September 28, 2015

GrandParent Essays

We made great progress last week.  Most students have finished two of their three paragraphs.  This week students will finish their 'sloppy copy', have their essay editted and begin typing their final draft.  

Spelling Tests

You may notice your child bringing home the same list two weeks in a row.  Students will only move on to the next list after scoring at least 80%.  Try to worry about it.  Learning is a process.  Look for patterns within the words.  Each list contains usually two spelling rules.  

Field Trip

Thanks to all of the parents who signed up to drive.  Please come into to the classroom after to morning assembly to get your list of students and any other info.  We will try to leave Achieve right at 8:30.

Parent Help Bootcamp #2

You all are amazing.  Thanks for all of the positive feedback last week.  Thanks also for the increased effectiveness when working with students.  Here is a questions I get every year for classroom help and also homework help. 
How much should I help?
     It's a tough question, one that teachers think about constantly every day.  Here are a few general guidelines.  Your help should range from no help at all (tests) to correcting every mistake (editting papers) and everything in between depending on the activitiy.  
     When helping with most work at home or at school look for teachable moments.  Notice that look in the child's eyes when they understand everything you are saying.  Stop when they gloss over.  If they make 10 spelling mistakes on their homework, correcting all 10 may mean they learn/remember nothing.  Look for words you think they will use often or already know from a spelling list.  
     Another good strategy is to focus on asking questions.  You interactions with a group of students during work time could be mostly to all asking questions.  "What step comes next?" leads to far more learnig than saying, "Carry the ten."  "What is missing?" pushes the student think much more than, "You need a capital and a period."  Other ideas include: Could that really make sense?  If you add to 8, could it equal 4?  Did you completely answer the question?  Challenge: Try it!  See if you can run your whole group or help you child with homework solely by asking questions!
     The last item for consideration when helping students is time.  Students are really only learning when working by themselves.  Yet, sometimes they cannot do the work and need help.  Give a small amount of help and then walk away and let them work it out.  Come back 30 seconds to a minute later and check on their progress.  Try not to stay with any student very long.  One minute is about right for helping a student.  Answer their question, or better yet ask them a leading question to get them on the right track, and then walk away.