Something we started last year at King's Fork Middle was beginning each day with five SOL type questions. We use SOL released items, but change the numbers. The five questions come from different SOL's, including some that we have not covered yet. From Monday through Thursday the students see the same five questions with different numbers. I give them about 10-15 minutes to work them out. When they have finished I go over the answers with them on an Interwrite Pad with projector (a transparency can also be used). They must correct their work on their papers which I collect. Student receive a check if they have shown all the work we went over or a check minus if they didn't. On Thursday, they get a classwork grade. Each check minus takes off 10 points.
Friday we do the same 5 again with different numbers, but this time it is a quiz grade. With only 5 questions worth 20 points each they learn pretty quickly the importance of keeping up with this each day.
Last year we started this at the beginning of the second semester. This year we started about 2 weeks ago. It really makes a difference. It's an ongoing review of SOL's covered, plus it gives them some familiarity with upcoming SOL's.
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Do you find that the students are memorizing the process and not necessarily understanding how to solve the porblems? How are their quiz grades?
ReplyDeleteI like the way this process reviews 5 different word problems each week in a practice approach with accountability. Also, using actual SOL question format gets them ready for the real deal. By the end of the year, they should be so accustomed to the variety of word problems that pop up, that they should be successful on testing. I like the systematic approach!
ReplyDeleteI have done something similar to this. I start in January and do a daily review of three to five SOL type questions. The constant review of all of the standards really helps the students remember! I put one problem at a time on the overhead and move around the room to check papers. We discuss each problem and their work becomes a classwork grade. I don't, however, use questions on standards we have not already had in class.
ReplyDeleteThis a wonderful way to hold students accountable with their SOL warm-up questions by giving them a classwork grade on Thursday and a quiz grade on Friday. I am going to share it with my colleagues and give it a try. Thank you for sharing!
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