On Track and On Target with Mrs. Grooms' Room!

Hey y'all! 
Can you believe that I just got out of a professional development where we discussed reading scores from the previous year in the year below and above us??  I know you can! : )   

One of the things that I took from my workshop today is that data tells a story!  Whether it is changes in standards or benchmarks, or new students and students that withdraw, data can explain a lot to teachers.  

I myself have experienced it!!  Two years ago, I used fluency passages and all of my students soared!! Last year I used them with only certain students, and honestly, my scores were only just "meh."  (Nothing else had really changed in my teaching.)  Fluency passages are a great way to increase reading scores, but there are many other things that we use to increase data.  In this case, data is definitely telling me a story...called "I need to use fluency passages."  : ) 

One of my favorite things to track is spelling words.  I love tracking spelling words for my parents and my students for a few of reasons: 

1)  Sometimes those missed words get lost and are never revisited again in the spelling word world.  : ( 

2) Tracking spelling words is a great way to recognize and identify problems with sounds or patterns in their spelling.

3) Students can go back to these missed words again and again until they are mastered.   

4) Students can take ownership of their own words and track them so you don't have to!  

5) Tracking these words is a great way for parents to see what their child needs to work on! 

To keep these words from being forgotten in the land of lost and missed words, I have my students "graph" their spelling words. They color the ones that they got correct "BLUE" and the ones that they missed "YELLOW." 

This graph goes into their homework folders for parents to use a tool to review, and it stays in their homework folders. 

Words that are missed can be made into flash cards.  You  can have students revisit them in centers, and for homework.  Then you can retest them in small groups or individually, quickly...even verbally.  How do you spell "look?"

(Oh!!  AND I always correct their words as well....so they can see the correct way to spell them.)

When students have mastered the words that they have missed, they color the word green.   Here are a couple of examples below! 

Want to give a whirl?  Just try it below with a FREE spelling graph!

Just click on the picture! 

See you soon!!