#2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. We chat every Tuesday night at 8 pm EST using #2ndaryELA. We'd love for you to join us!
Hi there! I'm a 6th grade ELA teacher in St. Louis, MO. This is only my 2nd Twitter Chat. I'm studying Social Media in #EDET543 w/ @dianadell. We're learning about Twitter chat, so can't wait to learn with y'all. #2ndaryela
A1: I have not had to "prepare" students for years. I'm fortunate, I know. When I did, I would ask them to set goals. This helped them focus and not get overwhelmed. #2ndaryELA
A1: I’m not a fan of standardized tests HOWEVER they do keep me accountable. To prepare, we do a 2 week blitz to go over strategies and examples - but throughout the year, we do an article of the week every week with an example MC ? and a constructed response ? #2ndaryELA
A1: I teach academic vocabulary words like claim, relevant evidence, justify, etc. This helps students understand what each question is asking them. #2ndaryELA
A1: We use sites like #IXL#NoRedInk that mimic what they see on standardized tests. Familiar features help them to be more confident. #2ndaryela#EDET543
A1: First, I try to use best practices in my teaching, and I set high expectations for my students. We read and write daily in my classes. I also give students routine test prep but avoid “teaching to the test.” #2ndaryELA
A1: All year long we're preparing... baby steps. Last year, we started inviting tier 2 students to an after school remediation club (fun learning) to hopefully push them over the edge into passing. It worked really well! #2ndaryELA
A1: the only real standardized prep I do is addressing the format of it. We have some built in (writescore tests) the meet this criteria, but American Lit has narratives that Ss are not familiar with usually. I tell them it has real-world benefits in noticing details #2ndaryela
Do they just read narratives or do they have to write them? On our PARCC, students are expected to write fictional narratives after reading a text. #2ndaryela
A3: I do not because I tell my Ss that this is the "final workout" before the "big game" so we stay focused. I do refer back to previous lessons though! #2ndaryELA
A3: Absolutely! We do the prep, then it’s game time, but that doesn’t mean learning stops! During testing is a great time for Independent novels. #2ndaryELA
Our Ss have to write text-based essays to wither an informative or an argumentative prompt. We never know which prompt they'll get and so they have to determine that themselves. #2ndaryELA
Do they just read narratives or do they have to write them? On our PARCC, students are expected to write fictional narratives after reading a text. #2ndaryela
A4: My Ss have been doing guided meditation daily (5 min. sessions) and I'm going to lead each testing day with that, and other mindfulness activities during breaks. #2ndaryela#EDET543
I do things where groups compete against each other as we review the standards. I've been known to make leader boards, race tracks and the like to get Ss into it! #2ndaryELA
A5: At the end of standardized testing (which lasts two weeks in Am Lit and 3 hours in AP Lit) we usually have a food celebration! Breakfast for morning classes and pizza for afternoon classes. #2ndaryELA
#EDET543 I had a great experience tonight partipating in my first Twitter Chats with #2ndaryELA and #2pencilchat...highly recommend you join them next week.
