Standards Quiz & Data Tracking

This year we are going to implement Standards Quizzes in Algebra 1.  I got this idea from reading Dan Meyer's blog and just loved it!  It's a great way to do formative assessment and the kids get to keep trying to better their grade to attain mastery.  The hardest part for us has been determining how to post the grades in the grade book.  I wondered if we'd get any  push back from parents when we entered a 3/5 grade, which looks like a 60%, or D- grade, even though they are very low points scores.  I've come up with a modified grading system that I think might work a little better, at least for our population.

The Quiz:

We decided to have six standards covered on each quiz.  Each standard is only one concept, which makes it easy to identify where a student is struggling.  The quizzes are spiraling, so quiz #1 might cover concepts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.  Then, quiz #2 might cover standards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.  This gives the students from one to six times to see the concept on a quiz to attain mastery.  What's mastery?  In our class, getting "M" (for Dan Meyer's, this is a "4") twice - then they never have to take that concept again!  What if they don't attain mastery on the quizzes?  Well, they can come in at lunch or during a set meeting time and we can work on individual concepts and retest right then!  The student needs to set this up, taking ownership for their learning.

If you've figured it out, this means that each quiz is actually six different grades in the grade book, one for each standard.  Our three eighth grade math teachers have decided that we'll each come up with our own way to track this and will meet throughout the year to compare and see what's working best.

For our first quarter, we are going to test every other class period, taking the day between to discuss the previous class quiz and practice tracking their progress.  We are also going to repeat the standards on quiz #1/#2 as well as quiz #3/#4 just so they see the first two standards a couple of times before they spiral off.  It will look something like this:

Day #1 - Quiz #1 (Standards PR1, PR2, PR3, PR4, EE3.1A, EE3.1B)

• PR1 = Prerequisite #1 - something we wanted to see that the students retained from 7th grade
• EE3.1AB = Pertaining to Common Core Standard EE3.1, broken into two parts

Day #2 - Review and track Quiz #1

Day #3 - Quiz #2 (same standards as Quiz #1)

Day #4 - Review and track Quiz #2

Day #5 - Quiz #3 (Standards PR2, PR3, PR4, EE3.1A, EE3.1B, EE3.3)

Day #6 - Review and track Quiz #3

Day #7 - Quiz #4 (same standards as Quiz #1)

Day #8 - Review and track Quiz #4

Day #9 - Quiz #5 (Standards PR3, PR4, EE3.1A, EE3.1B, EE3.3, EE3.2)

This continues as above, except the standards will continue to spiral from here out and not repeat again.

Here is an example of our first quiz:

Data Tracking:

This has actually been the most difficult part to come up with.  We wanted to have a tracking system that was easy, but also meaningful.  After reading through a lot of the comments on the Dan Meyer's blog as well as the resources he'd posted, we decided that shading boxes and stamping for mastery would be the way we'd like to handle it.  Our problem, like I said above, was how to enter the data into the grade book so that it made sense to parents and students.  We didn't necessarily feel like a 3 out of 4 (which is a 75%), which would be a 3 out of 5 in the grade book (60%) was really a good reflection of knowledge.  And, getting a 4 out of 4 really isn't 100% until they've attained it twice.  This all sounds very confusing….

Anyway, this is an idea I came up with for student tracking along with grade book input that seemed to make sense (to me anyway…).  It uses something like standards-based grading for the students, so that they see their progression with out a "grade" getting in the way, but uses a percentage (based on 10 points) to reflect that within the grade book.  It will probably be easier if you just read through it yourself:

If you look at the second page (right above), kids will color in through the letter that is on their quiz and also record that letter on the blank line.  Each time they see that concept, they will add the letter that they get (this would be up to 6 times) and continue shading as the letters get higher.  Once they get two "M"s they can see me for a stamp and they have mastered that concept!  Here's an example of what I'll show my kiddos as an example of how it might look (they won't use colors necessarily - I just thought it was prettier :)).

So… your thoughts?

August Currently

Wowzers - it's August!  I can't believe how summer goes by so quickly.  I'm linking up with Farley for the August Currently today.  Hooray!!  I got it done by August 2nd - that might be a record :).

Listening:  I love quiet mornings.  Having two teens and a tween, I get a lot of time because they love to sleep in.  Even hubby does!  It's great and I get time to go through blogs and do my own reading (and ok…, I clean some too).

Loving:  I can't believe it, but so far, so good with the Air Force retirement!  Hubby isn't driving me crazy and is even going to start some projects around the house now that he's had some time off.  This weekend - building new cabinets for my laundry room.

Thinking:  Does your mind ever turn off?  I am constantly thinking about implementing math workshop and the curriculum planning that my 8th grade math team has been doing to get it all sorted out.  We hope to have the first quarter done an printed in the next three weeks!  I'm also spending a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest :).

Wanting:  A break from the rain!  Its rained almost every day in the afternoon/evening for the last two weeks.  We have amusement park season passes (water park included) and would love to be able to use them!  Or at least go on a hike...

Needing:  I just got my new Team Beachbody PiYo workout DVDs in the mail yesterday.  They are supposed to be low-impact, but high intensity and short enough (20 - 40 mins) that I can do them in the morning before getting ready (hello 5 am!).  I need to get going on them.  The box has been opened, at least…

1st Day:  Only 11 days left for me - need to get moving!!  Elementary and sixth/ninth grade start on the 18th (my youngest's first day of middle school) and all the rest on the 19th (that's the older two).

After the Start: Interactive Notebooks - What I've Learned

So we're in about week four of school now and I've been working pretty hard at using interactive notebooks (Math Survival Guides - MSGs) within both my algebra 1 and geometry (both 8th grade) math classes.  I like where they are going and the kids seem to be on board, but I've learned some things and thought I'd pass that information on to you… (pictures at the bottom)

1) Taking time to help the kids get set up and organized: I started off pretty well with having them create their cover page and gluing their small paper for username and passwords.  We even counted out the next 5 pages for a table of contents and I gave them a paper clip on the first day of school to hold those together.  This helped a lot, but I should have had the kids fill out the first few entries for the table on contents instead of leaving it blank initially.  Some of the kids who lost their paper clips forgot that they needed 5 pages for the TOC and proceeded to put some of their foldables there.  We're slowly redoing things and catching them up, but if I'd had them enter a bit more I think we would have avoided it.

2) Don't skip pages: I designated the first four pages (after the TOC) as review pages for geometric formulas.  This would have worked great (and is still okay for some) if I'd taken the time to fill them out prior to starting curriculum work.  However, we jumped right into curriculum, which started on page 5 and that messed up some of the kids who didn't remember to leave the first four pages blank.  Next year:  either put the formula review pages in the back or fill them out prior to the first day of curriculum.

3) Post your titles every day: We try to fill out a two-page spread each class period with the left (odd pages) having foldables, drawings, or diagrams and the right with vocal, notes, and reflections.  I didn't start out by posting the titles on the board, just said them out loud.  I've learned to write the page and title on the board and have them copy it directly to their TOC (color coded hopefully) and to the correct pages.

4) Be very specific: This kind of goes along with #3, but you have to be very specific (especially if you're type A like my) with the kiddos about where you want things to go.  I actually write the page numbers on the copies of the foldables for them and I constantly state where they should go.  As they are cutting and gluing I am always walking around to make sure they are putting things in the right space.

5) INBs (MSG) take time! I initially started by having a warm-up as well as trying to teach and complete the MSG.  What I've found is that I need to incorporate their warm-up into their MSG.  For me, this means their warm-up might be completing vocabulary on the right side (in the "write" section), working some sample problems on the right, or completing their foldable activity or drawing on the left side.  By doing this I'm feeling less rushed for them to complete their MSGs.  Also, its making their MSGs something that they are always referring to and using rather than something we rush to fill out.

6) Neatness counts: This is one place where I'm going to have to decide how to grade.  There are students out there who just don't want to take the effort to make their notebook look nice and I need to decide where the line for neatness will be drawn.  I keep reminding them that neatness is part of their grade.  I'd love some feedback from you on how you deal with this part of INBs.

7) Be flexible! As much as I want to complete a two-page spread in one class period, sometimes we run out of time and I have to let things go.  Some days we'll come back to in the next class and some we end up skipping.  I'm still trying to find the right balance and over the next year am sure I'll come up with adjustments and other strategies to make it work.

8) Stay on top of things: I didn't want to complete the entire MSG over the summer so that I would have the flexibility to make changes.  That being said, I definitely have to take the time to stay several days ahead so that I know what's coming up, how to incorporate it into my lesson, and to have copies made and delivered on time.  I'm also posting pics of each spread into our class webpage, so I need to have those ready to go for the students as well.  Its a work in progress.

I think that so far, with a few tweaks, things are going fine.  I'm learning daily how to make the MSG a useful and engaging tool for the students.  I've had comments from other teachers who've come and seen them that they like both the foldables as well as the reflection pieces all in one place.  I'm going to keep using them and will update more as the year goes on.  I think that I'll have to redo it again next year, but I might create the pages in a binder with page protectors so that as the students take and use them they have less damage.  Any other feedback or suggestions you can provide would be great!

Here are some sample pages we've completed in both classes:

August Currently

I'm linking up with Farley again for the August Currently.  This one caught me by surprise :).  I'm not ready for August…….

I've had a super-productive summer though, so I can't complain.  I've gotten a lot of things prepped for the new school year; I had a great visit with my little sis' and her girls; ALASKA - do I need to say anything else??  Now I'm back at work here and there getting my classroom ready and meeting with my two new 8th grade math teachers.  Really I'm not supposed to go back until August 14th, but there's no way I could wait until then and be ready on time.  I'm having fun browsing through my Pinterest Boards though at all the neat ideas that I've come across.

Listening - So my kiddos new favorite movie is "Pitch Perfect".  I've been doing a lot of driving them back and forth to camps and sports, so they watch it (and I get to listen) over… and over… and over… and over.  It's a good thing I like Ace of Bass.

Loving - I found some fantastic 8 ½ x 11 posters of the Mathematical Practices (you can find a link on a previous post).  They are easy to read, colorful, and fun!  I've already had them printed up on card stock at Staples and laminated at school.  Pictures to come soon…

Thinking - I need to set aside some time for ME before school begins.  I think a trip to B&N is in order to find a good book.  We are taking the kids to a Rapids game tomorrow, so that will be fun too.

Wanting - I started using the Zone eating plan recently.  How come these meals won't just put themselves together when I go into the kitchen.  I actually like the plan, but its tough when I need to make a grocery run.

Needing - To make my kiddos a priority in the next two weeks.  My son would like to go golfing a the local par 3, we need to hit the pool, and we should do some fun cooking experiments.  Just have to put it all on the calendar…

B2S Must Haves

1. Definitely those Mathematical Practices posters.  They are awesome!!
2. I've been trying to find a good way to put supplies on the tables and finally found some small caddies at Mardel in various colors.  Now to stock and label them!
3. More foldables :).  I'm totally into this and created my first one today (posting soon about that too).  If you have any great foldables for 8th grade, algebra 1, or geometry, send me a message or follow me on Pinterest!

Creating Effective Warm-Ups

I'll confess… I love warm-ups.  They are my sanity keeper.  They give me just a moment of peace at the beginning of class to get my head back into place after the chaos (organized chaos, of course) of the last period.  They allow me just a minute or two of silence where, in my mind, I can just sit back and close my eyes and relax.  In reality, peaceful though it may be, this is my time to take attendance, address small issues, and make sure I'm ready to begin another 111-minute class period.

I like the structure that having a warm-up allows as well.  My students know that when they come into the room, that they go straight to the shelf near the door and the warm-up will be sitting there.  I just love if there is a day that I've forgotten to put the warm-up out changed routine and a student comes up to me and says, "Where's our warm-up?".  It just makes me smile…

In the past we've used Math Minutes or MathMate's as part of our warm-ups.  Since I'm in the process of integrating both 8th grade Common Core standards as well as Algebra 1 or Geometry into the same year (see my previous post about this craziness), I'm worried that the pace we'll have to work at will not allow for as much processing time as I'd like for each topic.  Depth of knowledge is also a concern, but that's for another post.  This summer I'm working with the other two 8th grade math teachers and we are going to come up with our own warm-ups that will both review previous topics as well as look at what was learned in the last class session.  I'm in charge of the first 10 and have gotten a jump on them. I think I'm going to call them "Recap & Reviews" since the first 5 questions will be related to things that they students learned in the past and the second 5 questions will be related to the homework topic.  (With 111-minute class periods a 10-question warm-up is quite doable.)

Here's a sample of my RR for the second day of learning.  The first 5 questions come from 7th grade standards since we won't have been in 8th grade for more than a week yet, and the second 5 questions are covering translations and reflections from the prior class.

I'm hoping, that by including the Review section, we will be able to continually remind students of things they learned during the year instead of trying to have them remember just before state testing time.  I'll keep you posted on my thoughts...

Implementing Common Core

Colorado is a Common Core state and this year we are officially past the transition period.  I like the idea of Common Core and think there is a lot of value in it.  Here's my dilemma: our school district has an initiative that all 8th graders will finish middle school having completed Algebra 1.  So, instead of teaching 8th grade math, I teach both Algebra 1 and Geometry.  However, since we have not yet transitioned to the PARCC assessments (correct me here, but I think with PARCC the students can test on the actual class they are taking??), I have to pack in both 8th grade Common Core standards as well as either Algebra 1 or Geometry standards into one year.

This isn't so difficult with Geometry since these kids are advanced and I can cover most of the 8th grade standards within warm-ups.  It's a lot tougher with those kids in Algebra 1 since, for many of them, this is their primary introduction into algebra.  Although I've been able to create a scope and sequence for the year, I'm worried about depth of knowledge.  I guess I'll be doing a lot of progress monitoring this year and have to reevaluate at the end of the year once more.

Here's what I've come up with:
Unit 1 - Transformations, Triangle Properties, Parallel Line Properties
Unit 2 - Number System (focusing on irrational numbers), Radicals, Pythagorean Theorem, Distance Formula, and Exponents
Unit 3 - Solving Equations
Unit 4 - Functions
Unit 5 - Graphing Linear Functions
Unit 6 - Systems of Equations
Unit 7 - Polynomials
Unit 8 - Quadratics (the algebra part - we moved the graphing part to the beginning of Geometry for time)

Units 1 - 4 are first semester and Units 5 - 8 are second semester.  I have about 35 blocks each semester per class to work with.  My goal is to continually use the items in Unit 1 within the other units if possible (for example, bring back transformations with graphing to work on slopes and equations of the line).  I don't want to teach something in August and not have them see it again until state testing in March!

What types of issues are you encountering with the implementation of Common Core?  What has been successful?