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Lisa.Taylor Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Report Cards

Report Cards – Make it Personal

There is lots of talk about using comment banks to create report card comments. I remember when I started teaching, a retiring teacher handed me a USB drive and said, “I am giving you years of work, use it well!” Trying to complete my first set of report cards with that drive was a complete disaster! I didn’t teach the same things she did, nor did I teach them the same way she did, so how could her comments possibly convey what I wanted them to? And she didn’t teach the kids I was teaching, so how would her comments really and truly reflect the kids I was teaching?

After about 3 report cards, trying to find the right comments in her drive, I gave up and wiped the drive clean. Using a bank of comments that someone else has created is not terribly effective. From then on, I started writing my own comments. I am going to describe my process as I have used the same process ever since and it has always worked! We are all different, but this might help you get started!

I would start each report card writing session by taking the strands I was reporting on, and picking the overall expectations I wanted to address. I would write them down or highlight them, and then think about what we had done that term that would demonstrate that. I had done all of this previously in my planning of the unit, but it is nice to refresh and make sure that in the end, you accomplished what you set out to! Once you have established what it is you assessing, find a student you know did really well with it. Review their work and make sure they did as well as you thought, and then write their comment. Then go through and find some more students who are similar in their achievement/work style and give them the same comment, but modify it to truly make it reflect that student. These would be for  your Level 3ish kids. Their next steps should be all individualized. Then bundle up your Level 2 kids and do the same. Then do it again for your Level 1 kids. Level 2 and 1 will often just need an individual comment each anyway, without any copy/paste/modify.

I use that process for subjects like the Arts, Science, Social Studies, Health, Phys Ed., etc.

For Math I do each strand individually and I generally do each strand as described above with some variations.

Language and Learning Skills, I take an entirely different approach. I generally set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how much time I am feeling like I need. If I have gone through portfolios and have lots of evidence and details to support where that child is working, 10 minutes should be lots. If I need to double check portfolios, etc., then 15-20 might be necessary. I give myself just that much time per student per strand. It seems like a lot of time, but I know I can give each child an individualized account of their abilities, strengths, needs, and next steps, and be sure in my mind that it is accurate and that I have seen the evidence as I was writing it. Learning Skills is usually more 10-15.

I generally do Language in the middle, after I have done a few of the smaller ones (Science, Social, Arts, etc.), and Learning Skills are generally at the very end for me, once I have had a thorough look at that student and all of my records, notes, anecdotals, etc.

Writing report card comments is a very personal, involved process. As a parent, I have read comments that were from a teacher that I could tell knew my child, and I have read comments that were obviously stock comments applied to the whole class or a bunch of kids, that did not reflect my child at all. Once you see a comment like that on a report, it is difficult to take anything else on the report seriously. Take the time and make it meaningful. You don’t have to fill the box, just put something meaningful in the box so parents see that you know their kid and you know what they are capable of.

 

**Note that I always wrote the IEP comments last as they were pretty quick and easy to write**

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt General

Passion for Teaching

I learned something this fall that will stay with me as a teacher for a long time. I always encourage my students to be creative and be risk takers but I am a planner that usually takes small cautious steps to learn something new.

However, by pushing myself out of my comfort zone I learned that…..CHOIR IS AWSOME!

Let me explain. I am a music teacher who had NO INTEREST in ever running a choir. I trained as a taiko drummer in Japan and am able to play the piano reasonable well. All of my training has been instrument based and I have never once stepped foot in a choir rehearsal. Due to my inexperience, I was very nervous to run a choir so my colleague always led the way.

Due to circumstances this year, I had no choice but to step up and take over the choir. I put in an announcement for choir in October and I started with about 40 students. All of a sudden, I realized how fun it was to join together in song with 40 people and I think my excitement rubbed off on the students. Soon my 40 student choir turned into a 150 student choir and all fall we were having a blast singing holiday songs during our nutrition break. I never in a million years would have thought that I would look forward to Monday and Wednesday choir practices so much. My main focus while running this choir for the students was to have fun and that is exactly what I did as well.

I did my usually research about how to run a choir by reading books and watching videos but this time I really tried to just share my love of music with them. It is a passion of mine but sometimes I think I forget to show the students my passion when I am busy helping them with their technique or teaching them to read or write music.

There is something so powerful about stepping outside your comfort zone and stumbling into a whole new world of possibilities.

Photo of Samantha Perrin
Beverly Papove Assessment, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General, Report Cards

No Report Card Surprises

No Report Card Surprises

Way back in October before the first reports were issued, I was busy inviting half of the parents into my class for heads-up interviews regarding their child’s progress. So many of my students were reading and writing below grade level, had serious behaviour issues, or were just plain struggling to meet the basic demands of the grade 3 French Immersion curriculum. Many students had the “progressing with difficulty” box checked off. In fairness and for reasons of professional integrity, parents need to know before the reports go home. Experience has told me that, although the conversation may be difficult, especially if it’s being heard for the first time, inviting parents in with the idea of forming a support team for their child is a smart way to start off the school year. Start the collaboration early and it can be so much easier if, later on down the road, there is some information you need to share that will be difficult for them to hear.

So, the highest needs were addressed, all parents were contacted and the pre-Parent Teacher Interviews went really well. By seeing many parents in the weeks before the official Parent-Teacher Interview period, I was able to have enough time to discuss in more detail how things were going in school and to have a more relaxed conversation than the 15 minutes provided on interview night allows. Some parents confirmed by examples from home what I was drawing to their attention, while others were positive about setting up supports for their child. However, when the proverbial dust had settled in the weeks following the Progress Reports, and I thought that I had touched base with the administration, learning support colleagues and parents regarding the progress of all the students with the highest needs, I suddenly realized that there was one student who had received `progressing well` on the report, but who was not progressing as well as I had originally believed.  In hindsight, I realize that I had been focussing on behaviour goals with this student more than academics, and this is what had overshadowed the challenges the student was experiencing in the first few reading and writing assignments completed in class.  What to do?

Firstly, I let the administration, learning support teachers and the parents know. Since lines of communication were already well established with the parents, I was able to be honest with them and explain that while progress was being made in the area of behaviour in class, their child was exhibiting difficulties with more demanding assignments. Showing samples of work done in class following the progress report period highlighted the need for help to meet the demands of the grade 3 curriculum.

Secondly, I was able to attend a Student of Concern meeting with the administration and the learning support teachers where we explored how we could determine areas of need for this student, the kinds of supports we could provide at school and what the parents could seek, if they chose to.

Thirdly, I scrutinized assessments, samples of work, and my note book, to make sure I had an accurate profile of the student, and to make sure that the parents had all the necessary information to pave the way for the first Report Card in February. Although the Fall Progress Report may have indicated a student who in general at the time did not appear to be progressing with difficulty, the first term Report Card will indicate what the child`s challenges are in detail, and thankfully, the parents are already aware.

The value of communicating regularly with parents cannot be underestimated. In this case, it was beneficial to avoid any confusion or defensive reaction and to convey the fact that I have the child`s best interest at heart. The positive effects of Parent-Teacher collaboration for the child are also significant and hold each of us accountable.

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Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

Communicating With Parents

Part of our professional responsibility is to communicate with parents about the progress their child is or is not making in your classroom. How much communication? How often to communicate? What way is best? There is no one answer to that. The answer is determined by what is both comfortable and effective for you as a professional.

I use a variety of ways to ensure that my parents know about what is happening in my classroom as well as how their child is doing. The following is a list of the types of communication and what I hope to accomplish with each.

Weekly News – this is a one-page summary that I compose at the end of each week of school. In it I summarize what has been our curriculum focus, as many good news items as possible, important upcoming dates and I typically try to add ways that parents can support their child at home. In addition, our weekly awards’ recipients are listed by name. It goes home on Monday and is due back signed by the following Monday. At the end of the year it is a yearbook for each child. As well I use it as a personal reflection of what I had accomplished that week and what direction I need to go the following week.

Sunshine Calls – these are random calls home where my sole focus is to share good news and celebrate each child. I try to time them with specific deeds of the students as the timing also provides a powerful mode of feedback. If I have to make a call home where the news is not good, I try to ensure that I increase the number of positive calls home after that.

Student Work – I constantly try to share as much of our finished work as possible with parents (not just the evaluation aspect). I will have students share their poetry, a story, read to their family and have the family sign it to show they have had it shared. At times, we invite families in to look at our art displays, attend a poetry recital or drama performance.

Monthly Calls – these are extra calls that go to families of my students who have academic or behavour struggles. It is important to keep families updated and to offer ways for them to support their child. It is too late if I wait until reporting time. There have been times when the frequency of these calls increase to bi-weekly or weekly updates.

Meetings – I work hard to have a face-to-face with each family regardless of whether their child has struggles or is working from an enriched curriculum. There are situations where these meetings are scheduled on a regular basis.

Surveys – Occasionally when I am looking at a special event (often a field trip) I will send a survey home outlining what my intended outcomes are, the proposed cost, details and get them to share their thoughts with me. This is sometimes easier for parents to do in written form.

I have made a personal choice to not use email or any kind of social media as a vehicle of communication to my families. There are pros and cons to this decision and should be left up to each teacher. I just caution you to make sure you are aware of the risks that can be associated with that practice so that you can ensure your protection. If you need more information about communication via social media, I would recommend you contact the ETFO Provincial Office.

The final item I would like to mention is that even though as teachers we have a professional responsibility to communicate to parents, we do not have to endure a parent’s tirade, be yelled at or verbally abused. You have the right to stop any meeting or conversation that is deemed inappropriate. Should you need support with a parent, contact your principal or your local ETFO leadership. The one thing my experience has taught me is that a parent’s approach or view about their child’s schooling is often influenced by the experience they had as a student (good and/or not so good).

 

Kelly.McLaughlin Literacy, The Daily 5

The Daily Five

I recently was asked by the principal at Ancaster Meadow to start integrating “The Daily Five” program into my classroom as was every teacher in my school. I just am starting to implement this program and I will be fully into the swing of things by Monday!

I would love to share my program with everyone! Here is how it works.

Activity 1: Read to self
During this activity, students will be sitting in a group of desks where everyone there is reading quietly. If students choose this activity, they will be reading until they have reached their maximum for the day (a maximum of 15 minutes) and then they will be able to choose a few questions in their reading journals to answer. For this reason, students are asked to always have a book with them in class starting Monday, January 12. I will collect these journals weekly. 

Activity 2: Word Work
During this activity, students will be sitting in a group of desks where everyone there is reading quietly. If students choose this activity, they will be reading and when they find a word they are unsure about, they will use either a device or a dictionary to find the meaning of the word. They will then record this meaning in the “word work” section of my blog. I will look at the entries on that section of my blog weekly. 

Activity 3: Work on Writing
During this activity, students will be sitting in a group of desks where everyone there is working in their writing journals. They will pick a few topics that interest them and they will narrow it down to one. They will then work on writing about that chosen topic. Sometimes, the topic will be provided for them. They will do this activity and I will collect their journals weekly. 


Activity 4: Research with a partner
During this activity, students will choose a partner in the group they are sitting with to pick a topic or question to research. They will then spend their time during that activity centre researching that topic. They will record their findings in the section on my blog that is called “Research with a partner”. I will look at the entries on that section of my blog weekly.

Activity 5: Inquiry questions
During this activity, students will choose a question from our book or create their own question and spend the time during this activity researching the other. They can create a video to show their answer or simply record their findings on the section of my blog called “Inquiry Questions”. If they choose to make a video to record their findings, they can record that on the class iPad and I will look at that at the end of the week as well. Either way, students are asked to post their questions that they chose on the inquiry question section of my blog. 

 

I will use a tracking sheet to record so students can record who has done what weekly. Hope this is useful to anyone who is trying to incorporate the Daily Five into their language program!

Alison.Board Celebrating Success, General, Learning About Your Students

Setting Goals

 

 

Last year at this time, I introduced my class to goal setting. Although this is often done in September, I feel it is more effective in January when students have had the opportunity to received feedback in all subject areas. During our Writing Workshop, we discussed and wrote goals that were particular to student success at school. Many of the goals were vague or too broad, so we used the SMART goal process (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). This framework really helped students create better goals that suited their individual needs. Once the goals were created, students wrote them on foam discs and we hung them around the classroom to refer to and measure against.

This January, I plan to do the same goal setting work with my 6/7 class. I have found an article on edutopia that articulates the process effectively:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/smart-goal-setting-with-students-maurice-elias

 

It shows how students are more engaged with their learning and goals when they know what they have to do and in what timeframe to achieve them. The article also provides information on goal setting for character traits, using peer review.

In The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning, an activity is provided to align students goals, strengths, and beliefs as they relate to their life in school. The activity is suggested as a first day of school activity, but it would also work well in January, when students are comfortable to share more in their established classroom community. You can find this activity on page 36.

Goal setting is a task that correlates with the idea of growth mindset. Students should be encouraged to set goals for themselves at any time in the year. By helping them create goals that are attainable, you will also help them feel success.

Alison.Board Assessment, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Integration, Planning, Report Cards, Use of Technology

Starting Over

 

 

January can feel like September. It is an opportunity to initiate new routines and expectations or inject something new into your current program. For many teachers, the last weeks of school in December before the break is challenging. Students are excited about the anticipated break; programs are interrupted with practices for concerts and special assemblies; and teachers are hanging on as they maintain or try to maintain a normal environment.

With the much needed break, students and teachers return to school refreshed. Many will not admit it, but look forward to the return of a regular routine. Take this opportunity to get your students quickly involved in new learning that may have been hard to tackle in December. There are at least three weeks of school before the cut-off for term one reporting. Assigning projects the first week back will focus the students directly, and provide you with assessments needed at the end of January.

Over the holidays, I have prepared an outline for the Biodiversity Infographic that I will be assigning my Grade 6 students the first week back. It will provide assessment both in Science and Media Literacy. I have also been considering an autobiography or biography project for my class. I am still working on the outline but I am thinking about a booklet that will include entries in writing and art. To differentiate to all levels for both projects, I will provide graphic organizers, allow choice of topics, and encourage students to create their works in print or with technology.

Take something that has inspired you over the holidays, (travel, nature, art, movies) and find a way to bring that interest to the classroom. It is surprising the connections you will make to the curriculum and the enthusiasm that you will share with your students.

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Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs

The Second September of Your Year

Have you ever wished for an opportunity to do something over? You know you would make different choices if only you had the chance! Well, as teachers we get that wonderful opportunity at this time of the year (new year).  As all teachers do, self reflection is just part of our DNA and as such gives us wonderful opportunities to create change in our classroom. Every year when my students return after their two-week holiday I start off the year just as if it was our first week in September. The distinct difference being that the activities I choose, the type of engagement I devise is solely based on what has or has not occurred in my room over the first four months of being together.

This year I have found that there are cliques within my room and as such they do not work well unless certain groupings or pairing are created. I will start off the year with a major focus on team building with a specific design that will see a constant mixing of students so that they get to have fun and get to know students they have not made the effort to do so.

A second change that will start off our year is to work from drama to written tasks as often as I can. For example, I am going to be reading a novel that will focus on social justice so I will make use of classroom debates, readers’ theatre and character improvisation prior to my students completing their reading response journals. This change has come about due to the level of engagement that my students demonstrate when drama is a part of our literacy program.

It is important for teachers to take advantage of this unique opportunity that our yearly schedule provides to us. Reflect, re-organize and reap the benefits of your second start to the school year.

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

Engaging Parents in Assessment and Evaluation

One of the most common questions a teacher gets asked by parents is, “How is ______ doing?” The question pops up no matter where or when you run into the parent of a student. I’ve had parents ambush me with this question at these (and other) times:

– During school hours when dropping off their child’s lunch, with the entire class sitting there patiently waiting.

– On the yard at recess when I was on yard duty.

– On field trips, usually on the school bus, always surrounded by students.

– At school events, like the book fair, art show, or holiday concert.

– The second day of school.

– The last day of school, after report cards have already been sent home.

It’s a perfectly legitimate question, one that parents and guardians are always entitled to ask, but I am often asked this question at a time when I’m not really able to answer it properly. Either my students are eavesdropping, I haven’t had time to formulate what I want to say, or I have other duties to attend to and can’t give the conversation the attention it deserves.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to find a way to be more open with parents on an ongoing basis so that they didn’t feel as though they needed to ask this question every time they saw me. A few years later, I think I have a few good strategies/suggestions for how to keep parents in the loop and prevent any surprises when report cards come around.

1. “Ask Me About” – In students’ agendas, they write an “Ask me about… _________” sentence a few times a week. This is supplied by me and is usually about a specific topic we are studying in class or an upcoming school event. It gives parents something to prompt their child with and keeps kids accountable for knowing what is going on at school.

2. Send Assessment Plans Home Before Starting – Any time I assign a new task with a rubric, set of success criteria, or other assessment scheme, I send the assessment home BEFORE students start the task. Parents are expected to sign it to indicate that they’ve seen it and are aware of the deadline, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. This keeps students accountable for getting their work done on time.

3. Send Completed Assessments Home, Too! – Once a project has been completed and assessed, I send it home again, with strict instructions to bring it back to school signed by a parent/guardian. Parents get to see their child’s work along with the mark they were given. They’ve already seen the criteria, so the mark shouldn’t be a mystery to them when they see it.

4. Collect Completed Assessments in a Portfolio – I keep all of my students’ assessments at school. I don’t keep every piece of work, but I do keep the rubric, checklist, etc. that was used/sent home/signed in a duo-tang for each student. This allows me to pull it out and show parents/students the progression of the student’s work over the year and also gives me back-up in case any of my grades are called into question. (I’ve never had a grade called into question, but there’s a first time for everything.) I also put any tests/quizzes in those duo-tangs along with the GB+ reading assessments that I complete.

Those are four really simple little things, but they’ve made a world of difference in my teaching in terms of keeping parents apprised of what is happening with their child’s education. It has stopped nearly all questions about students’ academic progress outside of parent/teacher interview times.

Anything to save me from those awkward, flustered conversations where I try to answer the “How is ____ doing?” question in a vague but diplomatic way so that my room full of students doesn’t overhear anything they shouldn’t!

Photo of Lisa Taylor
Lisa.Taylor Assessment, General, Student Ownership

Student Self Assessment

Our students need to be reflecting on their own learning and skills to ensure they are understanding. Having a child that is struggling with a concept and knows it is much better than having a child who is out to lunch and believes they are on the right track. We need to teach our children to reflect on their learning regularly and ask questions about their learning. Do I understand this? Could I do this on my own? How is this different? How is it the same?

Self Assessment isn’t the only assessment, we aren’t setting ourselves up to not need to assess our students by any means. But we do need to teach our students how to accurately self assess. There should be no surprises for them. If they don’t understand something, they should know that. It is essential that they are able to self assess so they can seek assistance when needed.

Some tools that I have used in my class that I have found to be extremely successful:

Post-it chart – Give each student a post-it and have them answer a question on a topic and put a smile, straight face or sad face on the back and put their answer on their number square of the chart when they leave (for lunch, gym, etc.). Kind of an exit slip, but with some self reflection. The happy, straight, sad face corresponds to how they feel about their answer – did they get it, kind of, not at all.

Stop Lights – I love this one! Give them a question or activity and have them work through it, and when they hand it in, they put it in the green, yellow, or red bin. They hand their work into the red bin if they feel like they aren’t really getting it, yellow if they are kind of getting it, and green if they think they have it. You can also do stop lights as a post-it activity. I used to keep a laminated stop light on my wall for post-its to be handed in. They just numbered their submission on the back so no one knew where they were putting it.

Self Assessment Form – In Math, I have a standard assessment form for problem solving that I staple to each problem. It has the rubric I use and space for comments, etc. This year I modified it to include a self assessment portion and now the student staples it to their work and fills in the self assessment portion before they submit their problem to me. This way, I have their problem, and their self assessment together and I can refer to them both in my assessment which is all on the same little sheet.

Make sure you do something with student self assessments. It is just as important that you check to see that they are accurate and talk to them about it. It is tricky to tell a child that they aren’t getting it when they think they are, and that is one of the very difficult parts of this job, but it is necessary. Students need to know what they can do and where their needs are so they can seek help and work to become more successful.

Work self assessment into everyday if you can. Even if it is small, like in a game, it is necessary.