Monday, September 29, 2014
My Personal Goal: Build Reading Habits
My Academic Goal: Build Math Fluency
1. I will use hoops/loops
2. I will use flash cards
3. I will use online games like Freerice.com
4. I will use Oswego to track my speed
Then, as I get faster, I will print up my Oswego certificates and take photos to post my progress on my blog.
This goal is important because I feel "not so smart" when my times tables are wrong! Okay, I don't need to be super fast, but I want to be accurate!
Cheers,
Britt
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
News for the 19th of September
Dear Families:
Here is a mix of last week's news and some current news in bold letters.
Dates to Note:
*September 23 (Tuesday): MAP Language assessment
*September 24 (Wednesday): MAP Math assessment
*September 30 (Tuesday): MAP Science assessment
*September 24 (Wednesday): MAP Math assessment
*September 30 (Tuesday): MAP Science assessment
Here are brief blurbs about our current units of study:
During Reading Workshop, we will soon have our first round of Book Clubs. There are many Common Core Standards for speaking, listening, and coming prepared for accountable talk with classmates. Most students will be "beginning" and "developing" these skills during trimester one. During trimester two, we spend a lot of time in Book Clubs reading the genre historical fiction; this is another opportunity to move toward full independence in these standards, which means "applying" on the report card.
We will send home more information about "Accountable Talk" including sentence stems for parents to talk with their children about their reading.
We will send home more information about "Accountable Talk" including sentence stems for parents to talk with their children about their reading.
During Writing Workshop, we are building story arcs. We have started this writing genre by building a small problem that will naturally expand into larger problems and eventually a climax. Next, students focus on time order words as a tool to push their story forward scene by scene. Most students develop simple plots based on overcoming a difficult time at a new school or in a new place; dealing with being bullied; or, trying something new and challenging for the first time. Many students "borrow" ideas from their favorite children's books. These are all healthy ways to begin our first multiple page story.
Social studies begins with our National Identity poster making. This is a fun way to express ourselves and it makes for a colorful classroom. We launch our study of South Asia with a lesson on the Superlatives of South Asia and mostly India.
For math, our unit is called Place Value. Student "I can statements" help in understanding what that really means. Many of these statements link with the next big push, which is multiplication and division with problem solving/word problems as a focus.
For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on reading and writing large numbers and long division with a check using multiplication. Any place value game is also crucial. For differentiating online games, use IXL grade 4 place value and multiplication and division games first. Then, if those games are hard, move down to grade 3. If those games are easy, move to grade 5. Use Khan Academy after IXL.
For a student to be APPLYING for multiplication and division facts in grade 4, which means ON GRADE LEVEL, a student must answer 50 facts for 1 to 12s in about 3minutes by the end of grade 4. So, be sure to encourage your son or daughter to spend 10 minutes multiplying and dividing facts from 1 to 12. Here is another link to use:
| I can recognize that in multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right. |
| I can read and write larger whole numbers using numerals, words, and expanded form |
| I can compare two large numbers using symbols to show the comparison |
| I can round whole numbers to any place value |
| I can add and subtract large numbers and subtract across zeroes |
| I can use what I know about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve multi-step word problems involving whole numbers |
| I can use different problem solving strategies to show how I solved a word problem |
| I can determine whether a given whole number up to 100 is a prime or composite number and explain my determination |
| I can solve for a variable |
For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on reading and writing large numbers and long division with a check using multiplication. Any place value game is also crucial. For differentiating online games, use IXL grade 4 place value and multiplication and division games first. Then, if those games are hard, move down to grade 3. If those games are easy, move to grade 5. Use Khan Academy after IXL.
For a student to be APPLYING for multiplication and division facts in grade 4, which means ON GRADE LEVEL, a student must answer 50 facts for 1 to 12s in about 3minutes by the end of grade 4. So, be sure to encourage your son or daughter to spend 10 minutes multiplying and dividing facts from 1 to 12. Here is another link to use:
Online practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with an answer check feature (lizardpoint.com also has geography games)
*Free Rice and Oswego are great links too!
LINKS For PLACE VALUE
Practice Reading Numbers: Especially Really Big Numbers
Fun RACE CAR Place Value Games
http://www.math-play.com/math-racing-place-value-game/math-racing-place-value-game.htmlNumber Top It
Learn about the world through Large Numbers
http://www.factmonster.com/
If you have any questions please email me us tbritt@aisch.org and ddeanna@aisch.org.
Ms. T and Ms. Deanna
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Writing About Reading: Stop N Jots, Literacy Letters, and Summaries
There are 3 main types of writing about our reading happening right now: Stop N Jots; Literacy Letters; and Summaries. Stop N Jots happen at home and at school. Summaries are written once a month and literacy letters are written three times a month. Every Friday, students have time during Writing Workshop to write a summary or literacy letter. That does not mean they finish them however and this could mean "weekend" writing homework. More on each item below... Students learning English are not expected to do this work at home. They are still doing this work in class with a teacher guiding them.
Stop N Jots
Stop N Jots happen every day at school and at home. Students should not have a post it note on every page of their book. When a deep idea comes into a reader's mind, they must identify the "text clue" that is leading to this idea. Write it down on the post it note with the page number of the book in quotes. Then, write down the reader's idea. Then, identify, what reading strategy was used to link the text with the idea and write that code at the top of the post it. INF, P, Q, T-T, T-W, ACTIONS, HEART and the like are some of the codes.
Parents, this is a meta-cognitive reading strategy and the reason why students from Finland score the highest on the PISA test in reading. Meta cognitive reading is crucial to true comprehension and growth.
Summaries
Students have gone through the steps for writing a summary in class and they all have a teacher/student written summary on their blog. This is their model for independent work. All summaries must get to the HEART of the story. Again, students building English speaking skills are writing summaries with a teacher in a guided setting.
- Step 1: summary star graphic organizer.
- Step 2: cloze summary writing sheet.
- Step 3: type and share with teacher.
- Step 4: revise and edit with teacher, parent, peer.
- Step 5: publish on blog.
Checklist for Literacy Letters
- ___I put the date, a greeting, and a closing in my letter.
- ___I wrote in paragraphs.
- ___I checked my work for spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
- ___I wrote legibly.
- ___I included the information that was asked for in the assignment.
- Paragraph one is a sentence with the title, the level, the genre and the page number that you are currently at. Then, you tell me a bit about how your reading is going. Why do you like this book? How is the level feeling? Do you want to abandon this book or finish it? Do you want to write a summary about the book so that your classmates will read it?
- Paragraph 2 is an expanded Stop N Jot. You could make a text connection, you could infer for the HEART/THEME of the story, which is the author's purpose of writing this book.
- Paragraph 3 is another expanded Stop N Jot. Perhaps you want to build some theories about your main character or one of the sub-characters. You might want to write your BIG IDEAS down with text details about why you've built these Big Ideas or Theories.
- Paragraph 4 is a final Stop N Jot. Maybe make a Prediction about what will happen next in your story.
News for Friday the 12th of September
Dear Families:
Please check the school's website for the upcoming events, such as DOT DAY. As for 4B important dates... MAP testing is very spread out this year, which is great for kids! We have one test next week for reading. Then, math and language are the following week. And, science is in three weeks.
Dates to Note:
*September 17: MAP Reading assessment
*September 18: Geometry test 2 angles and symmetry
*September 19: Magnetism and Electricity assessment
*September 22: Social Studies Unit 1 Launch
*September 18: Geometry test 2 angles and symmetry
*September 19: Magnetism and Electricity assessment
*September 22: Social Studies Unit 1 Launch
Here are brief blurbs about our current units of study:
During Reading Workshop, we are analyzing tools that writers use to build interesting and complex characters, and we are learning how to develop theories about our characters. Students have been Stopping N Jotting action words to look deeply at how characters behave. Also, we've been inferring feelings by using text clues. We want to build theories about our characters based on what they do, what they feel and what they say. I will post some pictures of great Stop N Jots on this blog.
During Writing Workshop we have finished our first On Demand narrative and now we will use our reading teaching points (strong action words, phrases that allow us to infer feelings) to revise our main character -your son or daughter- into a stronger character. We will spend a lot of time learning how to write dialogue as well. Dialogue is not just speaking! Ask your son or daughter what about our dialogue jingle...
Next, students will begin to ARC realistic fiction stories scene by scene. Students will bring home their ARCS and ask you for ideas... Please help your son or daughter think of ways to begin with a small problem and build up to a larger problem and then a climax and then a resolution: scene by scene. Think of it as a children's book that we will actually print out page by page and illustrate.
Next, students will begin to ARC realistic fiction stories scene by scene. Students will bring home their ARCS and ask you for ideas... Please help your son or daughter think of ways to begin with a small problem and build up to a larger problem and then a climax and then a resolution: scene by scene. Think of it as a children's book that we will actually print out page by page and illustrate.
For science, we have been using a source, receiver, and a conductor to create light! Circuit boards are lots of fun, but we need to learn correct terms as well. Remember the vocabulary slideshow? It is time for students to start looking at that again. Our assessment is scheduled for the 19th. Ask your son or daughter to draw a sketch of a circuit that will make a lightbulb SUPER bright!
For math, this was our final week focusing on angles and symmetry until our measurement unit after winter break when we will revisit these skills. Students should work with angles at home every few weeks because these are yearlong skills. The assessment is Wednesday the 17th. Sorry for the confusing email about a Friday date.
For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on reading and writing large numbers and long division with a check using multiplication. Any place value game is also crucial. For differentiating online games, use IXL grade 4 place value and multiplication and division games first. Then, if those games are hard, move down to grade 3. If those games are easy, move to grade 5. Use Khan Academy after IXL.
For a student to be APPLYING for multiplication and division facts in grade 4, which means ON GRADE LEVEL, a student must answer 50 facts for 1 to 12s in about 3minutes by the end of grade 4. So, be sure to encourage your son or daughter to spend 10 minutes multiplying and dividing facts from 1 to 12. Here is another link to use:
For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on reading and writing large numbers and long division with a check using multiplication. Any place value game is also crucial. For differentiating online games, use IXL grade 4 place value and multiplication and division games first. Then, if those games are hard, move down to grade 3. If those games are easy, move to grade 5. Use Khan Academy after IXL.
For a student to be APPLYING for multiplication and division facts in grade 4, which means ON GRADE LEVEL, a student must answer 50 facts for 1 to 12s in about 3minutes by the end of grade 4. So, be sure to encourage your son or daughter to spend 10 minutes multiplying and dividing facts from 1 to 12. Here is another link to use:
Online practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with an answer check feature (lizardpoint.com also has geography games)
*Free Rice and Oswego are great links too!
LINKS For PLACE VALUE
Practice Reading Numbers: Especially Really Big Numbers
Fun RACE CAR Place Value Games
http://www.math-play.com/math-racing-place-value-game/math-racing-place-value-game.htmlNumber Top It
Learn about the world through Large Numbers
http://www.factmonster.com/
If you have any questions please email me us tbritt@aisch.org and ddeanna@aisch.org.
Ms. T and Ms. Deanna
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