They all have their bubbly quirks. Saw an episode of 60 minutes about the school system in comparison with Finland. Good stuff. It really resonated with me when they spoke about assessment stress for students. Growing up I literally vomited before exams because they made me so anxious. I wanted to get top marks so I didn't look bad.
How do I address this? Before each assessment I explain what I am testing and why. The why is always to tell me what you need to learn next. I don't believe in teaching you things you already know. We may revise what you know and practise things you almost know, but I use tests to tell me what I need to teach you next. I remind them to have a go and show me what they know.
Week 2 was super hot. Been having indoor lunch and recesses. Found the laptop station on Thursday. YAY! Unfortunately the smart board has died. Began TEN lessons, which have been super popular with the kids. They ask me when are we having TEN Time? Also demonstrated the word sort activities we will be doing in literacy groups throughout the week in addition to PEG. I am going to try to use PEG but so far I am skeptical that it actually will improve the children's spelling. They don't seem to be enjoying it and as far as I can tell so far it doesn't tell me much about the students ability.
We have completed my getting to know you pack activities. The kids loved them and enjoyed making a self portrait to go with our who am I activity display. Next challenge is getting them reading in reading groups. Others suggested I use reciprocal reading and will be using Literacy Pro with them. So I am off to program (they are due soon).
Kind Regards,
Mrs V
xoxo
