Viewing: Class Updates
December 14, 2010
Reminder: Book Orders Due
Oops! I never issued a due date for the December book orders. If you would like to order books, please return the orders by Friday. Please pay by check (payable to Scholastic), not by cash. You can also order online. Information follows:
Go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and log in using your user name and password.
If it’s your first time ordering online, use the Class Activation Code GZD87
- SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the “Register” button in the “First Time Here?” section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This code ensures that your order is sent to me.
- SELECT the books you’d like to order—choose from thousands of titles—many more than in our monthly flyers.
- SEND your order to me online by the due date and your child’s books will be delivered directly to my classroom.
Ordering online is fast and easy!
Best of all, we earn a FREE book for the classroom library every time a parent places an order online.
Thank you!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 14, 2010
Cookie Swap and Holiday Party
Our holiday party and cookie swap will happen on Wednesday, December 22nd. Please note that this is a change from the original date (of the 23rd) that was on the original letter about the cookie swap. We’re working on typing the recipes in the lab (which is a great way to practice typing skills, use of Microsoft Word, and mathematical arrays when choosing a table for the ingredients). I’m asking eaach student to bring in 30 cookies on the 22nd. That will give us enough cookies for each student in the class to get one of each, and for us to make some special trays to give to the very special people in the building who help our school so very much! You will receive an email in the next day or two from the parents coordinating this party with information about how you can help out if you’d like. Thank you, in advance, for being so generous with your time, supplies, and COOKIES! 🙂
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 14, 2010
Nutmeg Discussion Group 1
From Mrs. McCabe
REMINDER: Wed. Dec. 15th
Titles: ELEVEN and ELEPHANT RUN will be discussed during 4th grade recess(12:50-1:15)in the library. Any 4th grade attending will get a sweet treat for participating! What better way to spend a cold inside recess day…come to a lively Nutmeg book discussion group!!!!!!!!!!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 13, 2010
Mastering: Drawing Conclusions (Homework)
We’ve worked a lot in class with the skill of drawing conclusions from a piece of text. Remember the formula for drawing a FAIR conclusion:
Information from the text + Your own background knowledge = Fair Conclusion
When drawing a conclusion, remember to DISTINGUISH (tell the difference between) what is possible and what is probable! Focus on the probable conclusion.
For homework this evening, I have an activity very similar to the one you completed two weeks ago. It looks like an activity you did for homework once before, but trust me, it’s a new assignment.
There are a few things to look for. (1) One problem already has an answer selected because the person who made the assignment made a mistake by clicking a choice. But it may or may not be correct! You decide for yourself! (2) There is one question in the assignment that I think is very poor. It asks you to draw a conclusion, but I don’t think you’re given enough information to make a FAIR conclusion. Come into class ready to tell me which item was the bad question. (Consider writing it in your planner so you don’t forget.) No need to email me or print anything!
Here is the link:
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/inferencesp.cfm
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 13, 2010
Assessments in Fourth Grade
I started writing this article in mid-October because I wanted to explain some of the changes we have made to our assessment “profile” in fourth grade. I passed it on to a colleague to read and give me feedback on, and it ended up on the bottom of my pile (quite literally, actually.) While some parts are a bit out of date now, (I’ve finished administering the DRAs to students.) I think the information is still valuable. I hope it helps you!
By now, I think most families have heard about the SRBI initiative in our school. (Perhaps not, however.) Put simply, SRBI – Scientific Research Based Intervention – is the term used to describe Connecticut’s implementation of a federal mandate to reexamine and revise how we support all students and how we help them to make the growth they need in order to achieve in school. One element of SRBI is the effective use of assessments to measure student progress.
Of course, assessments are hardly new. We all took tests in school, but the difference is how these tests are made and used. When WE were kids, our teachers gave us tests on, for example, a science unit. But Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith may have had two different tests, and one may have been more challenging than another. Even if they used the same test, Mrs. Smith’s standards for grading the tests may have been far more rigorous than Mrs. Jones’s. In either case, a “B+” on one does not equal a “B+” on the other. One test’s “A-” may have been the other’s C+”. This inconstancy made it difficult to compare students’ performance and to discuss student achievement in an objective manner.
Fast forward to the beginning of standardized tests in schools. When I was a child growing up in “the boonies” of New Jersey, we took an annual test called the CAT (California Achievement Test). And when I moved to Connecticut, I was of course introduced to the glory of the Connecticut Mastery Tests, and later on, the Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. These tests are identical for students in a given grade level, and they are assessed in a consistent manner, which allows us to compare data in a valid and reliable way.
There are a lot of mixed opinions about the merits of the CMTs and CAPTs, but there is no denying the advantages of having a standardized, objective measure. (In my mind, the controversy of these tests more surrounds the use of these tests and how we prepare for them and emphasize them, less about the tests themselves.) SRBI encourages us to use similarly objective assessments with our students in an ongoing way.
To that end, we have phased out some of our chapter tests and unit assessments (particularly in reading) and have replaced them with universal assessments, common formative assessments, and other new measures.
To learn more about these assessments, click the “Read the rest of this entry” link, below.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 8, 2010
A new bat, there is!
Totally unrelated to school, but given the enormous number of Star Wars fans in our class, I couldn’t resist sharing the news of a new bat named after our favorite Jedi master. Lock up your lightsabers! Click on the picture to check out the article!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 7, 2010
“Stealing Home” Vocabulary Homework
Tonight’s homework is up to you! On the Quia website, you’ll find four different activities from which you can choose. You need to do TWO – more on this in a moment. Your choices are:
- Flashcards (just what you think they are!)
- Matching (match the vocab word with the right definition)
- Concentration (just like Matching, but you also need to remember what cards are in which spots)
- Word Search (an online version of the fun puzzle)
You can choose any two (or more) activities to complete, but at least one MUST be the matching game or the concentration game. So, for example, you do could Matching and Flashcards. Or Concentration and the Word Search. Or maybe Matching and the Word Search. Or even Matching and Concentration. You get the idea! There are lots of options.
No need to print anything – we’re working on the honor system! Have fun, and happy studying! Here’s your web link:
http://www.quia.com/jg/661214.html
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
December 6, 2010
Spelling Words
Oops, I forgot to give out the spelling words until the last minute today, and some students left before receiving them. I have hard copies here for them, but if you want the lists for tonight, click on “Read the rest of this entry” (below).
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 29, 2010
eHomework: Drawing Conclusions
Tonight’s homework is a “Drawing Conclusions” assignment. Complete the assignment tonight. No need to print it or email me your score. You’ve done a good job being honest about whether or not you completed the task on time! The directions are on the next page:
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/e/drawconclusionsp.cfm
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 19, 2010
Post-Conference Round-Up
I enjoyed meeting with many families over the past two days. There were several resources that I mentioned to several families during parent-teacher conferences, so for your convenience, I’ve listed them here.
- Online Multiplication Practice – post available here
- “The Chalkboard” teacher store in West Hartford – website accessible here
- Class homework policy – click on “Policies” in the left-hand sidebar
- Kids’ books that integrate math into the stories – listed here on Amazon.com
- Square One Television (the world’s greatest kids’ math TV show every to air on PGS) – available on YouTube. Also search for “Square One TV” and “Square One Music Video”
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss