Passion Project

Share Your Passion!
Studies show that students are more motivated and passionate about their school work when they are interested and have a say in what they are learning.  I don't think we need research to tell us that!  We see it in our children every day.  Many parents have expressed a desire to see their child's motivation increase when they are doing homework and have also wondered how they can get their child to care more about their homework.  One suggestion I have is what I call a Passion Project.  This is a student driven project in which the student identifies an area of interest that they would like to become an expert on.  The student then brainstorms what they would like to learn and creates a plan to learn it and teach their new information to the class.  The teaching may be in the form of an oral report, technology presentation such as power point, posters, a play, mock news report, artistic representation, song etc.  If the student can dream it up, we can mostly likely give it a go!

These projects are in addition to the regularly assigned homework and are an independent assignment.  I would always be happy to consult with the student on their project, but the project should be done at home.  Parents should coach their child but should refrain from doing a portion of the project for them.  The goal is to increase independence and strategies for success as we get ready for middle school. 

These projects are completely optional!

 

I will talk the project up in class and send them home with interested students.  If you are interested in having your child work on one (which is great on nights when they fly through their homework!) please let me know and I would be happy to send one home.

 

As always, thank you for your support and let me know if you have any questions!

Movers, Shakers, Inference Makers!

Talk the Talk So We Can Walk the Walk
It was so nice to see all of the families at conferences this week.  Each time I speak with you all, I always feel as though I get a clearer and clearer picture of your child. 

At conferences I spoke a lot about making inferences and how students will have to be able to discuss and then write about the inferences they are making.  Students now know that an inferences is:

Inference:  Something you know in the book even though the author hasn't told you.  You use clues in the text and your own background knowledge (schema) to make an inference. 

Common Inferences:

 

Character's feelings

Character traits

Why something is happening

The author's message

The lesson in the story

What a word means

 



 



Now that students know what an inference is, they are working on finding evidence (clues in the text) for their inference and explaining their inference.  They learned how to reread the text to find evidence to support their inference and how to use the schema to help them explain how their evidence shows that their thinking is correct.

 

We are spending a great deal of time discussing our inferences right now.  If students can talk about their thinking, they will be able to write about it, which is the ultimate goal.  This week, students all inferred about The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg and collected evidence and thought about how they would explain their evidence.  Each student participated in a debate where they had to prove their case to someone with a different opinion.  It was a very lively debate with many passionate opinions!  Below are two examples of notes that students took in preparation for the debate.

 

 

 

How Can You Continue This at Home?

Read and talk with your child!  When you read with them, ask them what they are thinking.  When they tell you, ask them why they think that (what is their evidence)?  When they share their evidence, ask them how that evidence shows they are correct.  You can also model your own thinking.  Most of all, enjoy reading!

 

 

Important Dates

 

10/20 - Team Up for Education Meeting 11:30

10/22 - 1/2 Day



 





So Much Going On!

Authors!

 

What a great week!  In writing we have been learning about the genre of personal essay.  This week our class spent a great deal of time drafting essays about topics they felt strongly about.  Prior to this week, students have been free-writing their opinions, choosing topics, crafting thesis statements and opinions and planning their essays.  It was amazing to see the essays come to life on the papers of your students.  Next week you will see these essays come home as students will need to write or type their final drafts (we call it publishing!). 

 

While I know it is difficult, please do not help your child to further edit or revise their writing in any way.  These essays were about learning the writing process that goes into writing a personal essay and although their punctuation, spelling and paragraph structure may not show it at times, an enormous amount of work and teaching went into the essays.  Fixing a student's essay for them can sometimes minimize that work for the student and the finished product is not what the student would typically do.  Thank you so much for your support in this.

 

 

Mathematicians!

 

Thank you for supporting your child as they have done xtramath.org over the past two weeks as a way to increase the automaticity of their math facts.  Next week I will be sending home math vocabulary to study for homework and ask that students take a break from xtramath.org.  They can still do it on their own time if they wish, but for homework they will have a MAH (Math at Home) sheet where they will have to record how long they studied their math vocabulary and how they did so.  Students will bring home flash cards that they created in school to help with the studying.

 

 

BOKS

 

Recently Mr. Quinn sent home information regarding BOKS, a before school fitness program that will occur on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  I cannot say enough about this program and the wonderful effects it had on the students in my class that participated last year.  Many studies show that students who exercise do better in school than their peers who do not.  Please consider signing your child up! 

 

 

Important Dates





Conferences 10/15 & 10/16

Don't forget to sign up for a conference!