#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 3/20 Topic: Measuring Student Learning

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, March 20, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about setting up the English Language Arts classroom.

The Format:
8:00 – What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: What types of informal assessments do you use to measure learning in your classroom? #2ndaryELA
8:10 Q2: What is your favorite or most creative way of assessing students? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: Are you required to use certain formal assessments or do you design your own? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: Are your assessments based on standards? Skills? Content? How does that affect the design? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: How do you use data from assessments to plan future lessons? #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

Measuring Student Learning: Assessment Strategies for Middle & High School

This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about measuring student learning in the ELA classroom. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed different types of informal and formal assessments. Teachers also shared how their assessments are designed and creative methods of measuring learning.

Read through the chat below to find out how other teachers use data from assessments to inform future instruction. You'll get ideas about simple informal assessments like exit tickets, four corners, and thumbs up/thumbs down.  You'll also find ways to use technology like Kahoot! and Google Forms to make collecting data easier.

Hope you'll join us on Tuesday April 25th to discuss using article of the week in the ELA classroom. We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group (even if you aren't on Twitter). 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat Topic: Measuring Student Learning

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

Looking for the recap? Click on the image below.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, April 18, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about measuring student learning.

The Format:
8:00 Intros: What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: What types of informal assessments do you use to measure learning in your classroom? #2ndaryELA
8:10 Q2: What is your favorite or most creative way of assessing students? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: Are you required to use certain formal assessments or do you design your own? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: Are your assessments based on standards? Skills? Content? How does that affect the design? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: How do you use data from assessments to plan future lessons? #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “All tweets.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

Test Prep Strategies: Tips To Prepare Students For The Format & Content

This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about test prep strategies for the ELA classroom. Middle and High School English Language Arts teachers discussed standardized testing, preparing students for the content and format, and tips for dealing with students with test anxiety. The highlights are below.

Prepare students for the content:
*make sure lessons are aligned with the standards
*explicitly teach test taking skills like the Bump It Up strategy
*constantly review & reinforce literary terms
*teach students how to break down difficult vocabulary
*read challenging texts
*have students evaluate and score anchor essays
*use what you're already reading independently as content for test prep. It doesn't ALWAYS have to be boring passages.

*look at questions stems, read and annotate text then answer questions

Prepare students for the format:
*if your test is computerized, practice with different types of testing formats: drag and drop, drop down menu, etc. and be sure students know how to use tools like the highlighter or the tiny 2 at the top to indicate a hidden 2nd text
*use released tests to practice
*make sure students know how many questions, passages, writing prompts to expect
*practice the vocabulary that will be used on the test
*teach process of elimination and how to navigate "tricky" wording

*mark tests for evidence of answers

*if your test is timed, give a practice test with not enough time so students can practice being rushed

*use the rubric the state will score writing on throughout the year so students will be comfortable with expectations

Easy test anxiety:
* don't let students see you stressed; if you have confidence in your students, they will have confidence in themselves
*use a fake, humorous test to get students to loosen up
*teach relaxation strategies like using the Calm app for meditation
*use funny videos like Pixar shorts to review literary terms
*watch a Ted Talk on body language and practice poses that relieve anxiety
*print off last year's scores, then after talking about goals for this year, have each student put their old score through a shredder

*make test prep unique with bright colors & celebrity pictures for different sections
*address anxiety through individual conferences

Helpful resources:
*Tips for making exam review fun
*Released test samples for high school from PA with rationale for answers and writing anchors
*Create a "Do What" chart for responding to writing prompts
*AP Lit Help offers resources and a 30 day countdown to the exam
*Use Kelly Gallagher's article of the week as nonfiction practice with response questions

*WritingFix has a vast amount of resources for K-12 teachers using the 6+1 Writing Traits

Hope you'll join us next Tuesday night,  February 16th at 8pm EST to talk about inclusion in the classroom. The questions for our next chat will be posted here on Sunday.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group (even if you aren't on Twitter). 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction. 

If you missed this most recent chat, scroll down and read the whole thing below.

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat Topic: Test Prep Strategies

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog are hosting #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we will post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

Looking for the recap? Click on the image below.

New in 2016 is our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, which we would love to have you join even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, February 9, our #2ndaryELA chat will focus on test preparation strategies.

The Format:
8:00 Intros: What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: Are your students required to take standardized tests? How many/often? What time of year? #2ndaryELA

8:10 Q2: How do you help students prepare for the content on high stakes tests including the SAT, ACT, and AP exams? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: How do you help students prepare for the format of high stakes tests including the SAT, ACT, and AP exams? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: Do you have students that suffer from test anxiety? How do you help students de-stress before or during testing? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: -Share a test preparation resource that you find invaluable (book, article, blog post, type of technology, etc.) #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “All tweets.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

Got Test Stress? 5 Ideas for Easing Student Anxiety

Testing is stressful for teachers, but even more so for students, especially as more and more states require "exit exams" or include proficiency on standardized tests as a graduation requirement. It's a lot of pressure at such a young age, so it's no wonder you've got students biting their nails and on the verge of tears as testing season approaches.

The best way for students to be at ease with testing is for them to feel prepared. I recently wrote about nine effective ways to prepare students for standardized testing, but there are also times when you need to step back and give your students a break. Here are five ideas on how to do just that.

9 Effective Ways to Prepare Students for Standardized Testing

"Oooo goody, it's time for standardized tests!" said no teacher ever. And while none of us are excited about it, we all want our students to be prepared and successful. Depending on the needs of your students, you may spend a day or a week or several days spread out over several weeks gearing them up for their upcoming standardized test. Below are nine different ways to help you prepare your students and boost their confidence levels for the approaching exam.

Common Core Writing: Assessing Student Writing

This is number nine in a series of posts about my online course, Common Core: Implementing the Writing Standards. If you are looking to get caught up, check out:

Post #1: an overview of the writing standards
Post #2: the gradual release process and writing
Post #3: explicit teaching of writing skills
Post #4: argument writing
Post #5: informational writing
Post #6: narrative writing
Post #7: research and writing
Post #8: writing across the content areas

No matter what type of writing your students are engaged in, at some point you will have to assess them. Before you decide how you are going to assess them, it is important to be familiar with the different types of assessments.

You may have heard these terms tossed around in conversation, but were never quite sure of the difference. A baseline assessment is a diagnostic, which can be given at beginning of year or as each new type of writing is introduced. Formative assessments occur all year long and are a running log of students' strengths and weaknesses. Summative assessments are an end picture of proficiency of a certain skill set. These may be given at the end of a unit, or at the end of the course or year. Summative assessments can be standardized tests, cross-curricular assignments, portfolios, etc.

In this article about formative assessment, "The Bridge Between Today's Lesson and Tomorrow's," Carol Ann Tomlinson makes the following important points about using formative assessments in the classroom. Teachers should:
1. Help students understand the role of a formative assessment. It is a source of information and should not count as a grade.
2. Begin with clear KUDs. What should the student Know, Understand, and be able to Do? Your formative assessments should keep checking on that.
3. Make room for student differences. Formative assessments may allow some students to illustrate their knowledge while others write it out.
4. Provide instructive feedback that makes clear to students what they need to improve upon.
5. Make feedback user-friendly. Marking every error is time consuming and overwhelming for the student to read and process. Feedback should connect to the KUDs.
6. Assess persistently. Formative assessments can be formal or informal: a warm up activity, an exit ticket, observations while circulating the classroom, a thumbs up or thumbs down, etc.
7. Engage students with formative assessment. Let students use a rubric to assess their own work or a peer's.
8. Look for patterns. Look for clusters of student needs and plan ways to help each group of students move ahead.
9. Plan instruction around content requirements and student needs. Formative assessment should not be an end, but should lead to modification of teaching and learning plans, to designing instruction that's a better fit for student needs.
10. Repeat the process. Frequent formative assessments will help you to identify and track student growth.

In Tomlinson’s article, she says that “formative assessment…should be…the bridge or causeway between today’s lesson and tomorrow’s.” Formative assessment becomes the bridge between today's lesson and tomorrow's because while you may end a lesson with a formative assessment, like an exit ticket, that information should inform you as to where you need to start your next lesson. If all students are struggling, you may want to reteach the lesson, while if just a handful are having trouble, you will know to focus on that small group, providing additional practice and guidance.

For example, in a lesson on argument writing, I may end one lesson with students determining which of several examples is the best supported claim and giving an explanation why. If most students are successful, I will know they are ready for independent practice. If most students are unsuccessful, I may give more examples and do more guided practice before releasing the students to work independently.

While formative assessment is the type of assessment used most frequently in your classroom, you want to make sure your expectations for students are clear by using checklists and rubrics regardless of the type of assessment. Also consider the revising/editing tools you use to help students check off their checklists and achieve proficiency on their rubrics. You can read more about how I use checklists with my students in post #6 of this series on narrative writing.

You also want to keep students informed of their progress as writers through conferences. A great time to meet with students is during peer revision. While students are engaged in revision with other students, you can meet with one student without other students demanding your attention (they have someone else's!).

If, like me, you never have enough time in class for you to meet with everyone, consider having students use Google Drive to submit their drafts to you. You can then plan to meet with your neediest writers in person and provide comments to your other students using the comment feature. You can read more about how I use Google Drive with my students during the writing process here.

Next up: series wrap-up and additional resources.

Exit Tickets: A Quick, End of Class Formative Assessment

Having routines at the beginning and end of class is key. I use warm ups (also known as bell ringers or do nows) at the start of class and exit tickets (also known as closings) to wrap up the period.

Warm ups are a way to get students engaged in learning from the moment they enter the class room and give you, the teacher, a few minutes to get things ready for the day's main lesson or activity. Exit tickets help you to plan and adjust the next day's lesson.

Right now my warm ups and exit tickets focus on our vocabulary units. I usually pre-make a PowerPoint of one or two weeks worth of warm ups and exit tickets at a time. I can easily flip back and forth between the slides for that day's warm up and exit ticket as one class exits and a new class enters.

But sometimes what I planned for the exit ticket doesn't work because the class didn't quite finish a lesson, we ended up working on a different skill, etc.

For those instances  I created these four standardized exit tickets that can be used with any lesson in any subject area. Sometimes I use one of the four and other times I let the students select one of the four to which to respond.


I printed, laminated, and hung these four standard exit tickets above my whiteboard so that even if there is just one minute left in class, I can point to one of the four and ask students to complete it before leaving class. I also have these saved as a PowerPoint so I can display one or the set of four on my SmartBoard.

All four choices are intentionally very short because keeping track of time during lessons is one of my weaknesses.

However, the short length also allows me to quickly read through student responses to see who's got it and who doesn't. I stand at the door as my students exit to collect their exit tickets and then once my next class is seated and working on their warm ups, I can look through the exit tickets from the previous class.

I usually sort out the who's got it and who doesn't and immediately recycle the ones for the students who understand. For the students who struggled, I hold onto those exit tickets and know that those are students I need to check in with during the next day's class or perhaps pull for a small group lesson.

While occasionally I will make and print exit tickets with a specific format, I usually just use squares of recycled paper. I save any paper that's only used on one side and collect all the one-sided copies left behind in the copy room.

Once I have acquired a nice size stack, I use the paper cutter at school to cut the paper into four and use those squares as exit tickets. I keep stacks of the squares contained in the basket near the door so I can easily hand them out or have a student helper do so.

I love using exit tickets as a quick informal assessment at the end of class, but can't imagine using fresh paper to create something that will only be used once. For your own set of these standardized exit tickets, click here.