Well, the first STAAR test of 2016 has come and gone. In just 5 short weeks, the second round of STAAR will be upon us. May 9th is the big day for me. That's when the kids will take their Math STAAR. You could say that I'm a little stressed about it...
All year I have tried to not think about that big test at the end of the year, but it's inevitable. It's going to happen whether I want it to or not. It's crazy to look back at all the things that have been covered. I remember like it was yesterday teaching them about place value and 2 digit multiplication. I'm looking at the rest of the stuff I have to teach this year, and the list isn't that long. Five weeks seems like a lot of time to get all that covered, but it'll be over before I know it.
We just finished working with Area & Perimeter, and I think the kiddos have a pretty good grasp on it. So, it's on to the next thing. We're about to start conversions of measurements. I can't wait to blow their minds with converting from yards to feet or liters to milliliters. I think it's going to be interesting. There are so many different types of measurement out there, so I decided to make a simple flip chart to help us organize all of it. The flip chart is just to introduce them to all different kinds of measurement they'll see. I think it'll work fairly well, and it's always amazing to see the kids creative sides when it comes to making things.
After conversions, there are not too many things that need to be covered. The big thing I'm worried about is the word problems on STAAR. Those last couple of weeks we're really going to have to buckle down and tackle as many word problems as we can. Test taking strategies will be at full force those last couple of weeks. I just want my kids to be as prepared as they possibly can be. I can say that I have worked my hardest to prepare them the best I can. Could I have done a better job? Absolutely, but there's no time to dwell on that now. My goal is to kick butt these last few weeks that test taking strategies are like second nature.
My biggest fear is that when they're taking the test they just forget everything they're taught. You spend so much time teaching them strategies and tricks to help them, and they forget them or ignore the fact that they know them. I'll be so sad if some kiddos just ignore what they know, and do their own thing. It hasn't happened yet, but I can only imagine how frustrating that would be to see. At that point, the test falls on the students. I can prepare them, but ultimately they're the ones taking the test. It's up to them to use the strategies to help them be successful. If they don't, then, well, good luck. I just HOPE that they all put forth their best effort!
STAAR is so close, but the end of the school year is also super close too. Then my first year of teaching will be over. It seems like yesterday when I was first starting out. I still kind of feel like the noobie on campus. I'm really focusing on finishing strong and trying to cherish every moment that I can. You're not going to have your first year of teaching forever. I need to take it all in. I'm going to be incredibly sad to see my kiddos move on to 5th grade. I just hope they'll miss me too, and even maybe come back and bug me a little bit more!
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