Socrative-- Free and Easy

Introduction:

How do I know they know it? Socrative is here to help! Socrative is a free online forum for quick responses and increased engagement in the classroom. The mobile device app for the teacher and the student is available for free in the Apple App Store AND the Android Market. Once the application is downloaded, the student simply puts in the room number established by the teacher. Easy as 1, 2, 3. 

The teacher application has several options to choose from: multiple choice, true/false, short answer, exit ticket, and space race. Feedback is automatic and very informative. I recommend this app for ANY teacher looking to increase engagement and use technology in their classroom!

Classroom Application: 

• Oral Quizzing/Discussions:  Every teacher asks questions, but usually we get a response from a single student with their hand raised. Of course the student with their HAND RAISED knows the answer! What about Billy in the back? Socrative forces all students to become involved in the lesson and contribute to the discussion. The program shows how many students have responded and HOW they have responded. 

• Progress Monitoring: Ask students questions that will be in the lesson before instruction. Then, ask the same questions at the end of the lesson. Let the students see the progress they have made by displaying the charts created in Socrative on your projector. 
• Bell Ringer Work: All good teachers have a bell ringer that they use in their classroom. Many times these bell ringers are checked at the end of the week. Why not check them right away and provide on the spot feedback for the students? The key to feedback is quick and specific. Let the students post their response or answers to the bell ringer on Socrative. Then, have a classroom discussion about the mistakes that created the wrong answers and the process in finding the RIGHT one.

Journaling before Assessing

Introduction: 

We've all been there. The dizzy, ill-equipped, self-loathing, self-esteem destroying, tunnel-vision before taking a test. My experience with test anxiety occurred for the first time in college, but many of my students at the middle level are already experiencing this feeling of dread with the adoption of state mandated tests in reading, math, science, and writing. 

Today I read a study where a group of researchers allowed students with test anxiety to journal for 10 minutes prior to an exam. Research indicated that students improved their score by one grade point when they were allowed to journal. 

This "unloading" exercise was shown to help students focus on the content and not on the anxious feelings that welling up inside of them while taking the test. What if a student was allowed to journal prior to the exam about the information that they DID know instead of worrying about what information the teacher picked and selected from the unit? How could the experience of "showing what you know" improve students' outlook on testing? 

Classroom Application: 

• Journaling: Incorporate 2-5 minutes of reflection into every day.  Provide a handout with Monday-Friday listed as well as the week. Have the students sum up the day's events in 12 words or less, draw a picture, or write a definition they learned. On Friday, pick up the weekly reflection. When you begin to prepare for tests or other various assessments, hand the reflections back to the students. This should give them a good idea about what is going to be on the assessment and lessen their anxiety. 
• Take it one step further....Non-Testing Assessment: One of my college professors never ceased to amaze me. His testing style was unique to say the least. He simply gave us a lined piece of paper with the topic printed on the top and told us to "show what we know." Those of us that studied did very well. We were given extra credit for using metaphors, similes, and pictures  to explain our thinking or abstract concepts. Grading was done by a simple checklist of common themes that were discussed during class. He looked for terms, patterns, and connections. What type of test do YOU think "Shows what you know": a multiple choice answer, or a grand essay of all of the thoughts and connections that you brought to the classroom? I know this type of assessment may not fit into all classrooms or all units of study, but shouldn't it have a PLACE in the classroom, even if it is merely formative in nature? 

Using Comics to Teach Concepts

Introduction: 

If you are a teacher at the middle level you know that every day is a struggle to engage students. I teach 7th grade language arts. Needless to say, I get the pleasure of teaching 7th graders their parts of speech..again for a district wide common assessment. I was faced with having to review concepts the students had already had prior knowledge of, but they had not mastered the concepts yet. How do I get my students engaged in a topic that is staler than a crusty crouton? Well I have discovered the Comic Book app for the ipad/ipod and have fallen in LOVE with it. The students are engaged and are having FUN explaining the various parts of speech to their classmates! 

Comic Book allows you to take pictures from your library, or take pictures instantaneously and place them in a comic strip format. Then, very easily you can upload stickers and text bubbles to the comic. In less than 5 minutes you have a presentation worthy comic ready for the classroom! 

Classroom Application: 

• Explanations:  It is universally known that if a student can explain and simplify a concept they have mastered the concept/standard. What better way to see if a student has mastered the idea than to create a cartoon for a student in a younger grade? Go one step further, bind the cartoons and give them to a teacher that teaches at a lower grade level. The students will benefit from a real-world applications of their work.

• Responding to Literature: Have students summarize the text, passage, or unit in cartoon form. Give students parameters of what is expected from the cartoon. I have used this assignment in my own classroom. For the third quarter, my students need to read a book from the historical fiction genre. This quarter I gave the students three choices: create an imovie, write a script, or create a graphic novel. I am anxious to see what the student gravitate to!