Our first writing piece!

We’ve finished our first writing piece of fourth grade!  For the past few weeks, we’ve been working on  a descriptive writing assignment in which students had to choose a single moment from their summers.  This one moment was turned into a snapshot, as if someone paused a video at one split second.  (Still photos are “SO” 1996… :-D)  Students brainstormed details from this memory and completed a graphic organizer in which they listed details for their SEVEN senses of writing: the traditional sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, along with both thoughts and feelings.  Over the past week, we also worked on enriching their word choice (remember those Wordstorm packets from last week’s homework?) and adding similes to better describe valuable details.  Finally, students pulled all these pieces together to draft their descriptions, and they self-revised and self-edited their work before doing both with a partner as well.  (Ask you child what the difference is between revising and editing, and ask them which you should always do first!)

Over the past few days, I reviewed each student’s work and provided some feedback to them in their Google Doc.  As I shared at open house, you should ALWAYS have access to your children’s Google Classroom account (with their username and password) so you can review their work and my feedback.  All I ask is that you DON’T make any changes to their work.  I know families come with the best of intentions, but even the most well-intentioned edits and revisions cansidetrack plans I have for lessons or activities.  Additionally, it’s important that when I review a student’s work, I know that I’m reading their own work, not something edited or otherwise supported by a grown-up at home.  I appreciate you saving that for in-school, unless a specific assignment asks them to work with you at home.

This assignment, which you’ll find under the “Brainstorming Summer Memory” activity, was assessed using our snapshot writing rubric.  At the end of your student’s response, you’ll find my comments along with my scores.  In each of the seven areas, your child was evaluated on the same four-point scale we use on the report card:  An E reflects work that exceeds my expectations for a fourth grader at THIS POINT of the school year.  An M reflects that the student’s work meets expectations, while an A indicates that the work is approaching expectations and needs continued growth.  A score of B indicates that the work is below expectations and that we’ll continue to work together to improve in this area.  We discussed this in class, and your fourth grader can help you to understand each of the areas I assessed.

In class today, we discussed the kind of feedback I gave (often having to do with focusing on a single moment and not a series of events, addressing run-on sentences, adding details to better describe the seven senses, etc.), and most students identified specific ways in which they wanted to improve their writing.  This piece was a learning activity in which the students worked with me and with each other throughout the process.  Today, students begun writing their family snapshot (as opposed to their summer snapshots).  This piece of writing is very similar, but it focuses on a different memory than the summer snapshot.  Additionally, this is a wholly independent piece.  Students were given the same graphic organizer, editing and revising venn diagram, and Wordstorm lists to help them, but they’re independently moving through the process of developing their response.

We’re just starting this project, so I appreciate you letting your child move through this part themselves.  But I encourage you to review your student’s Summer Snapshot project with your child!  Keep an eye on their Google Classroom page for more work as the year goes on, and feel free to contact me with any questions!

Interested in learning more about Google Classroom?  This video is a bit old, but it’s a terrific introduction to the platform!

Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss