In fourth grade, students are expected to master the basic multiplication facts 0 - 10 by the end of the year. As many of you know, this can be extremely difficult for a lot of children (and adults).
One of the things I learned at my math conference is how important it is that students have a basic understanding of grouping. Believe it or not, many students have just grasped the idea that the number 3 represents three items such as three McDonald cheese burgers or 3 toys. Now we expect them to put the three hamburgers together and call it 1 "group" of 3 hamburgers, but they still see it as three hamburgers-"where does the one come from?" Then, we want them to know that 3 groups of 3 hamburgers is 9 hamburgers altogether. I can see how it could be very complicated to a young mind.
To do well in mathematics, students have to understand what is behind the numbers, what numbers represent and how they are related to each other. This week we are "assessing" the students' understanding of groups and how groups and numbers are related to each other (it's also in their homework).
It would be great if you could help your child see how things come in different groups. A carton of eggs can be seen as 2 groups of 6 or 6 groups of 2, saying 1 group of 12 may not help them see the groups since they can count the eggs one-by-one to find 12. Once they seem to have the hang of grouping, then you can move them on and ask them questions such as, we have 2 groups or 6 which is the same as 6 + 6 which is the same as 2 x 6 or we have 6 groups of 2 which is the same as 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 which is the same as 6 x 2, which would be the easiest -quickest- and most efficient way to find the total number of eggs.
We will be working on this in class, but if you see that your child is struggle with groups (how many groups there are and how many in each group) then the activities above could give them some extra support.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Similes
How I love the sound of similes in books, student writing, and the hallways at school. That's right...similes are all over the place at Lewis and Clark.
Our students have been learning about similes and now they are writing their own. There are several great ones and I love them all, but I have to tell you about the one Cass wrote. He wrote, "Mrs. Alto, Mrs. Jagla, ^Mrs. Osborn, and Mrs. Woodly are like (three) four queens." The ^ is a symbol we use in editing to insert something new. Cass edited his simile to include Mrs. Osborn. Of course, this was after Mrs. Osborn brought it back to class to telling Cass it need revising. =) Many of you may not know that she was crown Miss Ballard (Seattle) a few years ago and has the tiara to prove it.
I have to say though, I have never seen a student write the next one. Luz wrote, "Mrs. Jagla rocks like Elves Presley." Nope, I've never seen that one before and I laughed a lot when I read it. My students definitely keep me happy.
Aren't our students great!
Our students have been learning about similes and now they are writing their own. There are several great ones and I love them all, but I have to tell you about the one Cass wrote. He wrote, "Mrs. Alto, Mrs. Jagla, ^Mrs. Osborn, and Mrs. Woodly are like (three) four queens." The ^ is a symbol we use in editing to insert something new. Cass edited his simile to include Mrs. Osborn. Of course, this was after Mrs. Osborn brought it back to class to telling Cass it need revising. =) Many of you may not know that she was crown Miss Ballard (Seattle) a few years ago and has the tiara to prove it.
I have to say though, I have never seen a student write the next one. Luz wrote, "Mrs. Jagla rocks like Elves Presley." Nope, I've never seen that one before and I laughed a lot when I read it. My students definitely keep me happy.
Aren't our students great!
Nonfiction (Informational) Text Features
Nonfiction reading is something we do a lot of in the fourth grade. Students are working on skills they will need for the rest of their education. One of the first things we work on is looking for the text features of any nonfiction (true and informational) article in a magazine, selection in a book, text book, newspaper...
Nonfiction text features include: titles, subtitles, headings and subheadings, bold words, key vocabulary, insets with new information or information related to the selection, graphs, maps, diagrams. photos, captions and illustrations.
Students work on looking at the text features before they begin reading. It's like a marathon runner getting ready for a race. "She" will warm up her muscles before walking up to the starting line. When we look over the text features we warm up our brain getting it ready for whatever we read in the selection. We have an idea about what we will be reading, and can make connections to things we already know, before we even start.
Nonfiction text features include: titles, subtitles, headings and subheadings, bold words, key vocabulary, insets with new information or information related to the selection, graphs, maps, diagrams. photos, captions and illustrations.
Students work on looking at the text features before they begin reading. It's like a marathon runner getting ready for a race. "She" will warm up her muscles before walking up to the starting line. When we look over the text features we warm up our brain getting it ready for whatever we read in the selection. We have an idea about what we will be reading, and can make connections to things we already know, before we even start.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Math Homework 10/26-11/1
The math homework may seem a little confusing this week, but with a little explanation every one can do it.
One of the things I learned at my math conference is the developmental stages of multiplication. It's easy for adults to understand that multiplication is groups with an equal amounts of items in each group. However, this is a very abstract concept for students to understand. A lot of children have just managed to understand that the number 4 represents an amount of items: 4 roses, 4 gym bags, or 4 soccer ball. But, it's not an easy transition to go from number of items to 4 groups with 7 items in each group: 4 gym bags with 7 balls in each bag means there are 28 balls altogether.
Understanding multiplication as groups of items is the step to mastering the basic multiplication facts.
For this reason, all fourth graders are looking around their environments trying to find things that come in groups. a six pack of pop is '1 group of 6,' if you have 4 six packs of pop then you have '4 groups of 6' which is 24 cans of pop altogether.
After school, Luke was able to find several examples of groups in the library. There were 5 groups of tables with 6 chairs around each table. Altogether there are 30 chairs in the library. He found posters in 2 groups of 6 or you could look at the posters as 6 groups of 2. His sister, Elizabeth, even saw 4 groups of 3 and 3 groups of 4 [Ellen was too busy doing her homework =)].
Students can draw a picture of the groups they find, take a picture and print it off to go with their math, or they can take a picture with a cell phone (if they have access to one) and send me a picture text.
To the right are a couple of pictures of groups sent to me by students. Britni say 1 group of 3 lip glosses (at list that's what I think they are) and I can't wait to see what groups Sophie sees with the blue bottles (and she has a flower of vases not included on the blog).
Help you child notice equal groups of objects and discuss how many equal groups there are and how many items are in each group.
One of the things I learned at my math conference is the developmental stages of multiplication. It's easy for adults to understand that multiplication is groups with an equal amounts of items in each group. However, this is a very abstract concept for students to understand. A lot of children have just managed to understand that the number 4 represents an amount of items: 4 roses, 4 gym bags, or 4 soccer ball. But, it's not an easy transition to go from number of items to 4 groups with 7 items in each group: 4 gym bags with 7 balls in each bag means there are 28 balls altogether.
Understanding multiplication as groups of items is the step to mastering the basic multiplication facts.
For this reason, all fourth graders are looking around their environments trying to find things that come in groups. a six pack of pop is '1 group of 6,' if you have 4 six packs of pop then you have '4 groups of 6' which is 24 cans of pop altogether.
After school, Luke was able to find several examples of groups in the library. There were 5 groups of tables with 6 chairs around each table. Altogether there are 30 chairs in the library. He found posters in 2 groups of 6 or you could look at the posters as 6 groups of 2. His sister, Elizabeth, even saw 4 groups of 3 and 3 groups of 4 [Ellen was too busy doing her homework =)].
Students can draw a picture of the groups they find, take a picture and print it off to go with their math, or they can take a picture with a cell phone (if they have access to one) and send me a picture text.
To the right are a couple of pictures of groups sent to me by students. Britni say 1 group of 3 lip glosses (at list that's what I think they are) and I can't wait to see what groups Sophie sees with the blue bottles (and she has a flower of vases not included on the blog).
Help you child notice equal groups of objects and discuss how many equal groups there are and how many items are in each group.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
L & C raise money for UNICEF with help from WHS students
As soon as my beautiful daughter, Lexi, found out I Lewis and Clark was "Trick or Treating" for UNICEF again she asked for informational flyers and UNICEF trick or treat boxes. The next day she went to school early and started asking all her teachers, and some that weren't hers, if they would keep a box, or two, in their classroom so WHS students could add their donations to our efforts.
She was really excited that her teachers either knew about "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF or were interested in learning more and all accepted a box and flyer for their rooms.
My favorite story is the one she told of going to Coach Jagla's social studies class (yes, there is a relation-he's my husband's cousin). When he explained to Coach Jagla what she was doing he took the box, put money in it, pointed to it and told his students to, "Put some money in it now!" One of Lexi's friends, who was in the class, told Lexi that after she left the class donated at least $50.00.
Ms. Kuntz, the WHS Athletic Director and mom of a Lewis and Clark student who was in my class last year, has also agreed to put "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF boxes in her office. I really appreciate her efforts to help those less fortunate, I've seen her get involved before and was not surprised that she immediately answered my email for help with a resounding "YES."
I hope you will help support our efforts as well by helping your child "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF on Halloween night.
She was really excited that her teachers either knew about "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF or were interested in learning more and all accepted a box and flyer for their rooms.
My favorite story is the one she told of going to Coach Jagla's social studies class (yes, there is a relation-he's my husband's cousin). When he explained to Coach Jagla what she was doing he took the box, put money in it, pointed to it and told his students to, "Put some money in it now!" One of Lexi's friends, who was in the class, told Lexi that after she left the class donated at least $50.00.
Ms. Kuntz, the WHS Athletic Director and mom of a Lewis and Clark student who was in my class last year, has also agreed to put "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF boxes in her office. I really appreciate her efforts to help those less fortunate, I've seen her get involved before and was not surprised that she immediately answered my email for help with a resounding "YES."
I hope you will help support our efforts as well by helping your child "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF on Halloween night.
Math
Numbers...addition-subtraction, multiplication-division,place value, base 10 units, area models...ooh the list could go on. I have only been at the Northwest Mathematics Conference for one day and my head is already swimming, but what great ideas I have for Monday.
Be expecting lots of wonderful tips on how to help your child with math concepts at home to be coming soon.
Thinking of math all day reminded me of something I wanted to discuss after a parent asked me about "extended notation" during our conference.
The students and I have talked about the fact that math has 3 languages-words, symbols, and models. For example- numbers and mathematical operation signs [+, -, x, division(my computer won't let me do the division sign)] are all symbols. Have you ever thought of numbers that way? Think about it what does a 3 really represent. It represents a number of items. You can't really "touch" 3 (abstract), but you could touch the items (concrete). There are a lot more ma thematic symbols, but these will do for now.
We can write numbers as words, twenty-nine, and we can also write mathematics word problems. If Megan had 5 books and her friend Veronica had 5 books, how many books would they have altogether.
We can draw models of our mathematical thinking, which really helps us find answers to math problems. If my computer would let me, I would draw a group of 5 books and then a second group of five books to show 2 x 5=10. I could also draw an area model with 2 x 5 dimensions (I can't draw it on the computer, but your child should be able to draw it for you because we have been working on area models a lot lately).
The students have played a game called Circle and Stars that helps them to make the connection between math languages.
Here are some other ways numbers can be represented and you may have seen homework that asks for one of the following math language for numbers:
Numbers in word form: three thousand four hundred ninety-two
Numbers in standard form: 3,492
Numbers in expanded form: 3,000+400+90+2
Hopefully this information will help you and your child on future math homework.
Be expecting lots of wonderful tips on how to help your child with math concepts at home to be coming soon.
Thinking of math all day reminded me of something I wanted to discuss after a parent asked me about "extended notation" during our conference.
The students and I have talked about the fact that math has 3 languages-words, symbols, and models. For example- numbers and mathematical operation signs [+, -, x, division(my computer won't let me do the division sign)] are all symbols. Have you ever thought of numbers that way? Think about it what does a 3 really represent. It represents a number of items. You can't really "touch" 3 (abstract), but you could touch the items (concrete). There are a lot more ma thematic symbols, but these will do for now.
We can write numbers as words, twenty-nine, and we can also write mathematics word problems. If Megan had 5 books and her friend Veronica had 5 books, how many books would they have altogether.
We can draw models of our mathematical thinking, which really helps us find answers to math problems. If my computer would let me, I would draw a group of 5 books and then a second group of five books to show 2 x 5=10. I could also draw an area model with 2 x 5 dimensions (I can't draw it on the computer, but your child should be able to draw it for you because we have been working on area models a lot lately).
The students have played a game called Circle and Stars that helps them to make the connection between math languages.
Here are some other ways numbers can be represented and you may have seen homework that asks for one of the following math language for numbers:
Numbers in word form: three thousand four hundred ninety-two
Numbers in standard form: 3,492
Numbers in expanded form: 3,000+400+90+2
Hopefully this information will help you and your child on future math homework.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Parent-Teacher Conference
Right now I am sitting in my car on my to Canada for a math conference. No, I am not the one driving. =) Hopefully I will learn a lot of strategies and information I can bring back to the classroom.
While I have a moment, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate "my parents." I told my students, this morning, how lucky I feel to have such a wonderful class and how great all my parent-teacher conferences went. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and talking to you about your child. I learned several new things about many of my students and I was able to share how well they are doing.
If you ever have any questions about homework, school work, or you are just wondering how your child is doing please email or call me at school. I am there to work with you and your child so they can learn and grow as much as possible.
Thank you for such a great turn out.
While I have a moment, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate "my parents." I told my students, this morning, how lucky I feel to have such a wonderful class and how great all my parent-teacher conferences went. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and talking to you about your child. I learned several new things about many of my students and I was able to share how well they are doing.
If you ever have any questions about homework, school work, or you are just wondering how your child is doing please email or call me at school. I am there to work with you and your child so they can learn and grow as much as possible.
Thank you for such a great turn out.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
UNICEF
This week the fourth grade will be organizing the Lewis & Clark "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF fund raiser. The students are so excited because they have read that 6 cents can provide a days worth of clean water to a child in need.
UNICEF also provides school supplies, blankets, and even immunizations to children in over 150 countries.
We will deliver enough UNICEF boxes for each student to all the classrooms, as well as UNICEF jars, to collect money between "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF.
To the right you will find several videos, from youtube, about UNICEF and "Trick or Treating for UNICEF." The videos are geared to kids, especially the second video. However, the first video does have some scenes that may be hard to watch because they show the poor conditions and needs of the children. Please preview the first video before watching it with your child, I couldn't watch it without crying, but children are the intended viewer-it is a family choice of whether it is appropriate or not. The second is directed to children and explains why "Trick or Treating" for UNICEF can help others.
(The YouTube videos may take a few minutes to load up. Only click on them if you see Selena Gomez, the actress from Waverly Place on the Disney Channel, or children from Africa.)
UNICEF also provides school supplies, blankets, and even immunizations to children in over 150 countries.
We will deliver enough UNICEF boxes for each student to all the classrooms, as well as UNICEF jars, to collect money between "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF.
To the right you will find several videos, from youtube, about UNICEF and "Trick or Treating for UNICEF." The videos are geared to kids, especially the second video. However, the first video does have some scenes that may be hard to watch because they show the poor conditions and needs of the children. Please preview the first video before watching it with your child, I couldn't watch it without crying, but children are the intended viewer-it is a family choice of whether it is appropriate or not. The second is directed to children and explains why "Trick or Treating" for UNICEF can help others.
(The YouTube videos may take a few minutes to load up. Only click on them if you see Selena Gomez, the actress from Waverly Place on the Disney Channel, or children from Africa.)
New Homework Expectations
Dear Parents,
I have just spent several hours correcting last week's homework and there are several things I have noticed. Every year I find myself overloaded with homework. We have tried sending home different homework packets and scoring them in different ways, but I always spend more time scoring then the students spend actually doing the work. My husband gets very lonely on the weekends. =)
First, homework is important to your child's academic growth. The homework we provide helps them practice the skills we are learning in class and it gives me a chance to see who understands the concepts and who need more instruction. For this reason, I want to honor the time the students put into the work and review everything they do. Unfortunately, with 25 students and 4 double-sided homework sheets it can be a very time consuming job. So, in order to make the homework worth the students' time, and mine, I am going to implement a new Homework Policy:
READING:
1. It is of the utmost importance that students read at least 30 minutes an night for at least 5 nights a week.
2. The books should be at their "just right" level. The students have taken a STAR reading test that gives them an A.R. reading level. They should be reading books in the A.R. range. As I've state before, reading just right books is the best way to improve their reading skills.
3. The reading logs must be filled in correctly. One of the targets we have in fourth grade is to write the titles of books correctly. This means, the each word in the title is capitalized (except for small words such as: a, an, is...) and the title is underlined. The title needs to be written out each day. The students need to write the page number for the page they start their reading on and the page number of the page they stop on. They need to write the correct amount of time they spent reading. I see a lot of 41,41,41,41...it makes me wonder sometimes.The reading log should be signed and dated by a parent or guardian.
4. They should take at least one A.R. test a week. These tests help me track how much they are reading, what level they are reading, and whether they comprehend what they read. It is a good way for me to check on their progress.
5. This week, I will be showing the students different "reading response" activities that they will need to complete once a month. They will be able to choose their own project, book, and when they do it.
6. I am working on a web site that will post reading activities they can do at home or at school. I will let you know when their first assignments are available online.
The reading log rubric and scoring will remain the same and the due date will be every Monday.
MATH:
I have really noticed a lot of students are not writing the math, or how they solved the problems, on their homework. I need to see the work to understand how they are completing the work. This is important whether they get the answer or not. It let's me know if they understand the concepts or where they are misunderstanding. Also, students are not labeling their work. This is very important at the fourth grade level. Money needs to have the $ sign in front of it, if the answer is 6 muffins then the word "muffin" must be written after the number otherwise it is a "naked" number and I will not know what the 6 stands for. For these reasons, my non-negotiable math expectations are as follows:
1. Students must do the math work on the homework sheets to "prove" how they found their answer.
2. All answers must and most work, must be labeled or it is incorrect.
IN GENERAL:
1. All homework must have a name on it or it will go into the "red box" and will not be graded. After Winter Break it will go into the "recycle box."
2. All writing, including math and reading responses, must have all the convention non-negotiable completed correctly. Each child has a copy in his or her homework folder, silent reading spiral, and in their composition book.
3 out of the 4 nights students will receive one of the following scores:
0=The homework was not turned in or very little was completed
1=More then half was completed but some was left undone or had many errors
2=The work was complete and all expectations were met.
1 day out of the 4 students will receive one of the following scores (according to the homework rubric in their homework folder:
A score of 1,2,3, or 4,for Accuracy
A score of 1,2,3, or 4 for Neatness
A score of 1,2,3, or 4 for Completeness
I hope the new homework policy helps me and the students do our best on the homework.
Thanks you for your understanding with the changes.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jagla
I have just spent several hours correcting last week's homework and there are several things I have noticed. Every year I find myself overloaded with homework. We have tried sending home different homework packets and scoring them in different ways, but I always spend more time scoring then the students spend actually doing the work. My husband gets very lonely on the weekends. =)
First, homework is important to your child's academic growth. The homework we provide helps them practice the skills we are learning in class and it gives me a chance to see who understands the concepts and who need more instruction. For this reason, I want to honor the time the students put into the work and review everything they do. Unfortunately, with 25 students and 4 double-sided homework sheets it can be a very time consuming job. So, in order to make the homework worth the students' time, and mine, I am going to implement a new Homework Policy:
READING:
1. It is of the utmost importance that students read at least 30 minutes an night for at least 5 nights a week.
2. The books should be at their "just right" level. The students have taken a STAR reading test that gives them an A.R. reading level. They should be reading books in the A.R. range. As I've state before, reading just right books is the best way to improve their reading skills.
3. The reading logs must be filled in correctly. One of the targets we have in fourth grade is to write the titles of books correctly. This means, the each word in the title is capitalized (except for small words such as: a, an, is...) and the title is underlined. The title needs to be written out each day. The students need to write the page number for the page they start their reading on and the page number of the page they stop on. They need to write the correct amount of time they spent reading. I see a lot of 41,41,41,41...it makes me wonder sometimes.The reading log should be signed and dated by a parent or guardian.
4. They should take at least one A.R. test a week. These tests help me track how much they are reading, what level they are reading, and whether they comprehend what they read. It is a good way for me to check on their progress.
5. This week, I will be showing the students different "reading response" activities that they will need to complete once a month. They will be able to choose their own project, book, and when they do it.
6. I am working on a web site that will post reading activities they can do at home or at school. I will let you know when their first assignments are available online.
The reading log rubric and scoring will remain the same and the due date will be every Monday.
MATH:
I have really noticed a lot of students are not writing the math, or how they solved the problems, on their homework. I need to see the work to understand how they are completing the work. This is important whether they get the answer or not. It let's me know if they understand the concepts or where they are misunderstanding. Also, students are not labeling their work. This is very important at the fourth grade level. Money needs to have the $ sign in front of it, if the answer is 6 muffins then the word "muffin" must be written after the number otherwise it is a "naked" number and I will not know what the 6 stands for. For these reasons, my non-negotiable math expectations are as follows:
1. Students must do the math work on the homework sheets to "prove" how they found their answer.
2. All answers must and most work, must be labeled or it is incorrect.
IN GENERAL:
1. All homework must have a name on it or it will go into the "red box" and will not be graded. After Winter Break it will go into the "recycle box."
2. All writing, including math and reading responses, must have all the convention non-negotiable completed correctly. Each child has a copy in his or her homework folder, silent reading spiral, and in their composition book.
3 out of the 4 nights students will receive one of the following scores:
0=The homework was not turned in or very little was completed
1=More then half was completed but some was left undone or had many errors
2=The work was complete and all expectations were met.
1 day out of the 4 students will receive one of the following scores (according to the homework rubric in their homework folder:
A score of 1,2,3, or 4,for Accuracy
A score of 1,2,3, or 4 for Neatness
A score of 1,2,3, or 4 for Completeness
I hope the new homework policy helps me and the students do our best on the homework.
Thanks you for your understanding with the changes.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jagla
Saturday, October 17, 2009
"Follow the simile road..."
Monday morning students are going to arrive to school with instructions to "follow the simile road," of course you have to say it to the tune of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."
From the time they hit the cafeteria doors, in the morning, until they reach our classroom they will find "bricks" with similes on them. A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two very diffent things using 'as' or 'like.' Here are several example of similes: "Love is like a rose." "The sweater was as warm as a roaring fire." "The cat meowed as loud as a siren."
Figurative language is one way writers elaborate details and make their writing more interesting. If you notice any similes in your own reading point it out to your child. We will be looking through the books we have previously read to find the similes. The more we notice them the more we can add to our own writing.
From the time they hit the cafeteria doors, in the morning, until they reach our classroom they will find "bricks" with similes on them. A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two very diffent things using 'as' or 'like.' Here are several example of similes: "Love is like a rose." "The sweater was as warm as a roaring fire." "The cat meowed as loud as a siren."
Figurative language is one way writers elaborate details and make their writing more interesting. If you notice any similes in your own reading point it out to your child. We will be looking through the books we have previously read to find the similes. The more we notice them the more we can add to our own writing.
Math during Conference Week
In math this week, we will begin focusing a lot of our attention on multiplication facts and fluency (the rate facts are recalled and answered correctly). Knowing multiplicaion is so important at this level. Students must know their facts to complete word problems with proficiency. Students can be distracted from completing multi-step story problems (problem-solving activities) when they have to stop to figure out basic math facts.
I want this to be fun, not arduous and defeating, so I have recently purchase an activity book that includes music about multiplication (and they aren't too "corny" to listen too). On Monday, students will start a "multiplication journal" that they will keep in their homework folders. It will include lyrics to songs we are listening to or learning, as a way to learn basic facts, it will also include worksheets they complete in class, and a graph that they can keep track of their progress.
Here are the lyrics to the first song they will hear
(from Words and Music by Kim Mitzo Thompson, Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand, Hal Wright. © Twin Sisters IP, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)
1. You Need a Strategy
When you learn how to play in a soccer game–
when you learn how to multiply–it’s all the same.
There’s one thing–most coaches will agree:
you are going to need a strategy.
Dribble down the field toward the soccer goal.
Think about the rules and what you’ve been told.
Heading or passing or kicking, you will see,
are fine if it’s part of your strategy.
You need a strategy–a plan to help you succeed
in sports or school. Make it routine
to have a strategy, to have a strategy.
Learn all the rules when you multiply.
Practice each day, and I’ll tell you why:
the facts you soon will memorize, because it’s
smart to study and strategize.
If you corner-kick the ball and a point is scored,
or if you get an “A,” what a great reward!
But you can’t deny nor disagree, no,
it’s all because you had a strategy!
(Chorus)
To have a strategy!
To have a strategy!
I want this to be fun, not arduous and defeating, so I have recently purchase an activity book that includes music about multiplication (and they aren't too "corny" to listen too). On Monday, students will start a "multiplication journal" that they will keep in their homework folders. It will include lyrics to songs we are listening to or learning, as a way to learn basic facts, it will also include worksheets they complete in class, and a graph that they can keep track of their progress.
Here are the lyrics to the first song they will hear
(from Words and Music by Kim Mitzo Thompson, Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand, Hal Wright. © Twin Sisters IP, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)
1. You Need a Strategy
When you learn how to play in a soccer game–
when you learn how to multiply–it’s all the same.
There’s one thing–most coaches will agree:
you are going to need a strategy.
Dribble down the field toward the soccer goal.
Think about the rules and what you’ve been told.
Heading or passing or kicking, you will see,
are fine if it’s part of your strategy.
You need a strategy–a plan to help you succeed
in sports or school. Make it routine
to have a strategy, to have a strategy.
Learn all the rules when you multiply.
Practice each day, and I’ll tell you why:
the facts you soon will memorize, because it’s
smart to study and strategize.
If you corner-kick the ball and a point is scored,
or if you get an “A,” what a great reward!
But you can’t deny nor disagree, no,
it’s all because you had a strategy!
(Chorus)
To have a strategy!
To have a strategy!
Last Week in Literacy
Last Week we drew a mountain in our composition books and planned our personal narrative about our special place. A mountain plan is great for planning our fiction narrative stories (later in the year) because it shows how we introduce our characters and/or settings at the beginning of our stories. As we move up the mountain, we build the action of the story. As you probably know, most great narratives have a problem. On the mountain plan, you can decide how the problem will get worse and worse until you reach the top of the mountain. As with climbers, reaching the top is the best part! This is the "climax." Something has to been done about the problem at this point. We want this to be the best part of our story. Slowly, we descend the mountain and our story works it's way to the end where we have a resolution to all our problems.
Well, when we use the mountain plan for our personal narrative we "tweak it" just a little. There may not be a problem in our personal narrative, but we want our story to be the most exciting at the top. We can plan the actions, climbing up the mountain, that lead to the excitement at the top. Then, we can begin to "wrap up" our story as we descend the mountain until our story ends (hopefully leaving the reader satisfied).
Many students finished their rough draft and met with a partner. They switch composition books and read each other's stories. As they read, they listened to their "inner voice" and "chunk and chew" the story. The wrote their "thinking" down on sticky notes and posted them in the composition book where it made them think. Sometimes they may write, "I really like the way you described your character here." or "I can't really get a picture of the setting here, it needs more details." or may they wrote, "I'm confused here." When both readers finished they exchanged their composition books again and read what the other person wrote on the stickies. Then they talked and gave suggestions on how they could each make their stories better. This is called "peer revising," taking what's in the writing and trying to make it even better. Now they go back and rewrite.
Two books that we read that helped us focus on our writing were:
Owl Moon by Jane Yolan
This is an amazing look at the experience of a child, spending special time with dad, owl watching. It is a great way to demonstrate "seed stories" (Lucy Calkins) because it describes the child's feelings and thinking about one short experience. The descriptions of the setting and experience paint a picture through all 5 senses.
Whales Passing by Eve Bunting
This is another great book by Eve Bunting. Mrs. Bunting captures the feelings and thoughts of a young boy as he stands on a cliff whale watching with his father. It is a wonderful "seed Story" (Lucy Calkins) and mentor text for students because it demonstrates the ability to write about one experience that made a big impact in a "short" amount of time. The setting is decribed in great detail with lots of figurative language that emerging writer may "capture" and add to their own writing style.
Well, when we use the mountain plan for our personal narrative we "tweak it" just a little. There may not be a problem in our personal narrative, but we want our story to be the most exciting at the top. We can plan the actions, climbing up the mountain, that lead to the excitement at the top. Then, we can begin to "wrap up" our story as we descend the mountain until our story ends (hopefully leaving the reader satisfied).
Many students finished their rough draft and met with a partner. They switch composition books and read each other's stories. As they read, they listened to their "inner voice" and "chunk and chew" the story. The wrote their "thinking" down on sticky notes and posted them in the composition book where it made them think. Sometimes they may write, "I really like the way you described your character here." or "I can't really get a picture of the setting here, it needs more details." or may they wrote, "I'm confused here." When both readers finished they exchanged their composition books again and read what the other person wrote on the stickies. Then they talked and gave suggestions on how they could each make their stories better. This is called "peer revising," taking what's in the writing and trying to make it even better. Now they go back and rewrite.
Two books that we read that helped us focus on our writing were:
Owl Moon by Jane Yolan
This is an amazing look at the experience of a child, spending special time with dad, owl watching. It is a great way to demonstrate "seed stories" (Lucy Calkins) because it describes the child's feelings and thinking about one short experience. The descriptions of the setting and experience paint a picture through all 5 senses.
Whales Passing by Eve Bunting
This is another great book by Eve Bunting. Mrs. Bunting captures the feelings and thoughts of a young boy as he stands on a cliff whale watching with his father. It is a wonderful "seed Story" (Lucy Calkins) and mentor text for students because it demonstrates the ability to write about one experience that made a big impact in a "short" amount of time. The setting is decribed in great detail with lots of figurative language that emerging writer may "capture" and add to their own writing style.
Friday, October 9, 2009
No Late Start Oct. 19th
Don't forget! There is no late start on Monday, October 19th, due to Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Oct. 5 through Oct. 16
During English Literacy, we are working on the writing process. So far, we have read several stories about "Special Places." These books include: All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan & paintings by Mike Wimmer, Let's Go Home: the wonderful things about a house by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin, Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran & illustrated by Barbara Cooney, and A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood & illustrated by Dan Anderson.
Next we brainstormed a list of places that are special to us and chose one place to write about. Before we decided on our special place we discussed the difference between writing watermelon stories, slices of watermelons, and seed stories, ask your child about it. We then drew a "map" of our special place. This is another way to brainstorm and helps us think of details about the setting and things we do in our special place. After that, we used an Alphabet Taxonomy to think of the things we see, smell, taste, touch, feel, and do in our special place. An Alphabet Taxonomy is a graphic organizer that has each letter of the alphabet on a line. We think of as many things as we can, about our special place, that begins with each letter. As I told the students, the Alphabet Taxonomy may not be the best way to brainstorm for each person-it's definitely not my favorite. But we are trying it out and if it works for some students they may use it as a brainstorming tool whenever they want. It doesn't really help me very often, but I was amazed at how many things I was able to brainstorm for my special place and Cass came up with over 200 words on his.
Next week, we are going to look at different authors and their styles of writing-specifically looking at how they describe settings. We will create a "mountain plan" of personal narrative, this helps us to organize our writing before we start. Then we are off to the races with our own writing! We will write a "seed" story about one thing we have done in our special place, making sure we really describe the setting and the actions in detail.
I can't wait to see what the students write about!
Next we brainstormed a list of places that are special to us and chose one place to write about. Before we decided on our special place we discussed the difference between writing watermelon stories, slices of watermelons, and seed stories, ask your child about it. We then drew a "map" of our special place. This is another way to brainstorm and helps us think of details about the setting and things we do in our special place. After that, we used an Alphabet Taxonomy to think of the things we see, smell, taste, touch, feel, and do in our special place. An Alphabet Taxonomy is a graphic organizer that has each letter of the alphabet on a line. We think of as many things as we can, about our special place, that begins with each letter. As I told the students, the Alphabet Taxonomy may not be the best way to brainstorm for each person-it's definitely not my favorite. But we are trying it out and if it works for some students they may use it as a brainstorming tool whenever they want. It doesn't really help me very often, but I was amazed at how many things I was able to brainstorm for my special place and Cass came up with over 200 words on his.
Next week, we are going to look at different authors and their styles of writing-specifically looking at how they describe settings. We will create a "mountain plan" of personal narrative, this helps us to organize our writing before we start. Then we are off to the races with our own writing! We will write a "seed" story about one thing we have done in our special place, making sure we really describe the setting and the actions in detail.
I can't wait to see what the students write about!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Visiting Our Blog
Thank you for visiting our blog today. You can review past posting by scrolling down to Archive, on the left-hand side and clicking on September. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jagla
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jagla
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Progress Reports
On Tuesday, October 6th, I will be sending progress reports home. If your child is missing any work, they feel they have turned in, I have a box of papers with no names and your child may look for his or her work there. The students know where it is, but I have not seen many look for papers.
Homework: I have noticed that many of the students are forgetting to put their names on their homework. I let them know I will not be correcting homework if there is no name on it. After January, I will not save the homework with no names so students will not be able to get credit if they forget.
Homework: I have noticed that many of the students are forgetting to put their names on their homework. I let them know I will not be correcting homework if there is no name on it. After January, I will not save the homework with no names so students will not be able to get credit if they forget.
The Bravest Knight
The Bravest Knight is a wonderful book with beautiful illustrations about a young squire. We read it to learn about squires to go along with our Royalty of the week. As we read, there was a dragon whining and we decided to make our own classroom dragon. The students named it Spike. Spike is on the hallway wall and represents behaviors we do not want to have in our classroom such as bullying, whining, being disrespectful or mean. When ever we say, "Don't be a Spike" we know we need to change our attitude.
My Bookshelf
Several of the books on my bookshelf, to the right, are books we have read in class.
"That's Good, That's Bad" is a wonderful book that contains a pattern the students love to repeat as I read. There are also many onomatopoeia, words that sound like a natural noise such as the word "moo" sounds like a cow mooing. The word "splat" sounds like something falling on the ground. The students enjoyed saying the words aloud with me and soon we will brainstorm as many onomatopoeia as we can so we may add them in our own writing.Click Clack Cows that Type also contains onomatopoeias.
"That's Good, That's Bad" is a wonderful book that contains a pattern the students love to repeat as I read. There are also many onomatopoeia, words that sound like a natural noise such as the word "moo" sounds like a cow mooing. The word "splat" sounds like something falling on the ground. The students enjoyed saying the words aloud with me and soon we will brainstorm as many onomatopoeia as we can so we may add them in our own writing.Click Clack Cows that Type also contains onomatopoeias.
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