Week of Sept. 22-26

Just wanted to let everyone know what we'll be up to this week. We will be ISTEP testing on Monday and Tuesday. In math, we are learning about place values up to 1,000,000. Our assessment is on Thursday. We are going to discuss character traits during guided reading on Monday. Then on Tuesday, we will begin our first novel: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. This is one of the novels that we will read as a whole class. We began writing narratives (stories) in writing last week. I love the everyone's topic.

I'd also like to let you know how I will be instructing math this year. Before each indicator, I will be giving a pretest. This is for my use only and not taken as a grade. These pretests will assess whether a student has already mastered the 4th grade math indicator. As you might imagine, I expect that the majority of the students will not have mastered these indicators yet. However, for those that do, I will be providing alternate activities to complete that extend the indicator that was pretested. Students who get a 90% or better on the pretest will be doing more group and independent work while I help the majority of the class to master the indicator on which we are working. Of course, I'm still available to answer questions and guide the students who are working in the small group. Every student is still expected to take the same indicator test and show mastery at 80% or better. Any student who does not master the indicator assessment at the end of the unit, will be helped to meet the mastery level on that indicator.

Just to provide an example: last week, I began this system for our indicators on using place value up to 1,000,000. Based on the pretest, I noticed that I needed to correct a common misconception among even the small group. I did this and then gave that group the assessment. This allowed me to be sure that they had mastered the standard before allowing them to continue in this group. It is important to note (and I am stressing this to the class): I do not expect many students to be in the small group. Most of the class should be working at grade level. It is also important to note that the students in the small group will change every indicator based on the results of the pretest. By using this method of teaching, I will be able to meet the needs of the students at a more individualized level. I know this is a lot of new information. It's new for me, too, but I truly believe that it will help students to be successful.

I hope that everyone is having a restful weekend! See you on Monday.

Quick Info

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We're Ready!

Just a reminder that next week is ISTEP. Please remember to get a good night's sleep and eat well this weekend so that your brain is ready on Monday morning. Think of this as an opportunity to show everyone what you know. You have all worked very hard these first weeks as we've reviewed last year's material. Now, you'll have the opportunity to use what you have learned.

P.S. I wanted to link Nathan's website, but someone took my paper with the address. I will do it on Monday after I get it.

Back to School Night Success

I would like to thank everyone who was able to make it to Back to School Night. I enjoyed meeting the students' parents and getting to share what our classroom is all about. This afternoon, I sent home a half sheet of paper with my contact information on it as well as individual student's STAR math scores. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the STAR reading or STAR math. If you were unable to make it last night, I sent home the information on the grading scale and our trimester power indicators. I'm available to answer any questions you might have.

I'm happy to report that we earned our first reward for oustanding behavior! The students voted to have a comfy reading day on September 9 (Tuesday). What this means is that they may wear pajama pants and a t-shirt and bring a pillow, blanket, or stuffed animal to keep them comfy during reading time. I also told them they may bring slippers to wear in the classroom. However, they need outside shoes for entering/exiting the building, recess, and walking in the hallways. My general rule is that they can only bring what they can fit in a backpack. Of course, students are not required to participate or they may only bring that with which they are comfortable.

Again, it was nice to meet everyone last night. If I didn't get the chance to meet you, please know that you may call or e-mail me with any questions or concerns. I'll look forward to seeing everyone at Parent-Teacher Conferences, if not before.

First Full Week

Well, the first full week is under our belt, and I think it went pretty well. We began Just Read, which is a 20 minute nightly reading assignment. So far, everyone is keeping up with it. In class, we've been working on getting ready for the ISTEP test by reviewing. We also started to think about Indiana and what the land looks like. Next week, we'll start to get into what the land is made of and how it is formed. That includes a lot of hands-on experiences. It should be a lot of fun.

I'm also really looking forward to meeting everyone at Back to School Night. This year's format is a little different. I will have some time to talk with you about the expectations in our classroom and some of the specific events that will take place this year. There will also be some time for students to show off what they've done so far.

Please have a safe holiday weekend! See you soon.