During the 2022-23 school year, fifth-grade teachers at North Royalton Middle School, have worked hard to implement “testing out” of certain content through self-paced units. Working with the District’s Gifted Coordinator Beth Burdick, the teachers have been learning practical strategies to work with their highest functioning students in fifth grade in science, math, and English language arts. There are certain fifth-grade state standards that allow for these types of differentiated learning because a majority of students have some prior content knowledge.
Students can attempt to test out of an approved unit before the teacher actually begins the unit. If they receive the desired score, students are not obligated to do any of the lessons or classwork associated with the unit. Instead, they are completing an independent study of their choice. This summer, the fifth-grade teachers will be working to further develop choices and options for students to explore.
Self-paced units allow for students to work at their own pace. Students meet with their teacher at the checkpoints to obtain a teacher signature to proceed. Science teachers Sarah Franko and Jessica Connelly say, “This provides us an opportunity to have conversations with each student and the chance to correct any misconceptions.” Students use a “waiting room system” (they take a number and wait to be called up) so they are not wasting time waiting in line to talk to the teacher.
Inspiring and empowering learners is the mission of every teacher in North Royalton, and these strategies are helping the District achieve this.
For example, in fifth-grade math, all students are offered a “test out” of the upcoming math chapter. Students show mastery with 85% or above (if they miss questions, the teacher meets individually with them to ensure they understand what was missed) on the “test out.” When students test out of the chapter, an extension activity is presented. The extension activity does exactly that: it extends the learning. Teachers do not present sixth-grade math material, but instead, give students the opportunity to delve deeper into fifth-grade standards. Students may choose to work independently on the test out activity, or they may work with the other students in a small group. Students usually choose to work in the hallway in the school’s cafe-style seating with counters or the kidney table with booth-style seating or stools.
“Test out” activities for fifth-grade math completed this year include:
Logic puzzles
Escape rooms (long division)
Market math (adding and subtracting decimals)
Road trip planning (all operations of decimals)
Tangram solutions
Fraction party planning
Fraction choice board
Adding and subtracting fraction review (students created the chapter review for the class, presented and ran the review the day before the test) Some students chose Google Slides while others made worksheets, Flipgrids and Blookets.
“Students have truly enjoyed the opportunity to “test out” of fifth-grade math content that they already know,” said teacher Julie Caputo. “ Students have been eager to work together on a more challenging extension in math and these opportunities have allowed students to feel that teachers can identify and support their specific learning needs. We have seen the rewards of the test out opportunities for the students and feel the preparation and planning on the teacher’s end has been worthwhile. We plan to continue this best practice into the future.”
Students in fifth-grade English language arts are able to take a test at the beginning of each unit. If they show mastery of the skills, they are able to work on an independent self-paced unit that focuses on the skills at a higher level.
For example, fifth graders worked through a unit titled “Bah Humbug” prior to winter break. This unit focuses on the story elements of fiction and the skill of compare and contrast. Students read, identified and compared the story elements in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a picture book version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. “Test out” students read an abridged version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and identified, analyzed and compared the story elements at a much deeper level. For example, when examining the novel’s characters, they considered things such as antagonists vs. protagonists and major vs. minor characters. When looking at the story’s setting, they explored the Victorian Era and England during that time period. They also had a variety of choice activities that had them doing things such as creating a “cast of characters” where they were able to choose actors and actresses they would have played the various roles in a modern version of the story. Another choice activity was to create a soundtrack for a movie version of the novel. Students read and worked through the activities independently and tracked their progress daily in a log included with the novel study.
During their “Winter’s Tail” unit, they focused on finding the main idea in nonfiction. Students read an expository text about the dolphin Winter who was rescued off the coast of Florida after being trapped in a crab trap. She eventually lost her tail and a prosthetic tail was created for her. The students who showed mastery of this unit’s skills were able to take on the role of one of Winter the dolphin’s team of rescuers. They researched information as either the fisherman who found Winter, the rescue team, the rehab team, or as the creator of Winter’s prosthetic. “We arranged for a Zoom meeting with the Clearwater Aquarium, where Winter resided, and ‘test out’ students were able to hold a live Q & A with a trainer that worked with her,” said teacher Lorene Cole. “At the end of the unit, we held a symposium in which these students presented their findings. They were able to dress as their role, created slides to enhance their presentation, and shared their part in Winter’s story with the class.”
So far, having the option to “test out” has been extremely successful. When students show mastery of a skill it makes sense to give them the opportunity to learn more, as opposed to completing lessons to develop a skill they already possess. The fifth-grade teachers plan to continue providing this option to their learners. “We feel it is absolutely necessary and helps us to meet our students where they are,” said Cole.