After Testing Blues

So now what? Testing is over and I keep hearing over and over again that learning seems to be coming to a halt. Well, I beg to differ on that note. It appears to me that there are still TEKS that need to be taught. We as teachers are still required to teach. It's not over until its over. And even when they think its over, it's really not. At the end of the school year when students are planning on watching tons of television and playing unmonitored amounts of video games, I hope they remember or are reminded to pick up a great book. Wishful thinking. But, I am reminding them everyday of the importance of summer reading. The most important single thing I instilled in children this year, was the significance of reading a just right, appealing, high interest, and satisfying book. I hope they practice what they have learned in fourth grade and continue with the reading habits they have exercised this year. Their reading goals over the summer should include to read- A LOT. I'm planning on having some type of summer book club over the summer where students can, if they choose to, join the book club and participate in literary discussions on Edmodo to increase summer reading activity. I will allow students to check out books to take with them over the summer and also provide information to parents about the nearest public library. It makes me nervous to think that children may not read over the summer as much as I want them to. However, I strongly believe that if I make books available to them, they will have the tools to help reduce the summer reading achievement gap. I have the after testing blues because I cannot shove the notion out of my mind that when people think of the end of the school year or beginning of summer, that books become secondary for many or completely obsolete. Hopefully, my ideas will put books in the hands of children that do not have access to books over the summer and help in closing the existing reading achievement gap.

Check out these articles about the significance of summer reading:

http://www.reading.org/general/publications/blog/engage/engage-single-post/engage/2013/03/21/one-equally-effective-but-lower-cost-option-to-summer-school

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dGVhY2hlcnNyZWFkLm5ldHx0ZWFjaGVyc3JlYWQtbmV0fGd4OmIwNDlhZTkxZDUzNzI1ZA

Facts about summer reading:

http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/files/sc2012_facts.pdf

Edmodo website:

http://www.edmodo.com/

Reflecting before Testing

This blog post has been bubbling inside of me for about a week. It is my first.

My colleague Esmeralda and I have been tossing around the idea of blogging for some time and now these thoughts have made their way to the surface… It all started about a week ago as I watched my 2nd period students eagerly move to their reading nooks for independent reading. I teach 4 classes of 4th grade readers. We are now days from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test. (In case you were wondering it is RAATS spelled backwards…) Last week we started our testing unit. Kids tune out when a multiple choice test is put in front of them and they REALLY tune out when the teacher starts talking about it. The challenge is keeping them interested, but that is another blog post altogether. It is so easy to become frustrated when progress seems slow with struggling readers. We often blame ourselves as teachers when things don’t seem to sink in. We wonder what will happen if our test scores aren’t up to snuff. We’ve seen the cost of low scores before. It is a tough season…

Even though we are in the midst of practicing reading for a test, we still read independently almost daily. As I observed my students do this, I quickly realized that 2nd period was very tuned in when it came time to read books of their choice. I welled up with a feeling of pride and accomplishment as I watched them. Quite a few realizations hit me at the same time: They know how to choose books that keep them interested and engaged. I hear them pass books to each other, often knowing 3 students down the line who is “on deck”. They tell me which books are hot reads. They sneak read as I give instructions when they first come into the room. I see reluctant readers with their faces in books outside of class. I watch a student finish a book at recess and climb onto the jungle gym to pass it to the next reader. When reading time is over I have to give several reminders for them to stop. They know which series and authors are sure things for them. They don’t need my suggestions because they know what they want to read next. They have knowledge of a variety of genres and read widely. Wow! I couldn’t help but praise 2nd period at the end of class for the readers they have become!

What is even crazier… when my 3rd period students came in, I noticed the same thing.

My students did not start the year with these reading habits. There are still moments when I think, “They are such a mess!” It seems however we are moving in the right direction. They have not always been independent in our reading workshop. Didn’t I want them to become independent all along?

So during a time of year filled with frustration, anxiety, and fear- I choose pride. I choose to be proud of my students as readers and as individuals. I choose to be proud of all they have accomplished, and I choose to praise them for the readers they have become. This is something testing data cannot measure. I choose to take what they know now and think about how I can continue to build their reading lives for the next 6 weeks. Will they all pass the STAAR test? No. Do the reading habits they’ve acquired matter more? I believe so. I choose to delight in the readers they’ve become. Here are a few recent written reflections that prove there is much to be proud of: