“Homework, I have discovered, involves a sharp pencil and thick books and long sighs.” Team 4W had a fabulous week together! I am still introducing various classroom tools, routines, strategies, and expectations. I am thrilled with how well this group is attending to all the details, which can be overwhelming at the start of a new school year. Thank you for your continued help at home. Getting back into the swing takes time! Below are a few things we worked on this week. ![]() This week, students were assessed in spelling and reading so that I may tailor my instruction to best meet each child's needs. Spelling: We will be using a new program this year and your child's spelling practice and assessments will look very different from what he/she experienced in the past. More information will be coming home in the next couple weeks, so be on the look-out. The program we will be using is called Words Their Way. iReady: iReady is an online assessment tool designed to assess students' reading proficiency and identify skills to prioritize for instruction. Students did a great job using this tool and I look forward to using the results to guide my reading instruction. Ask your child to share with you his/her experience! ![]() Students are working to uncover the answer to this essential question in Science: How do scientists find out about objects, living things, events, and phenomena? We examined what it means to observe and infer this week. Several activities allowed students to practice the art of observation and use their observations to infer. Ask your child to share with you about...
![]() Word Lockers are one of the tools students will use in 4th grade! Content vocabulary will be stored in our Word Lockers for studying and for using in our writing across the curriculum. Students are also encouraged to collect interesting or meaningful words they find in their reading. As a general routine, each word card has a word, its definition, and an image/example/diagram to help students remember the meaning. ![]() Students completed their first self assessment this week. I asked each child to reflect on last week's 4W Bootcamp goals and determine if each goal had been reached, or if progress toward the goal was still being made. Students were then asked to provide evidence to support their answers. I will be giving Team 4W this reflective opportunity each week. Three curriculum learning targets from the previous week will be the focus for the weekly self assessment. This is a great opportunity for learners to think about their progress and communicate to themselves and to me about help and encouragement that is still needed. Please look for these to come home weekly. Student responses on self assessments can be a great way to start a discussion at home about your child's learning experiences at school! ![]() Each week, learners will be using mentor sentences from various authors' works to learn about and review parts of speech, grammar, and figurative language. Additionally, students will practice revising and imitating patterns and tools used by authors so that they may continue to develop their own writing skills. Ask your child to share about this classroom routine with you! ![]() Reading is thinking! We learned this week about the Contrast and Contradiction signpost. When a character in a story says or does something that is the opposite of what we would expect, we should take notice! Answering the question, "Why is the character doing that?" will give us greater insight. The answer may help us infer or predict about the plot, conflict, or theme of the story. Ask your child about the contrasts and contradictions found in "Thank you, Ma'am" by Langston Hughs and in Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. This signpost is one of six that students will learn about this year. Understanding and using these signposts will help students to read and comprehend more deeply. ![]() Students will be writing narratives this quarter. We worked on some pre-writing last week and will begin drafting this week! ![]() Students were placed in classes last week and are off to a great start in math! Unit 1 will uncover and review various geometry skills and concepts. In addition to our Everyday Math Program, students will use various online tools, games, and apps for learning. Standards Based Assessments will also be used in conjunction with the text for formative and summative assessment. Regular fact practice at home will help students achieve fluency so they may accurately compute. Check out my MATH PAGE for links to online games for fact practice!
4 Comments
Linda Minard
8/31/2013 11:12:57 pm
Thank you Thank you Thank you!
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Amy
8/31/2013 11:33:09 pm
Your blog posts are prompting great conversations at home. Thanks!
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Kimberly Walther
9/1/2013 12:26:31 am
You are most welcome!
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Kimberly Walther
9/1/2013 12:27:27 am
Thanks for sharing. So glad to know these posts can ignite conversations at home!
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