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HELP!!!
I was wondering if any of youknow of a good kid-appropriate site that would log exercise and food intake, analyze it, etc.? We're gettting ready to start studying health...and this site sent a POWERFUL message to one of my teen-age sons when I made him log his diet for one week. HOLY COW!!!! Kids consume way too much sodium & cholesterol!!! YIKES!!!
Anyway, I'd like them to do the same thing for a week, but I don't want them in a site where they really are too young to be.
Please let me know, thanks everyone!!!!
Mickie0 -
HELP!!!
I was wondering if any of youknow of a good kid-appropriate site that would log exercise and food intake, analyze it, etc.? We're gettting ready to start studying health...and this site sent a POWERFUL message to one of my teen-age sons when I made him log his diet for one week. HOLY COW!!!! Kids consume way too much sodium & cholesterol!!! YIKES!!!
Anyway, I'd like them to do the same thing for a week, but I don't want them in a site where they really are too young to be.
Please let me know, thanks everyone!!!!
Mickie
Wow, great idea Mickie!! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that no such site exists. :ohwell: Maybe you could make a food log (in Microsoft Word or something) for your students to record what they ate at each meal, and then they could turn it into you, and you could look up the stats. Sounds like too much work though... :noway:
Well, let me know if you need helping making the form. I could do it pretty quickly.
~Brianna0 -
You might be able to find one online also. If not, xcel is the best with worksheets like that, it works much faster. If the kids have access to computers you can log in the formulas so all they have to do is key in the info and it'll tally automatically.
Unfortunately, I threw away all my food logs and stuff from when I taught Home Ec and covered this, or I would send you some.:ohwell:0 -
I don't wanna totally hijack the thread, but can you guys tell me why you have mentioned state testing in such a negative light so often in this thread?
My perspective is this: my students take a great deal of pride in their test scores. They want to improve and we work very hard all year to be prepared for STAR (California's Standardized Test) We had our first day of testing today, and my kids are pumped! They can't wait to kick this test's *kitten*! Our API is 967, and we are shooting for 1000(which would signify all students performing at highly proficient level). We probably won't hit it, but we will improve, as we have been doing for 7 years in a row.
I teach 7th grade in East Oakland with ALL minority kids. I teach in an old church building without A/C. And we are getting the job done. One of our seniors just got accepted to MIT, another to Stanford, and in order to graduate from our high school you must get a letter of acceptance from a 4 year school. We make sure our kids are prepared to compete in this educational setting. We don't have a lot of extras, just lots of textbooks and hard work.
I really just don't get it- why would you be opposed to measuring your results?
Anybody who can give another perspective, I am interested to know- on the thread or PM....0 -
p.s.
thanks in advance for your reply-0 -
Wow, great idea Mickie!! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that no such site exists. :ohwell: Maybe you could make a food log (in Microsoft Word or something) for your students to record what they ate at each meal, and then they could turn it into you, and you could look up the stats. Sounds like too much work though... :noway:
Well, let me know if you need helping making the form. I could do it pretty quickly.
~Brianna
[/quote]
I was thinking I may need to do that...but yes, that would be incredibly hard work! I open to suggestions though!!!!:happy:0 -
Oh my goodness... last week was my spring break, so today was day 3 back to work. And YIKES... I am so tired! :yawn: I need to be getting to bed earlier so that I can make it through the day with my lovelies.
By the way, I gained a few pounds over break because I stopped keeping track of cals, but I'm already on the decline after 3 days back to routine. Phew!
0 -
Oh my goodness... last week was my spring break, so today was day 3 back to work. And YIKES... I am so tired! :yawn: I need to be getting to bed earlier so that I can make it through the day with my lovelies.
By the way, I gained a few pounds over break because I stopped keeping track of cals, but I'm already on the decline after 3 days back to routine. Phew!
I had spring break last week and this week has been really tough!! I'm so glad that there's only 2 days left this week!0 -
I had spring break last week and this week has been really tough!! I'm so glad that there's only 2 days left this week!
Ditto! :drinker:0 -
We're testing this week.
ppppbbbbbbtttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
I don't wanna totally hijack the thread, but can you guys tell me why you have mentioned state testing in such a negative light so often in this thread?
My perspective is this: my students take a great deal of pride in their test scores. They want to improve and we work very hard all year to be prepared for STAR (California's Standardized Test) We had our first day of testing today, and my kids are pumped! They can't wait to kick this test's *kitten*! Our API is 967, and we are shooting for 1000(which would signify all students performing at highly proficient level). We probably won't hit it, but we will improve, as we have been doing for 7 years in a row.
I teach 7th grade in East Oakland with ALL minority kids. I teach in an old church building without A/C. And we are getting the job done. One of our seniors just got accepted to MIT, another to Stanford, and in order to graduate from our high school you must get a letter of acceptance from a 4 year school. We make sure our kids are prepared to compete in this educational setting. We don't have a lot of extras, just lots of textbooks and hard work.
I really just don't get it- why would you be opposed to measuring your results?
Anybody who can give another perspective, I am interested to know- on the thread or PM....
anyone? anyone? Buehler?0 -
I don't wanna totally hijack the thread, but can you guys tell me why you have mentioned state testing in such a negative light so often in this thread?
My perspective is this: my students take a great deal of pride in their test scores. They want to improve and we work very hard all year to be prepared for STAR (California's Standardized Test) We had our first day of testing today, and my kids are pumped! They can't wait to kick this test's *kitten*! Our API is 967, and we are shooting for 1000(which would signify all students performing at highly proficient level). We probably won't hit it, but we will improve, as we have been doing for 7 years in a row.
I teach 7th grade in East Oakland with ALL minority kids. I teach in an old church building without A/C. And we are getting the job done. One of our seniors just got accepted to MIT, another to Stanford, and in order to graduate from our high school you must get a letter of acceptance from a 4 year school. We make sure our kids are prepared to compete in this educational setting. We don't have a lot of extras, just lots of textbooks and hard work.
I really just don't get it- why would you be opposed to measuring your results?
Anybody who can give another perspective, I am interested to know- on the thread or PM....
Some of us are working really hard & not seeing such positive results. In theory I think the testing provides a way to measure growth, but it is so stressful when there's so much pressure. That's all.
Our school had a 30 point dip last year & we can't put our finger on what changed, so this year is extremely important.
And stressful.
Nervewracking.
Did I mention stressful?
:grumble: :grumble: :grumble: 0 -
I don't wanna totally hijack the thread, but can you guys tell me why you have mentioned state testing in such a negative light so often in this thread?
My perspective is this: my students take a great deal of pride in their test scores. They want to improve and we work very hard all year to be prepared for STAR (California's Standardized Test) We had our first day of testing today, and my kids are pumped! They can't wait to kick this test's *kitten*! Our API is 967, and we are shooting for 1000(which would signify all students performing at highly proficient level). We probably won't hit it, but we will improve, as we have been doing for 7 years in a row.
I teach 7th grade in East Oakland with ALL minority kids. I teach in an old church building without A/C. And we are getting the job done. One of our seniors just got accepted to MIT, another to Stanford, and in order to graduate from our high school you must get a letter of acceptance from a 4 year school. We make sure our kids are prepared to compete in this educational setting. We don't have a lot of extras, just lots of textbooks and hard work.
I really just don't get it- why would you be opposed to measuring your results?
Anybody who can give another perspective, I am interested to know- on the thread or PM....
anyone? anyone? Buehler?0 -
I don't think that anyone is opposed to assessment. I believe that the problem has to do more with excessive assessment and excessive documentation of that assessment. In addition, not all academic growth can be measured on paper because some children don't do well when it comes to testing. Some children have other issues...emotional for example...or other things going on that may affect their performance. How do you accurately assess them in those situations? That's a whole other issue by itself. I don't know. I have taught the honors second grade class for about six years now, so I'm really not affected by the assessments like others might be. I just see what goes on in my school with my colleagues who teach the upper grades, and I listen to what they say bothers them. I use to bring an awful lot of paperwork home, stay up late at night with paperwork, vacations, weekends...paperwork, etc. to the point where it was ridiculous. I had to learn to adapt my thinking when it came to this. Now, I do what works for me. My main complaint is with the constant amount of paperwork that is redundant and sometimes unnecessary.0
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I'll be happy to explain why I HATE testing. In Florida, our jobs and a whole bunch of other things are tied to school grades, which is tied to . . . you guessed it! FCAT! For an entire month I was told to do NOTHING else except testing strategies that we were given by the county because my schools scores went WAY down on our winter diagnostic.
I don't know about other schools, or other states, but when I cannot teach ANYTHING without it being tied to the test, then I am just teaching the test, not what the kids really need to learn, and not what I enjoy teaching, which is English or Language Arts, whatever you prefer to call it.
We also have schools that are in danger of being closed because their testing scores are not going up. Teachers are being punished, because we can only do so much with what we are given, and no discipline in the school or at home either.
That is the problem I have with standardized testing. When I have a 6th grader reading on the first grade level, it doesn't matter if I bring him up to the third grade level, it only matters that he did not pass the test, so I must not be a good teacher.
Anybody else with similar problems, or is my county (state) just really screwed up?0 -
I'll be happy to explain why I HATE testing. In Florida, our jobs and a whole bunch of other things are tied to school grades, which is tied to . . . you guessed it! FCAT! For an entire month I was told to do NOTHING else except testing strategies that we were given by the county because my schools scores went WAY down on our winter diagnostic.
I don't know about other schools, or other states, but when I cannot teach ANYTHING without it being tied to the test, then I am just teaching the test, not what the kids really need to learn, and not what I enjoy teaching, which is English or Language Arts, whatever you prefer to call it.
We also have schools that are in danger of being closed because their testing scores are not going up. Teachers are being punished, because we can only do so much with what we are given, and no discipline in the school or at home either.
That is the problem I have with standardized testing. When I have a 6th grader reading on the first grade level, it doesn't matter if I bring him up to the third grade level, it only matters that he did not pass the test, so I must not be a good teacher.
Anybody else with similar problems, or is my county (state) just really screwed up?
I just took a Master's class over the weekend and we were talking about how the kids taking these tests show nothing more than they know how to take a standardized test! There are a lot of very smart kids who don't do well on these students because of pressure and what not. They definitely need to come up with a better way to assess student than these high-risk tests!!0 -
thank you for your interesting replies.
I am always curious about the phrase "teaching to the test"
Isn't that what we always do, whether it's a state test with bubbles or a final exam, or any kind of test? We first teach the information that is expected, then we test to see if they got it. Right? I just have never understood why that phrase is used like there is something bad about that.
I spent not just a month, but all year teaching my kids all the state standards. We finished our textbooks before STAR testing in order to make sure that they had been exposed to all the information that they would be tested on. And we spent a good deal of time practicing things like bubbling, test taking strategies, etc.
We have seen growth and improvement seven years in a row. Our jobs depend on our students achievement, as in any other field, if we aren't performing, why should they keep paying us? If I were an architect, and I didn't do my work, I wouldn't keep my job. Why should a teacher who is not doing the job well get to keep theirs?
As before, I am interested, not trying to attack anyone, just curious what you guys think...0 -
I spent not just a month, but all year teaching my kids all the state standards. We finished our textbooks before STAR testing in order to make sure that they had been exposed to all the information that they would be tested on. And we spent a good deal of time practicing things like bubbling, test taking strategies, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sorry, I don't know how to do the cool quote box thing.
UHH, hello!
I have spent a whole year teaching my students the state standards as well . I was TOLD to teach nothing but testing strategies for a whole month. In fact, the entire school did nothing but cover specific testing strategies only to get the scores up. Any real teaching we had planned was cancelled out, and if we were not doing exactly what we were told to do when we were told to do it, we were called into the principal's office to explain why.
We even had people from the state dept. of education coming to our school to "see what was going on" It's been absolutely insane.
No wonder I 've gained every pound back that I had managed to lose so far.0 -
I spent not just a month, but all year teaching my kids all the state standards. We finished our textbooks before STAR testing in order to make sure that they had been exposed to all the information that they would be tested on. And we spent a good deal of time practicing things like bubbling, test taking strategies, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sorry, I don't know how to do the cool quote box thing.
UHH, hello!
I have spent a whole year teaching my students the state standards as well . I was TOLD to teach nothing but testing strategies for a whole month. In fact, the entire school did nothing but cover specific testing strategies only to get the scores up. Any real teaching we had planned was cancelled out, and if we were not doing exactly what we were told to do when we were told to do it, we were called into the principal's office to explain why.
We even had people from the state dept. of education coming to our school to "see what was going on" It's been absolutely insane.
No wonder I 've gained every pound back that I had managed to lose so far.
Again, I appreciate and am interested in your perspective- I don't have the experience of teaching in a Unified District, (my school is a charter) so I am truly just curious about your viewpoint. I didn't mean to imply you aren't teaching the state standards. I'm sorry if I offended you unintentionally.:flowerforyou:
I guess what I don't understand is when you say "Any real teaching we had planned was cancelled out..."
I don't understand why test taking strategies aren't considered "real teaching". They are going to use it, not just this year, but every year, and SATs can have a BIG impact on their educational path, so I don't know why it would be considered not "real teaching"? They'll use it far more often that say...the Pythagorean Theorem.
We integrated it into our entire school year, every Friday we did test prep. (I know that's an administrator's call, and not up to the teachers.) Our kids were comfortable with bubbling, with double checking to see that they are bubbling the correct answer for the matching question, etc. We worked a lot on these skills so that when our kids sit down to take STAR, it feels familiar, instead of super stressful and new. We didn't take away from the curriculum to do this, we used it like a teacher may use a scantron, or any other kind of format. We got the released test questions from the internet and practiced on them. We used supplemental materials like Buckle Down,and Sharpen Up to test our kids' understanding of what we were teaching. It was wrapped arpound and through all of our teaching, so nothing was sacrificed.
We were expected to create a calendar of what chapter we'd be on during what week, so that we knew we were on track to finish the textbooks before testing, allowing time for reviewing. I had finished our History text by Christmas break.
These aren't any different kids than you'd find in any school in Oakland, we accepted every application we received for this school year, so it is all the kids coming out of the elementary schools around our area. So our performance is directly related to the method, not the kids. (What I mean is, these are regular kids, it's not like we pick out the geniuses)
I do understand it can be stressful to feel like you're under scrutiny, especially if the students aren't performing well. Wouldn't that be motivation to go the extra mile to improve their performance?
We have a big dangling carrot in the form of a bonus ($$$) if our students improve their API. Every kid in our school knows our API score, and they all feel an urge to improve it. We have instilled in them the desire to be #1, and they are not satisfied with our current ranking (#5 in California).
I look forward to your perspective- and any other teacher who is interested in contributing as well:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:0 -
HELP!!!
I was wondering if any of youknow of a good kid-appropriate site that would log exercise and food intake, analyze it, etc.? We're gettting ready to start studying health...and this site sent a POWERFUL message to one of my teen-age sons when I made him log his diet for one week. HOLY COW!!!! Kids consume way too much sodium & cholesterol!!! YIKES!!!
Anyway, I'd like them to do the same thing for a week, but I don't want them in a site where they really are too young to be.
Please let me know, thanks everyone!!!!
Mickie
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