Under the Big Top

We've walked the red carpet as movie stars, and we've trained for game day. Now it's time to enjoy a day at the carnival!

What am I talking about?! Our skills blitzes, of course! 

Creating MovieSTAARS

Once and Done

Our skill blitzes are a set of thematic lessons that practice key reading and writing skills. It's intentional for state assessment practice without being dreadfully boring. In fact, they are a lot of fun! They are set up to be a special event, maybe one afternoon/evening or even on a Saturday, but you could run them as a special day or series of days in your classroom. 

As you plan for next semester and the lead up to assessment season, the carnival is in town! You guys- I am IN LOVE with this new blitz!! It includes 3 comprehensive lesson plans that focus of reading and writing skills. All lesson plans end with a check for understanding that students record on their carnival map (totally an effort to fight the "What did you learn today?"/"Nothing." phenomenon). If you're in Texas, there is purposeful practice with STAAR 2.0 question types- short and extended constructed responses, text entry, inline choice, multipart, and multiselect. If you're not in Texas, don't worry- it's just good ways to ask students to think. There is a Google form quiz included that uses these question types to further reinforce reading and writing skills. 

All of the learning leads up to...drum roll please...an actual carnival!! If you use the Google quiz, each correct answer can result in a carnival ticket for games or snacks. There is a guide for the organizer of the blitz that discusses options to make this as big or small as seems manageable to you. 

Last thing-

I think the signage and resources are beautiful! With big kids, I stay away from cutesy and cartoonish. I found the most beautiful watercolor graphics to use throughout. Thank you WriteLovely for the amazing graphics- they are perfect! 

Head on over to our TPT Store to pick up our Carnival Skill Blitz for your campus or classroom!

A Nine Square Never Tasted So Sweet

A couple of weeks ago, I promised you an informational Nine Square. A curly girl always delivers on a promise! 

To start this process, I went to a favorite resource- NewsELA. This website is wonderful! With a fre-e-e account, you have access to timely and connected informational texts. Each article has built in features for text-to-speech/oral administration, the ability to adjust the Lexile level, and the option to switch the language to Spanish. Talk about a great deal! In addition to the text, there are activities provided- vocabulary practice with the Power Words in the text, a writing prompt (many are very short constructed response-esque), and four multiple choice questions. The MC are pretty good, and I can be quite the multiple choice snob. You can print the resources or assign them in your Google Classroom. Come on! Could it be easier?! 

I chose the article "Big Questions: Why does sugar taste so good?". It's a universal topic for any day, but there are many articles that would allow you to connect to the season, an event, or even thematically connect to something else you're reading (text or instructional sets). After reading the article, I developed 3 central ideas and 2 details that support each one. That's how it's set up on the Nine Square grid- column 1 are central ideas; columns 2 and 3 are details that support. But...shhhh! We don't want the students to know that! To run the activity in your own classroom, make copies of the Nine Square for the article for each group of students and put them in an envelope or baggie. This process will jumble the pieces up, exactly like we want them. 

Have students read through the pieces and create groups with similar, connected ideas. I would start out with this broad direction, and if student groups need additional prompting, you can let them know that there are 3 central ideas or 3 pieces in each set. Once student groups have sorted the ideas, have them select one piece for each group that serves as the central idea (answer key: column 1). 

You can extend the learning-

• Have students go back into the text and provide another detail that supports the central ideas on a tiny Post-it. 
• Have students select a pair of statements that show a cause and effect relationship; have them justify their selections in writing or orally. 
• Have students complete the Power Words, Writing, and/or Quiz activities in NewsELA. 

Nine Square is an engaging way to have students do some serious thinking. It's easy to prep, playful, and can be as short or long of an activity as you allow it to be. I'd love to know how you use this or another Nine Square in your classroom. Are there other ways you extend students' thinking? Leave a comment below, and let's learn from one another! 

Keep it Short, Smarty!

I might have a popular unpopular opinion. For the STAAR 2.0 Short Constructed Response, I think two things are needed for all 2 points- an answer and text evidence. That's it. No elaborate explanation. Just a one-two punch for a 2 point response. 

This is GREAT news! We all know that students have a tendency to pull a Michael Scott when asked to elaborate. Take the time to watch the clip. It's so good, and you deserve the giggle. 

In the past, we've used the hand and to organize short answer questions. Considering the expectation for this new questions type, I'm going to say give it the foam finger. Sometimes my humor is questionable. Use your own discretion to determine what's best for your classroom. 

• Answer the question (Your answer is the explanation described in the scoring guide.)
• How do you know? (text evidence)

Last week we talked about the conversation loop, asking for an answer and justification always. I also see so much power in planning with the Talk Read Talk Write format. I was talking with a teacher this week about how conversation strengthened student writing. She had the change to have students think-pair-share in her first class but ran out of time in the second. The impact of the opportunity to talk before writing was undeniable. 

There are short constructed response questions for writing that are worth one point. The examples are all having students write a revised sentence. A great resources that allows students to practice this skill is Revision Meets the Road. Referencing the grammar foldable and comma pockets can also help students successfully combine and clarify sentences. 

See- I told you! Our curly classrooms are already implementing best practices that prepare students for the expectations of the new assessment types! 

Again, you're call on using the line "give it the foam finger". You know I'd go for it!