MEA testing Monday

Hello,

I got a little frustrated watching the testing today. It was due to a lack of effort. I know that I don't put any pressure on my class when it comes to these tests, but I want them to try their best. I feel like I make myself clear on that point.

Today, I had a student finish a one hour test in less than three minutes.  I immediately went up to them and the student looked me in the eye and said that they had done their best.  They even went as far to say that they had checked their answers. Their words were untrue and their actions were not acceptable. I was very disappointed.

I know a lot of this testing has been a political hot topic. Are kids tested too much?  How else can we tell if teachers are doing their jobs? If we give different tests, how can we compare teachers? Districts are trying to figure out all of this.  How much should test scores be a part of teacher evaluations is a big question with no easy answer. Many districts in the United States tie test scores with teacher pay. Oh, that would have made for a really bad day for me today.

I tried to take the long view. I wasn't happy with a few student performances.  So, some kids had a rough Monday and just couldn't/didn't focus on the tasks at hand. Oh well. Not easy to take, but none of us would want to be judged based on our worst day.

Tomorrow will give us another chance.  I need to see more effort, but if not, then I at least need them to be more forthcoming.  Take some responsibility for their actions. The dishonesty hurts more than the lethargy. No test questions for that.

I'm not a teach to the test kind of guy. I feel like if I do my job, my kids will do just fine on these things. But just like a teacher not being able to teach someone who doesn't want to learn, a test can't measure the abilities of someone who doesn't show what they know.


I don't have any answers here.  It was just a rough day.  Tomorrow we'll get another chance. We'll do better.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

Testing tomorrow

Hello,

Poem in your Pocket day went really well.  Everyone shared in the front of the class.  It was impressive, especially when I thought back to the beginning of the year when many kids were not the least bit enthused to do something like get in front of an audience and speak.

There was great variety in the poem selections, but humor ruled the day.  I was especially impressed with Kipp's recital of I AM BOOM! by Jack Prelutsky.  He read with  rhythm and expression this poem about a dragon.  Here it is:

I Am Boom!

I am Boom the thunder dragon,
Taller than the tallest trees,
I stir whirlwinds when I whisper,
Mighty cyclones when I sneeze,
Fishes shiver in the ocean
When I tread upon the shore,
I make earthquakes and volcanoes 

When I roar roar roar!

I am Boom the thunder dragon,
All the earth is my domain,
When I flap my wings in fury,
I create a hurricane,
Lions vanish at my footsteps,
Eagles tremble at my glance,
And the mountains start to rumble
When I dance dance dance! 

Giants fly into a panic
When I rear my massive head,
When I snort my searing fires,
Fearless ogres faint with dread,
If you ever see me coming,
You had better give me room,
I am Boom the thunder dragon,
I am BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Jack Pretlutsky 

We had a visit from MAD Science this afternoon. It was a good introduction to our upcoming force and motion unit.  Of course, they were ridiculously entertaining with CO2 cartridges, jet packs, marshmallow guns, and even some flames.  I'll be able to refer to some of their tricks when we get into that unit.

Harry Potter Club met after school to watch the first movie.  We didn't finish, so we'll meet a few extra times next week during lunch.  Popcorn and juice was served.  My room smells like Jiffy Pop which is pretty nice.  I gave out some prizes for correct trivia answers, but I think that I will stop that tradition.  Kids get all worked up about getting a prize and lose sight of everything else.  

Our first MEA test is tomorrow afternoon.  There was no homework tonight except for reading logs. Please make sure your kids are well-rested for tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Poem in your Pocket Day tomorrow

Hello,

Tomorrow is Poem in your Pocket Day.  Your child should be either bringing a poem in, or they already marked one in a class book for me to make a copy.  Ask them about their choice.

Keep A Poem In Your Pocket

By Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Keep a poem in your pocket
And a picture in your head
And you'll never feel lonely
At night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
The little picture bring to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when you're in bed.

So - -
Keep a picture in your pocket
And a poem in your head
And you'll never feel lonely
At night when you're in bed.

We also have a poem wall that I hope will get filled with student original poetry soon.

Lots more work was done on dioramas today. Here's a funny conversation I had with a student about an animal they had made out of clay.

Me: So what animal is that again?

Student: a giraffe.

Me: (after a long pause) And what are giraffes known for?

Student: They have long, skinny legs.

Me: (nodding) And what else?

Student: A long neck. 

Me: (nodding) Huh.

Student: Oh, man! I forgot the neck!

Ms. Sherrill, the librarian, came in and did an activity where students made inkblots and then tried to describe what they could see out of them.  The kids made some unique splatters.

In math, we continued with geometry.  Weekly challenges are due tomorrow instead of Friday. Because of MEA testing, we won't have math class on Friday.  I don't think the challenge was too difficult this week, so they shouldn't need the extra day.

Homework will be limited to reading logs over the next few days due to testing.  Our students will test at 2:05 on Friday, 10:20 and 2:05 on Monday, 10:20 and 2:05 on Tuesday, 10:20 and 12:50 on Wednesday.  We will also have In-Class Performance Activities related to the testing at 12:50 on Monday, and 9:05 on Wednesday.  Please make sure your child gets a good breakfast and plenty of rest on and around those days.

Thank you for reading,

Mr. Shea

Diorama day

Hello,

We spent lots of time on our biome dioramas today.  We should see more of that tomorrow and Thursday, although the teams need to focus on the poster-diorama duo.  I think the dioramas are more fun, so they gained the early attention from most of the groups.

MEA testing started in the school today.  The computer lab and laptop carts are unavailable for the foreseeable future. Since we start NWEA testing just after the MEA testing, the computer lab will be out until June 19.  That throws a wrench into our research papers that we have yet to do, but maybe we'll go with hand written reports based on traditional book research. Our generation lived through those, right? Maybe I'll break out some encyclopedias.

All kidding aside, our tech department deserves a ridiculous amount of credit for setting up multiple rooms for these MEA tests.  Laptops are hardwired throughout the school to give our kids the best chance to do well. Most of this work occurred over the April break, and these unsung individuals deserve a pat on the back.

Math homework tonight is more work from Count Zoid's castle.  Last night's work wasn't as easy as many kids thought.  There were a lot of "oh's" and "ah's" in class today as kids recognized shapes that they missed.  I steered the reactions from ones of disappointment for missing, to ones of discovery.  I heard a lot more positive noises once we talked about not beating ourselves up for missing something.  They get another chance tonight to be more observant.

Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea

Welcome back

Hello,

It was an easy day back. We jumped right back into geometry.  A fun Count Zoid's Castle poster is their math homework. We will continue our discovery of quadrilaterals tomorrow.

Students were treated to bicycle safety in P.E. class.  Local rider, Bicycle Bob, taught them the rules of the rode.

Wally the Walrus had a fun time at the Banks household over the weekend.  The Wilson's need to get ready for him this coming weekend.  He's a polite house guest.  He's quiet and doesn't eat much.

Our reading and writing log competition went over pretty well.  Over 12,000 minutes of reading and writing were logged in!  Big congrats to Sid for putting in a ridiculous amount of minutes both reading and writing.  I look forward to reading his story about Pearl Harbor.

The winning team chose to watch The Goonies.  I can't remember if they voted for an after school movie viewing or watching it over a number of lunches.  Either way, I think it is rated PG so a permission slip will be coming home soon.  The winning team did vote to allow members of the losing team that logged over 360 minutes the privilege of also seeing the movie. Nice work.

We are going to be doing a lot of biome work for the rest of the week.  Most of the research should be done to start posters and dioramas tomorrow.  Pat will be in to help.

The new MEA testing starts school wide tomorrow. The art/music room is full of laptops, so I think our art class will be in the gym tomorrow afternoon. The library is also full of laptops ready to go. Ms. Sherrill will be a traveling librarian in the coming weeks. She is graciously taking her library skills class on the road and will be coming to our class Wednesday morning.  Our first MEA test is Friday afternoon at 2:05.

Have a great afternoon.

Mr. Shea

Have a great April break

Hello,

Our reading log will become a reading and writing log for the upcoming vacation.  I hope everyone gets a chance to spend some time outdoors and some quality time with their loved ones.

The school year always speeds by after this vacation.  Our top priority will be to continue to develop individual thinkers.  Thank you for your support in that.

Go Sox.

Mr. Shea

CREA

Hello,

I love our friends from CREA.  Whether we're going to them or they are visiting our class, our kids benefit from their entertaining way of educating. Sarah visited us today to talk about adaptations. The kids learned that every single living plant or animals has adapted to their environment.  She dressed up Aiden in a silly get up as she explained the many adaptations of a beaver. She also led the class in a hands on demonstration of how birds in the Galapagos Islands evolved to have different beaks based on the food available.  Her visit will be a big help for our students as they research animals from their chosen biomes.

The class finished up their beehive projects in art.  I look forward to seeing those finished products.

I need to be extremely brief tonight since we had homework club and I have a 6:00 meeting. It was very nice to get the homework club outside.  We played dodgeball and capture the flag.  Good stuff.

I'll be interested to see how math homework goes tonight.  The classwork was identical, but I'm betting we have some confusion.  I'll get them unconfused tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea