Reading Assessments

When I was in fourth grade there was an eclipse. We made”glasses” with cardboard and pinholes and I honestly don’t remember the process. What I do remember is gathering outside with all the school and using my milk carton to look at the sun. It was fun for a minute, then I dropped the carton on accident and it got crushed by one of the milling masses, forever marking my memory of my first eclipse. Fortunately, I have had other opportunities to experience the wonders of the sun and moon intersecting.

On Monday, I wasn’t focused on the eclipse at all. Instead I was trying to figure out a way for kids to practice citing text evidence, because the STATE ASSESSMENT was looming. The kids came rushing back from recess asking me if I had seen the ellipse. I knew right away they meant the eclipse, because I can barely get them to use periods, I haven’t’ dared tackle ellipses. They would not stop gathering at the window. They would not stop talking about going blind. They would not stop shrieking my name because they were so excited to tell me about the sun being eaten by the moon. I was pretty sure I was going to lose my mind. No one gave a damn about citing text evidence.

Then Tuesday came and we started state testing. I am skipping the test part because part of the directions say that the test is not be spoken of. I started calling it “the test that cannot be named,” but only in my head. The kids were good during the allotted 110 minutes, but really didn’t want to do anything after. I found a super interesting article about the history of solar eclipses with an interactive poll and a way students could post a response and reply to each other. They were so excited about the eclipse on Monday, but learning about it through reading was a BIG ask. But it gave me an epiphany.

Maybe the epiphany was coming, because this has been something I have been puzzling over for sometime. Kids hate reading. They have been taught to read for answers someone else is asking. They have not been taught that reading can be fun, that reading can take you somewhere else entirely, that reading can spark questions and thinking and dreams and desires. For the most part, reading for many students, is a hoop of flames to avoid.

Since Christmas I have been team teaching a class called AVID. AVID is a program designed to teach academic success through things such as goal setting, collaboration, inquiry, exploration and team building. I haven’t been formally trained, but I have a handbook, and a website, and I have watched someone model the lessons. I have also been teaching for thirty years and it’s no different than any other program designed to teach kids how to be successful. The great thing about AVID is that I get to team teach with my colleagues. We can plan together, and help each other with management and technology and not feel alone when events go awry. So during this week of crazy solar phenomena and state assessments, we decided to do team building activities during AVID. We started with building a device to drop an egg safely. We gave kids two dollars in play money and they had to purchase things like cotton balls and tape with their money. I also told them could have an extra dollar if they sang a song as a group. Most eggs did not survive the flights, but the kids answered their exit tickets with thoughtful, honest responses and enjoyed the process. Then we provided the students a bunch of cardboard and the left over egg drop materials and split them into teams to make a marble maze. It was a surprise for me to see the creativity come out. The students built obstacles, ramps, and cages to trap the marbles at the end. One team even had the marble fall into a cup of water at the finish line. If the maze didn’t work, there was no rage quitting instead diligent problem solving ensued. At one point a girl said to me “Is this for a grade, or just for funsies?” I said, “Oh, it’s for a grade. It’s worth 156,000 points.” She smiled. Every team made a maze. No one was harmed in the making. Everyone, including the teachers, had fun, and creativity, cooperation, and trial and error lead to success.

I realized that maybe the joy of reading can be unlocked in this same way–with risk-taking and vulnerability and reflection. State assessment is over for language arts, but I have six weeks left to help kids see that words have the power to transform. Part of me doesn’t know if that’s enough time. But a bigger part of me knows that a single moment of wonder can unlock doors forever. I am willing to take the leap.