Bump It UP!

This year, in our school, we are all using "Bump It Up Walls".  I confess, at first I was skeptical, but our principal was convinced it would make a difference, so I thought I would give it a try. 

If you've read my "Math Journal" post, you will know that I've been using "Interactive Math Journals" this year for the first time.  I got the idea from Runde's Room.  Well, I was finding a rather large range of quality from one student's work to another.  I decided that I would try my first "Bump It Up Wall" with samples from our Math Journals. 

I chose five samples of student work to photocopy, and I made five copies of each selection.  The students worked in groups of four or five with each group having all five selections.  As a group, they had to determine what made the sample good, and what the student could do to improve his/her work.  (The students whose work was selected remained anonymous).  Then as a class, we went through each sample with the groups sharing what they felt the students did well, and what they could do next time to improve their work. 

We posted these samples on our "Bump It Up Wall" with large sticky notes that stated what was done well, and what the student could do to bump up their work.  After we completed this activity, we re-wrote our Success Criteria for our Math Journals (we realized that we had increased our standards from our previous criteria). 

Note that the Success Criteria are written in student-friendly language. 

I liked this activity because it was the students who decided what made a quality journal entry.  They decided what should be included and how a journal entry should look. 

After we had completed our Success Criteria, the students each went back to their most recent journal entry, and they gave themselves feedback on what they needed to do in their next entry to make it even better than their last. 

For our next entry, I asked the students to do a procedural text on how to use a protractor.  They were also asked to explain why it is an important skill to know how to measure angles.  How could they use this skill in the "real-world"?  I could not believe the overall improvement in their work.  I think the Bump It Up Wall, or at least the activity that led to its creation, made a huge impact on the quality of their work. 

Here is a sample:

I will definitely do this activity again.  Our next "Bump It Up Wall" will be used for Reading Response activities, stay tuned...