Data Folders {Freebie}

Nothing screams a Friday in Summer like Data Folders!  Right?  

Today was a big day.  I ended up opening up a ream of copy paper and setting up camp by my personal copy machine.  I printed off my Back to School Packet, my first week of school copies, and the pages for my students' Data Folders.

Then it was time to staple them.  I took this picture (as I was procrastinating), posted it on IG and was asked where they could get it and specifically what I do with them... so it's now on Google Docs.

A little how I use these:

For years the kids have recorded their personal assessment scores on filler paper in their binders.  It's a way to keep them in the loop of how they are doing, and helping them to make goals for the future.  4th grade is the first year of letter grades in my district, so my goal is to help them understand what those numbers mean.  Last year I decided to post our class averages of the different assessments on a Data Wall.

Remember this?  Well it worked wonders this past year.  No one knew each other's exact scores, but as a class we were trying to bump up our comprehension levels each week.  If our average was 80% one week, the next we were aiming for higher.  The kids could take their personal score from their binder paper, and compare it to the class average to see if they helped bump the class up, or if they need to keep reviewing.  Both the binder paper and the data wall made for helpful student conferences when it was time to talk goals.

This year I'm not using binders in my classroom.  I just don't have the room to store them and my supply budget needs to be used for other things... so I moved the personal data sheets to a file folder that I can pass out when it's time to update, and collect for conferences.  The cover I printed 2 per sheet (since that's what I do), and the kids will glue that on when it's time to personalize the folder.  The folders are ready to go for 1st trimester.  Inside has one sheet on the left for a Book Log, and 2 sheets on the right for graphing their ELA and Math Scores.  That's it.  That's all I'm having them record.  Math and Reading Comprehension.  I guess you could have them record other subjects too, but I'm simplifying to start out the year.  Maybe I'll add in another one or two subjects during the 2nd and 3rd trimester.... so many options.

My school uses AR tests to help with comprehension too.  The Book Log is to help keep the kids accountable.  Our school gives prizes for specific point amounts.  

Any other questions?  I hope this helps you!  

So Proud of My Kiddos!

This year I started up a data wall in my classroom.  It wasn't something that is required, it's just something that I wanted to try out.  It has helped drastically to motivate my students.  Every week we are trying to get a little bit better.  

My students each have a binder in their desks that have subject dividers inside.  Inside the binders they record their personal scores for each assessment.  It's something that we do on a daily basis.  I pass out the assessments directly to the students (usually during a time that they are out of the classroom - PE, Recess, Lunch, etc), and then it goes pretty fast to update the different sheets.  

They record:

Date   Name of Assessment   +Their Score/Total Amount

On the data wall I record our class averages on the different assessments.  It's nothing extra special, just a percentage chart inside a border (to make it look a little cutesy).  Our online grading portal turns my entire class scores into a class average, so then I just head over to the wall and draw a little line and fill it in.  

Here's the Google Drive link in case you want to try this out too.  Enjoy!

Simplifying Data and Awards

Last year I had way too much going on.  It did feel like Pinterest and Blogville blew up in my classroom.  So this year I decided to keep the stuff that worked, and whittle it down to maintain my sanity.  

Going into this year I wanted to have a Data Wall.  It was important to me to be able to work together on our goals as a class.  So I have a small board that has everything we need - standards, class average graphs, tree for things we've done this year, etc.  The board has changed over the past 3 weeks though.  

Last year my students used award necklaces to keep track of their accomplishments, this year I didn't buy necklaces, and I haven't passed these new things out to my kids.  Instead, each student has a binder ring on our data wall that they will update with their award cards.  

We have also gotten into a routine of updating our board.  When I'm done grading, I pass out the graded tests to the students.  Their binders have a divider for each subject, and a piece of binder paper where they write the test, date, and their score.  Then the test goes in their homework folder for their parents to see, and the binder goes back into their desk tubs.  I then update the board with our class averages.  It's working so smoothly so far! 

What do you do for data?  Hope you had a great day!