Hayley O'Reilly

For this project, I decided to create an online rubric for Genius Hour Presentations. My fourth graders love Genius Hour and are required to present their project on a topic of their choice once a quarter. These presentations are tech-based and are always open to student choice, so some students make iMovies, ebooks, or digital presentations. Having this rubric that is overarching for a variety of tech tools will allow me to use it to assess each student no matter what outlet they use to present their findings.  Using ForAllRubrics was easy for me and I look forward to using it in the future! The account was free and I didn't have to waste time making a table or formatting it as I usually do in Google Docs. The site was self explanatory and I really think it will make grading a breeze. By being able to select the criteria right on my laptop or iPad, grading the presentations will be much easier. Due to the length of these presentations, they usually span the course of...

Standardized testing is a necessary (or obligatory) evil in elementary schools. My classroom is required each spring to forgo our normal learning schedule to partake in PARCC testing. While this time of year is not my (or the students) favorite time of year, I choose to focus on the positive aspects of this learning opportunity with the students and parents. PARCC testing provides children with the opportunity to celebrate their learning, basking in pride of what they have accomplished in school to help them feel confident with testing items. Additionally, testing provides students with an opportunity to be challenged and extend their thinking in both math and english language arts. By taking this silver lining approach to the testing season, I believe that the students are more at ease and mentally prepared for the test. Besides the children feeling at ease, I also believe that it is imperative that the parents feel comfortable by being in-the-know about PARCC testing. In the pas...