Before Ingrid's Grandmother came into my class I would pull her test scores that are within our classroom and compare her scores on these six standard subjects to those scores on the standardized achievement test. This would give me an idea of how I am preparing Ingrid and my other students for the standardized test-whether I am challenging them enough inside my own classroom. When Ingrid's grandmother came in I would start off with encouraging words about how well Ingrid did on the reading comprehension, science, and the social studies portion of the test. Because Ingrid did so well on these three subjects it gives me the impression that she has a visual mind and may do exceedingly better in those subjects because she can see a story developing and use her imagination to put herself within the material. I would then discuss Ingrid's interest and study habits with her grandmother. She may spend more time reading her favorite books and studying science and history more than she is her math and spelling because she is more interested. Together, we would then discuss ways to make math and spelling more interesting to Ingrid, and come up with some creative ideas for her grandmother to use at home.
1. Ingrid's grandmother could download some learning games on her computer that would help Ingrid improve her math scores. Instead of just solving problems with paper and pencil, Ingrid's mind could be stimulated by games and brain teasers, that to her would be fun.
2. When Ingrid is reviewing her spelling words, her grandmother can help her look at difficult words differently by sounding them out in a way that breaks the word down into a few smaller words. She could also make visual flashcards to help Ingrid, and then have her write a story with her spelling words. This way Ingrid is applying them to a different subject that she loves- reading!
3. To improve Ingrid's math scores, her grandmother could create flashcards, and maybe even a board game with multiplication and division that will help Ingrid's scores improve.
At the end of our meeting I would want Ingrid's grandmother to understand that standardized testing shows us where Ingrid compares with the rest of the children her age across the state. It can not show us how smart Ingrid is and give us an accurate vision of how bright she is.
Jessie,
ReplyDeleteYour ideas for Ingrid's grandmother are so great. You noticed that Ingrid seemed to learn visually and does not seem to be interested enough in spelling and math to be engaged. Therefore you concluded that you, as Ingrid's teacher, and her grandmother needed to make these areas more interesting for Ingrid, and you came up with really great ideas. I babysit children who practice math with computer games and they love it - and they're learning! Also, I love your idea about having Ingrid write a story with her spelling words. That is a great learning tool! I also appreciate how you let Ingrid's grandmother know your interest in Ingrid as a person - her interests and study habits. And your explanation of the test results were much simpler, easier to understand than I was able to make my explanation!