How to use this Page

I'll be honest. I actually love on-demand writing assessments.

Sometimes it takes a little extra research to get to know kids in order to inspire them. How do you get kids to pour their little hearts out onto the page, if they feel like you barely know them at the start of the year?

Digital tools can transform your teaching by allowing students to have a writing community beyond the classroom walls, be innovative, make meaningful connections to other writers and students, have more resources readily available, and have true, authentic reasons for writing.

A strong active engagement, and a routine for informally assessing student work during the minilesson can give you the tools you need to be sure that no student leaves the meeting area completely confused.

Of the many ways I gain an understanding of my writers, my favorite and most valuable is gathering up all the writing and diving into reading ALL the students’ work.

Valuable lessons can be learned when an assessment tool designed for one genre is used to assess another.

Mrs. V. left the following comment yesterday: “Thanks for your details. Could you tell me more about their idea notebook nightly assignment? What are the requirements and how do you assess it? Also, about how much time in class are you able to spend on writing per week?” My students have the same writing homework each and every [...]

Sometimes you have to let go of the reigns and allow your students to lead you, right.  Well, I’m preparing to do just that tomorrow when I work with my students, during Writing Workshop, to create a new notebook rubric. (I’ve been using one that is slightly adapted from Buckner’s Book since 2006.) In [...]

MOteacher’s comment on Ruth’s post last night reminded me of those demoralized kids and the children I used to spend countless hours preparing for City and State Tests. MOteacher wrote: “Once talk of MAP testing (Missouri Assessment Program) started this week, I found myself in a tizzy about my teaching. I hate the self doubt [...]

It’s that time again… This-coming week is Mid-Year Self-Evaluation Time in my class’s Writing Workshop. I’ve revamped the Mid-Year Self-Evaluation to reflect the questions from not only Buckner’s Book (as I have done in the past), but from Elliott’s Book, along with some of my own questions. It’s a lot less intensive [...]

I’ve been going through some of my former students’ end-of-year self-assessments in writing (adapted from Buckner’s Book Notebook Know-How) that were completed in June 2007. I’m doing this to find just a couple of good quotes about the way that my reluctant writers transformed, in their own eyes. Here’s what the most reluctant [...]

First day back . . . and I had the pleasure of working with all of the 4th & 5th grade teachers in our corporation to SCORE WRITING PROMPTS! (Does the emphasis of the capital letters make it sound all glamorous & fun?)  Here’s a few things on my mind after a day of scoring [...]

Poetry Portfolio Originally uploaded by teachergal It’s May. National Poetry Month is over. However, that means that I’m just three weeks away from the start of our final unit of study: POETRY! I decided to take the eight poems I had done for [...]

“We’re really super happy today ’cause we gots a big announcement. Acey-san and Z-bot helped us a lot when those mean Halloween monsters attacked, and so we decided that Gamepowa should be part of our site all official and stuff!”

“And so I said that Acey and Z-bot should have their own character pages like us so Talitha made one for them! It’s Acey and Z-bot of the Starship Hana!“

“Welcome to the Goofy Bird show, Space girl! Good to have you guys orbiting the planet checking out all the coolest game tech, even if I can’t understand what Z-bot is talking about half the time.”

“Heh.”

“We’re honored to be a part of the best site on the web, game fans! Z-bot and I will do our best to make the Gamepowa category rock! A big salute from the crew of the Hana!”

“Check out the Gamepowa Store too. That’s where Acey and Z-bot put all of the great games they review. They’ve got over 300 games in the store now.”

“That’s affirmative.”

“Sugoi sugoi sugoi!”

“Our store has all the best games too!”

“Yay for Gamepowa! Go read all their neat articles, minna-san! All of Acey-san and Z-bot’s articles are in the Gamepowa Category that Talitha-chan set up. Have fun!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what about the most important thing?”

“Oh yeah! Girls play video games too!”

“Booya! OUT!”

“Report.”

“Long-range sensors indicate an upcoming release for the Nintendo DS on October 1st. Preview trailer located and position verified. Zelda Universe and IGN have preview articles published, and Nintendo has the Official Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass site on-line.”

“Outstanding, Z-bot. Recommendation?”

“The Gamepowa Store should stock this game as a 5-star buy. Sales estimates are astronomical.”

“If you think you’re ready for the next chapter of the Legend of Zelda, try it today! Gamepowa out.”

“Z-bot to Hana. Standing by to transmit multi-part message. Come in.”

“Hana, Acey here. Go.”

“We have multiple contacts with five-star rated games. Single-transmission data bandwidth at capacity. First contact is designated Hannah Montana for the Nintendo DS

“That’s affirmative Z-bot. Hana onboard game coolness computer banks confirm your analysis. Standing by for metrics.”

“Gamezone has Official Game Release News, IGN has a preview, To The Game has screens and Game Facts, and we have detected some Hints, Questions and Answers on Cheatmasters.”

“Outstanding, Z-bot. Metrics recorded.”

“Alert. Large Hannah Montana concert audience approaching.”

“Take evasive action. I’m putting the Hana in a lower orbit. Will rendezvous at Point Zeta for secondary transmission. Gamepowa out.”

“Report.”

“Pastel color wavelength modifications to primary electromagnetic sensor array have detected a new contact designated Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses. Standing by with telemetry.”

“Go.”

“Official Site has been located and verified. IGN has published a review, and there are customer reviews available at Amazon.com.”

“Any heavily armed spaceships in the game?”

“Negative.”

“Energy weapon emplacements?”

“Negative.”

“Evil slavering scaly alien bugs from beyond the void?”

“Negative, Commander. However, the Gamepowa Store is stocking Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses as a 5-star game.”

“Outstanding. If it’s a top-rated game, it’s a Powa game. If you’ve played Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses be sure to add your reviews! Acey out.”