I am thinking about incorporating Mrs. Renz's Mastery club this year, but I am worried about the management end of it. Do the kids learn 10 states and orally tell you them or do they write it down?
and have adapted it for 5th and 6th grade. I am going to have as much as possible be a paper and pencil short assessment. For instance, the states would have to be labeled on a blank map (in front of me at a time I designate each week either before/after school or maybe even during a recess period..I don't know yet.) But similar assessments for other things.
I would think you could go to Renz' site and email her.
I tried the mastery club this year as a home extension option for my 2nd graders (I had a high-ability class this year). The kids said everything orally and I only let them tell me at recess or after their work was completed (if I wasn't busy with another student). If they were correct they put a sticker on the chart by their name. I think it is great, but I only had one student stay involved in it all year. I will have student computers in my room this year so I may try to add it as an extension option for higher students.
I was worried about management also, but it didn't really take up too much time. I had considered letting them write answers down and turn them in, but then they could be just copying off the computer and not really memorizing anything.
I used Mastery Club last year and only allowed students to tell me at certain times during the day (before/after school, recess, and while waiting in line for specials). I started out only having students tell me orally, but some students had a hard time doing that, so they could write on paper. Towards the end of the year, everyone had the option of writing answers down or telling me. When students were correct, I just gave them the sticker to put by their name for Mastery Club.
As 3rd graders, they are just starting to learn how to research things. So I have my students research it, either during free time or at home, and they have to write it down for me, and they write down what number of mastery club it is. Then they put it on my desk so that I can take it home and do my own research (such as types of fish) to make sure that their info is correct. If it is correct, then I put an "x" on their chart. If it's not correct, I'll hand it back to them to redo. I found it easier for them to write it down and give it to me...that way I'm not bombarded at recess or during class time. I also posted the Mastery Club on our classroom website so that they can work on it at home if they wanted to. It's worked well for me and I plan on doing it again next year.
I used it this year and the management was easy. I have the topics listed on my website and on a BB in my classroom. I call mine the Starfish Club so once a student completes a task, I put a starfish on the board with their name. I also list which task they completed on it. If they do another, I just add the task to the starfish they already have. I also list the members and the tasks they completed on my website.
As for pencil and paper, my kids are only allowed to write it down if they do it in front of me. Otherwise, how can I tell if they really have learned it or if they just copied something from research!
I really loved doing the Mastery club and I suggest doing it in your classroom.
Mastery club works great if you have a class that has a bit of self-motivation. The first year that I did it, my group of students really took off with it. Last year, I only has a couple of students that did even one task. It is a great way to keep those motivated students moving forward! I also let them research in class when they finish their work.
I did this with my After School Program and all of my students were able to participate.
I managed it with all of my students. I had some oral and some written work. Even if the oral work was done, I had slips of paper which the student had to write the question # and had to have myself or a staff sign off that it was correct. I had a box on my desk where students put their answers and every morning before program, I would put their star up and return it to the students. The students then went to their membership card and wrote the question#down so they knew which ones had been completed.
It took me abou 5 minutes each morning to do this and the information my kids got was amazing. I have students who can now use sign language. Who would have thunk it???
I want to do this again this year but I have moved on to a Survivor theme and need to think of another name for it. My husband suggested the Survivor: All-Stars. Any other ideas out there???
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07-12-2007, 12:15 PM
