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I really liked this website!! Our bilingual students will definitely enjoy working on spelling lists that have pictures to help them understand the meaning as well. Once students master the vocabulary/spelling list, they may test online through a website I found earlier this year. I was looking for website to create online spelling tests and I fell in love with "Benchmarks for Success: Free on-line benchmark testing". Check out their website: www.freeonlinebenchmark.com Not only can you create a test, but also print out a generated list of passcodes for students to go to this site and test online. My students love it because they don't have to wait to know their grade since they get it once they submit their responses. Oh, you may also use tests created by others since all the created material is "shared"!

This is a great source for us elementary teachers. I just have one question, do you have to download the software?

No software download needed! It's all within the website.

Thank you Romel!

Whenever it's free.....of course us teachers love it. Check this website out there are also free printables. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/

I looked over this site, and I really liked the crossword puzzle creator. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing. It's great to use considering we're limited with our resources. The kids always love solving the puzzles. Great for spelling and vocabulary.

Great website! We fixing to incorporate a "more practice" section for those students who can't seem to grasp the unit/lesson. It will also serve for students who need/ask for extra credit. Thanks!!

Will you be willing to blow up the gradebook and try this innovative way of grading student's performance in your class?

I am willing to blow up the grade book. This will require to lay a foundation of work that students will find interesting and that covers the requirements for the course. A lot of preparation needs to be done by the teacher ahead of time. It will be up the students to select their work and what final grade they want.

Sounds like PBL again. If the methodologies of teaching must change to teach and prepare students for our ever changing world, perhaps that is another thing that needs to change. In PBL we are using a standard based rubric, and we use a point system1-4. Teachers were quick to ask how they can convert these numbers to grades, but do we really need to? On the other hand, Juan is right, we need to be very well prepared, and have daily progress checks and be sure that a student masters the skills necessary. Either way the accountability of the teacher/guide is immense. I prefer PBL with all the 21st century skills to prepare them for real life.

Sometimes, I can see these effects in my own classroom. As STAAR approaches, we tend to increases the number of mini-marks (practice tests) that students take. Struggling students usually have the attitude of, "I failed last week, and I will probably fail again", whereas, high achieving students think, "AGAIN...I am so bored!". By focusing on the learning, I think children will be more enthusiastic and motivated to learn. In addition, I have seen how grades promote competition between students, which is not always beneficial. I appreciate how Ana referenced PBLs. PBLs are an excellent way to refocus our attention on the heart of the manner, which is student achievement!

I've been saying this for a long time now, and I all I've gotten thus far are weird looks. How do you like me now! I'm going to use this as a reference to support what I've been saying all along. And yes, it does look like a PBL model in the sense that we'd measure student achievement more individually. The problem is that we don't have buy in from from administration and colleagues, YET, which makes it difficult to get student buy in when not everyone is aboard. I like it very much, and yes, I would be willing to blow up my grade book.

I would love to do this BUT if the students are being judged on scores to get into college then I will have to give them scores. I teach juniors and seniors and they are all worried about their grades so they can get into college. Until the system changes I am goingot have to give grades. What is funny is my higher level students want grades. They are always asking about their grades and how they can bring up their grades. They associate school with grades and that is what is important to them. We as educators need to be associating learning with school not just grades. I think this is a great idea but I can not get rid of the gradebook yet. Here is to wishful thinking.

I'm with some of the others who commented - I would love this but..... I completely agree grades lead to a reduction in everything from interest (student and teacher) to quality of learning and teaching. It seems all the research in the world doesn't change the way students and teachers are assessed. Remember portfolio assessments? Portfolios assessed the learner as a whole and looked at growth over the year. Much like PBLs, as other mentioned, it measures student achievement individually. Like Albert said, there isn't buy in yet. We are a grade driven system. Students, parents. administrators, etc. associate success or failure with grades. I would love to blow up my grade book and focus on student growth!

I would love to blow up the grade book. Every week I am picking up 15 grades per week because I am self-contained and teach all subjects. Sometimes it is so overwhelming and time consuming. Although, it does measure whether or not the students are mastering the objectives. With grades we are constantly re-teaching objectives that students did not get in conference tutorials and keep on teaching new objectives. It feels like the teachers, students, administrators are so worried and stressed over grades, numbers, benchmark scores, and percentages for data. Especially with STAAR, we are so consumed over numbers!