Today we finally got to start our new unit in 4th grade math. I gave the students a pre-test. They were concerned in the beginning because it was a test. I reassured them that this is not a graded test, this is for me to see what kind of background knowledge you have and I can use this to direct my instruction. They were still very concerned. Terminology is still something we are working on. I found out in the last unit if I repeat everything at the beginning of each lesson they will get it. A quick review doesn't disrupt the lesson and it is very helpful. We are studying multiplication and division facts. This lesson will not be difficult since they have learned most of the multiplication tables all ready. This unit gives student a variety of strategies to complete multiplication or division equations. Strategies such as the one used today, inverse operation. Students are used to checking their addition with subtraction and vice versa, so today they understood how division undoes multiplication and serves as a checking device also. I have a fact family bingo game if we have time tomorrow we are going to try it. This game will reinforce their knowledge of what a fact family is and inverse operations. We will see how it goes.
I am really enjoying the 3rd grade Language Arts class. We are studying a story about Indian traditions this week. Students have been working with contractions in the past two lessons, but are still having some difficulty. I remember a website that has an exercise in contractions, I may have the students work on that tomorrow. Today after we finished our lesson we played a card game with the long i sound. I have about 30 long i words, using the spelling pattern we are studying on index cards. It's kind of like go fish. I made each student a list of all the words that are on the cards and they have to ask another student for a matching word with the same spelling pattern as they have. If they find a match they lay down the pair, if not they draw another card. The first student who is out of cards wins. They seem to like it somewhat. Some of my students have social issues and are not very fond of this but they are participating. I think this will reinforce the spelling patterns we have been studying.
My little guy is doing very well with the TOUCH math. He will now count the points if he doesn't know the number without any thing being said. He recognizes 5 numbers without having to count the points. His alphabet recognition is doing better also. He can recongize 20 of the 26 letters and 18 sounds. He consistently missing the letters: g, h, and q. I need to find a way to get past this. He looks forward to our little execise. I am not sure if it is just to get it over or if he really like it. We do talk about different things during our exercise, but I have to be careful that we don't get too far off course. He is doing very well . My ST tells me he can see the difference our work is making.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, Day Thrity
Today was a catchup day. Some things were left unfinished before we went on fall break, so today was the day to catch them up and move tomorrow. I have one student in my 4th grade class that has yet to complete the chapter quiz and the unit test. We did that today.
In language arts the 3rd grade is going to read about another tradition. This one is about Indians and their tradition. We completed a graphic organizer were the students were looking for main ideas of a page and details to suppport the main idea.
My little guy has too much work to catch up on to pull him aside. That is another project that will have to wait.
In language arts the 3rd grade is going to read about another tradition. This one is about Indians and their tradition. We completed a graphic organizer were the students were looking for main ideas of a page and details to suppport the main idea.
My little guy has too much work to catch up on to pull him aside. That is another project that will have to wait.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, Day Twenty-eight
Today was a whirlwind. Under the advice of my ST, we are trying to get everything completed today because tomorrow it will be very difficult to get everything done. In Language Arts, students had a phonics quiz and their theme test. I went through both test with them and we had some very good scores. Not all scored a 100, I think the lowest score was an 85 on the theme test. I created the phonics quiz and the students did pretty well with it. There were sentences where they had to insert the word from their spelling list and then I gave them a bonus section. All of their words were listed and they had to circle the 3-letter cluster and underline the unexpected consonant. Most of them used this list to complete their sentences then marked out the word, so to complete the bonus they had to erase that to see the word. The theme test introduced even more words with those consonant patterns and they handled that very well. Tomorrow the students that have completed their 5x each will present their symbol telling how it represents them. That should be fun.
In math, I had one student absent. We went through the retest for chapter seven and they did well. The average of the two test will give them much better test scores. We also had our unit test. This was difficult for some because they had a lot of material to remember. I had given them a bonus section also, the calendar months, where they had to list the month name, number, and how many days it has. Only one student completed the bonus section, I told them that was their loss because it was an extra 10 points on their quiz. The one student who completed it scored 106. I will share these test with the students today just so they can see what they could have made.
My little guy's classroom teacher sent me a note today. She has begun working with him with the TOUCH math also. She had assessed him and sent me the result. Also she wanted me to put the dots in the correct spots so he could recognize them on slips of paper that she is using with him. This is great, at least I am getting help from someone other than myself and my ST. The only problem is that some of the numbers were two-digit numbers. That could work but using the TOUCH math it would look like 2-2 instead of 22. He does not recognize place value as of yet. In my assessment he scored about the same in the recognition of the numbers and one less on the alphabet. He is trying so hard. Tomorrow I may try the written assessment of the numbers, he follows examples pretty well. He will have to tell me what number he is writing and these have no dots on them. This should be a good assessment for him.
In math, I had one student absent. We went through the retest for chapter seven and they did well. The average of the two test will give them much better test scores. We also had our unit test. This was difficult for some because they had a lot of material to remember. I had given them a bonus section also, the calendar months, where they had to list the month name, number, and how many days it has. Only one student completed the bonus section, I told them that was their loss because it was an extra 10 points on their quiz. The one student who completed it scored 106. I will share these test with the students today just so they can see what they could have made.
My little guy's classroom teacher sent me a note today. She has begun working with him with the TOUCH math also. She had assessed him and sent me the result. Also she wanted me to put the dots in the correct spots so he could recognize them on slips of paper that she is using with him. This is great, at least I am getting help from someone other than myself and my ST. The only problem is that some of the numbers were two-digit numbers. That could work but using the TOUCH math it would look like 2-2 instead of 22. He does not recognize place value as of yet. In my assessment he scored about the same in the recognition of the numbers and one less on the alphabet. He is trying so hard. Tomorrow I may try the written assessment of the numbers, he follows examples pretty well. He will have to tell me what number he is writing and these have no dots on them. This should be a good assessment for him.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, Day Twenty-seven
Today, was a typical day. In language arts, I had the third grade catching up in their workbooks. I have one student who is very bright but when I call on her to read aloud, I never know what to expect. There are times she does very well reading and then there are times that she struggles with simple words such as 'words'. I am watching her because I am not sure what is going on there. This class is very early and most of the students are very unresponsive. We struggled through and finished all that we needed. The students had already had a lesson in contractions with my ST, yet they still struggled through the workbook page. Two of them were really on top of it. But most when I asked how do we make a contraction of the two words has and not, would respond with the spelling of has'not. We still have some work to do.
In our reading about motivation I do see some of my students. I have one third grader who is always announcing were she is in her work and asking another student were they are. I believe that is a performance motivation although we are not a class that focuses on "normative grading practices (which imply that only a percentage of students are likely to succeed)" (McKeahie, 2006) and we do provide opportunities for revision and improving written work. She is very competitive amongst her classmates. That is not necessarily a bad thing, it seems to be her motivator. I would like to see all my students perform because of mastery goals. Since all my students have some type of goal in their IEP, motivation to obtain a mastery of the material would benefit them greatly.
Math in the fourth grade was interesting. I gave a quick review so we good test over the chapter about time and it went well. The test was a different story. This makes me feel that I did not teach it very well. My ST has given me many options to develop their understanding. I think I will retest and average those test scores. The students had asked for free time and I told them it depended on when we were finished. That was a mistake. I think they rushed through the test and did not do well. I think next time the answer will be "don't ask when we are in the middle of a lesson".
My little guy was too busy catching up on the work he missed when he left early to work with today. I did however send the set of alphabet flashcards and a letter home with him. He is doing better, in his daily work I will occasionaly ask him about a letter or number and very often he responds with the correct answer. We will get there.
In our reading about motivation I do see some of my students. I have one third grader who is always announcing were she is in her work and asking another student were they are. I believe that is a performance motivation although we are not a class that focuses on "normative grading practices (which imply that only a percentage of students are likely to succeed)" (McKeahie, 2006) and we do provide opportunities for revision and improving written work. She is very competitive amongst her classmates. That is not necessarily a bad thing, it seems to be her motivator. I would like to see all my students perform because of mastery goals. Since all my students have some type of goal in their IEP, motivation to obtain a mastery of the material would benefit them greatly.
Math in the fourth grade was interesting. I gave a quick review so we good test over the chapter about time and it went well. The test was a different story. This makes me feel that I did not teach it very well. My ST has given me many options to develop their understanding. I think I will retest and average those test scores. The students had asked for free time and I told them it depended on when we were finished. That was a mistake. I think they rushed through the test and did not do well. I think next time the answer will be "don't ask when we are in the middle of a lesson".
My little guy was too busy catching up on the work he missed when he left early to work with today. I did however send the set of alphabet flashcards and a letter home with him. He is doing better, in his daily work I will occasionaly ask him about a letter or number and very often he responds with the correct answer. We will get there.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tuesday, Day Twenty-Six
Today was a lot of fun for the third grade. But before the fun started, the students were assigned the spelling words to be written 5 times each. For each student I created a table with six columns. The first column was just a word list. Part of doing them 5 times each is they must be in alphabetical order. We went through the alphabet and organized the words in the second column as they should be. Some of them were confused at first when the class had determined the first and second word, I circled the room while they wrote. A few of them had simply wrote word exactly were it was in the table. I can see how that can be confusing, I will work on a way to make that more clear for next week. Also, there was one worksheet we completed in their workbook. The students had to read a clue and see a word that rhymed with one of their spelling words. An example would be that "something worn on the wrist match______" and the spelling word is watch. After two of these the students caught on very well. The next exercise wanted them to choose the word from the larger word that contained their spelling word. An example of this would be 'knowing' where the spelling word is 'know'. After these we had a project. Keeping in the theme of their story, I gave each student a colored folder. They were to open it up and with colored glitter glue, create a symbol that represents them. I told them I wanted something that I could look at and know that was _______. They did very well with that. I think Thursday I will have the students present their symbol and tell how it represents them. The students had a lot of fun with this.
My little guy ended up not feeling well and left school early so we did not get to have our 2:00 meeting. I will try again tomorrow. These students always come into the classroom around 7:30 and they practice their cursive writing until it is class time. My guy could tell me what letter he was writing when I asked. I thought that was good.
My fourth grade did not do as well as I thought they would with the calendar. They could read the calendar and knew it was 3 weeks and 2 days between events. They knew there are 7 days in week, 365 days in a year, and 12 months in a year. Only one of them could say the months of the year. None could tell me how many days were in a given month. So I showed them the knuckle way telling how many days were in each month. My ST really enjoyed that and the students could tell me right off how many days. This also helped them remember the names of the months. We then took a quiz over the month names, the number of days in each, and the number of the month. Using the strategy I showed, they did very well. We did cover leap year and all of that also. Today was a very good day, even though they did not complete their personal schedules. This did upset me. I told them this is twice. They did not complete their own surveys (so we made up data) and now this. I also told them that I did not necessarily take a grade on this, because this was an assignment to strengthen what we have been discussing. I also informed them the next one will be for a grade and they will not be permitted to forget it at home or leave their instructions in the classroom; they will get a 0 if that is the case. I don't think I was too hard on them but these are things that will build on the lessons we are doing. We are coming up on relating multiplication and division, so I will have to create something for them to do. I have known teachers that when a student does not complete their assignments throughout the week, they would assign homework over the weekend. I don't want to take their weekend but I do expect it to be done.
My little guy ended up not feeling well and left school early so we did not get to have our 2:00 meeting. I will try again tomorrow. These students always come into the classroom around 7:30 and they practice their cursive writing until it is class time. My guy could tell me what letter he was writing when I asked. I thought that was good.
My fourth grade did not do as well as I thought they would with the calendar. They could read the calendar and knew it was 3 weeks and 2 days between events. They knew there are 7 days in week, 365 days in a year, and 12 months in a year. Only one of them could say the months of the year. None could tell me how many days were in a given month. So I showed them the knuckle way telling how many days were in each month. My ST really enjoyed that and the students could tell me right off how many days. This also helped them remember the names of the months. We then took a quiz over the month names, the number of days in each, and the number of the month. Using the strategy I showed, they did very well. We did cover leap year and all of that also. Today was a very good day, even though they did not complete their personal schedules. This did upset me. I told them this is twice. They did not complete their own surveys (so we made up data) and now this. I also told them that I did not necessarily take a grade on this, because this was an assignment to strengthen what we have been discussing. I also informed them the next one will be for a grade and they will not be permitted to forget it at home or leave their instructions in the classroom; they will get a 0 if that is the case. I don't think I was too hard on them but these are things that will build on the lessons we are doing. We are coming up on relating multiplication and division, so I will have to create something for them to do. I have known teachers that when a student does not complete their assignments throughout the week, they would assign homework over the weekend. I don't want to take their weekend but I do expect it to be done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)