Next week is the end of the first quarter. I will be assessing students on what they have learned this first quarter. I will be administering and analyzing the following assessments for student growth:
1. Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) - fluency and comprehension performance levels, text or Lexile levels and instructional strategies
2. Fiction and Non-fiction comprehension assessments - literal and figurative performance levels for fiction and informational texts
3. Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement (RCBM) - fluency and error rate
4. STAR Reading Assessment - nationally normed screener, comprehension and end of year performance predictor as well as instructional strategies
5. Developmental Spelling Assessment (DSA) spelling - detailed phonics assessment and instructional levels
6. Vocabulary assessment of vocabulary learned this quarter.
7. Personal narrative writing - narratives, production, convention, grammar, spelling of high frequency and multi-syllabic words
8. End of quarter math assessment - comprehensive overview of first quarter's math content
9. Fact fluency addition and subtraction facts - addition and subtraction fact fluency
I will share the results of these assessments and their associated instructional strategies at your student's conference.
Word Study
There is no new vocabulary next week due to assessments. We studied vowel-consonant teams which create a long i sound, instead of the more prevalent closed syllable short i sound when followed by a consonant(s). Patterns include -ild (e.g., wild), -ind (e.g., kind), and -igh(t) (e.g., night). We also introduced vowel-consonant-silent e pattern which also creates a long i sound (e.g., ice). We continue to study parts of speech.
Reading
We are connecting main ideas and topic sentences in our reading to our writing and are comparing and contrasting topics using Venn diagrams. Students are working with me in small groups on choosing just-right-books, fluency, decoding using a combination of sounding out strategies and context clues and building stamina and engagement. We have a broad range of readers and it is my highest priority to meet each of them where they are and determine how to maximize their growth.
Mr. Morlock answers questions about his life
Learning how to write in Braille
We are continuing our read aloud, Wonder. While this book is great for many reasons, including author's craft, point of view, "showing, not telling," and figurative language, I love it most for its messages of not limiting our definitions of people with disabilities by simply focusing on their disability and that everyone goes through difficulties, often unknown and unseen by others and sometimes just as challenging as outwardly visible challenges. In support of the first message, a community member that many of our classroom's students know, Mr. Morlock, visited to tell us about his life beyond blindness. While students were very curious about Mr. Morlock's blindness, they also learned about his childhood, growing up on a rural farm in northern Ohio, his education and how life has changed in his 86 years. Mr. Morlock taught students how to write in Braille and demonstrated reading in Braille. We hope Mr. Morlock will return soon to read with us. This was an all too rare opportunity to invite a community into our school and share our learning with them. I feel we enrich each others' lives through these exchanges.
Writing
We have continued to explore personal narratives this quarter. We will expand our writing to include research, persuasive, and expository writing. However, personal narratives create opportunities for rich, descriptive language that is harder to develop through the other forms of writing we study. Students are connecting to their reading by focusing on their topic sentences and are trying to hook the reader. With many options of what to read, writers must compete for a reader's attention and a strong topic sentence is a great way to start.
Math
Students reviewed all of the math we have studied this quarter. We also intensely reviewed place and value by looking at how many ones, tens and hundreds are in a three digit number. Many students struggle to realize there are more than 5 tens in the number 256 because they initially only think of tens as being in the tens place. We also investigated telling and showing time on analog clocks to quarter-past, half-past, quarter-till and o'clock times.
Science
We concluded our natural resources unit by comparing and contrasting renewable and non-renewable resources and studying how a non-renewable resource (oil) can pollute a renewable resource (water). Students created an oil spill by pouring a small amount of cooking oil into their "ocean." They then tried to remove the oil using pipettes, cotton balls and detergent. Students learned it takes an enormous amount of resources to clean an oil spill and it is very challenging. We also introduced density, which we will review when we study matter under physical science.
Students realized they were extracting more water than oil when they used cotton balls.
Students visited Highbanks Metropark on Friday to study earth and life science. During their time with the naturalist, students focused on earth science, discussing the many types and uses of minerals, minerals specific to Ohio and their uses from prehistory to the current day, observed erosion and shale formations, and explored the creek bed looking for fossils and discussing the rock cycle in Ohio. As always, many thanks to our wonderful volunteers. Thanks for chaperoning.
creeking
Ohio slate
fossil hunters
Students later explored life science, which we have already started through our study of trees in Thompson Park. Students explored the leaf litter for living and non-living elements, focusing on decomposers such as fungi, molds, and arthropods. We even found some small amphibians that live on decomposers. The amount of biodiversity in the leaf litter is equal to the Great Reef and it's all out our feet. Rake up some leaves and start looking for decomposers, an integral part of any food web.
sifting through leaf litter
stink bug
worm
millipede
Mr. Kerstetter sharing a gall
larva inside the gall
mushrooms
praying mantis
mushroom
Guidance
Mrs. O'Keefe visited us this week for guidance. Students learned about communication and self advocacy.
Important Dates and Reminders
New dates and information are indicated in red.
Please visit the following link to sign up to help with our upcoming Halloween party. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa9af2fa02-halloween1
Important 1st Quarter Dates & Reminders
October 20, 21, and 22, 2014 - UA Parent Math Nights (refer to previous email)
October 20 - 24, 2014 - End of the quarter assessments. Please try to avoid absences.
October 23, 2014 - Fall picture retakes
October 24, 2014 - End of the first quarter
October 27, 2014 - No school for students, teacher grading day
Important 2nd Quarter Dates & Reminders
October 30, 2014 - UA Trick or Treating from 5:30 till 8pm
October 31, 2014 - Halloween party
November 4, 2014 - No School for Students, Teacher Development Day
November 5, 2014 - Progress Reports sent home
November 6, 2014 - Early Dismissal at 11am
November 7, 2014 - Thompson Park Tree Trek Field Trip (Please email to chaperon.)
November 10 through 13, 2014 - Fall conferences
November 17 through 21, 2014 - District Gifted Screening
November 25, 2014 - Scarlet and Gray Day
November 26 through 28, 2014 - No School Thanksgiving
December 1 through January 9, 2015 - STAR Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing
December 3, 2014 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
December 19, 2014 - Holiday parties 2pm
December 22 through January 2, 2015 - No School Winter Break
January 16, 2015 - End of second quarter
January 19, 2015 - No School Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 20, 2015 - No school, teacher grading day
Important 3rd Quarter Dates & Reminders
January 27, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
January 29, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Conferences at 11am
February 2 through 13, 2015 - Ohio Wildlife Center donation drive
February 4, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
February 9 through 13, 2015 - Collection days for Box Tops for Education
February 16, 2015 - No School Presidents' Day
February 17, 2015 - Math State PBA
February 23, 2015 - English Language Arts State PBA
February 23, 2015 - AASCD
March 9 through 13, 2015 - PTO Book Sale
March 17, 2015 - 3rd Grade Musical
March 20 through 27, 2015 - No School Spring Break
April 2, 2015 - End of third quarter
April 3, 2015 - No School
April 6, 2015 - No School, teacher grading day
Important 4th Quarter Dates & Reminders
April 8, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
April 9, 2015 - Spring Picture Day
April 13 through May 22, 2015 - District Writing Diagnostic Testing
April 14, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
April 21 through 22, 2015 - English Language Arts State EOY
April 22, 2015 - Ohio Reading Achievement Assessment
April 24, 2015 - Kid Fest
April 28 through 29, 2015 - Math State EOY
May 1 through 29, 2015 - STAR Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing
May 9, 2015 - Wish Run
May 25, 2015 - No School Memorial Day
June 1, 2015 - Field Day
June 3, 2015 - End of fourth quarter/Last day for students, Classroom parties 12:05 till 1:05pm
June 9, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
