime scenes, I sent them off to investigate.
While they investigated on Monday, I pulled them over by partnerships to induct them into the DDG. They completed their detective badge. I fingerprinted them, and they earned their detective mustache. Then, I explained to them how important the badge was. They needed to come to class each day with their badge. If they were irresponsible detectives, they would pay the price.
Each day after Monday, I started class with a short 15-minute mini-lesson modeling test-taking strategies. I found shorter, yet rigorous, passages containing three or four multiple choice questions and went step-by-step thinking aloud through the process. Then, I'd send students off to their crime scene for the day. Here's the low down on the crime scenes.
Four crime scenes were set up around the room. Each crime scene contained confidential information (a booklet of rigorous passages). Student detectives were required to investigate the confidential information. The student detectives submitted evidence by scanning a QR code that took them to a Google Quiz for a specific passage. Every booklet of passages was the same, but students had to pay close attention to their confidential QR code for the day in order to know which passage to investigate for that crime scene.
There were four crime scenes. Students completed one crime scene per day. I did allow students to partner up, but each student had to complete the investigation independently. Once both students had submitted their evidence, they discussed correct and incorrect answers with each other. At the end of class, we came back together as a whole group and discussed the most valuable lessons students learned that day. Valuable lessons included: slowing down and taking my time; reading through the questions and passages carefully; follow directions; read more deeply and pay attention to implicit details; use common sense and process of elimination; go back to the passage to confirm my answer choice.
The student detectives who worked hard, stayed focused, and demonstrated strong teamwork got a clue for the day. The clues were riddles about the reward on Friday. A few student detectives didn't earn their clue a day or two, and I had a few irresponsible detectives who lost their badges by Friday.
On Friday, I checked detective badges as they walked through the door. I did one more quick 15 minutes mini-lesson. Then, I got ready to present the reward and informed the irresponsible detectives they would not receive the reward. By Friday, all the students had guessed the reward. The reward was donuts. Inside the donut box was a picture of the "smooth criminal" (our inclusion teacher) with a note that said Donut stress the test. As I handed out donuts to all the responsible detectives, I could see the look of disappointment in the faces of the irresponsible detectives, and I wanted them to sweat it for a minute. Then, I called them over and gave them grace since they had all worked so hard every day. They were so happy to get that donut.
Friday, we ate donuts, did some independent reading and free writing, and took it easy. We celebrated all their hard work and growth for the year and had a short dance party. We reflected on the activities and lessons they had learned throughout the week. They told me what they liked best was the challenging passages and questions. When I proposed the question: "What was the most valuable lesson you learned about testing this week?" the overwhelming response was: "I learned not to fear the test. It should fear me." Goal accomplished!
My students are WAY more than a score. Their growth this school year cannot be quantified by a standardized test. And, I refuse to let them feel like they're just another number or score. I owe it to them to foster lifelong learners and to show them how fun learning really can be. They are little humans learning to navigate this world, and they should feel worthy. They should feel like quality learners and contributors to this crazy place we call Earth.
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