What's the I.P.A.R?

Reposted from March, 2022

Each week, students in my class write something called the "Text of the Week" test.  We do a close reading of a different story or poem each week, and on Thursdays they write a test (I'm old school, I still call them "tests") that covers everything from word study to reading comprehension. The test follow a very similar format, making them less stressful for students, but no two are identical.  

TOTW tests been very effective in terms of gulding my literacy instruction. With each test, I know more about my students, how they are progressing and where I need to focus instruction for the following week.  The text might change, but I am still able to address the areas of need from the previous weeks, and that kind of almost instant data is invaluable.  I also like that I am able to provide weekly feedback to parents, who can use this information to help their child prepare for the tests and more importantly, target their home support accordingly. 

For some time now I have wanted to create a similar "test" for Math.  For four weeks, I'm going to try something I'm calling the I.P.A.R: Independent Practice and Review.  This won't be a test, but the expectation is that students will complete it independently so that I can better assess exactly where they are and where my instruction needs to go.  Each IPAR will have four sections:  Number Sense, Word Problems, Skill Review and Current Unit of Study. Have a look at this week's IPAR.  I may tweak it as needed, but this is the general format.  

I've explained to my students that by asking them to complete the tasks with just about no help from me, we'll be able to make the most of our time together: they'll know where they're at, skill-wise, and I'll know where we need to go. I'll read and review the page with the class, but after that, I'm setting them loose to do their thing on their own. I'm all for partner problem solving and doing "fun" math, but if a child leaves my room in June and still isn't 100% sure how to regroup when subtracting, I need to address that. 

We wrote the first one this week and it went very well. Right after students submitted it, we took it up together so there wasn't that Twilight Zone gap that happens in a child's mind between completing a task and then revisiting it. Now that students know precisely what to expect, I'm anticipating they'll see how constantly cycling back to previously covered concepts is a very effective way to build their math-muscles.  If the next four weeks are a success, I'll make this a permanent part of my Math program.