Episode 275: Teaching Beyond Tests A New Approach

We are taking a deep dive in today's episode as we discuss strategies to ensure that we are preparing our students for their big tests without sacrificing engagement and rigor . Alright , let's go ahead and listen in . Hi there , caitlin here .

Our mission at EB academics is simple Help middle school ELA teachers take back their time outside of the classroom by providing them with engaging lessons , planning frameworks and genuine support , so that you can become the best version of yourself both inside and outside of the classroom .

So if you think you might be ready to try something new , because you know you simply cannot continue the way that you have been that , I'd invite you to take a moment to check out the EB Teachers Club , the EB Writing Program or the EB Grammar Program by visiting the links in the description of the podcast .

We hope to continue to support you within one of our programs in the future and , in the meantime , we look forward to serving you right here on the podcast each week . Alright , everybody , welcome back to another episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast . We are talking about teaching beyond the tests .

We have a new approach that we want to cover with you guys in today's episode , and we have our lovely co-host , megan , back to join us . Hello , megan , how's it going ? Hello everybody , good to see you all again .

We're happy to have you here and we have an episode airing later this month where Megan is interviewing Dr Deanna Smith talking about joy in the classroom . She came and spoke to our teachers at Batch Planning Live in January and she said something that was so interesting to me . She said what if we measured success of our students by the joy in the classroom ?

And I was like that is such an interesting way of looking at things , of we get to decide what determines success . You know , like why is it all these other things Like success through a variety of different lenses .

So I'm so looking forward to that episode and I'm excited that you are interviewing her that's happening , like this Friday , that you're actually doing it in real life right In real life . Yeah , I'm super pumped .

It is testing season , it is upon us , it is happening and as middle school ELA teachers , you have the opportunity to prepare your students for state testing in ways that go beyond just teaching to the test .

This is what special I think about being able to work with this age group is that you really can start to integrate essential skills and concepts really seamlessly into your already existing curriculum , and I like to think of it in terms of , like a metaphor , that it's just like you might add ingredients to a recipe to make it richer or more flavorful or whatever

it might be . That's what you can do with these test taking ideas that we're gonna share with you today and integrating it into your curriculum . Because , let's face it , sticking with our recipe food example , like teaching only to the test , would be like just feeding your kid zucchini , which my son would kill me if I did that to him .

Like , let's just be real .

If all you do is focus on the material that's going to be on the test , what inherently happens is you're ignoring all the other important stuff that your students really need to learn . Plus , it's not really fun . Like if you just did test taking strategies with them .

No one wants to be doing that and you probably don't wanna be doing that , like , let's be honest .

So , instead of abandoning , like , the novel unit that you wanna do , or even cutting it short and focusing only on test prep , in those weeks leading up to state testing , what if you looked at it instead from a perspective of , hey , maybe I can incorporate some fun test prep activities into my already existing curriculum ?

So , like , what would need to be true in order for that to happen ? And so today we're gonna share some ideas about how you can choose texts and activities that align with the skills and content that's assessed on state tests . So in the weeks leading up to state testing , I want you to think of yourself like a basketball coach .

You know I love my sports analogies and just like a coach prepares their team for competition , you can and should spend time familiarizing your students with the test format . You wanna teach them some time management techniques .

You even wanna give students some test taking practice opportunities , but you wanna do it in a fun way , absolutely with your students , so that it's not this boring thing for them . But this preparation can really be short and sweet . It doesn't have to be these like weeks long thing of every day .

You're focused on one specific type of test taking strategy , like no , let's do it short and sweet . And then you go back to your regularly scheduled curriculum so that your students can apply those strategies into their lessons . So when we go into these strategies , I think the way in which I'm describing this is gonna make a little bit more sense to you .

So today we're going over three different strategies . Number one is explicitly teaching direction words that are commonly found on state tests . Number two is using your current texts to practice using those direction words . And then number three , as always at EB , is to incorporate some fun , like rigor and engagement .

Let's keep it fun for our kids , and it's when you do all three of those things that test prep isn't something that you dread , that your students dread . It's really just seamlessly woven into your every day lessons and engaging in fun way . And so we actually have an awesome zero prep test prep activity that ties in all three of these strategies for you .

Some of you probably already have it if you follow us on social media , but if you don't have this test prep resource yet , I'm gonna include the link for you in the show notes where you can download it and grab it for free , and you'll be able to take exactly what we talk about on this episode and start to implement it into your classroom .

So , jessica , I'm gonna have you start with Strategy number one kick us off .

This is our tier two academic vocabulary . But if your students don't know these words , then absolutely you take one or two class periods to do it . So when we talk about direction words , really we mean words like analyze , explain , illustrate , compare , contrast , interpret , summarize , demonstrate , indicate , describe , infer , support , define , convey .

You get the idea right . Those are those words students are consistently being asked questions with , whether it is on state testing or , honestly , just in writing , a response to literature or an argumentative essay , or even on short text-dependent questions . So it's important that they understand what those words mean and how they're being used .

Because , if you think about it , if you don't even understand what that word means , then how can we expect students to actually do well on their test or take a discussion to the next level or write an essay that makes sense ? And we're going to go back to that cooking analogy here , except this time we're going with bread .

So I want you to think about if you're trying to make homemade bread . I feel like everyone , and their mother , is learning to make sourdough bread and talking about their sourdough starters online . Yes , yes .

So if you're trying to make homemade bread and the directions say activate the yeast and you're like , ok , but I have no idea what activate means , do you think your bread is going to turn out right ? Is it going to look like the pictures you see and all your hopes and dreams for the sourdough bread ?

Well , of course not , unless you know that activate means to take the yeast and dissolve it in warm liquid first . So it's the same thing with direction words . Our students need to understand what does infer mean , what does convey mean .

They have to be able to identify , define it and then understand how is that being used in a question , so that then they can effectively answer it . And that's a tall order . So we need to start with understanding those direction words and then , megan , you can segue into the next strategy . What do you do with those direction words once you know them ?

After you've explicitly taught these words , it's time for strategy two , which is to use current text to practice using these words , and so to help students really master these words , it's really crucial to have them consistently review them in class , and so we have a few ideas where you can help students review them .

One would be to make a word wall , and some of you might be thinking that's a very elementary strategy , but we've mentioned before that those strategies we use with younger kids really translate well to middle school classrooms , and I had a word wall in my room all the time provoke outwards , so I think it's a great tip . Another tip is to use words in class .

Discussions Could be a very informal whole group discussion . You could be using a fishbowl small group discussion , whatever it is . Use those words in those discussions . And then the final tip is to do a whole group activity where you're actually analyzing how these direction words are used in different questions .

So then , once students are familiar with those words , we ask you to kind of consider how you can incorporate them into your existing curriculum and lesson plans . So let's say you're in the middle of a novel or a short story unit , or maybe it's even informational text .

Consider how you can make some or all of these words show up every day in some capacity in your lessons . We have a few examples here for you so you could use direction words in the questions you create for a Socratic seminar or a silent debate . I loved silent debates when I was teaching , like short stories or novels , and my kids did too .

So if I were to bring those you know question words , those direction words , into those silent debates , what a great way for them to practice them right

. Another idea is to use an investigation trail , which is another one of my favorite activities , and if you're not familiar with investigation trails , they're just simply a teaching strategy where students work in small groups to answer a series of questions that you have posted around the room .

So each question includes multiple choice answers and then , depending on what answer your students choose , they're directed to another question in the room . So if they answer each question correctly , students will complete a full loop of all the questions .

But if they find themselves at a question they've already answered , that tells them that at least one of their answers is incorrect and they need to go back through and figure out where they went wrong . It's a very fun activity , so you can use investigation trails for a variety of concepts , you know .

Maybe it's identifying the main idea and informational text , or analyzing connotations and denotations , or maybe it's finding relevant text evidence .

Whatever it is , with an investigation trail , you're just coming up with 10 questions that have multiple choice answers and then you make sure the questions all include those commonly found direction words that we've been talking about . A big tip here is to take advantage of AI when you're creating these types of activities , right ?

So chat , gpt , magic school , ai are great sources to help you come up with these lessons containing direction words . You can easily copy and paste passages from your current novel or short story into these AI sites and then just ask it to create multiple choice questions . You know , using those different direction words indicate , infer whatever it is .

You can also have AI create passages based on the topics or units you're currently doing in class and then have it create questions around those . So maybe you're doing a civil rights unit . Have it create a passage for you . Have it create questions for you .

We do encourage everyone to proofread for accuracy when you're using AI , because it's not perfect , but it will save you a ton of time in the end , especially if you're going to use these next year as well . And then I believe Caitlin has the strategy three yes , I'm going to round us out .

And strategy number three at EB is just you want to have some fun with your test prep . So we've got three different test prep activities If you're one of our EB teachers club members . One is centered around a treasure hunt , one centered around candy and another involves mini golf .

You know , I love my golf , if you know me well , and the resource that's free for you guys in the show notes that's a free download for you . That is test prep . It has a theme for it too , so it's always incorporating some sort of fun things . So make sure that you download it , make sure you go using that in your classroom with your students .

And what I love about just having some sort of fun theme around it is that you can make it an extremely low prep thing to do in your classroom , right ? Even if you're doing an investigation trail , you could do it from , like , the perspective of mini golf as one of our examples and as students go to answer each question on the investigation trail .

Perhaps they're literally just , you know , trying to put a ball into a cup at the end , and that's where they go answer the question . I mean , it doesn't have to be some crazy thing , just it doesn't .

Right , you feel good , you're doing things that are standards aligned , that are going to help your students be prepared for the test . But they're happy , right , they're having fun because they're competing against their classmates in some capacity .

So when you are incorporating something like this into your existing curriculum whether it's a bonus activity or an investigation trail to current novel , whatever it might be it not only helps your students do well on the state test , but it also makes the learning process more enjoyable for them .

So I know I've said it like three times Make sure that you go download that free resource that's included for you guys in our show notes for test prep , so that you can take exactly what we're talking about here and utilize it in your classroom with your students Before we go , though , jessica , you have a low prep game that I know you want to share with our

listeners . I do .

So this game is called Clap Boom Snatch . I always wanted to say snap , but it's snatch Like you're grabbing something . So basically , what you would do is you would create or have AI create 10 , 8 , 7 , however many multiple choice questions you want , and you want to make sure that there are three answer choices for those questions .

So of course , you're going to use those direction words , You're going to tie it into the text You're already reading . So you're using the strategies we just shared . But now you get to incorporate some fun .

So I've got my questions right and what I would suggest you do is actually project them for the class so they see on your smart board or whatever you're using the question and then the three answer choices . Then what you'll do is you'll divide your class into partners . So let's say , Caitlin and Megan are partners .

What they will need to have in front of them is three index cards that you just fold in half , and on both sides of the index card you would have A , and then on both sides of the next index card , B and on both sides the third index card , C , to match the answers . Are you guys following so far ? Yes , yes , Perfect , OK .

So then I would read the first question on the board . And again , just if you listened to our episode recently with Pat from the curriculum team , we talked about visuals for differentiating . So it's also displayed so everyone can read it . I read the question , they're reading the question . I give a ton of wait time . This is really important here for this game .

So students need to think about the answer they're selecting in their head . So maybe it's like identify the theme of this passage , right ? So they read the little passage . They think about what identify means . They read the three answer choices . They have their answer . Ok , Caitlin's going all right , I think it's A .

Megan's saying I think it's B , but they don't say anything , it's just in their heads . Whenever you're ready , then here comes the fun part . I , as the teacher , would say clap Caitlin . Megan and the rest of the class would clap their hands together . I say boom , they put their palms face down and slap the desk . So boom , and I can go fast .

Clap , clap , boom , boom , clap , clap . But if I say snatch , they both have to snatch the index card . So Caitlin would snatch A , Megan would snatch B , and then my next slide would reveal the answer . The correct answer is actually C . Who knows right ? But it's so much fun , Like I played it at the conference .

Our whole table loved it and I was like this is so easy . You can use it for anything . You can make it competitive and keep track of points , or not at all . I don't even think students would need the point system here . It's just fun . They're going to be like do another one . Well , great , You've got nine more questions already ready to go .

So your practicing these direction words , you're aligning with your standards , with the text you're already using , and it's super fun . So clap , boom , snatch .

That's all of the cards that'll show up as you flip them over . And if you flip the card over that is the word that you're saying you have to slap the deck and you win it . It's kind of like war , but like fun and fast-paced . Fun and fast-paced . So I like the like , clap , boom , like until they snatch , because you really got to frickin' listen .

Look , I think that's the message we want you to walk away with at the end of the day . Use it instead as an opportunity . Let's make learning more engaging , more effective for our students .

We're not going to worry about like going off of our curriculum and spending all this time getting ready for the test just to stress everybody out Like no , let's utilize what we already have . Let's make it a fun opportunity for students and just not put too much pressure on yourself At this stage in the game . They're either going to do well or they're not .

You know what I mean . You've been preparing them all year and in fact , I would say that the less stress they are about it , the better they're going to perform on the actual test .

So thank you , megan , for joining us for today's episode . Love this one so much and we will be back next week to talk again about differentiation . So if you didn't get a chance to listen to last week's , we talked all about whole group differentiation , but next week we're going to talk about a simple hack to differentiate your lessons .

We also have another free download for you Focus on Bloom's taxonomy that we're excited to share with you . That , we think , is going to be really helpful . So make sure that you guys join us next week . All right , thanks . So much , everybody , and we'll see you guys later . Bye , everybody .