Really...You Want Me To Teach Saturday School?

Is this the feeling that you get when you are approached and asked to teach SOL Saturday school?
What?  You really want me to teach on Saturday?  Do you really think the kids will want to come, and if they do, will that even work?

The answer is "yes", but it all depends on how it is structured and if it is motivating!

This past Saturday, I taught my first ever session of SOL Saturday school.  While I will admit that this is something that I do not want to do every Saturday, I had a lot FUN!

I structured it as challenges, having four different challenges for students to work at their own pace on.  They were set up like relay races, and they were only working against their self.  I did not want to set it up pitting them against each other, as I did not want that mentality during testing.  I want them to work for their own self and their own grade.  After finishing each challenge, they were able to pick some type of SOL reward for their hard work in completing and passing their challenge.  SOL Rewards included things like the following:  a sucker, word puzzles, books to read, computer games to play, free draw, etc.

Challenges Included:
Buzz To the Top Fiction and Non-Fiction Reading Passages
Word Power Relay Race - Word Analysis Packets
Around the World Skills & Strategies Packet
Reverse Questioning Booklet

I had 8 students and I started 2 on each challenge.  I was situated in the middle of all of the challenges going on and students came to me one-on-one as they completed portions of their packet.  I reviewed them and checked off correct questions, while advising them to go back on incorrect questions.  After trying one more time on the question, I went over the question and had the student tell me how they had gone about answering it and I helped them.

It was very beneficial to have the one-on-one time with them and see how they were thinking through the problems and what I could do to clarify it for them.  I found certain academic vocabulary that was tricking several of them, as well as determining key words in questions.

All in all it was a very beneficial day, and I feel that there will be a student of two that will pass the SOL due to taking that one-on-one time with them, and yes, on a Saturday morning!

It is ALL about Good Teaching!!!!

Right now everyone is in test prep mode!  The buzz in the teacher's lounge, around the cafeteria table, in the hallways and on social media is all about testing, testing, testing.  But wait...don't hit the panic button yet!  If you have had good teaching practices in place all year long, then test prep will be easy.  It will be the time when you watch you students put things into practice that they have learned all year and can apply due to your good teaching.  Of course, we cannot be naive.  There are always those gaps that need to be filled, and those little bumps in the road that need fixed, but overall, test prep should be a time when teachers feel good about what they have accomplished with their students throughout the year, if they have had those good teaching practices in place.

Now might be the time for us as teachers to really take a hard look at how we are teaching and make sure that our teaching practices, that begin on day one, have the final goal in mind.  It all boils down to good teaching!  Stop teaching to the test and just practice good teaching!  Good teaching will give you better results than teaching to the test, or panic driven test prep, and your students will thank you.  Become passionate about your teaching, and let your students catch the passion, and it will be a year to remember as they have fun learning, you have fun teaching, and you are amazed at what they have learned!

Check out all of our FUN test prep resources at our TPT Store - A Love for Reading www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Love-For-Reading

**Make Test Prep FUN!!!!

Presentations in Staunton & Richmond

It has been a whirlwind for us this fall, but it has been so much fun!  We have completed three presentations for the Virginia Department of Education on Formative Assessment.  It has been a pleasure to work alongside our state English Curriculum Coordinator Tracy Robertson, her assistant De and State Reading Specialist Crystal Midlike, as well as Erich (travel coordinator) from VT.  A great big thank you to our English team for allowing us to present once again!

It has been very enjoyable presenting in all three locations.  The participants have been so welcoming & really interested in learning all they can to help their students!  Thanks to all participants at Dulles, Staunton & Richmond for your warm welcome!

Please email us with any questions you may have concerning our presentation or any resources that we shared.  Remember formative assessment should not be stressful!

Formative assessment is the application time, which in turn drives your instruction! 

Presenting for VDOE in Dulles!

We really enjoyed the warm reception that we received in at the VDOE English SOL Institute at the Dulles Hyatt.  There were an amazing crowd to present to, and we enjoyed getting to field questions and converse with many educators after the presentation.  Thanks VDOE for allowing us to present again this year!  We thoroughly enjoy sharing our passion for teaching reading!

What is a Reading Dump Sheet?

Last year Jessica and I were approached by our third grade team asking for a "Reading Dump Sheet". They had gotten a math one from someone else, and had not been able to find a reading dump sheet.  Honestly, we had never heard of them, but apparently someone came up with the thought that you could give your students of sheet of paper and allow them to dump their brain out on the sheet prior to taking test.  It is meant to include all of the key components of instruction for the year.  So, Jessica and I stated working on it and correlated it to all reading skills and strategies, as well as the graphic organizers that correlate to comprehension questions.  It was a really fun project for us, and we began teaching it to our students.  Of course, the kids that we had taught all year, quickly caught on as we had worked extensively in our reading notebooks, and on the Weekly Comprehension Scavenger Hunts which included all of these graphic organizers.  The kids loved it!  They began using it to practice with weekly test and practice test, as Jessica and I modeled "how to use" it.  It became a great tool in helping our kids remember how to answer different types of questions they encountered on the weekly test & year end test.

This gives you a sneak peek of the "Reading Dump Sheet".  It is for sale on our TPT store at A Love For Reading.  Check it out.  Teach it all year & watch your student's understanding blossom!

Email us, comment or place a question on our TPT store, if you have any questions regarding exactly how to use this resource.

Make Time For it! - Application Really Works!

Our school is in our 2nd year of the new balanced schedule, so we have 2 weeks - fall and early spring that we stop and do remediation with students that are falling behind, or neat extra help to get them back on pace.  (By the way, I love the new balanced calendar).

 As I worked with a small group of 1st and 2nd graders throughout that week, I realized more and more that application really works! You are probably saying, "What do you mean?".  What I mean is giving them time to apply skills that you have taught really, really works!  I know, I know...you do not have enough time, but my argument is that you must take the time!  If you do not take the time to allow them to apply their skills (practice), how do you know if they get what you are teaching?  I was amazed as I worked with my groups of students, how well they did on applying their skills.  I would review skills that had been taught in their classrooms daily, and then I would have countless activities for them to practice & practice some more on.  They had so much fun, and I did also!!  We worked & worked that week and the kids loved the interactive work, and games that we did together. It was really easy for me to observe them and know who and who didn't understand.  Then, I was able to offer more help to those that really did not get it.

Remember - Practice Makes Perfect, and you cannot be a good reader, apply phonics,comprehension or writing skills if you never have the time to practice those skills!  Step back & allow your students that time to practice what you are so diligently teaching them. You will be amazed!!!

Interactive Reading Notebooks

Be sure to check out one of our newest items in our Teachers Pay Teachers store at A Love for Reading. We are very excited to share these with everyone.  We started on the journey of Interactive Reading Notebooks last year, and basically used them as a note taking strategy with our students.  Our students loved their notebooks, and wanted to make sure all year long that they would get to take them home with them.  Some of the students wanted to keep them so they could use them in the next grade.

They really were successful!

This summer we decided to enhance them a little more and make them correlate to the Reading Dump Sheet that we created right before SOL testing last year.  (We are getting ready to download a digital copy of it to the TPT store also.  It should be ready sometime next week.)  Our Reading Dump Sheet, Interactive Notebooks and Comprehension Scavenger Hunts are all interlinked to allow lots of guided practice and application in comprehension.  They are closely linked to the technology enhanced questions that are appearing more and more on the end of year testing.
If you have any questions about how to use these resources, please comment and we will respond to you and share any experiences that we have had with them.

Keep watching for more Interactive Reading Resources weekly!!!