Inside the Classroom: Sydney Desjardins - Sendera Ranch Elementary
Inside the Classroom: Sydney Desjardins - Sendera Ranch Elementary
Inside the Classroom is a series that visits Northwest ISD campuses throughout the year and highlights the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.
As STAAR testing continues for many students in Northwest ISD, teachers are working hard to review content and build confidence ahead of the state-mandated standardized testing.
For the next edition of Inside the Classroom, we visited Sydney Desjardins, a fourth-grade math and science teacher at Sendera Ranch Elementary, who went all out to reassure her students that they were “Born to Rock… the STAAR.”
With their tables full of rock star decorations and their teacher sporting a rocking t-shirt and earrings, students spent the entire class time playing engaging math review games to keep them sharp.
For the first game, students had a set of six common fourth-grade math terms written on cards. In round one, a student picked a card then described it to their group members in order to get them to guess the term. In round two, the game got more challenging as the student could only use one word to describe the term. Round three was the toughest as the student couldn’t speak but instead had to act out their term.
After each round, whichever table got through their terms first was declared the winner and each student was awarded candy.
For the next game, students picked a term and wrote it on a sticky note. Ms. Desjardins then had the whole class stand up, walk around the room and exchange notes with five different classmates.
Once the exchange was over, students placed a sticky note on their forehead, found a partner, then tried to describe to each other the term on their head. With an odd number of students, Ms. Desjardins even got in on the action.
For the third and final game, students formed groups of three. They started by throwing ping pong balls into cups for one minute. Next, Ms. Desjardins put up a math problem similar to one that could be found on the STAAR.
Students would either solve and justify their answer, annotate the problem or find an incorrect choice and explain how to avoid the mistake. The number of balls that landed in the cups determined what students needed to do with the problem.
Students worked in their small groups for five minutes on each problem. During this time, Ms. Desjardins visited with each group to check on progress and answer any questions.
Students wrote out their work on sticky notes, then Ms. Desjardins picked one student to come to the whiteboard and talk through their problem solving. This game lasted for four rounds, and as students explained their answers at the whiteboard, the rest of the class was always fully engaged and listening.
Each student that shared their work with the class received STAAR bucks, a currency they could use for rewards at the end of the week. They also got to take shots on the class basketball hoop with their teacher and classmates cheering them on.
Throughout the review games, students were using all of the strategies they’ve learned, collaborating with each other and confidently showing off their knowledge.
Most importantly, they did it all with a teacher who was always willing to help and celebrate their successes, and teachers like Ms. Desjardins are certainly a big reason why students all across NISD are ready to “Rock the STAAR!”
Check back regularly all year as we continue to visit students and teachers throughout Northwest ISD and offer a rarely seen look Inside the Classroom.