Assessments, Sugar, and Goals…Oh My!

By. Meredith Biesinger

Hello October!

We welcomed in October last week, and I know we’re all ready for fall festivities, cooler weather, and all things pumpkin. We also know that this is a month full of field trips and student engagement activities.

It’s also a month where testing and assessments take place. October typically marks the end of the first quarter for many schools. State snapshot tests are taken, assessments distributed, and report cards are sent home.

October is a busy month!

Here are a few practices to help you enjoy the beauty of October while staying on top of all of your teacher tasks!

1. Simple, seasonal activities. Celebrate the season and your students’ accomplishments by planning some simple yet fun and engaging activities. These can be strategically placed in between assessments and core instruction time.

2. Set new goals. As testing takes place, we have the opportunity to use this new data to re-evaluate our student’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as our own. Set a new class goal, and invite your students to set a goal for themselves too! Create a chart or a way to chart progress to continually encourage everyone with their new goal(s).

3. Literacy. October is a wonderful month to let the imagination run wild, with so many seasonal books! Develop a grade-level appropriate “book club” or writing center where students can exercise their creativity while developing reading and writing skills.

Yes, October is a testing month, and it’s also Halloween, but that doesn’t mean it has to be spooky!

Be sure to take some time to celebrate the season, your students, and maybe have some Halloween candy too. Like the brilliant L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) once said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”