My student teaching experience has taught me to learn on my feet, which means always being prepared and positive, no matter what the day might throw at me. With crazy schedules, snow days, and lessons taking off in completely different directions, I’ve realized the most important thing is to take things one step at a time.
This week was all about assessments, and man was it crazy! I had my sixth graders finishing their Wolves Projects and my eighth graders doing two different projects: Louie Reports, and I Am Assessments. (I may or may not have bit off a little more than I could chew grading-wise!)
What challenged me the most this week was trying to get students caught up and on track with their assessments. Some students had pending late work and assignments, so moving them along and having them complete new assessments in class was frustrating at times!
Forest City Middle School uses a late-work system where they have an Excel spreadsheet with student names and missing assignments. This alerts all teachers, especially during Study Hall or ELT (homework time at the end of the day) of what students need to work on. This week, especially, I’ve relied on and navigated that Late List. It drives me crazy! But I think I have a handle on it now! Because it’s interactive and all teachers have access and editing abilities, it is forever changing. What’s nice, though, is that I can update it and use it as a reminder tool for my students. It may have drove me bonkers this week, but a ton of my students turned in their late assignments!
We ended up having a shortened pre-Thanksgiving week due to a snowstorm. It changed my goal for assessments, my lessons for House on Mango Street, and pretty much everything! Ah! But I learned to enjoy the craziness and make sure that I was focused on student learning, even with changed schedules.
My goal for this upcoming week: Work on assessments/Standards Based Grading! I’m going to take over my cooperating teacher’s grading for the sixth grade Wolves Projects. This will be a challenge, but I’m excited!