By: Mary Kienstra on: December 31, 2016 in: assessment, differentiation, Engagement, feedback
So many teaching strategies come and go. There’s always a new idea or the latest gimmick to engage kids in learning. We have endless lists of buzz words and terms that describe various aspects of teaching and learning. Of all the strategies I’ve employed, the one that engages my students the most consistently is two words: […] Read more
By: Mary Kienstra on: June 20, 2016 in: assessment, authentic audience, characters, Engagement, assessment, characters, engagement
Don’t ever tell fourth or fifth graders that they will be speed dating during class. They would giggle nervously and then complain that they don’t want to do that. But, if you have them dress up as their favorite character from a book and bring a few things to talk about, they will love it. […] Read more
By: Mary Kienstra on: August 30, 2015 in: #tlap, assessment
We are in for a huge upheaval in my elementary school this year as we are changing our report cards. We’re moving from the traditional grades that we have used forever to standards based grading. To say that teachers are freaking out would be a huge understatement, but I’m excited! I say it’s about time that […] Read more
By: Mary Kienstra on: October 29, 2014 in: assessment, differentiation, Engagement
What did I ever do without pretests and exit slips? These great formative tools are now some of the most important parts of the lesson. What do my students already know? What do they need to learn? Do they know it now? Pretests and exit slips are part of my expanded list of formative assessments. These quick […] Read more
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