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We are so thrilled to share another great post from Paula Nagle. She had the #1 (most viewed) guest blog of the 2013 – 2014 School Year! Enjoy!
Paula L. Naugle is a veteran teacher with over thirty years of classroom experience. She and her fourth graders can be found using technology integration in most of their lessons. Some of their favorite tools include Skype, Google Docs and Hangouts, Edmodo, kidblog.org, and Glogster.
Paula is a moderator for #4thchat, which takes place on Twitter on Monday evenings at 7 pm CST. She is also an organizer for EdcampNOLA, and loves presenting at conferences both in person and virtually.
Her online presense includes: @plnaugle on Twitter, plnaugle on Skype, Classroom blog – http://pnaugle.blogspot.com, Professional blog – http://plnaugle.blogspot.com
My district requires our students to take four interval assessments during the year leading up to state testing in April. While these assessments provide lots of data about how my students are progressing in math, I like to do lots of formative assessments to track how my students are doing on a daily basis. Since we are fully implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) this year, I want to make sure my daily lessons are properly aligned to the fourth grade math standards so my students are properly prepared to move on.
I decided to create weekly homework sheets that address the CCSS. I also added a very important twist. Homework would be mostly done in the classroom. Basically, I was “flipping” homework. Each Monday my students receive their weekly math homework sheet which has problems for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on it aligned to the CCSS. (Click here to see full size Google doc.)
Here is another example of one of my homework sheets that has new skills and review skills on it.
I have two math classes that I teach for 90 minutes each day. After I teach my lesson for the day, my students rotate through math stations. I use the word MATH to set up our stations. A and H are done every day by every student. M and T are done as needed or as time allows.
M – Manipulatives – Students work with hands-on materials or play games to reinforce skills.
A – At the Computer – Students complete work on websites such as IXL, LearnZillion, TenMarks.
T – Teacher Time – This is where they meet with me for small group instruction.
H – Have a Go – This is where they work on their assignment and their “flipped” homework for the day.
By allowing my students to work on their math homework in class, I am there to offer support and correct misconceptions that arise. If for some reason a student doesn’t finish their homework in class then it must be completed at home. I have my students show their homework to their parents each night and have the parents sign it. Each day we check the previous day’s work via our interactive whiteboard. I pull up the Google document and we annotate right over it to show solutions.
Using this type of formative assessment is really allowing me to see each day how my students are doing in math. It has also eliminated so many of the stresses that traditional homework can cause. Each and every one of my students is having their needs met on a daily basis. Once a skill is taught and tested, my students know they will be held accountable to remember it.
Have you considered, or do you “flip” homework? What do you use for formative assessment? Please share in the comment section below.
If you liked this post, check out another great post:
Should You Be Using Exit Slips in the Classroom? by Paula L. Naugle (@plnaugle)