Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

Investment Plan Toolkit 2 | Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

Table of Contents:

Keep it Alive

Plant the Seeds

Resource Type

Links & Details

Class Theme

Example Themes
Class Theme Song Handout
Reading College Job Bling, Bling! Visuals
Class Chant
Learners Creed
Readers Oath
Elementary: Chant and Class Discussion

Explicitly
Discussing
Learning Goals

Middle School Strategies

High School Strategies

Focus on why
your content
matters

Strategies to build content investment

Exemplar: Build student investment in your content

Additional
Strategies

Strategies to make regular connections to your vision and goal (all

grades)
Effort Medals (PK-2)
We Will Go To Grade __ Poster (K-6)
Commitment Wall (3-12)
Malleable Intelligence Timed Task (3-12)

Student
Tracking:
Celebrate
progress with
students &
families ongoing

Tracking System Examples:

Whole Group Visuals (PK-12)
PK-2 Strategies
Elementary Strategies
Secondary Strategies
Individual Tracking Sheets
Elementary Example Tracker
Secondary Example: Big Goal Progress Tracker
Secondary Example: Unit Mastery Tracker
Reports to Family
PK-2 Progress Report Form
Sample Weekly Progress Report 1
Sample Weekly Progress Report 2
Assessment Reflective Guide Handouts (6-12)

Student Reflection Following Formative Assessment Ex. 1

Student Reflection Following Formative Assessment Ex. 2
Extensive Student Reflection Ex.3
Note: You can find additional guidance and resources for TAL rubric row E-6 (evaluate and keep
track of student performance) here and on the resource exchange.

Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

Class Theme
A Class Theme can be woven into:
Rules
o

(Super Stars will Follow Directions... / To get to College in 2020, you must Follow
Directions)
Rewards
o
The name of your tickets, certificates, special privileges, ceremonies, etc
Consequences
o
Framing of an apology letter, the name of the levels on the tracking sheet, etc
Class-wide and individual tracking of academic achievement and progress
Class dcor
A motto
A class chant, stomp, &/or song
An applause routine for stellar work by an individual student
A pledge
Extra-special questions asked by you to students

Example Themes

Busy Bees
On the College Track
o tables can be named colleges, students can have majors, etc
College Class of 2022
The A+ Class
o goal is A+ work, must always give A+ effort, A+ behavior is expected, etc
Super Scholars
Were HOT this summer!
o Math is HOT! Were HOT to learn! Students can earn participation points by answering
specially designed HOT questions. Once the students reach ten, they earn one extra
credit point on their final exam.
Race to the Top
The Brainiacs
Get on Board the Brain Train!
POWER
Be the Change
Reading College Job Bling, Bling!

Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

Examples of how to use a Class Theme:

(From Amanda Cox, E. North Carolina'07)
I give this to students the first week of school. I've put it in an envelope and taped it to the bottom of their
chairs. They get very excited opening it and keeping the contents a secret!

Sshhhh, keep it a secretyou have been specially chosen to be in the A+ Class with
Ms.Cox this year! It was decided that YOU have what it takes to be an A+ student. You
have shown that you can be responsible, respectful and an excellent learner. It is
going to take A LOT of work, but I know YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!
It is important that you know the A+ Class song and oath. Make sure to practice!

Class song:
I know I can!
Be what I wanna be!
If I work hard at it!
Ill be where I wanna be!

Class oath:
I am intelligent!
I am capable of great things!
I can learn!
I will learn!
I must learn!

You are going to have one of the best times of your life being in 3 rd grade! I am so
proud to be your teacher!

I believe in you!
I know you can do anything you put your mind to!
You are listened to!
You are important to me!
You are going to do great things in this world!

Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

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Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

Reading College Job Bling, Bling!

(Kevin Lohela, 4th Grade)
[FYI: Levels are Green, Red, Blue, Gold, Diamond, and Platinum]
Below you will find pictures of our theme and big goals related to preparing to graduate college in 2020.

Our Bling, Bling Reading Growth Tracker

Our Platinum Data Folders hang from hooks all around
the classroom. Each folder contains the students
writing, math, and spelling tracking sheets, as well as
their diagnostic pieces.

Tracking our math mastery using bar graphs

for each unit

Additionally, some class chants/mottos include:

You gotta read baby read, say what? (one person)

Investment Plan Toolkit 2

Invest Students in your Vision & Goals

You gotta read baby read, say what? (new person)

The more I read
The more I know
The more I know
The smarter I grow
The smarter I grow
The louder my voice
When I speak my mind
And make my choice
Hey, hey this is the way
Hey, we start the day
Hey, to get the knowledge
Hey, to go to college
Hey, but dont stop there
Hey, go anywhere
Hey, this is the way
Hey, we start our day!
And go to college!!!
Writing is red hot
Writing is red hot
R E D, red
H O T, hot
Writing is red hot!
I keep these chants in two places. Some are posted around the room. In addition, I tape some to the
whiteboard, on just the top section. I then put a piece of string on top of the board with a magnet on one
end to stick to the whiteboard. As such, I can just move the string and the whole chant rolls down on the
board for the students to read. When were done, I simply wind it back up quickly and it is attached to the
top of the board once more. Its sort of like a makeshift pull-down map or overhead projection screen.

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The Learners Creed

Written by Ms. Schankula
(Rachel Schankula, Delta 98)
I believe in myself and my ability to do my best.
I am intelligent. I am capable of greatness.
I can learn. I will learn. I must learn.
Today, I will listen. I will speak. I will see.
I will think. I will feel. I will reason.
I will read, and I will write.
I will do all these things
with one purpose in mind: to do my best.
I am too smart to waste today.
Readers Oath
Written by Debra Angstead, Missouri- National Education Association
I promise to read
Each day & night.
I know its key
To growing up right.
Ill read to myself,
Ill read to a crowd.
It makes no difference
If silent or loud.
Ill read at my desk,
At home and at school,
On my bean bag or bed,
By the fire or pool.
Each book that I read
Puts smarts in my head,
Cause brains grow more thoughts
The more they are fed.
So I take this oath
To make reading my way
Of feeding my brain
What it needs every day.

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Learning Goals: Explicitly Discussing Learning Goals

Middle School Example
David Small (Los Angeles, 04)
David Small references his big goals every day in his sixth grade Developing Readers and Writers
course.
His students big goals are to improve by two grade levels in reading comprehension and to score a four
or five on a demanding five-point writing rubric. So, under a big poster declaring those big goals, Mr.
Small has two large graphic organizers. The first is titled Reading Comprehension and breaks down all
the skills that go into reading, including decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension
strategies. Every time Mr. Small introduces a lesson or activity, he refers to that list, explaining how
building the days skill will help reach the big goal in Reading Comprehension. For example, if the class is
using context clues to determine word meaning, Mr. Small says to his students, When we use context
clues to find out what a word means in a sentence, our vocabulary skills will improve because we will
know what the word means. To improve our reading comprehension, we need to understand what each
word means in what we read. The students who want to reach their big goal will focus and try their best
for this lesson!
Similarly, the second graphic organizer breaks down the Six Traits of Effective Writing that are evaluated
by the rubric that defines students writing progressIdeas/Content, Organization, Word Choice, Voice,
Sentence Fluency, and Written Language Conventions. Mr. Small relates every single writing lesson to
those skills, pointing out how each lesson is related to these traits of writing and will help them improve.
As Mr. Small attests, this strategy is effective because it automatically connects the why do? of every
lesson to the achievement of Our Big Goal. I can also gauge the effectiveness of my lessons based upon
how well the lesson teaches the necessary skills towards reaching our goal. Students also become highly
motivated since they know what the goal is and how to reach it.

High School Example

(Rob LoPiccolo, South Louisiana, 99, High School Science)
Rob LoPiccolo (South Louisiana, 99, High School Science) uses the class goals to drive instruction and
motivate students. When you walk into his classroom, his big goals (achieving 80% of mastery of
Louisianas Grade Level Expectations) are obviousas is their importance and power. One entire wall of
his science classroom is a chart of the fifty specific Grade Level Expectations (drawn from the state
standards) that makes transparent the technical skills his students will master by the end of the year. He
checks those objectives off as students progress. He also uses the opportunity of short-term unit goals to
invest students in achieving mastery of each GLE.

He tells his students:

Mastering 80% of Louisianas Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for science is our goal for the year. We
have 50 of them. Were going to do the first 27 of them in the first semester and the rest of them in the
second semester. This is what we have to do to meet them. This is what it means to meet them. Now
were going to keep track and were going to monitor our performance on the various tasks so youll be
able to tell me what GLE Im testing you on just by the assessment tool. And were going to master them
all, and well stay positive and have fun doing it.
He explains:
And thats how they get motivated. When I check one of them off the board, they get excited about it, and
its not, were going to Disneyland! Its just, We did it. We set out to do it and we did it. I just sell it well
enough so thats good enough for them.
Mr. LoPiccolo explains how goal-setting at the beginning of each unit inspires his students efforts:
I've found that my students are more invested if I chop my content goals into short-term, unit-specific
problems to solve. In some circles you might call them "essential understandings" or "guiding questions."
For example, at the beginning of my unit on speed, velocity, and acceleration I have a racecar driver
come in and demonstrate the speed of his car. We see not only how fast it can go, but how fast it can
speed up and slow down. I then ask the question "What can accelerate faster, a race car or a person?"
It'simmediate, its relevant and its exciting. Most importantly, kids really want to find out. I can keep
them hooked on the topic for six weeks this way. At the end, they can answer that question [about the
acceleration of cars and humans]. I break my year up into several of these smaller, more potent goals
with great result.

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Make Regular Connections to the big goal in order to Keep it alive in your classroom!
Keep it Alive Strategy
Lightening Fast Daily
Reminders

Put it in your plans

Example
I hear some off task talking, but this is serious
independent work. Our teammates need quiet to
focus because what we are learning today is helping
us reach our goal of becoming world citizens
What an amazing answer- that really shows me you
are thinking critically like a world citizen
It is hard to remember to make a connection to a great
purpose in the moment. Build this into your lesson
planning process/templates/PPT so you never forget
again.
Example MS Math lesson plan that reinforces the big
goal (tfanet)

Make it personal

Ask students to do
some critical thinking

Pave a clear road

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Build in individual student aspirations into your lessonToday we are going to be learning about ____. I
know Joe really wants to be a lawyer when he grows
up, so lets take a minute and brainstorm how this
lesson could help Joe with his goal.
(group discussion or teacher led key points)
Connect it to students families & influencers. Use the
who you work for strategy outlined in Toolkit A to
remind students of who they work for each day.
Add an exit slip/do now question that prompts
How will X objective help you meet our class goal?
(or help you in real life)

Make sure students know how they are doing towards

your class goals AND what they still need to do to get
there.
-See sample resources in Toolkit B, such as progress
reports and assessment reflections

Notes
Benefit: Fast & no prep needed
Challenge: Students must
actually think the goal is
meaningful in order for this to
work
Benefit: Consistent
reinforcement will pay off at a
faster rate.
Challenge: Not every objective
lends itself to obvious big goal
connections. If you are struggling
to develop one that is meaningful
try making a connection the real
world, individual student
aspirations or future learning.
Benefit: Makes students feel
special & cared for as individuals.
Also helps you limit your
preparation on the why of a
daily lesson.
Challenge: You need to know
your students aspirations well
(but it is worth it!) and have some
key points prepared
Benefit: Low prep, quick way to
gauge if students are making
authentic connections
Challenge: This may be difficult
for students to do without
support, but modeling will help
Benefit: Students will struggle
deeply to feel invested in the
class goal if they see it as
intangible. Leveraging tracking
makes it clear and builds
confidence.
Challenge: It is easy to get
bogged down in overly
complicated systems. Keep it
simple and use student helpers
to keep up with tracking.

Additional Strategies
Effort Medals / Ribbons (PK-2)
Create a couple "Busting My Brain" or "Reading Star" (or something else that fits with your theme) medals
or ribbons. Give them to selected students to wear for a day depending on their performance. Ensure
that each student has the opportunity to wear the medal at least once.
We will go to __ Grade poster (K-6)
This is pretty simple: On the first day, have all students sign a poster that says, "We WILL go to second
grade." (or whatever the next grade is). You could also modify this to convey a slightly different
message: We WILL be ready to be top students in ___ grade!
Commitment Wall / Why Work Hard Wall (3-12)
Either on individual pieces of paper or on one large banner, have students write promises to themselves
and to others who are important to them that they will work hard and make the most of their great
potential. This could be a one-time thing or can be something that students can add to.
Malleable Intelligence: Timed Task Lesson (3-12)
Have students time themselves doing a simple task (i.e. reading a passage or doing a set of problems).
Then have them do it again in the same day. They will have gotten faster as doing the task. Talk with
students about how their brains have grown, are more capable after having worked through the task
once. Explicitly discuss malleable intelligence and how hard work impacts brain development

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Connect Content to Students Lives (PK-12)

Connecting Content to Students Current Lives
Teachers must help students understand the tangible impact of reaching academic goals on their future lives by telling, showing and convincing students
that they will have more choices in life if they do well in school.
Strategy
Use statistics with
your students to
graphically
illustrate the effect
an education can
have on their lives

Example

Be transparent
about the
enhanced life
options a college
degree presents

29% of Americans graduate from college (bachelors)

Bachelor degree holders earn on average double the annual salary of someone with high school diploma
High school grads earn lifetime average of $1.2 million
Associate degree holders earn lifetime average of $1.6 million
Bachelors degree holders earn lifetime average of $2.1 million
High School dropouts more than 3 times as likely to be unemployed as college grads: unemployment rate for high school dropouts
is 8.5%; for high school grads its 5%; for college grads its 2.7%
High school drop outs are three times as likely to smoke cigarettes as college graduates (and therefore have lower life
expectancy)
College grads less likely to be in jail: Percentage of people in jail with at least some college experience is only 25% the rate of
those with only a high school diploma
Those with some college live an average of 4 years longer than those with no college

Example
Leslee Bickford (Philadelphia 03, 6 th Grade Math & Science) faced tremendous investment challenges at the beginning of the year.
She recalls, I needed to find a way to make my students see this as something that is relevant to their lives and something they should
want to do.
In order to invest her students, Ms. Bickford called a community meeting in her class. She began by laying out the reality that in a class
of 25 students in Philadelphia, on average, two students will go to college, three will go to jail or end up in the criminal justice system,
four will drop out of high school, and 16 will end their schooling with a high school diploma and enter a low level job. Then she and her
students engaged in a discussion. They talked about people they knew who had taken each path. They talked about parents who
worked two jobs each because they didnt have the education to get a higher-paying position, they talked about cousins in jail or on
probation, and they talked about siblings who had graduated from college. Ms. Bickford discussed with her students the powerful forces
of institutionalized racism they were confronting but also the power of individuals and communities to overcome these statistics.

At the end of the meeting, Ms. Bickford asked her students what they wanted for their lives. All of them said they wanted to attend
college or have the ability to choose their careers after high school. They concluded by talking about what choices theyd have to
make inside and outside the classroom to create the lives they envisioned for themselves. After the meeting, she placed a sign
that read Defying the odds! underneath their class goal of 90% mastery. From then on, whenever someone would get off track
she would point at the sign hanging above the door and say its your choice.

12

Actively market
the value of
academic
achievement
Show your students
how to succeed in
the outside world

Visual displays, mottos or chants convey that academic achievement is highly valuable. Examples:

Climb the mountain to college in 20XX (XX = the graduation year)

Academic Achievement = Opportunity

Help students learn the steps they need to achieve their dreams by exposing them to:
Successful older students
Invite stellar students from a few grades above yours to speak to your students about why success matters and their reasons (and
rewards) for working hard.
Competitive high schools
Educate students about high school options that might be available to them.
Teach them about the application process and requirements.
If possible, invite alumni of your school who have attended these schools to
speak to your students.
The college admissions process
Take college tours with students.
Teach them about financial aid programs.
Show them sample college entrance exams.
Invite college students to come speak in your classroom.
People from different professions
Invite a variety of guests to share how they reached their positions.
Help students make connections between their dreams and the concrete skills needed to make them a reality.

Make connections
between class
material and future
careers

Elementary School Example

We talk a lot in my classroom about what we want to be when we grow up. I always try to make connections between reading and
writing and math skills and being able to function in the world. We have a wall display on what students want to be when theyre older.
Each month they come up with something different and we update it. On a little worksheet I give them they fill-in-the-blanks: To be a
____________, I need to know how to ____________. I need to learn
________________. Then I post the sheet to the display. It helps them start making connections between dreams and skills. Each
month I go over all the new listings and we talk about them as a class. Once a week, Ill read a book to them about a profession that
someone has listed. The books reflect their interests and stimulate good conversations about the skills they will need and how those
skills relate to the work we do in school.
Middle School Example
Monica Groves (Atlanta 04, 6th Grade English) knew that to invest students in improving their writing, she had to communicate its
importance to their lives. She presented her class with two writing samples, one with high-level vocabulary and perfect grammar and
one with numerous errors and poor word choice. Then she asked her students what they thought about the writers of each essay. Her
students observations about the education level and life options of each of the authors were surprisingly acute. In their discussion, Ms.
Groves made a clear connection, for her students, about what messages their writing, good or bad, would send to the outside world.
High School Example
I really wanted my students to understand that they will need to read for whatever job they ultimately choose. I want them to make very
concrete connections between the work they do in my class to improve their reading skills, and the work they will ultimately do later in
life. So each month I choose four students in each class to collaborate to come up with different jobs that interest themand they have
to research these jobs and come back and make a little presentation to the class explaining the different ways this job requires reading.
And each month I assign the task to another three students and we switch the list.

Wall Display: Connecting Content to Students Current Lives

WHY SHOULD YOU LEARN CHEMISTRY?

REACTIONS are really fun!

Learn to THINK, REASON and DEDUCE.

You get to create THEORIES (so you dont have to be right every time!)

It offers REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS.

Learn to use PRINCIPLES, LAWS and EQUATIONS.

To learn all 112 KNOWN ELEMENTS.

It will make you a better COOK!

Because it MATTERS.

CHEMISTRY IS USED IN:

Making MEDICINES

Ensuring clean WATER supplies

Making PERFUMES

COOKING

Making PLASTICS

Making METALS

HEATING

FREEZING

FORENSICS (Watch CSI!)

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Everyone in the world speaks English, so why do I need to

learn a foreign language?
Kelli Hardee (St. Louis '08)
Did you know that only 5.6% of the worlds population speaks English? Although this number
doubles or even triples when we add in the number of people who speak English as a second
or third language, it still means that nearly 4/5 of the worlds population does NOT speak
English.

So, why should I take the time to learn a foreign language?

Better Employment Possibilities
In our ever-expanding global economy, businesses must learn to deal with other countries and cultures every day.
Government agencies, the travel industry, education, engineering, communications, international law, economics,
public policy, advertising, publishing, entertainment, scientific research, and many service sectors have needs for
employees who speak more than one language. All else being equal, speaking more than one language definitely
gives you an edge over monolingual applicants for the same jobs.
Your English will Improve
Foreign language learners have a stronger ability in their English skills. With each year of foreign language taken,
scores on tests such as the ACT, SAT, GRE, MCAT, and LSAT improve incrementally.
Better Chances of Getting into College
Today, most colleges require a minimum of two years of a foreign language to gain admission. After this, many
colleges also require foreign language courses in order to get a degree. Even if the college or program you are
looking at does not require foreign language for admission, knowing a language will not hurt, and will definitely
make you a more competitive candidate.
Travel
Even though many people travel to foreign countries without knowing a language, knowing a language will enable
you to participate in the culture, communicate with people, and more greatly appreciate day-to-day life. Knowing a
foreign language, you are more likely to be able to order food in restaurants, ask for directions, find
accommodations, negotiate prices, talk with natives just to name a few. You will be able to do more than the
average visitor on your visit to a foreign place!
Study Abroad Options
By learning a foreign language, you will have more options available to you for an opportunity to study abroad.
Some programs require no prior study and offer intensive language-learning opportunities, while others have
much more intensive language study requirements. However, by knowing a foreign language before going to a
country and being able to better language learning when you are there, you are more likely to gain more about the
culture, daily life, and gain more experience in daily interactions.
Its Fun!
How many of your other classes revolve around speaking, doing projects, listening to music, watching movies,
and learning about different people and cultures around the world? Spanish is still a subject that we have to take
seriously, but we can also make it fun and exciting to learn. Spanish is also one of the easiest foreign languages
to learn because it is very phonetic so once you learn the alphabet you will be able to look at almost any word in
Spanish and know exactly how to pronounce it.
Conduct a short lesson on how students academic success impacts life options (3-12)
Elementary School Example
We talk a lot in my classroom about what we want to be when we grow up. I always try to make connections
between reading and writing and math skills and being able to function in the world. We have a wall display on
what students want to be when theyre older. Each month they come up with something different and we update it.
On a little worksheet I give them they fill-in-the-blanks: To be a ____________, I need to know how to
____________. I need to learn
________________. Then I post the sheet to the display. It helps them start making connections between
dreams and skills. Each month I go over all the new listings and we talk about them as a class. Once a week, Ill
read a book to them about a profession that someone has listed. The books reflect their interests and stimulate
good conversations about the skills they will need and how those skills relate to the work we do in school.

Middle School Example

Monica Groves (Atlanta 04, 6th Grade English) knew that to invest students in improving their writing, she had to
communicate its importance to their lives. She presented her class with two writing samples, one with high-level
vocabulary and perfect grammar and one with numerous errors and poor word choice. Then she asked her
students what they thought about the writers of each essay. Her students observations about the education level
and life options of each of the authors were surprisingly acute. In their discussion, Ms. Groves made a clear
connection, for her students, about what messages their writing, good or bad, would send to the outside world.
High School Example
I really wanted my students to understand that they will need to read for whatever job they ultimately choose. I
want them to make very concrete connections between the work they do in my class to improve their reading
skills, and the work they will ultimately do later in life. So each month I choose four students in each class to
collaborate to come up with different jobs that interest themand they have to research these jobs and come
back and make a little presentation to the class explaining the different ways this job requires reading. And each
month I assign the task to another three students and we switch the list.

Another Secondary Example

High School Math Lesson: Start with statistics of people who graduate from college and what they get from
college. Create graphs based on different facts (socioeconomic status, race, college costs, professions coming
out of college, etc.) Share as a group and discuss the causes and implications of the information.

Tracking System
Whole Group Student Tracking Examples (various grade levels, from PK to 12)

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Pre-K2 (check Elementary Examples)

NOTE: Use a chart to show completion of work or assignments if your school does not allow public tracking of
mastery.

Reading: Chicka-Chicka Book Book Reading Tree

(from a 1st grade CM)
I will post a large, barren, paper tree near the class library. I will tell the students that in order to meet our
goal we need to put leaves on the tree. Each leaf will represent one book a student has read. As
students finish reading books, I will give them leaves to decorate. They will also write the title of the book
they just read on the leaf. During morning meeting I will alert students to any new leaves growing on our
tree.

Elementary Examples

Create a Path to Mastery (that coordinates with your class theme, if possible) that has all objectives on
a path and an item (a car, a hiker, an animal, a bicycle, a rocket, etc) for each student that moves along
that path to show accomplishment of each objective.

Create a poster of a carnival horse racing game. Each student will have their one track that ends in
their growth goal and the jockey will have the students face glued over the jockeys face. The students are
racing against their classmates and against time to reach the goal.

Math Quarterback Each yard line represents one skill. Each student will have his/her name on a paper
football helmet. For every skill the student has mastered, his helmet will progress one yard line towards the
end zone. Students who make it to the end zone will have met the goal. Keep the class updated about
how far down the field they should be at different points in the year.

Secondary Examples

Modify an Elementary example to suit the more mature attitude of your studentsbut do not
underestimate Secondary students (even 11th and 12th graders!) enthusiasm for stickers, stars, or getting
to move their horse down the track.

Create a progress graph. You can also use a straightforward chart with progress noted through a bar
graph.

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More Secondary Tracking Examples:

(From an inventory of secondary investment best practices from the Memphis Corps; compiled by: Emily
Abeles, Memphis 06)
OBJECTIVE MASTERY CHARTS (also known as star standards)
Academic

Behavioral

Individual

WholeClass

Absolute

Relative

High-Prep

Low-Prep

What it is:
Objective mastery charts display individual students mastery of objectives and / or standards. Objectives or
standards are written across the top of the poster, and students earn a star or sticker once they show mastery
of an objective/standard. Objective mastery charts are time consuming to keep up with; however, they provide an
instant (not to mention constant) visual reminder of your students mastery for each objective. Students (and the
teacher) always know exactly which mastery quiz/quizzes a student needs to take or re-take. My students
became quite competitive about how many stickers each student had earned.
Positives (+):

Public reminder of success and areas for improvement

A great way to show students how much theyve learned and / or encourage students to work hard

An excellent organizational classroom tool

Potential drawbacks (-):

Up-keep can be a time-consuming process

Some teachers and/or students may not like the public nature of this tracking system
Example 1: High School Anatomy

Example 2: High School Resource English

PUBLIC (classroom-wide) bar graphs and / or public class objective mastery

Academic

Behavioral

Individual

WholeClass

Absolute

Relative

High-Prep

Low-Prep

What it is:
Each time teachers in the examples below gave a mastery quiz, they charted the performance of their students by
class. In the first example, I made a bar graph indicating my students overall mastery average for the objective
(color-coded by class). In the second example, the teacher made a poster of each standard she planned on
teaching over the course of the year. Once her students had taken a mastery quiz/test on the standard, she
charted each class overall mastery average. In example 3, the 8 th grade math teacher charted her students
performance by class for each standard. A similar but more complicated example is shown in example 4.
In example 4, the teacher actually used 2 tracking systems for her bar graphs. The bar graphs show the
percentage of students in each class period who met their INDIVIDUAL GOALS. A white square at the bottom of
each bar actually indicates the OVERALL MASTERY by CLASS for each standard.
Positives (+):

Public reminder of success and areas for improvement

Encourages strong class cultures and a way to provide incentives on a class-wide level

Fairly low-prep

Provides a visual reminder of overall performance by class periods

Potential drawbacks (-):

Does not show mastery on an individual student level

Does not publicly hold each student accountable for objective/standards mastery
Example 1: High school resource English
Resource algebra/English

Example 2: High school

Individual Student Tracking Sheet

Elementary Example
(Kevin Lohela, 4th Grade)
Math: Students will master all EDM math skills. They will track their EDM mastery with unit mastery sheets in their
platinum data folders. Each unit tracking sheet will look like this:

Math Unit 1 Objectives

The College Class of 2020
We can master these! Keep working hard and remaining focused in class!
EDM Objective

Date Quizzed

Score out of 5
Possible

1. Know basic
addition and
subtraction facts.

_______/5

2. Identify, draw,
and label line
segments, lines,
and rays.

_______/5

3. Identify and draw

parallel and
intersecting line
segments.

_______/5

4. Describe sides
and angles of
polygons.

_______/5

5. Identify
properties of
polygons

_______/5

6. Classify
quadrangles
according to side
and angle
properties

_______/5

I MASTERED ___________ out of 6 of skills total!

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I MASTERED this
Skill! (4 out of 5
total)

Secondary Examples

Progress Toward the Big Goal on the ____________________ Assessment

NAME: ________________________________

Goal:

Actual Grade:

DATE: _____________

Learning Goal:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Total # of questions correct: _______

Percentage: ______ / ______

Total # of questions: ______

I did/did not master this objective at 80%.

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Learning Goal:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Total # of questions correct: _______

Percentage: ______ / ______

Total # of questions: ______

I did/did not master this objective at 80%.

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Learning Goal:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Total # of questions correct: _______

Percentage: ______ / ______

Total # of questions: ______

I did/did not master this objective at 80%.

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Exit
Test
Exit
Test
Exit
Test
Exit
Test
Exit

Test

Exit

Test

Exit

Test

Exit

Test

1.23 Select a single piece of data

from a simple data presentation

Exit

1.21 Record 2 variable data

Test

1.20 Features of a table & graph

Exit

1.19 If-then-because hypothesis

Test

1.18 Scientific notation

Exit

1.17 Factor-label

Test

1.16 Measure length, volume,

mass, density

Exit

1.15 Length, volume, & mass

Test

1.14 Problem/Purpose

Exit

1.13 IV & DV

Test

1.12 Variables

Exit

1.10 Experimental & control groups

Test

1.9 Constants

Exit

1.8 Observation & inference

1.6 Quantitative & qualitative data

% O B J E C T I V E S

P E R C E N T

M A S T E R Y

Chemistry 101 My Unit 1 Mastery Tracking

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Test

Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

Periodic Report to Family

Pre-K2

Weekly Academic Progress Report Form

(these can be printed 2 per page)
Weekly Progress Report
Pre-Kindergarten
Student Name: ___________________________________

Week of: ___________________

This week, your student made excellent progress in this area:

_____________________________________________________________________________________
We still need to work on:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
You can do these things to help at home:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Please call me if you have any questions!
- Ms. Brown, 212-xxx-xxxx

Sample Home Progress Reports

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25

Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

____/____/____
Dear Family of

Along with the distribution of progress reports

this week, I would like for you to see some your
childs work so that you can understand how
he/she is doing in English and math class.
Please review the enclosed papers and
discuss them with him/her so that you can be
practicing certain skills at home. I would like to
ensure that each of my students ends this year
doing the best work that he/she can.
Please congratulate him/her for his/her
good work in the following areas:

In particular, your student needs improvement

in the following areas:

____/____/____
Estimada familia
de

En concurrencia con la distribucin de

los reportes de progreso esta semana,
quisiera que vean algunos trabajos de su
hijo para que entiendan como va en la
clase de ingls y matemticas.
Favor revisar los papeles siguientes y
discutirlos con l/ella para que puedan
estar practicando ciertas cosas en casa.
Me gustara asegurar que cada
estudiante mo salga de este ao lo ms
preparado posible.
Favor felicitarle a l/ella para su buen
trabajo en los areas siguientes:

Do not hesitate to call me with questions

(home telephone: 973-0375).

En particular, su hijo/a necesita

mejorarse en los areas siguientes:

Please sign below that you have reviewed

this packet, and return it as soon as possible.

No tengan miedo de llamarme con

preguntas (en casa: 973-0375).

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ms. Cate Swinburn

Favor firmar abajo que han revisado

este paquete y devolverlo lo antes
posible.
Gracias!
Sinceramente,

(family members signature)

Srta. Cate
Swinburn

(firma del padre/ guardian)

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26

Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

_______________________s Weekly Progress Report

Week of:_____________________________

Monday

Reading Strength

Tuesday

Reading Area for Growth

Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Writing Strength
Writing Area for Growth
Math Strength
Math Area for Growth
% of Homework Completed

_______________________s Weekly Progress Report

Week of:_____________________________

Monday

Reading Strength

Tuesday

Reading Area for Growth

Wednesday

Writing Strength

Thursday

Writing Area for Growth

Friday

Math Strength

Thank you,
Ms. Ogonowski

Math Area for Growth

% of Homework Completed

Thank you,
Ms. Ogonowski

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Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

Assessment Reflective Guide (6-12)

Student Reflection following Formative Assessments Example 1

Quiz Date ______________________

Objectives I have mastered (80%
+)

Score _____________

Objectives I need to work on

Next Steps to reach 80%

Student Reflection following Formative Assessments Example 2

Strengths

Causes

What objectives did you

master?

What did you do to make these your strongest?

(Think about your behavior in class that day,
your HW completion, if you asked questions. It
was easy isnt acceptable!)

Areas For Improvement

Outcomes

Which objectives were your

lowest?

What made these your lowest objectives?

(Think about your behavior in class that day,
your HW completion, if you asked questions. It
was hard isnt acceptable!)

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Solutions
What specific things do you need to
do in the next week to put more
objectives in the Strengths column
after our Friday quiz?

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Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

Student Reflection following Formative Assessments Example 3

(More extensive and more guided)

Name___________________________

Assessment Reflection

Date____________________________
Assessment Reflection
Successful people in our society set clear goals and measure their progress towards those goals. These people
also spend serious time reflecting on their work and how their actions contributed to progress or got in their way of
reaching their goals. Each time we assess what we have learned as a class you will have the opportunity to
reflect on your own work and share why you earned the score you earned on the assessment. Take the next 10
minutes to look at your assessment grade and explain why you earned the score you did.

What score did you earn on this assessment? __________________________

Did you reach your goal on this assessment? __________________________

1. What did you do in class that contributed to your score?

___ Listened to teacher
___ Focused during silent work
___ Asked smart questions

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. What did you do at home that contributed to your score?
___ Completed homework
___ Did independent reading
___ Shared what you learned in class with your family members

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

3. How could you have improved your score on this assessment? What things could you have done in
class and at home?

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Investment Plan Toolkit B

Leverage student tracking information

___ Listened in class

___ Participated in class discussions
___ Completed all class work
___ Completed all homework

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. How did your behavior affect your score on this assessment?
___ I behaved every day in class.
___ I behaved most days in class.
___ I misbehaved in class often.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. What choices will you make in class to earn a higher score on the next assessment?
___ Ask my teacher for extra help.
___ Focus
___ Listen to my teacher.
___ Try my best every day.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. If you earned 100%, give advice to your classmates on how you did that and what things they should
do to earn 100%.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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