The students come into each block and the first ten minutes is spent on IXL as a warm-up. 6th grade has taken it one step farther and is using it through competition within the classroom and across the grade level to help motivate students to continue practicing and sharpening their math skills. Some of the competitions include: achieving proficiency and mastery in specific skills, number of badges earned, time spent on the program, number of questions answered, etc. Awards for the students have included: free seating in the cafeteria (grade level challenge), ice pops, and certificates to take home. The two 6th grade math teachers let the students brag in the classroom by displaying all the badges won by each individual student. Up to date, over 120 badges have been earned.
“As a teacher, it is exciting to see the students challenge themselves by attempting questions in higher grades, such as eighth, pre-calculus, and algebra. Also when I have introduced a new skill, several students have commented that they already know what to do because they saw it on IXL,” commented Mrs. Palmer.
In just six short weeks since starting IXL, Mrs. Palmer’s students have already spent more than 500 hours on IXL to answered over 100,000 questions. Her students have mastered 1,772 skills and are proficient in 2,144 skills. This is a huge accomplishment. Mastery is earning a smart score of 100. Proficient is earning a smart score of 80 (considered on grade level). All students practice at school, but this friendly competition has encouraged many to continue at achieving math goals at home.
