Bump It Up

A while back, I was contacted by a teacher named Sheena about creating a custom order bulletin board for her. I agreed, but when she described what she was looking for, I was really curious. She wanted the title "Bump It Up," some arrows, and a few subheadings saying various things. I was dying to know what it was about, so I emailed her back asking more about it. Fortunately, she was happy to share!

According to Sheena:

The "Bump It Up" board is used to provide students a hands-on opportunity to "bump up" their work. When beginning an assessment piece, you create the learning goal (what students will be able to do) and the success criteria (how they will get there).  I create these things with my students so that it is in their language.  Sometimes I even have them write it out and post the charts they came up with.  In groups, they then create a quick piece that is a level 1, 2, 3, 4.  We use sticky notes and the success criteria to decide what made the piece a level 1, 2, 3, 4.  This board is then displayed as a starting piece for students to refer to as they create their own individual assessment piece on the topic. After I assess their work, I then choose a level 1, 2, 3, 4 and copy this piece without the students' names.  Then I place these pieces in the appropriate places on the board.  The students refer to this throughout the year and see how they can bump their work up to the next level.

The next time around, you can give them examples you have created and have them decide the level and place on the board before going to the final step of using their own work.

At first I was a little worried about the level 1/2's and how they would react to their work being posted, but they actually become very open about it as we always discuss the importance of trying our best and then growing from there.

 Here are a few pictures of how it looks in her class.

Isn't that a fabulous idea?! I'm so thankful for Sheena for sharing that with me. And to say Happy New Year to you, I'm offering it as a freebie this week at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Sheena originally contacted me to make this board after purchasing one of my products on TpT. If you have an idea for a product that you'd like for your classroom, now you can feel free to contact me via my new "custom orders" page. There you can describe what you're looking for and get a quote for how much I'd charge to make it.

Happy New Year!