Quote: "Effective teachers are 'kid watchers,' a term Yetta Goodman coined to describe the 'direct and informal observation of students."
Comment: The term sounds a little creepy :p but I like the idea behind it. We need to be paying attention and observing our students in their reading and writing in order to asses how they are doing and keep track of improvements we see. I also really like that they have labeled books based on different reading levels. I think this is extremely helpful for teachers. I have volunteered in my little sister's elementary school class before and when they would go to the school library her teacher had them pick a book at their reading level, one a little above their reading level, and the third one they could pick any book they wanted. I thought that was a good idea because students are reading a fun book that they want to read and not worrying about the level and they're also reading one at their level to build confidence in reading and being challenged by reading one a bit more difficult.
Question: How can we prepare our students for standardized/ state tests? Is it important that we instuct them in how to test throughout the year or just as the test is drawing nearer?
I totally agree with you about observation, I think that it is so important to observe students in an informal way to really get to know them, and how they're doing. I also really love your sister's teacher's idea of the three books, at different levels, which would give kids a lot of practice reading at different levels. so cool. As far as standardized tests, I have no idea! I think that if you have to prepare them (which we do) maybe doing it over a longer period of time would be more effective, rather than just before the test.
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