Released Test Questions - California Standards Test

I am just like you.  Every year, just about this time, my sixth grade students and I start the long arduous process of going over the California Released Test Questions for the CST.  But I knew that somehow this year, I was going to have to mix things up a bit.  As many of you, I also saw the "I Choose 'C'" video that has spread across YouTube (made by an 8th grader, by the way).  So, I showed it to them.  When that many kids in a room identify with something like that, you know it is time for a shake-up.
My students are great test takers.  Sometimes I wonder if they are too good.  I noticed that many of them were going through the motions while we were analyzing similar questions during the year, so this year I tried something new.  In honor of the new Common Core and in honor of making these kids use their brains again, I took the California Released Test Questions and eliminated their choices.  Yes, you read correctly.  I took the choices away.  Well, I did leave a few choices, due to the fact that it is just necessary for some of the released questions.  Now, my students MUST answer them first without options A, B, C, or D.  It forces them to go find the evidence from the text, not just play the elimination game with the four options.  When I have given everyone time to answer the questions and discuss them in groups, only then do I allow them to choose their options.  I have put the choices into a PowerPoint and they use what they wrote, highlighted and underlined to make a choice.

Analyzing Released Test Questions "More Than A Niece"

Analyzing Released Test Questions "Water Picture"

What have I learned from this little experiment?   My kids have all the knowledge they need in their heads, but if they can find a shortcut to avoid using it, they will.  Now, they are having great discussions and they are finding and sharing things they weren't before.  I am getting more out of our time we spend going over the released test questions then I was before.  And of course, it was important to get feedback from my kids.  An easy majority of them said that it was better this way.  They said it was easier, not to so much confusion about second guessing their answers.  I am getting real information about what standards they are more comfortable with and where we should spend a few minutes reviewing or revisiting.  This is not for everyone and it does take time.  But isn't this where common core is heading anyhow?  Finding justifications in the text?  Writing out answers and synthesizing the information presented?  I can easily say that I am glad I took a chance and tried this out.
I would love to hear your strategies for covering Released Test Questions!  What are you doing to make them more engaging and how do you keep your kids thinking, not just test taking?

Westing Game Character Chart

If you are reading The Westing Game or any other book with a large number of characters to keep track of, a large, wall-sized character chart may be just right for your students.

One of my favorite books to teach (obviously) is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.  You may have seen my other posts on the wanted posters or the way I use interactive notebooks to teach the book.  Because there are 16 characters, the kids always have trouble getting started and keeping them straight.  Then, as we progress through the book we are always trying to figure out who is the most mysterious character or who would have had a reason to kill Sam Westing.  We keep 4 x 4 charts in our interactive notebooks four times throughout the book where we keep track of what we learned about each character in those particular set of chapters.  We also keep a large interactive character chart in the classroom.  Each time we do a character chart, I also have students get into groups of three and I randomly assign them a character to report on.  They write all that they know on the sticky note that I give them in bullet points. Then, they stick them up on the wall for everyone to see.

Westing Game Character Chart

It becomes a giant reference wall. Each set of chapters has its own color of sticky note. It is especially popular when the students are making their Wanted Posters and are trying to gather as much information for their posters as they can.  It is also helpful when they are studying for their quizzes and final test.

If you are interested in getting the whole book unit check it out here.

Grading Comprehension Questions

So I see about 100 kids each day for Reading.  There are three groups, reading three different books.  Every week they are assigned chapters from those books and about 6 comprehension questions to go with them.  They answer those comprehension questions in their Reading Response Notebooks.  If you do the math, this is how many comprehension questions I would be grading each week...

100 kids X 6 comprehension questions = 600 short answer questions every week

I don't know about you, but I just don't have the time for that.  So here is one way I manage it.  First, make yourself some of those "ticket out the door" posters.  I have 5 or 6 for each group because each poster is for one question.

Mine are getting a little faded as they have been up all year.

Then, I put the kids into groups of 2 or 3, depending on how many kids you have this would vary.  Each group gets a number.  That number is where they put their answer on the poster.  For example, if they were group #1, their answer will always go in the #1 boxes.

Each group also gets their own sticky note color.  This is more for fun and to help my eyes when looking over them.  You could just do it with plain old yellow stickies if you wanted.  Each group gets a sticky note for each question (5 questions = 5 sticky notes).

After they discuss all of their answers, they write them on the sticky note and place them in the boxes.  I can then quickly look over all of their answers for each comprehension question.

If a group has a wrong answer, I simply move the sticky note down below the board.  If they see their color sticky below the board, they know their group needs to fix an answer.  If they still have all 5 sticky notes up, their group gets 100% on the assignment.

Sticky Note Comprehension for The Hobbit

SO MUCH FASTER than grading each one separately!

The Tuck Everlasting Book Unit is HERE!

Hello Everyone,

I have just added my Tuck Everlasting book unit to my TeachersPayTeachers Site!

I have posted a lot of fun stuff here to go along with reading Tuck Everlasting in the classroom.  I start my book units with a good foundation of comprehension questions, vocabulary, and quizzes and tests, but the things I do to make the reading easier, more enriching, or more interactive are the activities that I post here on my site.  Although I have read this book with over 230 students in my time at 6th grade, I have never taught it the same way twice.  I do keep the basics the same, and that way I can always modify my ideas or experiment with new things each time.  I would suggest starting with a book unit, that way you can get to the fun stuff too!

Writing Short Answers - Comprehension Requirements

I realize that students need a constant reminder about the expectations for short answer questions.  At my school, we have all adopted the RAD format (Restate, Answer, Details), but my kids often need specific directions about what that means.  I am also pretty stingy about them not using pronouns in their answers and  I want them to be specific when adding details to support their answer.  I like them to actually drag those details from the text and use page numbers for their citations.  I made this quick slide recently as a reminder.  I throw it up on the screen when I assign their comprehension for the week.

Sometimes I tell them that each requirement will be a point and that each answer will be worth 5 points.  That takes a ton of grading time, so I only do this when they start to take shortcuts and need refreshing.  It is also a good idea for them to have a copy of this to tape into their Reading Response Notebooks.

Westing Game Book Unit

I have already read The Westing Game with one of my reading groups and I am about to start it again with another group.  My students do all of their novel study and reading response work in a composition book.  When the book is done, they have a complete study guide including comprehension, vocabulary, and any graphic organizers.  Each week we work on several chapters and there is a quiz every Friday on those chapters.  When they finish the book, they use all of their accumulated work to study for a final test.  Here is how I attack this complicated book with so many characters to keep track of...

     Character Charts-  We do one of these 4 times throughout the book.  Any new, interesting, or suspicious info goes on these.

Westing Game Character Chart - ch. 24-end

We also have a large character chart on the wall.  It is made out of 16 pieces of black 9x12 construction paper and each character gets their own piece.  We use sticky notes to add information about each character as we go on this interactive wall organizer.

     Comprehension Questions- these are done weekly for each set of chapters.

Westing Game comprehension ch. 19-23

They glue the questions on the top of the page and then answer underneath.  They must restate the question in the answer as well as provide details and/or evidence from the book.

     Vocabulary- this is also done each week in one of these advance organizers.

Westing Game Vocabulary ch. 14-18

Take a look at my post on vocabulary to see exactly what I expect the kids to do.

     Suspicious Characters Chart- students choose 3 characters that seem suspicious to them towards the middle of the book.  This gets them thinking about our big project.

The one big project that I do for this book is a wanted poster.  You can see those in my Westing Game Wanted Posters post.  Prior to that we start with this organizer first.

If you would like to download the whole book unit, I do have it available if you click my link here.

Story Pyramids - Tuck Everlasting and The Devil's Arithmetic

Two of my reading groups finished their novels just before the break.  The first group finished Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit and the second group finished The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen.  After finishing, we do a lesson on story structure.  I use the basic pyramid that you can find all over.

Story Pyramid

I have them take notes in their Reading Notebooks first, then have them create their own story pyramids using their novels.  It is expected that they combine the parts of the story with citations from the book.  I also ask them to use images with each part of their pyramid. I give them a copy of this rubric:

Story Pyramid Rubric

Some of them turn out really wonderful.  Here is one from Tuck Everlasting...

Tuck Everlasting Story Pyramid

 And here are three from The Devil's Arithmetic...

Devil's Arithmetic Story Pyramid 1

Devil's Arithmetic Story Pyramid 2

Devil's Arithmetic Story Pyramid 3

Tuck Everlasting Foldable - Reviewing for tests

So on top of working with visual notetaking, the kids are always preparing for their weekly novel quizzes.  This week was Tuck Everlasting for chapters 19 through the epilogue.  Lots to remember.  We used a standard foldable and some visual note taking to review the main events and some vocabulary.  I just HAD to share this one.

Tuck Everlasting Foldable Organizer

I use these a lot the day before a quiz.  I give them guidelines about the topic of each box and then they use all of their resources from the week to fill each area with as much detail as possible.  Then they get taped into their Reading Response Notebooks as a reference that can be used to study for the final test.

Vocabulary Advance Organizer - Novel Study

I have a few of my book units on TeachersPayTeachers and I have had a few people ask how I have the kids do vocabulary every week for the chapters that they have been assigned.  So here is a quick run down on our weekly vocabulary.  This particular week, one of my reading groups read chapters 11 - 14 of the Devil's Arithmetic.  When I do a book unit, I basically just go through and decide what words I think will be good for each set of chapters.  They use their finished organizers to study for the quizzes each week and their final.

I start with a simple graphic organizer (AKA a table).  I have 4 columns that are labeled context clues, part of speech/definition, new sentence, synonym.  I usually pick about 7 words for each set of chapters.  I type the sentence/s from the book with the word and anything else needed for context.  Those get typed into the first column of the organizer.  The students must circle at least two good context clues in each box before they can try and determine the definitions.  And my policy is NO CONTEXT CLUES, NO CREDIT.  Here is a student example of the first column.

circling context clues

I type all the definitions at the bottom of the organizer for them to pick from.  They are scrambled up, so they need to use the context clues to pick the correct part of speech and definition.  These go in the second column.

The students must then use the word in a new sentence of their own.  They must include at least two context clues in their new sentence as well.  By the time the year is over we have thoroughly covered context clues :)

Then, they come up with a synonym for the word in the last column.  This often just comes from definition, but sometimes there is no definite synonym.  If that happens they are allowed to write a word that is related or helpful to remember the meaning.

When they are done, they get glued or taped into their Reading Response composition books.  By the end of the book they have a complete set of vocabulary to study from.  And here is what it looks like finished (or at least almost finished).

vocabulary advance organizer finished

Reading Notebooks - Persuasive Techniques

Today we are studying for our persuasive techniques quiz tomorrow.  After they have taken notes during the week, I like to have the kids study from their notes by creating a study guide that they can then also study from at home.  They glue these into their notebooks just after their persuasive technique notes.  Here is what it looked like in their Reading Notebooks.

Persuasive techniques study guide

The left side is a flip chart foldable where they can write their notes inside.  We covered bandwagon, testimonial, glittering generalities, overgeneralizations, emotional appeal, expert opinion/statistical evidence, and repetition.  The right side are paragraphs using each type of technique.  They use their notes to analyze each paragraph and determine which technique is being used.  Unfortunately it is not the best picture, but you get the idea.  I have the entire power point presentation and all of the notebook handouts for the persuasive techniques materials here if you are interested in all of the notes and handouts.

Figurative Language Learning Menu

So, I have been thinking about reintroducing the learning menu to my 6th grade class.  I am trying a small scale menu for figurative language next week based on Bloom's.  The higher the level of activities they choose, the more points they will receive.  I will report back on how it goes...

figurative language learning menu

If you would like to download a free copy of the learning menu, click here and let me know what you think!

Making Inferences

This week we took notes on making inferences in our reading notebooks.  After taking notes, we practiced using an advance organizer that included some short paragraphs and a Far Side comic by Gary Larson.  His stuff is so timeless.

The kids love using these to make inferences.  And it is such a great way to introduce other things like irony. If you want to download the activity worksheet you can get it here for free.

Westing Game Wanted Posters

We have been working on wanted posters for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin with one of my reading groups.  They are perfect for this book because there are 16 characters to choose from and they decide who they think would be responsible for the murder.  I use the following rubric and directions.

Here are some examples from last year....

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster

James Hoo Wanted Poster

If you would like to see more activities for The Westing Game, please see my post on the book unit for my classroom here.  And here are a few more examples from this year...

UPDATE (Jan. 19, 2013)!!!  Everytime the kids do this project, there are new posters that are my favorites.  They get better every time!  Here are a few of my recent faves...

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster