Viewing: Class Updates
May 21, 2013
Student News: Math Videos
Last week, we opened the Computer Station as an option for CCLS activities. One of the choices kids have at the Computer Station is to write a short article for the class website. Here is a quick article from 12 and 7!
Last week (5-16-13) we made a video on how to divide decimals as a class. Here are some opinions on the video : 7 says, “The video is very helpful but it is hard to learn right away.” 12 says, “The video is very helpful.” As 7 said, it is hard to learn right away so I recommend doing the problems along with it. I also recommend watching the video.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
May 9, 2013
Update on Number The Stars Program
Good evening! Tomorrow is the last day that the theater educators from the Hartford Stage will be with fourth grade classes teaching lessons about Number the Stars, and I wanted to give you an update on how those activities have been going. Emely, the Theater Educator, has been doing a wonderful job helping the kids to understand what takes place in Number the Stars. Her activities focus much more on the events in the book than they do on specific details about the Holocaust in general, which helps to keep the activities appropriate for kids.
Monday’s lesson focused primarily on dramatic terms and activities to help the kids to get prepared for the rest of the week. On Tuesday, the kids were introduced to the character of Ellen Rosen, a young Jewish girl living in Copenhagen, whose life has changed because of the Nazi presence. The kids learned a bit about what was happening during the Holocaust, and particularly how it affected Ellen’s relationship with her non-Jewish friend, Annemarie. These programs tend to progress through key parts of the book, so Wednesday’s activity focused on a section that took place later on in the novel, where Ellen’s family learned that they must leave in order to avoid being captured by the Nazi soldiers. The kids learned that Annemarie’s family willingly accepted Ellen to stay with them, in hopes of protecting her, while Ellen’s parents sought protection elsewhere. As they had in previous days, the kids participated in some dramatic activities to act out some of the conversations and situations that the young girls found themselves in.
Today’s activities were the most dramatic and revealing. This morning, the kids were invited to role-play what it would be like for them, playing the role of Ellens parents, to say goodbye to their daughter who was staying with another family for her own protection. This was a very dramatic activity for the kids, as they had to explain to Emely, who was playing the role of Ellen, their daughter, why they could not stay with her, and why it was not safe for her to come with them. They did a wonderful job thinking about what the parents would actually say to their daughter in that situation, and they showed their understanding of what they had been taught on previous days.
The final activity from today, however, was the most emotional, and, I think, eye-opening for the kids. By moving desks and chairs, our class was transformed into a train traveling out of Denmark. A Nazi soldier, again played by Emely (the theater educator), boarded the train and began to interview the passengers (the kids in our class). The kids were all assigned different roles, such as being a member of a Jewish family, being a member of a group of non-Jewish colleagues who were traveling for business, and other various roles. As they were questioned by the Nazi soldier, the kids did a very impressive job sticking to their characters as they tried to prove that they should not be targets of the soldier’s investigations. As really happened in history, the soldier identified many people, Jews and non-Jews, that she thought needed to be taken off the train. Passengers (the kids) were forced to quickly think on their feet and to come up with explanations to try and save themselves and their companions. This sparked a rich discussion later on as we discussed what the kids were thinking about during the activity.
There is no doubting that this is a very realistic activity, and some of the kids had an emotional reaction, along with both of their teachers, and other participants. One of the challenges in teaching kids about the Holocaust is helping them to develop a frame of reference. Here, fortunately, the kids in our class do not generally have any basis for understanding the concepts of genocide, hatred, and Anti-Semitism. We work very hard to give the kids an understanding of what happened, and an ability to relate to the experiences of people who lived during that time, while not putting the kids under undue stress.
Following these activities, the kids and I always have follow-up conversations, and I encourage kids to share their feelings and their concerns. I always reassure the students that these are events that happened long ago, and that they are safe here in their homes, in Connecticut. When the kids share how sad it is to learn about this, I remind them about the importance of learning about these historical events, among other reasons, so that we can make absolutely sure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Some of the kids may have come home and started discussions about these activities. I encourage you to continue to have these discussions with your children, as I try to avoid going into some of the more graphic details with kids. Students are explicitly asked to avoid discussing these topics during lunch and recess so that they can benefit from having an adult to facilitate the conversations.
If your son and daughter seems concerned or stressed by what they’ve learned, I encourage you to remind them, first and foremost, that their feelings are understandable and valid! I never tell kids “not to be upset” because the material we are learning about is, in fact, upsetting. It’s understandable for kids to feel upset and saddened by the events, but if they are afraid, I remind them that these are events from long ago, and that they are safe in their own communities. I also remind them that the police in their community are very different from the Nazi soldiers who patrolled the streets in Copenhagen, and that the police officers in their town are trustworthy, safe people who really are there to help and protect them.
Tomorrow will be the last day of the role playing activities. They will learn about some of the later events in the text, and at the end, the students will receive copies of the novel. This week’s activities will serve as a framework for when we read the novel together.
Please continue to be in touch with me if you have any questions as we continue this important unit.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
May 3, 2013
Number the Stars
This morning, fourth graders at PGS started a unit of study about the Holocaust. Throughout this week, theater educators from The Hartford Stage will join our class to teach the kids about the novel Number the Stars, which tells the story of a fictional family in Denmark that helps to hide a Jewish family that tries to escape from the Nazis. Next week, we will begin reading this novel as a class.Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
April 19, 2013
Acrostic Poem Builder
Here is the site!
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
April 18, 2013
Homework for 4/18/13
Happy Former Vacation Week! Here are your assignments for tonight:
1. Hop over to Miss Torres’s website. Spend 20 minutes practicing chorus music, please.
A beautiful STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHED shot of nature in the PGS field!
2. Today, we took many impressive photos of the natural beauty around our school. You all are amazing photographers! Tomorrow, we will use the photos to inspire some poetry writing. We also will talk about things we all, as individuals, can do to help the earth. To prepare for that, I want you to think of things YOU, as a FOURTH GRADER can do to help the earth. Remember, things like “Drive electric cars.” aren’t appropriate suggestions because you, as a kid, will not drive a car in the near future. When you post your idea, be sure to explain WHY you think it is a good idea. USE CORRECT GRAMMAR, SPELLING, and PUNCTUATION.
3. Visit the website again a bit later on, if you can, and post a comment in response to someone else’s idea. If there is something you don’t understand about someone’s idea, ask them a question. If you agree or disagree, politely share your opinion, but be sure to back it up. Again, use CORRECT grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and be sure to AVOID USING ALL NAMES.
Posted in Class Updates, Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
April 4, 2013
Animal Research Project
For homework, please access the “Planning Worksheet” (below). Here are the special directions.
- Open the Planning Worksheet in Microsoft Word and enter your name, teacher, and room number.
- Then, follow the directions on the page and choose your animal to research AFTER looking through several choices on the eNature website. (Have a few backup choices in mind in case your first choice animal isn’t available. We want to have as many different possible animals selected as possible.)
- Make good choices! Don’t just pick an animal without looking on the website. In order to make an INFORMED decision, you need to look at several choices!
- Save the document on your home computer, because you will need to continue working on it another time!
- Print out the first page and bring it to school.
DUE TOMORROW!
Download the Planning Worksheet here: Planning Worksheet
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
April 1, 2013
Painting Conundrum
This is not quite what Charlie’s bedroom looks like, but this does show you what a top-down layout map could look like, although it is very detailed (such as the blanket being pulled down a bit, the book on the desk, etc.)
Posted online as promised…
When I went to the paint store to buy paint for Charlie’s new bedroom, I brought the two dimensions for Charlie’s bedroom. (How wide it is and how long it is.) I asked the salesman if one gallon of paint would be enough, but he couldn’t answer me. Instead, he asked me another question. Why couldn’t he answer my question, and what question did he ask me?
All answers must be WRITTEN (or emailed), and both parts of the question MUST be answered. Correct answers to this OPTIONAL enrichment challenge will earn students a HOMEWORK PASS good for skipping one math assignment during this unit!
…aaaaaaaand, GO!
Posted in Class Updates, Learning Resources|By Jon Moss
March 20, 2013
What did you learn? (See-Through Science)
In class, we have started to learn about expository writing. Our first step was to compare expository (non-fiction) writing to the more familiar narrative (story) kind of writing. We looked at the many common traits that both styles share, but (perhaps more importantly), we looked at how the two styles of writing are different.
Today, your assignment is to read the passage “See through science.” (If your “Reads with Fluency” report card grade wasn’t what you wanted, consider reading the article aloud to someone at home.) Afterwards, please login to the website and post a comment in which you tell us what you learned. Each sentence should begin with “I learned…” Focus on the KIND of information you learned, not on what specific facts you learned. This is one of those funny situations where I do NOT want you to be specific. Being general is better, as long as you aren’t TOO general. For example:
TOO SPECIFIC: I learned that the app Hugh Turvey made shows you objects for each letter of the alphabet and will show you x-ray views that you can rotate by swiping the screen.
TOO GENERAL: I learned about the app.
JUST RIGHT: I learned how Hugh Turvey’s x-ray app works.
Don’t just put down one thing you learned. Instead, list (DON’T EXPLAIN – yes, I DON’T want you to explain) all the different kinds of information that you learned. (Hint: Consider going paragraph-by-paragraph.) Yes, you may reuse my sample “I learned…” sentence!
We’ll work on this tomorrow or Friday! Need a copy of the article? Click HERE to download it!
Posted in Class Updates, Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
March 6, 2013
Checking Work Carefully
In class today, we had a rather serious conversation about checking work CAREFULLY. Since third grade (and perhaps even earlier), students have been expected to check over their work after completing it. At different times during the school year, we discuss what “checking your work” actually means. It isn’t quickly flipping through a packet to make sure it “looks good” and “nice” and “pretty.” Checking over your work is an active process where you do many things. Here are some (not all) of the elements of checking over work, listed in order from most basic to more advanced:
BASIC
Do I see any huge problems that “jump out” and grab my attention?
Is my name on the paper? Did I complete ALL parts of the task?
Is my work neat and easy to understand?
(After rereading directions) Did I do what I was supposed to do?
Do I agree with my answers? (Yes, this involves rereading the questions and your answers, not just LOOKING at what you put down!)
Can I somehow improve my answers? (Usually limited to open-ended responses, not multiple choice questions.)
Am I proud to hand this in?
ADVANCED
How deeply a student checks their work can often make the difference between catching errors and improving responses vs leaving sloppy mistakes that make a student look less skilled than they actually are. Today, all kids who took CMTs with us in Room 209 completed with at least 10 minutes to spare, meaning that most students had ample time to check over their work.
Unfortunately, we have recently had a lot of problems in class with students submitting work with SKIPPED items! I found this in a few mastery tests today (that students were able to fix during the testing period, fortunately) and have also seen it in plenty of recent assignments, including math assessments and other major work samples. In each instance, I ask the child if they checked their work, and they tell me that they did. Clearly, they only made it through the first part of checking work over.
I hope, this evening, that parents can take a few moments to review with their students the importance of carefully checking work over. I’ve spoken at length with the kids about how CMTs (and other assessments) help us to see what they do and do not know, and that I only expect them to do their very best (rather than expecting a specific score). When items are skipped and marked wrong, the student appears to know less and perform worse than is actually the case. I hope we can, together, help the kids to improve their attention to detail when checking their work. This is an important life skill (stretching well beyond the reach of the Connecticut Mastery Tests) and is a habit that kids must develop.
Kids: Log in and post a comment to this article. Write a few sentences explaining how YOU will make sure that you are carefully checking over your work. Try to think of a way that you will REMEMBER to carefully review your work (whether it’s a CMT, a unit test, or just regular classwork or homework). Perhaps we can all share our ideas and help each other to find ways to remember to carefully examine their work to make sure it’s well done!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
February 26, 2013
Cyberchase: Lost My Marbles
Tonight’s homework relates to an episode of Cyberchase (recommended by #17!) that uses map coordinates to help the group of kids to find a lost treasure. While I adjusted the worksheet to fit the style of coordinates we are using in math, it does tie into the episode. It might be fun for you to watch the episode before or after you do the worksheet. (This is optional, but recommended, because there are plenty of good math skills being used in the show!) I have inserted all three parts of the 30 minute show below. Remember, these are the only three videos I’m inviting you to watch. If you click on the YouTube link to watch other videos, you ABSOLUTELY MUST have a grown-up’s permission. Enjoy!
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3 of 3
Posted in Class Updates, Learning Resources|By Jon Moss