That's a disgusting title isn't it? :) Well, hopefully your child has come home talking about how we SNOT all the time in fourth grade! SNOT is an acronym that stands for:
Small Notes On the Text As a reader, it's important to engage with a text. Gone are the days of just reading the words...now it's time to THINK about what those words mean and what the text is saying! When we read a text together in class, we SNOT all over it! We circle words and draw lines to synonyms. We take notes in the margins about what we think characters are feeling or how the text is making us feel. We write down our thoughts ALL OVER THE TEXT. We dissect it paragraph by paragraph so that by the time we are finished we have made connections all over it! We notice interesting words, we ask questions, and we figure out what the text is talking about. It's important to think about what we are reading. Why did the author write it? What did we learn? Does it remind us of anything else we have read? We train our 4th graders to do this by writing down their thoughts and connections as they read. At the beginning of the year, the students are always a little more shy about writing down their connections as they read. We do a lot of our "SNOTTING" together. However, as the year progresses, they grow braver and more confident as they practice to actively think every time they read until it literally becomes a reading habit! And what a wonderful habit to build! Good readers THINK about what they are reading! I always tell the kids that when you get finished, it should look like you "blew your nose all over your passage!" Gross- but the kids love it and it's a metaphor they never forget! :) Happy Reading! The SNOT Trainer :) The blue folders have started coming home with graded work in them and I'm sure you're wondering why so many grades are scribbled through and crossed out and changed. :) My policy on homework is that it is for practice. I grade it in order to hold the students accountable for doing it. However, the grade they receive is very flexible and has the opportunity to change as they correct their work. Homework is returned to students every morning and they have the opportunity and choice to fix it in order to raise their grade. The students return the work to me and I score it again. Then, I change their grade in my grade book. In my opinion, homework should always be worked up to a 100%. If your child is coming home with work that is not worked to 100%, then this is a discussion starter for you and your child. Are they using their time wisely in class to correct their work? Is getting a good grade important to them? In the grand scheme of things, grades earned in 4th grade mean very little. However, this is the time to build good habits in class and at home, so that when grades do mean something, the students are prepared.
I am happy to return work and help students correct their work until they have a 100% on homework, but my policy on tests is very different. By the time we take a test over a unit we have been studying, the students should be prepared to do well. A test weighs more and is more important that homework. This will be true for the rest of their academic career, and I think it is important to teach them the seriousness of tests. It is my hope that over the course of 4th grade that students begin to build good study habits and good test taking strategies that will help them be successful in school. Test grades do not change in my classroom. I encourage students to take their time, and I force them to use as many strategies as I can in order to help them be successful. However, I do think it is important to understand why a question was marked wrong on a test. Therefore, we will always fix our work on a test, even though the grade will stay the same. When students fix their work, if it is correct, I will simply write an "OK" over the original "x". This is my way of letting the students and you know that they have fixed their work and it is now correct. Fixing incorrect work is important because it retrains your brain to do something the right way. Even when we take tests, we are still learning and getting better at what we do. :) I hope this clears up any confusion about the marks on papers in the blue folder! As you will see from the folder, we are working very hard in class every day! :) Your partner, Allison Griffin :) There's just something about being in elementary school! It's such a great time to make friends and learn new things! I might be a little biased, but I believe it's the best years of school! :) Sometimes with all the new demands of education, the fun of elementary school can seem lost. "All work and no play." Some of my favorite memories from elementary school are all the fun crafts we made! It seemed like we were always cutting, gluing, drawing, coloring, and creating! It's just so much fun to make a craft! :)
Once a month in our class, we do exactly this! We make a fun craft! It's always tied directly to what we are learning, and it's always a way for students to show how much they have learned in a specific content area! In October, we made pumpkins. In November, we made turkeys. December brought us marshmallow ornaments. In January, we made a fun snowman! Each time we make a craft in our class, every piece is earned by completing a math problem or answering a reading question. The students earn all the pieces of their craft as they complete their work. The reward for completing the assignment is getting to put the craft together and having the accomplished feeling of finishing the assignment! :) This week, we made valentine hearts! They are so cute! This craft was tied to our fraction unit. The students had to answer 12 questions about drawing fractions, converting between improper and mixed numbers, reducing fractions, and creating equivalent fractions. Each question earned pieces like a foam heart, ribbon, multi-color sequins, pom-poms, and foam stickers! It was so much fun and the students loved creating their unique valentine heart! They are all different and beautifully creative! Our part of the hallway looks especially ready for Valentine's Day now! :) Until next time... Mrs. Griffin :) There's nothing more exciting than a trip with your friends! I am so excited to inform you that we want to take our 4th graders on a (one night) overnight trip to 4H camp! This is such an exciting field trip that will create memories that will last a lifetime. It's also a great way for our students to engage with our science content through real life experiences. Next week, we will begin to send home information about a this field trip. We will send home information one piece at a time. You will receive two pages next week: an informational page about the trip and a permission slip/health information packet. We would love to have parents join us on this trip as well! Please look for a place on the permission slip next week to mark whether or not you would like to go with us. A formal parent meeting that will give you tons of details and answer all your questions will be held on Monday, February 26th at 6pm. Please make plans to join us that evening so you can have all your questions answered. :) This is going to be an amazing field trip that you will not want your child to miss! :)
By this point in the year, you have probably heard the terms "ERQ" and short answer thrown around some either by teachers or your children. I wanted to take minute to break down the types of questions your child practices in class and answers on tests in our classroom. Students are typically presented with two main types of questions in fourth grade: multiple choice and constructed response.
Multiple choice is usually the type of question that students assume will be the easiest to answer. However, they are probably finding that multiple choice are much harder than they appear. The trickiness lies in that multiple choice questions can sometimes be presented with more than one answer choice that SOUNDS RIGHT...and students are left ping-ponging between two answers that both sound like they could be correct. In upper elementary school and beyond, students are starting to be asked to choose the BEST ANSWER to a multiple choice question. This means that there might be two choices that sound good but one is a better answer for the question than the other. This can be tough and even sometimes discouraging to students who are used to multiple choice questions that always have a blatant obvious answer. Encourage your child to read the questions carefully and SLOW DOWN. It's the extra time taken to think about the question and answers that usually results in a correct answer chosen. The other type of question that students usually see on a test is called constructed response. This type of question asks students to "construct" (or write) their answer instead of choosing it from a list of possible answers. There are two types of constructed response in 4th grade: short answer and ERQ. Short Answer responses are scored on a scale of 0 to 2 (2 being the highest score possible). Short answer responses usually involve the students answering a comprehension question in reading that would fit the size of an index card. I tell the students that a well written short answer response should be about a paragraph. It should have the answer in their own words first, and then should be supported with text evidence. In math, it might be solving a word problem, labeling their work, and writing the answer in a sentence. ERQs are scored on a scale of 0 to 4 (4 being the highest score possible). An ERQ stands for Extended Response Question. Just like the name suggests, this type of question requires an extended (longer) response. ERQs typically require about a full page of work in either reading or math. These types of questions are higher level, critical thinking questions that often involve making inferences and drawing conclusions in reading, or solving multi-step word problems in math. It's easy to become intimidated by them, but my goal is to do so many in class that students attack them with ease on state assessments. Many students start to realize that the amount of work put in to an ERQ directly correlates with the score they receive. Extra effort put towards explaining, using academic vocabulary, showing math steps used, and pulling multiple examples from the text for support usually pays off in a high score of a 4. We weave these types of questions into our day and practice them a lot. I do a lot of modeling at the beginning of the year, and tend to start pulling away around December as students show more confidence in being able to answer these questions on their own. :) The 4th grade KRPEP test will have multiple choice, short answer, and extended response questions. The unit tests we give throughout the year have these types of questions as well. Well, that probably wasn't the most engaging blog to read about (HAHA) but hopefully it was informative. :) Until next time...enjoy your newly acquired educational jargon! :) One of the things I love about math is that there are so many ways to get to an answer! So many times we don't take the time to open our minds to the multiple strategies that are available to solve a math problem! The problem with this is that if a carpenter only has one tool in his toolbox, he is going to be limited in his ability to do his work. When students only arm themselves with one strategy, they limit themselves in their thinking. It's much better to have many ways to find an answer because then you can choose the strategy that you want to use. You also have multiple ways to think through a problem when you have more strategies to think about.
So, in order to expose students to more than one way to solve a problem, I have taught 3 multiplication strategies in my classroom. The Distributive Property, the Box Method, and the Standard Algorithm (this is the way you and I learned to multiply). The Distributive Property and the Box Method are very similar. I have attached videos to the website to show you these strategies. :) In order to get buy-in on the multiple strategies, I have challenged the kids to be surgeons and doctors this past week! :) We talked about how both surgeons and doctors take good care of their patients. Surgeons open up their patients and tend to take a little longer on their patients due to performing surgery. We relate being a surgeon to doing the Box Method. This method involves solving the multiplication problem from the inside out. We fix the "patient" (the problem) on the inside (in the boxes) and then we stitch the patient up (we add the products together). :) We also talk about being doctors when we use the Standard Algorithm. Doctors tend to have quicker visits with their patients. The Standard Algorithm is a little faster of a process than the Box Method. Doctors check their patient head to toe. We solve problems vertically using the Standard Algorithm. :) So, each day, the students are given patients to help (problems to solve) in our class. They must choose whether they will be a doctor or a surgeon to heal their patient. :) It's been fun and I have even taken it to the level of addressing them as "Dr. (Last Name)" when they volunteer to share their work. HA! So, if they start talking about being a doctor or a surgeon that's where it's coming from! We've had a lot of fun learning to multiply big numbers this past week! Who knows?! Maybe it will inspire some to even consider a medical career path in the future! :) I'm bored...don't you just love hearing that as a parent? Ha! I'm amazed when my 3 year old says it to me as I stare at her playroom full of stuff to do! It's inevitable though. Unfortunately, our kids are going to claim boredom at some point. So, I've got a few resources to help you out!
On our class website, under student resources, are links to some of the computer programs that we are using at school or that our school has purchased. Right now, Moby Max is available and Reflex Math is available. Moby Max- This is a great program for filling holes and meeting kids where they are individually. Moby Max gives a placement test in each area, and then designs individualized lessons for your child based on the results of their placement test. We have been using this program at school in the area of math. However, I have also opened up the Language section on it. This is a great area to work on too! Your child will need speakers or headphones so he/she can listen to the lessons. Some students want to skip through the explanations, but it's important for them to watch/read/listen to them so they know what to do on the practice parts. Moby rewards hard work with digital badges that the kids earn and game time minutes! Every kid in my class has a Moby login and password. I will send these home this week, but most kids have them memorized already. Reflex Math- Soon your child will have a Reflex math login and password. What can I say about Reflex? IT'S AMAZING!!!! I LOVE REFLEX MATH! And so will your child! Why? It's ALL ABOUT GAMES! Seriously! It's all games! Reflex math is a program designed to teach your child his/her basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in the most engaging and fun way I've ever come across as a teacher! Their goal is for those facts to literally become as quick as a reflex and their games totally work! I've been so impressed with the results over the past two years of using it with my students! If your child is struggling with their basic facts, they need to do this program for 15 minutes 3-5 days a week. It's a lot of fun and most kids won't even complain about having to do it! It's imperative for your child to know his/her facts-especially as multiplication is looming in the distant future. Even if your child already knows his/her facts, this is still a really fun program and a great answer to the "I'm bored" complaint! I will be discussing Reflex with the kids later this week and will send home their usernames and passwords! So the next time your child is telling you how bored they are...just look at them and grin as you say "Go get on Moby!" or "Go get on Reflex!" :) Until next time... Mrs. Griffin :) AR stands for accelerated reader. This is a program we use at our school to hold students accountable for their reading comprehension. The AR database has TONS and TONS of books. Almost every book at your house, at the library, or at the bookstore is an AR book. The students MUST earn 25 AR points each grading period as part of their reading grade.
Points are earned by reading a book carefully and then taking an AR quiz on the computer. Every book is worth a different amount of points based on the reading level difficulty. Most picture books are worth 1/2 a point, while smaller chapter books are around 1-2 points and larger chapter books being 5-10 points. Students should be reading 20 minutes at a time for 5 nights a week at home per their reading log. They also have "read around the room" time in our classroom. These are times they should be reading an AR book and working toward their 25 point goal. I also read a chapter book to them every day that is worth many points. I believe our current chapter book is 7-8 points. So if they are listening carefully during read aloud, they should be able to earn those points easily. Also, the leveled readers they are working through during small group time are also AR books. There are many opportunities for students to earn these points. However, many students wait until the last minute to try to get their AR points and this can be very stressful. Even though quizzes cannot be taken at home, you can look up your child's AR points from home at any time. I will be sending home a parent letter with your child's AR username and password later this week so that you can login to check your child's AR points. You can also sign up to receive an email every time your child takes a quiz over a book, so that you know if they are passing their quizzes. I am always happy to delete a quiz if you would like your child to retake it. :) Keeping up with AR points is a responsibility. It is a goal your child will work towards each grading period...and of course it's a special bead for their chain when they earn that goal! :) Please encourage your child to read carefully at home and to take AR quizzes once they are finished with a book at school. :) If you are ever unsure if a book is an AR book, there is a link on my website to the AR Bookfinder. Simply type in the title and it will tell you how many points the book is worth. :) Until next time...happy reading! Fluent reading...we all want our children to become fluent readers and as a teacher this is a major goal of mine for your child as well. We have a special time each day that we devote to the practice of fluent reading. Having good fluency means reading the words accurately, with expression, and using the right pace. Many fourth graders find it strange that I require them to read out loud every day, but it is this practice that helps them become fluent readers. Too many intermediate kids only read silently in their heads! Due to the large amount of SILENT reading, their oral fluency is becoming rusty. In order to develop fluent readers we follow a weekly routine.
Every week I choose a new poem for us to read and dissect together. Sometimes the poems are lighthearted and silly, and other times they are deep and serious. We attack these poems as both readers and writers. Mondays: We choral read the poem out loud together. We then begin to SNOT on the poem by discussing the meaning and looking for interesting words. Tuesdays: We echo read the poem together. This means I read one stanza at a time and then the class echos me after each stanza. We continue to SNOT on our poem looking for figurative language or discussing the poet's word choice. Wednesdays: We "whisper phone" the poem. Each student receives his/her own whisper phone to read the poem with and practice. The whisper phone allows the child to hear his/her reading. This allows them to hear mistakes and fix them. We continue to SNOT on the poem and discuss it on this day. Thursday: We read the poem together with a partner and discuss while taking more notes. Friday: Share out day! Volunteers come up to the front of the class to read part of the poem with their best reading! We design a creative cheer to use when each group finishes. It's a great way for kids to be brave and read in front of the class, while practicing all those fluency skills from the week! We then take an OPEN NOTE quiz over the poem. :) Fluency is so important! Fluent reading directly affects comprehension. We will practice this skill daily all year! I highly encourage you to listen to your child read throughout the week. :) That's a disgusting title isn't it? :) Well, hopefully your child has come home talking about how we SNOT all the time in fourth grade! SNOT is an acronym that stands for:
Small Notes On the Text As a reader, it's important to engage with a text. Gone are the days of just reading the words...now it's time to THINK about what those words mean and what the text is saying! When we read a text together in class, we SNOT all over it! We circle words and draw lines to synonyms. We take notes in the margins about what we think characters are feeling or how the text is making us feel. We write down our thoughts ALL OVER THE TEXT. We dissect it paragraph by paragraph so that by the time we are finished we have made connections all over it! We notice interesting words, we ask questions, and we figure out what the text is talking about. It's important to think about what we are reading. Why did the author write it? What did we learn? Does it remind us of anything else we have read? We train our 4th graders to do this by writing down their thoughts and connections as they read. At the beginning of the year, the students are always a little more shy about writing down their connections as they read. We do a lot of our "SNOTTING" together. However, as the year progresses, they grow braver and more confident as they practice to actively think every time they read until it literally becomes a reading habit! And what a wonderful habit to build! Good readers THINK about what they are reading! I always tell the kids that when you get finished, it should look like you "blew your nose all over your passage!" Gross- but the kids love it and it's a metaphor they never forget! :) Happy Reading! The SNOT Trainer :) |
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September 2018
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