Wednesday Linky & Freebie!

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking up with two of my favorite bloggers 

to highlight our week so far!

Mrs. Stanford's Class

and 

Miss DeCarbo

We are working tirelessly here to avoid getting sick!

Every morning we are waking up and assessing...sore throat? Yes. Better or worse than yesterday? So far we've avoided the worst, but not feeling 100%. Nothing a three-day weekend won't cure :)

This week we are taking our end-of-unit math assessment and then we're starting measurement! Woohoo! Our measurement unit is pretty brief (maybe 3 weeks?), but such a welcome break with many opportunities for hands-on fun!

Here's a throwback to a nonstandard measurement freebie...

I'm sure I'll be creating more for this round!

In phonics, we are completing our initial blends this week 

and had our exit ticket:

I have one of my students complete his dictation portion of the exit ticket using iDraw. I wish I could share his proud expression - he rocked the three-letter blend for "splat!"

Lastly, Miss DeCarbo posed the question in her weekly linky:

Do your students self-assess their understanding of key standards and concepts?

She offers some awesome posters (thank you!) that have students responding using a ladder model featuring both numbers 1-4 and descriptions from apprentice to expert. I love this idea and will often ask for my students' response using similar gestures. I also like to have more students take on the "heavy lifting" and accountability for the choices they make regarding their effort. 

A couple years ago, I introduced the concept of  students tracking their own data, whether it was through their understanding during instruction or their performance during an application. This idea grew out of (desperate!) need, but the best part? My students LOVED it! They really (REALLY) owned their results. 

The idea continued to evolve the past couple of school years as we dove deeper into Common Core, and "Grit Trackers" was the final result:

Grit Trackers

How do your students self-assess?

I also have more to share about my new 3rd grade group & another professional endeavor I'm taking on. I'll be back to write more soon! Have a fantastic week :)

Jen