Your TESTING Fortune!

Hello friends!  Well, I would definitely rather be eating a steaming bowl of mooshoo pork and sipping on a little hot and sour soup.... rather than stressing out about upcoming assessments, but....teachers....that is our life.  That is our life.  

Along with our testing is ....you know it....

YOU KNOW HOW BADLY WE TEACHERS ARE STRESSED OUT!  So, you can just imagine how badly our kiddos feel.

We need to remind our students that we just need to take a step back, expel the breath we're refusing to let go of, and focus on doing our VERY BEST!  

Here are a few of my favorite STRESS BUSTERS.

Don't be a night owl.  Go to bed early the night before the big test, or at least on time.

Feed your noodle.  The morning of the test, eat a healthy breakfast.....FRUIT IS BRAIN FOOD! EAT SOME!

Arrive on time!  Rushing around in the morning makes teachers and students very crazy....

Stay focused, but remain relaxed.  I KNOW.  I KNOW.  It sounds impossible, but you can do it.  Keep your brain on the test, but don't clench up.  

Take a BRAIN BREAK when you need it. This goes right along with staying relaxed and not clenching your muscles (...even that brain muscle)....  Take a deep breath and give those poor little noggins a rest.

Stay comfy!  Remind your kids to bring a sweater, sweatshirt, or hoodie with them on the big day.  Dress in layers. Some people get hot when they are anxious or worry, other people get cold and even shiver when they are stressed.  

Stay loose!  Be mindful of the way you are sitting in the chairs or at the desks.  If you are slouching or hunched over the desk, you might begin to feel sore.

Let it go!  EVERYONE IS GOING TO FEEL SOME STRESS WHEN TAKING A TEST! Just know it's going to happen. This is hard for kids....sometimes even harder on teachers.  Why are we so hard on ourselves anyway?

Pace yourself ~ but, DON'T RUSH. Your students will feel more confident with this if you model it for them and show them how it's done.  :)

Don't let the toe tapping bring you down. You know what this means guys.  Don't get sucked in and get distracted by any of the pencil tappers or booger eaters. Really.

If you don't use it ~ you'll lose it.  Use ALL of your time.  Take your time .... look over your answers .... use the strategies that help you the most ....

Don't get stumped.  Your kiddos are going to come across questions that they don't know.  If you absolutely still don't know the answer after you have exhausted EVERY STRATEGY KNOWN TO MAN, let it go.  Choose the answer that you believe makes the most sense and move on. Don't get stuck on a question that you WILL NEVER KNOW THE ANSWER TO.....

Last and most important, go have an adult beverage.  Your job here is done. For today. {Oh, and yea, adults only on those special beverages....no kiddos.}

What stress busting strategies work best for you and the students in your class?  I would love to hear from you.

Jen 

SHOW ME - Cool APP for Presenting Information to Students, Parents, and Teachers

I have found an Apple APP that I absolutely love!!!!  It is called SHOW ME...and boy does it really SHOW ME!  It turns your iPad into a virtual whiteboard.  Students, parents, and teachers can view the presentation either on the iPad or the computer.......and it is free and SO SIMPLE TO USE!  

You can add in graphics, pictures and even documents that you want to display and manipulate.  It is very simple to add in your own voice to explain anything you want. 

My Show ME

Information from the SHOW ME website:

"A VARIETY OF USES- Easily explain a range of topics from math to chemistry to music theory to basket weaving.- Add ShowMe’s to your Do-It-Yourself blog- Attach a personal message to any travel photos you want to share- Diagram offensive and defensive strategies for sports- Grade student work with commentary explaining the reasoning behind their performance- Use ShowMe as an interactive whiteboard substituteImplement a “flipped classroom”- Showcase your ShowMes online and share your knowledge with your students, friends, family, or the world!

FEATURES- Voice-record- Multiple brush colors- Pause and erase- Import pictures from your photo library, built-in camera, or web image search- Unlimited lesson length- Free to upload and share your recordings with friends- Easy embedding for sharing anywhere- Manage students with Groups"

Here is my first attempt at using 

the SHOW ME APP.  I did it only

one take.  :)  It is definitely NOT

perfect!  Check it out!

LOOK HERE:  MY FIRST SHOW ME - MAKING GUIDED READING GROUPS WITH DRA DATA......

Show me your SHOW ME.  ;)

Metacognition Song Video

Metacognition Song Video

FREE Story and Writing Organizer

This Story Organizer is just right for extending your students' thinking and comprehension. Students are assisted with sequencing the story they are reading into beginning, middle, and end. There is also a portion for focusing on the characters, problem, and solution. 

This organizer is also a great tool for organizing thoughts before writing. 

Younger students can draw pictures to show comprehension and older students can use words or even complete sentences.

Click to download the FREE Story Organizer.http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Story-Organizer-for-Comprehension-with-Summary-Sequence-Focus

Click to download the FREE Story Organizer.

What kind of organizers do you use to inspire your students to think?

Make Connections. Make a Salad. .......

Crazy, but when I was in school, I was nnnnneeeeevvvvveeeeerrrrr taught how to think.  So, I'm not really sure how or when I truly learned to think about text while reading.  But then again, I also learned by sitting in perfectly straight words....never speaking aloud during lessons.....seriously, WOW!  

Picture from Angela Bunyi, Scholastic.com - Thank you!

Today I helped out a bit at our kindergarten professional development over comprehension.  My focus was metacognition.....so I chose to do the Reading Salad lesson.  I adapted this lesson from Tanny McGregor's book, Comprehension Connections.  I Totally LOVE this book!!!  If you read only one book this year, read this book!  It will change your thinking about teaching.

I started the lesson by reading a page from a book straight through, without any stopping. Then, I asked the group what they noticed about how I was reading. They shared comments like: reading very quickly, being able to read all the words, etc.  I told them I had a big secret to share with them. I was fake reading! I was able to read all the words..... a.k.a "word calling", and it looked like I was reading, but I was a actually thinking about having lunch with my friends instead! They couldn't believe it! I asked them to be honest, and raise their hands if they had ever just pretended to read. All their hands flew up in the air. They admitted to thinking about P.E. recess, lunch or even playing video games, not actually reading at all!  ....They admitted to only look like they were reading.  I couldn't believe how forthcoming they were! 

Next, I chose three special friends to come up to the front to be my assistants.  As I read aloud, one friend put in green squares of paper that represented the "text" part of the reading and another friend put in red squares of paper to whenever I stopped to think aloud about the text.  Another friend mixed the red and green together.  Voila!!!  REAL READING SALAD!

Bon Appetite!
Jen Bradshaw