As a class, we graph our total number correct on both our reading test (broken down into comprehension and vocabulary) and our spelling tests. Here is our graphs that I have on the board for the class to see.
There are 10 questions on our comprehension test and only 5 for our vocabulary test. I add up the number of scores we earned as a class, so everyone is a part of our chart. The black line is the 100% mark, because I had absences, so that line is just for the people that took the test. They did a great job and had great scores! They then track their own progress in their "Data Notebooks" and I give them their information and they graph it independently. They love seeing their progress, and they do not want to do poorly. Letting them see where they are really helps them want to do better next time.
This is an older picture, but we track our data every Monday, so tomorrow we will complete the next story. They will keep adding to their graphs weekly so they can see where they need to improve.
We also graph our AR stories that we read and take a test on. They LOVE doing this and they want to try so hard to fill in all the squares so they can get to 100%. We try to have conferences about these weekly so I can see they are tracking their progress correctly and seeing where they are. This is a great visual for me to just look and see they have only taken 2 tests this week or if they have taken a test a day. All these stay in their "Data Notebooks" and they are kept on a shelf by my desk. We do a daily number of tests taken too. They always remind me that we have to graph our books! They are really enjoying the benefits as well!
My last, but FAVORITE data graph we are doing is......
OUR CLASSROOM INTERRUPTION Chart!
It has been so amazing for me to just walk over to the graph and fill in a box if someone interrupts or talks out. It has helped my class so much with the tiny interruptions. I LOVE it! I know we are always working with partners and I ask them to say answers together, so overall, I am ruining my students because when it is time for me to speak, they think they just blurt out as well. It isn't their fault... they aren't to blame, right? Well, they still need to learn to be quiet and remember when we can talk out or when we just have to listen. I have a few that just can't listen and have to tell a story or answer me every time I start teaching. This has been the best for them. We discuss what an interruption is and we made a chart of what interruptions look like. I then made the graph. The first few days we were OFF the chart! Literally... Off the chart. So every morning we talk about it and look at our graph and we discuss where we should be every day. I then draw a line on the number of interruptions we might have. If they stay under that line, we get to have a QUICK celebration at the end of the day. It might be a quick dance party, or it might be a game of "Math Around the World," or it might just be 5 minutes extra reading time. I don't bribe them, I just let them know they are doing what is expected. But seriously... look at how the interruptions have gone down! They are really becoming aware again! Isn't that what we want to do, make them aware??? It is awesome! Oh, I did forget... Interruptions are also things like people knocking on the door, or the announcements interrupting my teaching. Anything that makes us stop learning is an interruption.
So as you can tell... I love using data and graphs in my classroom. If you would like to start using some things in your classroom, let me know! I can share my charts or if you have something different that you can use, that is great!
