First up this week, a quick update on what we are up to in math: 5th grade - I am certain if your child is in my 5th grade math group, they are feeling the challenge this week. We are covering scientific notation, negative exponents, and dividing decimals. All of these concepts are new to them and all of them are especially challenging concepts. They are being troopers as we try to build conceptual understanding (the "why") and procedural knowledge (the "how.") Our test over decimal concepts will be the end of next week. 4th grade - We just finished a unit on number concepts (order of operations, inequalities, basic algebra, and logic problems.) We are now diving into a unit on decimals which will include comparing decimals to the thousandth, adding & subtracting decimals. This unit also includes conversions within the metric system which relates to decimals when converting small measurements to large (example: 240 cm is 2.4 meters.) All of this will keep us busy for a few weeks. 3rd grade - Third grade took their test on our measurement unit today. After we have some Halloween fun with math tomorrow, we'll do a brief multiplication and division concepts unit. Then third grade will take its turn learning decimals which will be enough material to get us to Thanksgiving break (I can't believe I just typed that because it means the busy holiday season has begun!) For the second update this week, here is what my language arts groups are up to: 5th grade - In honor of the Halloween spirit, we have been reading a mystery novel (one of my childhood favorites that is a fantastic classic!) The fifth graders each have a character from The Westing Game that they are examining. They read the book over the last two weeks and are now creating a "trading card" complete with picture and info. These projects are due on Monday, November 3, when we will present their work. 3rd grade - We read the Eve Bunting book The Memory String and examined how the theme of "change" plays a part in literature. We'll continue coming back to this idea of change as we read more materials this year. We also began reading our novel for this quarter which is called The Green Book. Ask your child to give you a summary of what they know so far (lots of inferring skills needed in the first chapter as information about people and setting is limited at this point.) Lastly this week, I would like to provide you with a link you and your child might find useful as you work on math homework this year. Our district math curriculum is called EveryDay Mathematics. This publisher's website is very useful. It has copies of the study links in case your child forgets their copy. PSD has an older version of the curriculum but the study links are similar (but maybe not exactly the same.) I'll be happy to accept them though. There are also links to the Family Letters. Don't forget that the answer key is included in the Family Letter so you can help check our child's homework (from the link below look on the left side for the "Family Link" tab.) Click on the links here to access the appropriate grade level study links - but do keep in mind sometimes the homework isn't from our curriculum: http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/3rd-grade/em-at-home/ http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4th-grade/em-at-home/ http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/6th-grade/em-at-home/ Not sure what the homework was? Use this link (also on the math page of the GT website:) https://planbook.com/planbook.html?t=974564&k=20142015
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This week was the beginning of a new quarter which means a new group of language arts/creativity kids with fourth grade taking a break this quarter and third grade beginning their time with me. We spend most of the week working on language arts and one day a week learning about being creative. I always like to begin our creative time with making sure the kids understand what it means to be creative and explore where they think their creativity comes from. Here are some examples of the brilliant thinking they shared when we created a learning web answering those two questions: Creativity is making up something, using your imagination, having fun with different ideas and doing anything you want to with it. Third grade math is wrapping up our measurement unit this week by working on perimeter and area problems. This is a common area of misconception for kids. Third and fourth graders commonly confuse the two. I could simply teach third graders the formula for the area of rectangles, but I am must more interested in them discovering the formula for themselves as that leads to understanding the concept and gives them experiences to clear up confusion. By first determining length and width and counting actual squares on graph paper for a rectangle, then tracking that information for various sizes in a chart, the kids quickly start to realize the connection (or what we like to call the shortcut) between length, width, and area. I took some pictures of their exploration time this week with simple rectangles. Monday this week, I was gone to the annual Colorado Gifted Conference in Denver. It is a great chance to network with other teachers and professionals who work with students like mine. The keynote speaker was Daniel Siegel, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist from UCLA. He shared about the adolescent brain and the important brain development that happens between the ages of 12-24. Here are the key ways the adolescent brain changes during that important time (he uses the acronym ESSENCE): 1. Emotional Spark (ES) - Kids must learn to deal with new waves of emotions and intensity of these emotions. Why is this necessary? Because emotions get us moving and motivate us to "get out of the nest." Downside - They don't yet understand how to deal with these emotions and always appear moody. 2. Social Engagement (SE) – Kids are more driven to connect with each other Why is this necessary? They have to "leave the nest with others or they will be lunch." Downside - They want so desperately to be part of a peer group, they will give up morality for membership AND their happiness hinges on connection. 3. Novelty (N) – The reward system of brain is controlled by dopamine. At adolescence, dopamine levels naturally fall. Less dopamine means you are bored and seek new things Why is this necessary? To increase dopamine, you must take risks. This "gets kids out of the nest" where it is familiar and safe. Downside – They take risks adults think are stupid. 5. Creative Exploration (CE) – The frontal lobe is continuing to mature and allow for abstract reasoning and conceptual thinking. Why is this important? Kids need to find their place in life and begin pushing against the status quo and seeing things through new lenses. Downside – They no longer just accept things. Dr. Siegel has written a book called "Brainstorm" which is written for kids to read to understand how their brain works and understand these processes I mentioned. Through our "Mind-Up" curriculum instruction in homerooms, the counselor at Werner, Julie Flemister, teaches students about their brain and how to use their knowledge of how it works for increased learning, as well as stress relief. I hope to reinforce her work with my new learning too. Please be watching your email for your child's ALP for the 2014-2015 school year. I have now met with almost all of the students to discuss their academic goals and their affective goals so I will be typing up the offical Advanced Learning Plan that will communicate your child's goal and the services we will be providing during this school year. I hope to have all of this paperwork typed up and emailed to you by November 7. Yesterday was my last day with 4th grade language arts/creativity students until after Christmas. We worked hard all first quarter to learn how to "notice and note" more carefully as we read. We also began working on learning Greek/Latin roots of the English language. We enjoyed each of our Friday creativity times by exploring how to generate a lot of ideas, connect ideas, and ellaborate on ideas. Lastly, we spent quality time reading and learning to lead and share appropriately with literature circle groups. When we return together for 3rd quarter, we'll be reading more challenging text and looking into different genres (poetry and nonfiction especially.) We'll continue exploring how to slow down and notice more author technique that helps us take note and increase comprehension and inferring skills for understanding. The third grade langauge arts/creavity group will begin their work with me for the 2nd quarter on October 21. Third grade math had some great hands-on fun (thanks to awesome parent helpers and an amazing third grade teaching team!) We held the first annual Measurement Olympics all over the school. Students had to estimate for each event and then perform the task using precise measurement ability. Their score was based on the difference between their measurement and their original estimation. Each teacher escorted a mixed-group of third graders to each classroom to the ten events. We did events related to capacity, weight, length, perimter, and area to further our exploration within our measurement unit for math. There are a few pictures here and more in the photo gallery section of the website. Super fun way to spend a day! This week on Tuesday, I met with all 3rd - 5th grade GT students to discuss and set their affective goals which will appear on their ALP (Advanced Learning Plan)for the year. We talked about how affective goals relate to being a better student and/or being a better you. It is a Colorado state requirement that all GT students have not only academic goals but also a social-emotional goal. It is a requirement I am happy to fulfill because at Werner we are always concerned with the whole child and their growth in ALL aspects of their lives. Here is a quick explanation for each grade-level's focus this year. Lessons and discussions in homeroom, with the counselor and with me will be going on all year to support these goals. Expect to see your child's checklist and personal goal in the coming months as I communicate their ALP. (Each of the thumbnails will link you to the complete blank document.) Third Grade - The third graders' goals relate to peer relationships. The overall categories within peer relationships are large group interactions, small group interactions, conflict resolution, and communication. Students completed a checklist to self-evaluate as a pre-assessment on Tuesday. They then took a look at an area they marked as a 1 or 2 and set their personal goal on that specific area. In addition, students had to brainstorm what they might need to help them be successful. Ideas ranged from help from Mrs. Flemister (our counselor) to more patience to suggestions from a teacher about new strategies. We will complete the checklist at the end of the year again and students will reflect on their progress with a form I will provide them. See the form below for the checklist example. Fourth Grade - The fourth grade goal is related to organization and study skills. Since this is the first year the kids get a planner, this seemed like a logical year to spend discussing how that can help students be better learners. Categories on the checklist for organization/study skills are time management, study skills, managing materials, homework, and using their planner. Students could choose any one of these 5 categories to write their specific goal after they reflected on their own greatest area of need. Cleaning out backpacks and desks seemed to be a popular need - and maybe you parents agree! Fourth graders will be hearing about these topics all year as our Werner staff works to reinforce good study habits. Students will reflect again at the end of the year on the checklist and answer questions that ask them to think about how their work in this area might continue to help them in the future. Below is the blank form the students completed this week. Fifth Grade - Healthy risk taking is the 5th grade goal for the year. We talked on Tuesday about four types of risk: intellectual, social, emotional, and physical. The most appropriate ones for our purposes at school are intellectual and social. Students worked with me to brainstorm healthy risks that they could take at school during this school year. They also completed a quick survey about their attitudes towards risk taking. By tomorrow, students have to pick two (one for each semester) that they are willing to take. Risks range from trying the spelling bee, speaking in front of the class, running for Wildcat leader, and many more. Students will reflect at the end of each semester on their activity. The focus is not on being 100% successful but instead focus on being willing to try something new. Attached here you will find the survey and the brainstorming sheet we used to guide our goal setting this week. With the first quarter report cards coming home in a couple of weeks, I thought I might take a moment to discuss how I am grading homework this year in math. Students come home with homework Monday through Thursday (4 nights a week.) Each homework assignment is worth 5 points. Since 4 times 5 is 20, each week's worth of homework is worth 20 points. If there happens to be a day off of school or a night I don't give homework, I simply give them 5 points for that night. Each student has a copy of the 5-point scale in their math notebooks. They know that I do not expect it to be done perfectly but done to the best of their ability. It is a chance to practice new skills and review old ones. Students get one point for their name/number date, one point for completing the homework, one point for doing it with a pencil, one point for checking it with a pen in class with me, one point for turning it in the next day on time. The "on time" part is probably the biggest challenge for most. Homework is only 10% of the total grade for report cards so occasionally forgetting to turn it in is not a huge concern unless it becomes a pattern. Fourth and fifth graders get one additional sheet this week (we affectionately call it the "tan sheet" because it is always printed on tan paper. That comes home Monday and is due Friday. I grade those as a separate homework score. Below is the rubric I use to determine the points per assignment: A big part of the language arts enrichment that I do with both 4th and 5th graders is having the kids participate in literature circles. This year we are being consistent with lit circles being on Thursdays. We generally read 3-5 chapters in a book for each meeting. Students are given one day a week to prepare as part of our time together. Maybe one of the reasons I like lit circles the most is that kids get to take a leadership role each day to help teach and guide their classmates and their discussions. Laminated job cards keep them organized each time so they know their job and their required work to fulfill that job. The document below is what I have laminated for the kids. They must show up on Thursdays with materials and jobs complete (mainly because their whole group's learning is held up when one person doesn't do their job.) Here is a quick rundown of what you can expect your child to do for each job: Director - must write 3-4 "deep" questions to ask the group Summarizer - must write a 6-10 sentence summary of that week's reading Word Wizard - must write the definition, synonym, and a picture for each of the words Mrs. Bean provides Illustrator - must draw a graphic representation of something from the book and write 2 sentences why they picked it Lastly this week, here is a quick list of the concepts that each of my math classes has been working on and will be moving on to during the next weeks. 3rd grade - We just completed a quick review unit on addition, subtraction, and place value. The kids took a test early this week. Now we are going to spend the next few weeks on measurement (U.S. system, metric system, conversions, perimeter and area.) The third grade team and I are planning a fun day related to measurement before our conference break - stay tuned! 4th grade - We also just completed a review unit on addition and subtraction but we looked at different algorithms than the kids have seen before (stay tuned in the coming weeks I'll share videos so you know what crazy math I have been teaching them!) We also just took the test on this unit which also covered graphing concepts (including line plots, central tendency, landmarks for data.) Our next unit will be looking at concepts related to multiplication and division (including inequalities and some - gasp! - algebra.) 5th grade - These students will be taking a test on their graphing unit the first part of next week. We worked on pie graphs, stem/leaf plots, line graphs and, of course, reviewed mean, median, and mode related to graphing. Our next unit will be operations with decimals (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing in addition to scientific notation with decimals. That should keep us busy for a while! |
Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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