Viewing: Class Updates
November 17, 2010
Book Report Update
We’re in the home stretch! The book report is due promptly at 9:00am on Monday. There is one update that we forgot to put in the assignment sheet: There were no directions about how to display the name of the book and the student’s name on the mobile. Please attach a sheet of paper onto the frame of the hanger and write this information on both sides (so it can be seen when viewed from either direction.) Mrs. McCarthy showed the kids an example today in which the title and student name were written on a piece of construction paper that was stapled to the wire stapler. (Imagine something like the paper sleeve that drycleaners put around wire hangers.) Sorry for this late change, and we will, of course, be flexible with how you choose to share this information. Thanks!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 15, 2010
Independent and Dependent Clause Homework
For homework this evening, complete an online 12-question quiz about independent and dependent clauses. Remember what we learned today:
- Clause: A phrase, a bunch of words that form an idea in a sentence.
- Independent Clause: Can be a sentence by itself (INDEPENDENTLY)
- Dependent Clause: Cannot be a sentence (It DEPENDS on having the Independent Clause.)
- Unlike other parts of grammar, there is no rule of thumb about the order in which clauses appear in a sentence. Sometimes a Dependent Clause may come first, other times an Independent Clause will come first.
Complete the 12-question quiz. When you’re done, click on “Correct My Answers.” If you make a mistake, click on “Try Again” and fix your errors. Come into school prepared to tell me how many you got correct. (Hopefully you’ll get them all correct after you fix your mistakes!) You do NOT need to email your scores to me – write them in your planner and be prepared to tell me how you did. HAVE FUN!
http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/O/1/56.asp
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 11, 2010
Honoring Veterans – Part II
I am so proud of our kids! They did a wonderful job today! But first, let me step back a day or two…
As you know, on Tuesday, we started learning about Frank Buckles. (More about that in the last post.) On Wednesday, we took the key parts of the articles that we identified, revised them to be our own words (as part of a lesson about plagiarism), and divided them up among the students who wanted to read during the town meeting. The kids practiced a few times, and the students who preferred to not read in front of the school instead held the microphone for their classmates or stood beside their classmates ready to help if someone dropped their script or needed some other help.
Today, we enjoyed a wonderful town meeting to honor the veterans. It was a great turnout, and the veterans enjoyed the tribute! (I’ll post some photos when I get a moment.) Our class was the last to perform, and as I said earlier, the kids did a stellar job! Everyone enjoyed their performance, and I could see their pride when their presentation was done. I have a video recording of their piece and will think about how I can best share it with you. But parents, give your son or daughter a big high-five and hug – you should be proud of them!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 9, 2010
Honoring Veterans – Part I
To recognize Veterans’ Day and honor all the brave men and women who are or were members of the armed forces, our class is studying Frank Buckles, the oldest U.S. veteran and only remaining veteran from World War I. 
This tied in perfectly to our work in reading about developing summaries. We’re focusing on how to choose VIPs (Very Important Points) in a story or article. Today, we read two articles about Mr. Buckles: one from Wikipedia, and one from Mr. Buckles’s own website. As we read, we worked together to identify the VIPs within both articles.
Beyond helping us to learn about Mr. Buckles and his experiences, our work today led to great conversations about research skills and selecting valid sources (especially when Wikipedia is involved), possessive nouns (when we saw Mr. Buckles’s and Mr. Buckles’ written in the same paragraph), enlistment age, service medals, and lots and lots of vocabulary (Armistice, enlistment, nourishment, and more.) The kids seemed really excited and interested, partially due to the fact that nearly everyone had a relative who served in the armed forces in some capacity.
Our class has earned a special privilege: we are going to present in Thursday’s Veterans’ Day town meeting (9:15 am, I believe, and parents are welcome.) Tomorrow, we’re going to take the VIPs we identified in the two articles and prepare a presentation about Frank Buckles. I’ll keep you informed and will try to post a video of the kids’ presentation. Sure to be a great time! 🙂
[Surprised that I write the possessive form of Frank Buckles as Buckles’s? You wouldn’t be the only one! I always write the possessive form of my name as Moss’s, and while there are teachers who disagree with me (such as Mrs. Matos, who writes Matos’), grammar guides indicate that it’s a stylistic choice and that the writer can choose either method for the possessive form of a proper noun that ends with -s. So either is acceptable in our class! — though I prefer the ‘s ending!]
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 8, 2010
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conferences are coming up next week on Thursday and Friday. To check your time, please click here and enter the password that you received earlier this year. (I’ve also included it in a separate email to you.) If you need to reschedule, or if you have not yet scheduled a conference, please look to see what times are still available, and email me with your preferences.
From the main office:
Parent Teacher Conferences for grades 1-4 will be held on Thursday, November 18th from 12:45 to 3:40 p.m. and 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. and on Friday, November 19th from 12:45 to 3:40 p.m. Kindergarten conferences will be held throughout the day. Each conference is scheduled for 15 minutes. Report cards will be sent home on November 17 for students in grades one through four to help you formulate any questions you may have regarding your child’s progress. Kindergarten students receive their report cards in January and June.
Conferences will be in the regular classroom unless otherwise noted. If you would like to meet separately with any special area teachers (i.e., art, physical education, music, math and language arts resource teachers) please send him/her a note and he/she will contact you.
- Students in grades 1-4 will be dismissed at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday and Friday —
LUNCH WILL NOT BE SERVED.
- Kindergarten will not be in session on conference days.
No supervision for children is available at school during parent conferences, and children may not remain in the library or on the playground unsupervised. Please arrange supervision so that you can conduct the conference without distraction or interruption.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 29, 2010
Happy Halloween (Thank you!)
Wishing all of you a very happy and safe Halloween! Thank you to all the families who donated food, supplies, or time to help make our class party today such a fun celebration!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 29, 2010
HOT Question
In the first month and a half of school, the students in our class focused on crafting well written short-answer responses (SAR) to higher order thinking (HOT) questions. This is an ongoing process, one started in third grade and not likely to end before college! After reading a story called Donavan’s Word Jar, we learned how to identify lessons that a character learns during a story. The students responded to a brief prompt, and as a class, we reviewed anonymous student responses and identified the strengths and areas in need of improvement. In small groups, the kids traveled around and provided feedback on 12 students’ responses. I was so pleased with how well the kids did this in a sensitive and collegial way. Then, as a whole group, we examined the student responses, scored them based on the CMT rubric (0-2 points), and reviewed the feedback that I provided on the papers. Next, the students got their responses back and were able to privately read my feedback. Based on what they learned, students revised their responses, and in most cases, the quality improved. These responses went home today.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 27, 2010
Subject and Predicate Quia Homework
Nope, I didn’t misspell the title of this post! Quia is a great website that allows teachers to make fun, interactive assignments and assessments for their students. Tonight’s homework is to play a game (in the style of “Jeopardy!”) to practice sentences, complete subjects, complete predicates, simple subjects, and simple predicates.
No need to print anything to bring in. Just come in prepared to tell me what your final score was. You can play solo or with a partner! Have fun!
Here is the site:
http://www.quia.com/cb/40392.html
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 24, 2010
Book Report Deadline Tracker
On the top of the left-hand sidebar, I’ve put a countdown clock that’s tracking the time until the first part of our book report is due. I’m going to try to keep this up to date as new deadlines approach in order to help you (students) keep track of how much time you have left to work on a given section. Parents: If you’re reading this and thinking “Book report? What book report?”, please check your son or daughter’s homework folder or bookbag. An assignment packet went out Thursday afternoon that outlines the project. I’m happy to answer questions as they come up.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 23, 2010
Mr. Morton – Extra Credit Opportunity
In class, we have been learning about the differences between subjects and predicates. The classic School House Rock! cartoon-song “The Tale of Mr. Morton” was a big help! Today in class, we watched a new version of the Mr. Morton video which offered new animations and new music. Both taught the same skills, but they definitely had their own unique qualities. For your viewing pleasure, here are the two versions:
ORIGINAL VERSION
NEW VERSION
[hana-flv-player video=”http://edvantaged.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MrMorton.flv” width=”400″ height=”330″ description=”New Mr. Morton video” player=”4″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /]
I offered an optional homework assignment to the kids: Anyone who chooses to compare and contrast the two versions of the video will earn a marble for our class. Due Monday morning, and again, TOTALLY optional!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss