A reminder that the NYS ELA assessment is April 2-3. Please make sure your child eats a good breakfast and gets a good night's rest! As always, all I ask is that they try their best...this is a no stress zone! :-)
Have a great weekend!!!
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Take a Peek at Our Week!
I am SO proud of these kiddos! They worked extremely hard on their "Zoochosis" assessment for our "Where Do You Stand" planner in lang & lit! As you remember, this assessment requires them to read and analyze multiple resources on the pros/cons of zoos, determine where they stand, and write a five paragraph argumentative essay communicating their opinion. Whew!! They persisted, they tried their best, they ROCKED it! I will be scoring the assessments and reflecting with the class next week after the NYS ELA assessment. After we reflect, students will bring home scores for both their resource analysis and argumentative essays to share with you!
In individuals & society, we continued to dig into historical documents. This week, we analyzed The Bill of Rights. Students used their resources to find student friendly versions of each amendment to help them understand the rights protected. Next up...The Declaration of Independence!
A reminder that the NYS ELA assessment is April 2-3. Please make sure your child eats a good breakfast and gets a good night's rest! As always, all I ask is that they try their best...this is a no stress zone! :-)
Have a great weekend!!!
A reminder that the NYS ELA assessment is April 2-3. Please make sure your child eats a good breakfast and gets a good night's rest! As always, all I ask is that they try their best...this is a no stress zone! :-)
Have a great weekend!!!
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Take a Peek at Our Week!
In writing, students peer edited their second essays for argument writing. I "scored" their essays using our argumentative writing rubric to give feedback on strengths and areas needing growth. These essays were sent home today for your review. I am extremely impressed with their writing! The students worked hard and it SHOWS! Students also completed a reflection to identify goals for their argument writing assessment next week. The assessment combines reading and writing skills by asking students to collect evidence on the topic of "Zoochosis", analyze multiple resources, determine where they stand based on the facts, and write a five paragraph essay communicating their opinion. I know, it sounds like A LOT, but these kiddos are ready to shine! I will also be chunking out the tasks so that they are not overwhelmed. :-)
In lang & lit, students enjoyed working in choice groups on the debatable topics they selected last week! What a fun way to end our planner as we prepare for our assessment next week.
Our monthly character trait is having a "growth mindset". Children with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed. These students see school as a place to develop their abilities and think of challenges as opportunities to grow. Here are some great picture books on growth mindset....you may enjoy reading these as a family!
We dedicated some time during lang & lit to discuss this concept and created posters with our table teams. Below are a few examples of our work!
In individuals & society, students analyzed the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Students worked with partners to read a section of each document and match a student friendly version. They used their Chromebooks to assist with complex vocabulary. Students then shared what they learned through a Padlet "electronic chalk talk"! We are loving this tech tool! Next week we will backtrack a bit to discuss why the colonists sought independence!
I've been really enjoying my WIN group this round! We have a nice mix of kiddos from my homeroom, Mrs. Ottman's homeroom, and other classes in the grade level! This week, we prepared debates based on one of the topics we analyzed over the course of our time together. The students shared their debates and we voted on the strongest arguments. They were such risk-takers!!
*Please note that Weekly News will not be sent home this week due to our recess day on Friday.
Have a wonderful "long" weekend!! :-)
1. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
2. Rosie Rever, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
3. Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It by JoAnn Deak, Ph.D.
4. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett
5. What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
6. Thanks for the Feedback, I Think… by Julia Cook
7. Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg
8. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
9. The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
10. Making a Splash: A Growth Mindset Children’s Book by Carol E. Reiley
We dedicated some time during lang & lit to discuss this concept and created posters with our table teams. Below are a few examples of our work!
I've been really enjoying my WIN group this round! We have a nice mix of kiddos from my homeroom, Mrs. Ottman's homeroom, and other classes in the grade level! This week, we prepared debates based on one of the topics we analyzed over the course of our time together. The students shared their debates and we voted on the strongest arguments. They were such risk-takers!!
*Please note that Weekly News will not be sent home this week due to our recess day on Friday.
Have a wonderful "long" weekend!! :-)
Friday, March 15, 2019
Take a Peek at Our Week!
I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy the warm weather on Thursday! We took a class walk during recess to get some fresh air and get rid of our extra energy. It was amazing! We are all looking forward to more outside time...hopefully it's coming soon!
In writing, we completed our second argument essays! Monday, we will peer edit and I will score the essays using our argument rubric. This feedback will help students focus on goals for improvement in order to help them prepare for our argument writing assessment which is coming up in a few weeks!
We continued our work analyzing multiple resources to help us make informed decisions on where we stood on various topics (homework, television, contact sports). In order to prepare for next week, students utilized "Sign Up Genius" in order to select a debatable topic they were interested in analyzing (professional athlete salaries, birthday presents, healthier lunches, and the pros/cons of boredom). Our reading groups will be "mixed up" according to the topics selected....it will be a nice change of pace to read and discuss with new friends!
In individuals & society, we finished our discussion on the constitution. We watched a short video and dug deeper by reading an article and completing a 3, 2, 1 activity. Students identified 3 things they learned from the article, 2 questions they still had, and identified 1 personal connection to the topic. We discussed the 3, 2, 1 activity at the end of class to close out the lesson. Next week, we will be analyzing and discussing the Preamble and Bill of Rights!
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
In writing, we completed our second argument essays! Monday, we will peer edit and I will score the essays using our argument rubric. This feedback will help students focus on goals for improvement in order to help them prepare for our argument writing assessment which is coming up in a few weeks!
In individuals & society, we finished our discussion on the constitution. We watched a short video and dug deeper by reading an article and completing a 3, 2, 1 activity. Students identified 3 things they learned from the article, 2 questions they still had, and identified 1 personal connection to the topic. We discussed the 3, 2, 1 activity at the end of class to close out the lesson. Next week, we will be analyzing and discussing the Preamble and Bill of Rights!
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Friday, March 8, 2019
Take a Peek at Our Week!
In writing this week, we worked on adding counterclaim/rebuttal statements to address the other side of the argument for our chocolate milk debate. We discussed ideas for where to place these statements within our essays as a way to strengthen our arguments. Students used the statements as hooks, final thoughts, and transitions between body paragraphs.
At the end of the week, we self assessed our chocolate milk essays using the argument rubric. Students scored themselves for each section of the rubric and then met with a peer so that they could get additional feedback. Students were extremely honest with themselves and critically reviewed their writing to look for areas needing growth. Next, students selected two areas from the rubric to focus on and revised their essays accordingly. Next week students will be selecting their own debatable topics for their second argument essays!
In lang & lit, we worked on analyzing multiple resources for a debatable topic. We explored analyzing different types of resources (charts, graphs, etc. ) as a way to view evidence differently. Students then responded in writing using our RACCE strategy to express where they stand based on the evidence collected. This week, we added elaboration to our RACCE responses to explain our evidence more clearly.
We also worked on sharpening our accountable talk skills this week. First, we practiced in small groups to discuss several debatable topics and kept track of how many accountable talk statements we used. Next, we had an "electronic chalk talk" using Padlet to practice the same skills. The students did a fantastic job!
In individuals & society we began to discuss our rights and the U.S. Constitution. We started by having a chalk talk in which students discussed rules/expectations in our classroom, rules/expectations across the school, what a good citizen in our school looks like, and what rights every student deserves in our classroom. There was one area that was "CLOSED" during the chalk talk-"making changes or additions to the rules/expectations to our classroom". This was done purposely to help students understand the importance of having a voice (voting), and being able to make changes to the structure and daily operations of our classroom. Next week, we will finish this discussion by making connections to the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.
A few reminders:
*Report Cards are now live on the Infinite Campus parent portal. I posted the links earlier in the week to help you if you encounter difficulties!
*Tuesday, March 12th is a half day-dismissal @ 11:10.
Have a great weekend!!!
In lang & lit, we worked on analyzing multiple resources for a debatable topic. We explored analyzing different types of resources (charts, graphs, etc. ) as a way to view evidence differently. Students then responded in writing using our RACCE strategy to express where they stand based on the evidence collected. This week, we added elaboration to our RACCE responses to explain our evidence more clearly.
We also worked on sharpening our accountable talk skills this week. First, we practiced in small groups to discuss several debatable topics and kept track of how many accountable talk statements we used. Next, we had an "electronic chalk talk" using Padlet to practice the same skills. The students did a fantastic job!
In individuals & society we began to discuss our rights and the U.S. Constitution. We started by having a chalk talk in which students discussed rules/expectations in our classroom, rules/expectations across the school, what a good citizen in our school looks like, and what rights every student deserves in our classroom. There was one area that was "CLOSED" during the chalk talk-"making changes or additions to the rules/expectations to our classroom". This was done purposely to help students understand the importance of having a voice (voting), and being able to make changes to the structure and daily operations of our classroom. Next week, we will finish this discussion by making connections to the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.
A few reminders:
*Report Cards are now live on the Infinite Campus parent portal. I posted the links earlier in the week to help you if you encounter difficulties!
*Tuesday, March 12th is a half day-dismissal @ 11:10.
Have a great weekend!!!
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