It's Meghan, back this week with another (hopefully) awesome idea.  If you don't remember, or are new to our blog, I teach 1st grade.  I love math and technology.

One of the questions we often get is how we create math groups during the guided math portion of ZONES.  Math groups for me are fluid, based on the standard we are working on and each student's proficiency.  I use technology, specifically Seesaw, to streamline my data collection.  This is something you can do with a little or a lot of tech in your classroom.  It works on any device or computer.

So today . . . Seesaw and exit tickets! Whatever the exit ticket is that I am using to gauge understanding, I have my students take a picture or screen shot of it and turn it in to our exit ticket folder on Seesaw.  I can then see how my students are doing (without sifting through a pile of papers) and easily give feedback that my students can see, and that parents have access to as well.
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Here are a couple examples . . . ​

Pieces Basic is a free app on our iPads.  The students had to build the number 45, screen shot it and turn it in on Seesaw.  I saw how each student was doing and gave them immediate feedback, either affirming their work or correcting their mistakes.  You can see in the comment below the picture, I told the student what needed to be changed.  On the picture, I edited their work using the drawing tool to show the student the correct way to build the number.  From this exit ticket, I was able to create a group of students that needed to be pulled for additional instruction.  

Here is an example of an exit ticket from our math curriculum (Engage NY).  The student completed the exit ticket and took a picture in Seesaw.  To give feedback on this exit ticket, the draw, label and text features we all used.  Again, the student has immediate access to this, as do parents.  

In the paid version of Seesaw, you have access to 'skills'.  These are areas you are working on that you want to assess the students on.  Think standards, but less formal.  The goal of this feature is to give you a quick view of how students are doing with a concept.  When a student turns an item in, you quickly mark their understanding on a 4 point scale.  Then in the 'skills' view, you have a visual of how the students are doing.  You can pull a red (does not understand), yellow, light green group, or green group (ready for extensions).  So easy!  No lists of student, no piling paper together. All of this is hidden from students and parents.  It is only for you and your instructional purposes.  

While Seesaw Plus/For Schools is paid, it is not that expensive.  If it looks interesting to you, you should look into it.  

In summation, use exit tickets/quick checks to build small groups.  And then, use technology to streamline that process so you have more time to spend with your students during the guided math portion of ZONES.

          Happy ZONING!

-Meghan

Does this scenario ever happen in your classroom?  
I work with small groups of students every day during ZONES rotations.  The students come to me with white boards and their resource journals.  I come prepared with example problems for them.  When I work with students in small groups and using white boards they are nailing it.  Few errors, proving mastery, no confusion.  So I leave that class feeling completely successful.  The next day, I start with an entrance ticket to catch any student that I may have missed during my small group time.  I give them a short paper pencil quiz and the whole class completely bombs it.  What?!?!  So I continue with my whole group instruction, since the whole class got the problem incorrect and my data yesterday was obviously wrong, giving another example problem to the whole class that they complete at their desk, this time with whiteboards.  This time they are all getting it right again.  GRRRRR!  I do not understand!

This situation puzzles me greatly.  I do not understand why students feel more at ease with white boards instead of with a paper and pencil.  I do not understand how they can master a concept using a dry erase board but not with a pencil.  I am so perplexed.  However this is not the first standard or concept or school year that I have seen this happen.  I am so glad that I can accommodate this using ZONES.

I have noticed that students are able to have a greater mastery of a concept using whiteboards as an option.  Therefore, I have always allowed this to be a choice for my students.  During whole group time, I can work the room to star correct problems on the worksheet that were done on a white board.  This gives me immediate feedback on who needs help and also saves me time grading after class.  If you are fortunate enough to have a second pair of hands in your classroom during ZONES time, that second pair of hands can circulate the room starring correct problems during On Your Own or Notebook as well.  This is also an option for the teacher to do during conferencing time.  

This year I have also noticed that students have greater mastery while working in a small group setting rather than a whole group setting.  ZONES has allowed me to accommodate for that as well.  I will often give the final mastery checkpoint of a concept in a small group setting.  This does not mean that I correct the students or help them.  The work is still done completely independently.  However, when students know their work is being monitored, for some reason mistakes are greatly reduced and precision is increased.  I have also taken this to the next level and allowed student the choice to "sit by the teacher" while they are working on another zone.  Their zone work is still done independently, but again, for some perplexing reason, proximity to the teacher does help some student perform with greater accuracy.

So I am here to proclaim, "Let them use white boards!"  If that is the tool they feel most comfortable with, then let them use it.  If they are most comfortable having a teacher "watch" them do the work.  Great!  With ZONES I have the flexibility to allow students to have that choice.  We are not assessing how the student learns best, we are assessing that the student has mastered the concept.  If those tools help and they are fairly easy for me to allow and implement, then I say "No Problem!"  

​Olivia

Formative is an awesome way to see, share, and quickly assess student learning & understanding!  Teachers upload some kind of text, document, picture, or video and students can respond back in a variety of formats. The teacher can share responses, view in real-time and provide feedback!

Aww App is an online collaborative whiteboard.  It has the capability to mirror directly to students' tablets in live time!  Great for collaboration and sharing of thinking ideas or math strategies!

 Kahoot is a great way to quiz students and engage them through game-based learning individually or with teams!

What ways have you used technology to formally assess students in your own classroom?  Share below!

I was skimming through Twitter this weekend when I came across this fun post from @mraspinall . It was an emoji exit ticket! How fun!

We decided to use it after our lesson on division. In 5th grade, we have the lowest group of students. They still struggle with basic math concepts, which means that before we do multi-digit division, we have to go back and solidify what division actually means.

We took a whole class period to introduce and play Roll and Divide. I love, love, love this game for so many reasons:

• It works with division vocabulary
• It gives a hands-on experience with what each part of division means
• It gives a clear picture of what the remainder is
• Students can discover patterns and connections from their work with the game
• It can be used as a Play with Someone game or as an individual Explore activity​
• You can play by figuring out how many groups, or how many in each group (an important distinction, yet important to understand that division can be used for either one)

We will be using this as our Explore zone next week.

After students spent the class period playing the game, we had them fill out the emoji exit ticket. The class loved it, and so did we!

Here are some examples of what we learned from the exit ticket:

​Some students remained confused -- good to know for a small group or a conference!

Some students changed how they felt from the beginning of the lesson to the end (makes a teacher feel good):

This student clearly made a smart partner choice:

Some students benefitted from having a hands-on learning experience:

Click on the image to download a blank copy of the emoji exit ticket, so you can try it in your classroom!

Stayin' cool like the kids,
Christi