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Sunday, September 20, 2020

Student Motivation

Dear teacher friends,



Here we go again!  Another season of state assessments is upon us.  Every year, the weight of the assessments creates pressure for administrators, teachers, parents, and unfortunately the students.  I’m sure you are feeling anxious, but you do not want your students to feel the same way.


“Test Prep” are the two 4-letter words that cause fear and loathing in the heart’s of teachers everywhere.  I have heard teachers complain about how test prep takes away from teaching time, and causes extra stress to students.  It doesn’t have to be that way!


Keep your test prep fun, sweet, and simple! Whether you have a few days, a week or a little more time to dedicate to reviewing skills taught all year make it a time filled with games, practice, and prizes in your classroom.  For instance, dig out the task cards that you have used all year.  Place them around the room for a game of review Scoot. One way that I have done this in the past for a math review: Cards 1-5 Order of Operations, Cards 6-10 Adding and Subtracting Fractions, Cards 11-15 Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, Dividing Decimals, Cards 16-20… You get the idea.  You want to have enough cards around the room so that each student starts with one.  You can have more if you have time, but make sure that you review the answers with your students when the game is over.  If you don’t have time to review during the same class period, try to review the answers the following day.  
(If you have never played Scoot before, you don’t 
know what you are missing!  My 5th graders beg to 
play at least once a week.  I wrote about how to play 
in a previous blog post. Check it out here to learn more.) 

Keep in mind that realistically, you will not be able to review all of the skills. It is imperative that you choose standards that your students still struggle with, standards taught at the beginning of the year, and standards that you know your students can excel at if they are just reminded of the skill.  Good luck!


Once testing day(s) arrives, it is important for your students to know that you aren’t worried. And if you are nervous? Fake it until you make it!  Remember, the test-taking attitudes your students form now may impact their test-taking behaviors for the rest of their education. After all, standardized tests don’t go away as you go up through the grades.  If anything, you are creating the foundation for your students to take the SAT in high school.  Keep in mind that a lot of your students’ attitudes will be shaped by the feelings you project.


This is the time for you to emphasize that testing is a chance for your students to show off and show what they know. Each morning students are testing, I give testing treats.  This is just a little something I give to ease the stress.


🍭Dum Dum lollipops: Because they are not dumb-dumbs!
👓Nerds: So they can be a nerd and read every word!


😋Blow Pops: So they can blow the test away!

Providing your students with motivation before and during testing is the best way to keep your students engaged during the entire testing process.  If you have any additional motivational ideas for keeping students focused, engaged, and prepared to do their very best leave them in the comments section.

Sunday, September 6, 2020

Help Your Students with Word Problems

Hi friends!!!

We have all been there.  We've given an amazing lesson.  Students were engaged, correctly answered questions and explained their steps they took to solve it, were able to give alternative ways to solve problems... and you feel confident that you can now assign practice problems.

And then... BAM!  It happens.  You know what I am talking about!  It's that exact moment your students realize that there are *gasp* word problems for them to solve!  Before you even have a moment to take a sip of water or just gather your thoughts you hear something like...

"I don't get it."
or (and this statement makes me cringe every single time)
"What am I supposed to do?"

In most classrooms, there are students who are below grade level in reading.  So they have difficulty determining what the problem is asking. Then there are other students who struggle with word problems because they do not understand which part of the text is relevant.  And of course, some students struggle with reading AND figuring out which information is needed to solve the problem.

I have a few strategies that I find useful.  Let me know what you think!

1.)  I read the math problem to the students.  Sometimes this is done whole group, while other times I do this in small group.  I  use this strategy every single day! I have students in my class who are English Language Learners and/or below grade level in reading.  By taking the "stress" out of reading the word problem, students can focus on the math piece.

2.)  Students are quite familiar with the concept of "Close Reading."  After all, they dig deeper to analyze the text daily during Reading, Science, and Social Studies.  So why not have students 'close read' their math problems? I have students rereading math problems a minimum of four times, and doing something different EACH time with the information.  By the last step, students have a better understanding of how to solve the problem.  Some of my students are able to memorize the steps and use it without me reminding them.
I have a blog post if you are interested in reading about it.  Just click here!

3.)  Whenever I introduce a new math concept I use a real world word problem or story.  For instance, in my class we are currently working on fractions.  I don't want students to think that they will only do this in math class!!!  So we discuss real world situations that involve math.

"It's your birthday and you and all 15 of your guests want a piece of birthday cake.  How many pieces do need to be cut?"  (Answer:16)
Or "before you pass out the pieces of cake, your mom puts birthday candles on half of your cake.  How much of your cake has candles?" (Answer 1/2, and then you can start developing the understanding that 8 pieces out of 16 is 1/2 of the whole.  Equivalent fractions!!!)

4.)  One of my favorite strategies to help my students become more successful with word problems doesn't involve me speaking a lot.  At least two times a week (when my schedule allows it), I have students take their homework up to my document camera and explain how they solved the problem.  This involves students rereading the problem, circling any numbers needed to solve, underlining key words, and then explaining the steps as well as doing the math.  During this time we discuss misconceptions, strategies, and new ways of thinking.  I love when students show me a new way to solve a problem!

I hope you are enjoyed reading this post.  Please leave a comment below to let me know if any of these strategies help you!
Happy Teaching!
:-) Sandra @The Happy Learning Den