So, with my 3rd and 4th graders this year, I am really trying to personalize the learning environment. My goal is to know exactly where the kiddos are in the curriculum and help them find activities and learning goals to help them be more proficient in the areas they may need more help in.
To do this, I set up 3 google assessments:
Note Name Pre-Assessment (using letter names, we haven't started this so I expected them to fail)
Rhythm Pre-Assessment (featuring review of rhythms learned in the past and some new rhythms we hadn't looked at together)
Music Terms Pre-Assessment (featuring a lot of music vocabulary, some we talked about and some we don't know yet)
To do this, I set up 3 google assessments:
Note Name Pre-Assessment (using letter names, we haven't started this so I expected them to fail)
Rhythm Pre-Assessment (featuring review of rhythms learned in the past and some new rhythms we hadn't looked at together)
Music Terms Pre-Assessment (featuring a lot of music vocabulary, some we talked about and some we don't know yet)
I gave them the assessments and asked them to do their best, even if they didn't know how. I told them there was a lot of new stuff on the tests, but I wanted to see what they knew and didn't know so we could come up with a plan to grow in specific areas.
Students were able to complete the assessments through www.schoology.com/ in their classroom activities folder. They were given these assignments as a "Must Do" and when they finished their assessments they could move on to a "May Do" activity.
Google is awesome because it will keep the data in the order it is received, and with their new assessment platform, it is so easy to see scores. I was able to see the scores in a spreadsheet, as well as look as individual results. I called students to conference with me one at a time using the individual results to see what areas they needed to work in. Most of my students needed help with rhythm identification (past the basic quarter note etc.) Then I set up the goal FOR my students this first time. Later in the year I will gradually release them to set their own goals without me. I was also able to see which students could become my "experts" and partnered them with struggling students so that they could continue to review rhythms without completely focusing on them since they were so solid on that area.
While I was conferencing, students played different games to help them with musical concepts using Music Centers Kit 1 and 2 . Students were totally engaged all the while I had time to focus on one student at a time. All in all, for most classes, conferences took 2 class periods, a total of 60 minutes. I know that seems like a lot to give up, but I am hoping giving students a greater FOCUS in specific areas to work on will pay dividends by the end of the school year!
The Student Music Goal Sheets that I use with my kiddos are available to view and download for FREE in my TpT store!
Students were able to complete the assessments through www.schoology.com/ in their classroom activities folder. They were given these assignments as a "Must Do" and when they finished their assessments they could move on to a "May Do" activity.
Google is awesome because it will keep the data in the order it is received, and with their new assessment platform, it is so easy to see scores. I was able to see the scores in a spreadsheet, as well as look as individual results. I called students to conference with me one at a time using the individual results to see what areas they needed to work in. Most of my students needed help with rhythm identification (past the basic quarter note etc.) Then I set up the goal FOR my students this first time. Later in the year I will gradually release them to set their own goals without me. I was also able to see which students could become my "experts" and partnered them with struggling students so that they could continue to review rhythms without completely focusing on them since they were so solid on that area.
While I was conferencing, students played different games to help them with musical concepts using Music Centers Kit 1 and 2 . Students were totally engaged all the while I had time to focus on one student at a time. All in all, for most classes, conferences took 2 class periods, a total of 60 minutes. I know that seems like a lot to give up, but I am hoping giving students a greater FOCUS in specific areas to work on will pay dividends by the end of the school year!
The Student Music Goal Sheets that I use with my kiddos are available to view and download for FREE in my TpT store!
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