Happy New Year!

Well, just like that we have come to a new year! And with the turn of the calendar we are also getting close to the end of the semester. Wow! Already almost halfway done with the school year...where has the time gone?

With the middle of the year fast approaching, so are the mid-year assessments: Words Their Way inventories, Fountas and Pinnell guided reading testing, aimswebPlus testing, and math fact testing.
Luckily, I took care of the Words Their Way inventories before we left for winter break. This allowed me time to check them, reorganized my word work groups, and get all the materials ready for the next several weeks (I took care of that on a nice, quiet day during break :-) 
Guided reading testing is a bit more time consuming, however. In the beginning of the year, we are given a sub day to do our testing by pulling students one-on-one. At this time of year, though, the testing takes over my usual guided reading group time. Within the week I am able to meet with students during the Daily 5 rounds and assess them. I really enjoy being able to have this one-on-one time with the students.
One of our more rigorous assessments is the aimswebPlus testing for reading and math, which the students complete on the computer. Our district uses this assessment three times a year to monitor the students' progress and identify areas of needs in conjunction with other data points. The aimsweb seems to make me the most anxious for the students, with questions that run through my mind. Are they able to focus through the whole test? Will they persevere through the the challenging parts? Are they getting "click-happy" or taking their time? Are they having a bad day? Besides the state testing that happens near the end of the year, I would say the aimsweb carries the most weight, but you have to walk a fine line with the students between explaining the importance of working hard and doing their best while not trying to stress them out.
Rounding out the testing for this time of year is our math fact assessment. Third grade is a really big year for learning multiplication and division facts, so we dedicate a great deal of time to mastering these facts. To top it off, we implemented a new program for facts this year, so I am really interested to see the mid-year results.
Well, that will do it for test talk...

Mindfulness thought for the week: Identify what you can control (yourself) and what you can't (everything else).  I have to give credit to Alister Konrath for the inspiration for this thought. Alister was a regular guest on the ProYou podcast with Tom J Deters, and I felt this would be a good thought for the students.

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