Friday, Day Twenty-Nine

Today was a catch all day. We tried to ensure that all students are caught up on all assignments before they leave. This proved to be very complicated. Our local fire department was putting on a demonstration for the students. It only took about 30 minutes but that means that students brought work from their classroom to get assistance. The 4th grade came in with social studies test and math. Two students that are not in my math class are in my ST language arts class and they needed assistance with the same chapter test that we had just completed. They also had a recess period right in the middle of this. So needless to say we did not get much done. I did not have time to test my one student that was absent either. So when we go back we will have to catch the three of them up. That is not a problem though. Next lesson is my unit for my portfolio, Just the facts: multiplication and division. I think the students will do well with this lesson.

My little guy is doing very well with the flashcards. We did not have time to begin the writing portion we will have to that when we come back. He is recognizing more numbers and letters. He is learning when he doesn't know the number to count the dots. He is making some errors in his counting such as he leaves out three and looks to me for approval when he only makes the beginning sound of a number. He is doing well though. I think I will look at my assessment sheet and the numbers that he continually recognizes I will take away the dots, I know that is 1, 2, and 8. He always seems to know those. He is doing about the same with the alphabet. Although today when he told me the letter he added a symbol. He said 'a - apple' even though there is no apple he remembers being taught that. It seemed to help him a lot so we will continue to do that. The sounds were harder. And it is harder for me to assess him in this area. I am trying to concentrate on the basic sounds, I have found that people say there are anywhere from 44-50 sounds in our language. I am only looking for 29 sounds right now. Some assessments group the 'k' sound with c and k. I understand that but what about c sound that is 's' as in cease or center. I need to make a rubric for the sounds I am looking for this is the only way I will keep up. I am very bad about making an activity and not creating a rubric. That is one of my growth areas in self-assessment worksheet.

In the third grade the ones that were finished with their five times each were given some extra time to work on their symbol project. So some were adding to their symbol and some were completing their assignment. Students presented their symbols to the class and told why this is a representation of them. It went really well. The students that needed to complete their assignment got those down in time to make presentations also. We had a play station, angels, sisters, race tracks, and many others. The students had a great time with this. And I think they really grasped the idea of symbolism. I guess with all the distractions it was a productive day.