We are now officially underway with our new novel, A Single Shard. Essentially, what we are doing is examining the Historical Fiction genre, using this particular book as a vehicle for this examination. In terms of garnering student interest, this book has proven to be difficult at times. Why? Because it is a story that takes place hundreds of years ago, in foreign country, and there are few, if any, tangible aspects of this book that the students are able to connect with. The challenge is to highlight the abstract, transcendant plot elements that any 11-12 year-old can identify with: growing up, responsibility, decision-making, loss, pride, etc. To help class gain a mental picture of the artwork featured in the book, I went on a little mission at the Art Institute of Chicago. It will be interesting to see where our class discussions take us.
Switching topics, this week at school gives us the latest round of MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) tests. The students take two tests, via computer, that are about 50-55 questions each: math and reading. On one hand, some decent insight gained into how well our kids are learning, and where I, as their teacher, can focus my learning. On the other hand, I lose two days of instruction, and beyond that, there are plenty of questions that arise about how relevant and accurate the scores are. For example, there have already been a few students this week whose math scores have been higher, even though they took less time as compared to the fall test, and who have put little to inconsistent effort innto their math course work all year. In the end, the positives outweigh the negatives, and the scores do offer another insight into my students' abilities; as well as give us educators the possibility to put students into the right classes for success and learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment