Harry Wong chapter 23- test

This week we will be talking about test.
 Mr. Wong states "The  purpose of a test to assess a student performance against learning criteria NOT to provide the teacher with the basis for a grade." Test are used as a form of labeling students while assessments are used to see students success. We as a society need to change that perception. We should not have students that get nervous when they hear they have a test coming up. Students should feel confident and be ready to ace it. As an educator make sure you know what 2 things a test must have. First the teacher should use the results of each test to remediate and correct for student mastery. Secondly the student should be graded on a percentage system. This way they are competing only against themselves. Ineffective teachers use the test as a means of need for points on a curve, passage of time, or period to kill. Test should feel like a way of encouragement. I know many older teachers give test and when a student fails just has them do corrections. Except the corrections is just writing down the problem and the correct answer. Students are not learning at all when they are told to do that.  "The purpose of a test is to help the teacher assess with the student has or has not learned." This means that when a student does not succeed then teachers must help the student with whatever they are struggling with. Think of it this way if you break your leg you won't be able to ever heal if you don't take care of it. The same goes for students they will never learn a concept if you keep testing them over a subject they don't understand. Mr. Wong states that "If the student DOES NOT MASTER an objective, give the student remediation or corrective help."  Although ineffective teachers only care about getting something in the grade book. Like Mr. Wong says "  The role of the teacher is not to grade a student. The main role of the teacher is to help every student reach the highest possible level of achievement." Formative test are used to determine what remediation is needed for a student to master the content, skill, or objective. This is what effective teachers should do when a student does not succeeded. These test should be the same kind of test but the questions should be a bit different. These days it just doesn't seem that way it seems like all that matters are grades in school. I think this is why many students seem to cheat it's easier than asking for help from someone they believe won't help them. I know that there have been many times I have been afraid to ask for help because the teacher I had was strict and would answer questions before or after school. I would have to ask a friend to explain the concept to me since I didn't want to fail and get a bad grade. We need to change this way of thinking. We need to make sure that asking questions doesn't make you dumb it makes you responsible! You are taking action by stepping up and saying I don't seem to understand. Test are a way of saying this but sadly in today's world this doesn't seem like a big enough shout. The effective teacher uses a test as a way to see where their students are or where they need help.
This is a website containing 10 must know facts about test for parents.
Here are some test taking tips for all ages.
A great site to use when you need to study or are having trouble with any subject is this one.

Harry Wongs: The role of a teacher is to uncover

                       Today we will be covering Harry Wongs unit D Lesson Mastery.
  As Mr. Wong states in this section "There is only one way for a student to learn anything. The student must put in effort; The student must work to learn." This is the most common reason why students do not complete their assignments. Students don't learn because teachers are the ones who do the hard work. Mr. Wong has made it clear from the beginning of his boom that to have a successful class we must teach procedures early on in the year. This is because this lessens the interruptions and and maximizes uninterrupted learning time. According to Wong "increase the amount of time the student is working, and you increase learning." Let's face it we only have a short limited time to teach a room full of different style learners the same lesson. We need as much time as we can get without any interruptions. A teacher who does not set up their procedures early on will be working extra hard now to try and teach students a new procedure in the middle of the year.
  Now on to the next topic, An effective teacher never asks "what am I going to cover tomorrow?" But instead should be asking "what are my students to learn, achieve, and accomplish tomorrow?" This is because as a teacher you should not be asking what you are going to do. This implies that the teacher is the one doing all the work and we do not one that! According to Wong if this happens then students will come to class wondering what the teacher is going to do next. At the beginning of a lesson make sure to let students know what they are responsible for learning. "The role of the teacher is not to cover. The role of the teacher is to UNCOVER."
  Now ineffective teachers will grab a textbook and tell the students to read a chapter and then test them over it. Although textbooks are a great tool for learning that is not the appropriate way to use them. The effective teacher stands before the class and address what the students are to accomplish. This way they can use the textbook knowing what it is they are suppose to be learning and not just diving in blindly. This is not only helpful for students but also for those parents who help students with their homework that way they also understand what it is their child is to accomplish.
  Objectives are another helpful resource not only to teachers but also to students. Wong explains that " objectives or criteria do two things : assign and assess." See when teachers use objectives it helps them teach more directly from it. And the objective helps the student by giving them directions to comprehend an assignment. An objective should consist of  a verb and a sentences explaining what is to be mastered. It should also be a precise objective not over the top complex. All that will do is end up confusing your students.
  The goal of a test is to determine wheather the students understood the concept. Wheather there should be additional study needed in the particular section. Test it's the teacher know if students are struggling to understand the lesson or if the teacher needs to change their teaching approach to one that appeals to everyone.
  Mastery is the knowledge of a skill or the accomplishment of something that was unacheiveable before. This could be like passing that spelling test that they struggled with for so long.
  Grades are important for student learning and achievement because it could help to motivate students to study hard to get a desired grade. This helps the student want to achieve goals and pay more attention in class. Grades are important because they reflect the students mastery of what they are learning.
  An objective for my Pre-K class would be something like: Write the numbers from 1-10
A test question for my class might be something like: what sound does the o in open make?
  My thoughts on testing within the classroom is that it is a good thing to do. This way you can see where your students are and if they are where they should be or if you need to work harder. Although I don't like standardize test I feel like they are a good tool to use. This helps determine wheather the curriculum should be kept the same or changed. This is all for the cause of a great education.

This link is for some fun educational videos to watch with young children

I found this cool website that has a bunch of Christmas ideas to do with young kids go check it out!

What constitutes an effective discipline plan

Reading Harry Wongs book has given me a great idea of an effective teacher. In his earlier chapter Wong states that you must establish your rules the first days of school. This way they learn it early on what is expected of them. To have an effective discipline plan you must establish your expectations whether they be written or verbal. As a teacher it is best you have your rules or expectations written and posted around the room here's why. Let's say you don't post your rules so when a student breaks a rule how will they know that they broke it? With that being said an effective discipline plan has 3 main components (Rules, Consequences, and Rewards). You must show students that you do abide by the rules so if someone breaks them then there must be a consequence. If not then students will misbehave since they see you don't enforce the rules or anything you said. The children will eventually not be afraid to break the rules as they will catch on to you not being consistent. This can also damage any trust or relationship with students as they will feel like their teacher doesn't stick to her promises. This is not what we want, we want the students to be successful and to come to you if they are struggling or need help. If students think you are not a person who sticks to what they say they may not have enough trust to tell you anything.  Now for the rewards part we don't just want to punish children we want to encourage them to be the best they can be. This is when you would reward children for excellent behavior. This also may encourage other students to abide by the rules if they know they will be rewarded. As much as this sucks it's true! Students are more likely to be involved and  do what they are suppose to if they know they will be rewarded. This all may seem like you are completely in charge and students have no say. That is not tru don't we want students to be involved a great suggestion would be to have some rules already made up and as a class you could make a set of rules.  Another important thing to remember is when making up your rules keep in mind the age and grade of your students. You can't have the same rules for kindergarten that you do for fifth graders. The biggest factor to having an effective discipline plan would be to actually use your discipline plan. Be committed don't just say you have a plan and then make up a new one as you go along. To have a successful year you must have some consistency throughout the year!

If I were in charge of the world poem

If I were in charge of the world
There would be no crime or violence
There would be nothing but peace
No more war or higher power

If I were in charge of the world
Summers would be longer
Everyday would be a holiday
There would be no Monday's

If I were in charge of the world
Pasta would be the only food acceptable
You could have dessert for breakfast

If I were in charge of the world
School would be a fun place
There would be naps for high schoolers
Recess would continue well into college

If I were in charge of the world
Teaching would be recognized as fascinating profession
Being a teacher would be the coolest thing ever!
A teacher would be paid a lot more
Teachers would get much more respect



This is the original poem that mine is based off of

Consequences

After reading Wongs ideas on consequences I believe that he is correct in what he is saying. I mean you can't get mad when a student doesn't know what to expect because you either don't follow your rules or you just make it up as you go along. Like Wong previously mentioned the first days of school are for teachers to go over what is expected from the students. This mean you go over the consequences of what their choices are. For example, I have a teacher who has a chart posted in their classroom with the consequences. Just yesterday we had a sub and she was being treated disrespectfully, All the kids were doing whatever they pleased. The teacher came back and you know what happened the kids that were being disrespectful yesterday were able to leave class or not do what everyone else did. The students who were quiet and being nice had to write a page long letter apologizing to the sub for the other kids behavior. While the ones who were being rude were outside the classroom laughing and the others inside complaining about not wanting to do anything. You want to know why...our teacher never explained the consequences in detail he just asked us to be respectful and do our work not copy. So know the whole class sees that he doesn't follow a set plan he just kind of wings it. I don't 100% agree with his saying of "the number one problem in the classroom isn't discipline it's the lack of procedures and routines." I do believe that discipline plays a big part in the classroom. Let's just imagine that there was no discipline in your classroom. Well if one student does something that is not ok how would they know it was wrong? I mean you can't discipline them since it's not important in your classroom. Then all the other students would also be doing things that aren't acceptable and that would be a huge mess. You must have a balance I believe of everything you know. You can't just reward good behavior and ignore bad one. You must reward good behavior and  eliminate the bad behavior. Wong does make a point of how most ineffective teachers begin the first day with trying to teach a subject. Then how the rest of the year that teacher is stuck "running after the students." This goes to show that on the first days of school you should always explain expectations and classroom procedures to get a smooth rest of the year. I really did like the way he has made it a point to  emphasize that throughout his whole book.

Also this article describes a great 3 step rule to consequences

This is a great video to have children watch when they are frustrated

Picture Book Month Activities

After reading Picture Book Month Teacher's Guide I believe that picture books are an essential part to learning. Picture books help illustrate empathy and they help experience complex issues. These stories are short and simple to help younger children grasp the concept of the book. Picture books have been thought of as books for young children. That is not the case though picture books are for all ages. For example, in my AP English class this last week we analyzed the book The Cat In The Hat. We started off with this picture book since there is so much detail that we can use as context and textual evidence. The most important part of a picture book is the tone of the author, the moral of the story, the entire book is important. Why is is that we assume that because there are pictures in the book it's automatically for younger children? Maybe if we put aside the fact that these books are colorful and playful we would see that the author has a unique writing style. Picture books can be used in any topic you want not just for English. Many children's book help to teach us of a different culture or about the world around us. So in honor of picture book month I chose the book The Diary Of A Worm by Doreen Cronin. This book is about a worm who keeps a diary describing some cool things that happens in his life. An activity I would do to go along with this book is to use a sock and fill it with some stuffing then hot glue googly eyes. Then while we read the book we can use it to narrate the story. Then once we are done reading the boom we will be making a diary of our own! We will have the students go home and with their parents make a small diary for about a week. On Friday have the students come up and present their diaries with all everyone else. Another awesome idea would be searching for worms! We use "mud" which is pudding with crushed up Oreos on top then we put some gummy worms inside our "mud". The students each get a cup filled this mud and they can search for their worms... A bonus is that you can serve this as a snack.
This blog is run by a mom who did some worm activities with her kids go check it out.
Please make sure to check out the official website for Picture Book Month.

Discipline and classroom management

For a couple weeks now I have been reading Harry Wongs book: How To Be An Effective Teacher The First Days Of School. Before even reading this book I had a different out take on discipline and classroom management. I use to believe that classroom management was how you kept your kids on track and quiet. As for discipline I thought it was a way of fixing behavioral issues. I have come to see that this is not entirely true. I believe classroom management should be how effectively your classroom runs with or without a teacher. For discipline I think that this means establishing rules/guidelines that must be followed. If these rules are not followed then you may use discipline to help ensure these rules are followed. I remember being a young girl how the classroom management was go to class and get to work don't slack off or you will go to the principles office. Last year when I was working with the first graders their classroom management and discipline was way different. They were expected to follow the rules/guidelines but now they had little faces describing how their behavior made the teacher feel. If you had a lot of frowns at the end of the day it was taken up with the teacher and parents. The same goes for this year with my Pre-K kids. The teacher has them move a picture of themselves to a different colored face. As for discipline I think the principle doesn't really get involved unless it is a big problem or the students behavior is not improving. For example, last week some students were arguing with one another and we asked them to try and get along. When that didn't work we pulled them aside and explained the consequences of not following the rules. This of course was no help they continued. So in the end we had another teacher take them to her classroom and she disciplined them. In the future I don't know how I'm going to react to any of these things. I am so use to following my mentors rules that I don't know how I would handle these types of situations. I guess I would just try my hardest to reinforce positive behavior since children love to be recognized for great behavior.

Also I found this really cool blog on establishing classroom management you should go check it out!