Grade Card Comments

It’s report card time again, and teachers are faced with the task of writing descriptive, insightful, and unique comments that accurately portray each students’ performance in the classroom.  It’s a monumental job that has to be condensed to fit in a 1”x 3” comment box!  Here are five tips for being truthful and tactful when giving descriptive feedback to students and parents.  Here’s what fellow teachers said:

1. Start on a Positive Note

Let parents know how happy you are to be their child’s teacher, tell them how much their child is learning and growing, or share what makes their child unique:

· I have enjoyed having the opportunity to work with _______ this school year.

· _______ has excelled at reading this quarter and is a pro at sharing his/her reading strategies with the class.

· I love how _______ comes to school excited and ready to learn everyday.

2. Provide Specific Feedback Across Several Different Areas

Include formative evidence to let parents know how you view their child as a student, a classmate, and an individual.  Share what you know about the student based on observations, conferences, anecdotal notes, and performance.  Write from a variety of angles:

Personal Attributes

· is an enthusiastic learner and always has a positive outlook.

· is well-liked by his/her peers

Behavior

· consistently cooperates with students and teachers

· transitions easily between classroom activities without distraction

· follows classroom rules

Character

· is honest and trustworthy when we have a substitute

· shows compassion and is concerned about the feelings of others

Communication Skills

· is an active participant in small group and large group discussions

· can make a logical and persuasive argument

· communicates respectfully with adults and peers

Group Work

· welcomes leadership roles in groups

· keeps the group focused and on task

Communication Arts/ELA

· reads fluently with expression

· infers to draw conclusions that are not stated in the reading

· uses descriptive vocabulary in writing

· writes many interesting informational texts

· is beginning to use the dictionary

Math

· uses appropriate math tools to help him/her solve problems

· can add and subtract to 20 with fluency

· has multiplication facts memorized

· uses a variety of problem-solving strategies

· considers reasonableness of answers

Science

· enjoys hands-on experiments

· writes testable questions

· is drawn to our science corner when finished with classroom work

· measures accurately

Teachers also commented on attitude, participation, interests, talents, listening skills, improvement, attendance and more.

 3. Set a Goal

As students continue to learn and grow, there are always ways to improve.  Provide students and parents with one specific goal that will be worked on by you and the student next quarter:

· This quarter we will be working on…

· One area for improvement is…

4. Closing

To boost the students confidence, always end on a positive note.  Let the student and parents know you are proud of what they have accomplished this quarter:

· _____ has had a terrific quarter, and I’m confident next quarter will be even better.

· I can hardly wait to see how _______ impresses me during 4th quarter.

5. Save Your Comments from Year to Year

Some teachers make a computer file to collect grade card comments organized by topics.  Google grade card comments for more ideas.

Christmas break...

is a wonderful time to relax, rejuvenate, and spend time with family.  You deserve it times one hundred! How can we begin to thank you for working tirelessly all year long with a smile on your face and a jump in your step.  Teaching is not an easy job.  There's assessing, planning, teaching, assessing again, motivating, loving, listening, caring, worrying, tutoring, researching, differentiating, mentoring, collaborating, and the list has just begun. You brighten students' days, make sure they are successful, and help them reach their highest potentials.  We are thankful for you every day, but wanted you to know during this special season just how much you are appreciated.  Thank you for ALL you do!

But let's be honest...there are only so many days you can sit around in your pjs or enjoy family that remind you of the Griswold's Uncle Eddie before you begin to get stir crazy.  Our unexpected string of snow days proved it! :-) So, if you find yourself wondering what you can do with this extra time, consider some of these activities:

Spend Time With Your Family

Visit the library, a zoo, or a museum.

Bake with your kids and share with your neighbor or the local fire house.

Create your own treasure hunt.

Play board games.

Compete in a gingerbread house competition.

Volunteer.

Read Something New

Use this time to catch up with some of the books your students are excited about.

Check out some of the Mark Twain nominees.

Enjoy some time reading for pleasure!

Treat Yourself

Dust off some of that exercise equipment that has taken a backseat to your crazy professional life.

Get some sleep!

Visit the spa or get a massage.

Try something new -- hot yoga, Zumba, CrossFit, etc.

Retail Therapy--it always works for me! :-)

Visit with some friends.

Catch up on your favorite television series.

Professional Development

Dig out that professional book you've been wanting to read.

Research UNITS OF STUDY.  We'll be focusing on these at our next LNW PD day.

Pinterest...ok, calling it "PD" might be a stretch, but it can certainly get you excited about ideas for second semester!

Take a free online course.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the BEST elementary staff in MO,

Angie and Debby

FYI - Late Starts and LNW

If there is a late start on an LNW day at your building, LNW will be cancelled for the whole day and rescheduled.

Christmas Activities

If you want to put a little sprinkle of Christmas into your December lessons, take a peek at these ideas.  Don't forget to share your own ideas with us!

Math Activities

Mathwire.com has posted several winter math activities such as snowflake geometry, penguin patterning, problem-solving, and puzzles, snowman estimation, and more!

 

Kidzone has some math activities..my favorite is the Christmas nets for fifth grade geometry!

Science Activities

Click on the cover of Jan Brett's The Mitten for an inquiry science lesson to go along with the picture book!

 

There is nothing better than giving students real-world problems to solve.  Almost everyone can relate to the frustration of Christmas lights.  Have students explore parallel and series circuits with Christmas lights.  (Maybe they can get that strand of lights to work that has been bugging you since Thanksgiving break!) 

 

How about a sleigh race?  Santa will need a safe, sturdy, and SMOKIN' FAST sleigh!  Students could build sleighs or you could experiment with surface types.

No snow?  Older students can experiment with creating their own snow using a common polymer.  Read more about it HERE.

ELA Activities

A quick search of "winter" on ReadWriteThink.org brought up several ideas including winter in the Northern Hemisphere, how animals survive in the winter, poetry, and others.

I love having students write fractured fairy tales.  A holiday spin on this idea is "cracked carols".  We've all heard the parody "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg..."  Have the kids get creative and write their own humorous holiday carol. 

Teacher Vision has a list of several Christmas reading and language arts activities HERE.

Miscellaneous

Stacy Bodin has a list of Christmas technology lessons and ideas HERE.  You'll definitely want to scroll through the activities to see which ones you think are best.  She has them divided into categories such as:  technology links, themed Christmas pages, ELA interactives, math, and even United Streaming links.

Don't forget about the old stand-by Smart Exchange!  You can select your grade level and subject area and search "winter" or "Christmas" for lots of activities. 

ALL GRADE LEVELS - Check out the Smarter Balanced Practice Test

https://sbacpt.tds.airast.org/student/

Use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to open this document.  To log in to the Practice Test, simply select SIGN IN and then select the grade level assessment you would like to preview. When the first screen pops up, you do not need to type in your first name, state-SSID, or session ID.  Just click on SIGN IN.  

to prepare our students for the new assessment.

Thank you for taking time to preview the new assessment.

Adding and Subtracting Fractions With Unlike Denominators MADE EASY!

Connie Hunt, math specialist at Summit, came barreling down the hall (ok, she just had her knee replaced, so barreling may be a slight exaggeration) to show us her new-found "trick" for helping students who continue to struggle with adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  Check out this video and prepare to be amazed!

OK...I know what some of you are thinking.  And, you're right.  It's imperative for students to UNDERSTAND the concept and not just solve the problem.  But what about those students who can't get past the fact that they "can't do it"?  Maybe giving them a little trick to get the answer will help them build enough confidence so that they will attempt to hear you out as you explain WHY it works or WHY they need to know how to do this anyway.  It might be worth a try.  At any rate, put this little lovely in your toolbox and save it for when you need it! :-)

Don't forget to share what YOU'VE found or done so that we can pass it on.  Thanks for sharing this idea, Connie! :-)

Thanksgiving

Looking for some meat and potatoes in your Thanksgiving lessons?  Here are a few ideas you might add to your plate!

The link below will take you to 5 fun Thanksgiving Writing Prompts!

A quick search of ReadWorks.org revealed Thanksgiving activities for several grade levels including paired text lessons, creating an outline from research, character and relationship changes, and MORE!  Click HERE for the search results, or create a search of your own!

Want to bring a little hands-on learning into your Thanksgiving lesson?  The Growing in Pre-K blog has an amazing post about growing Indian Corn and making butter.

Did someone say FIELD TRIP?  Scholastic has a virtual field trip that includes stepping aboard an exact replica of the Mayflower, a behind-the-scenes look at the life of Pilgrims, the day-to-day life of the Wampanoag people, or you might even choose from 12 Reader's Theater ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Content Area Interactive Notebooks

Reading isn't the only place where interactive notebooks can be used.  Check out the following examples of how interactive notebooks have been used in math and science!

Math Notebooks

Click on the icon below to scroll through one teacher's powerpoint presentation that explains to her students how she uses interactive notebooks.

The authors of the Tales of Frogs & Cupcakes blog have done a great job explaining how they set up and use math AND science notebooks. This blog post has lots of pictures and examples, making it easy to understand.  There are some links to their TPT page, but you don't have to buy their ideas.  You can modify them to work for you!

You've heard us talk about this blog before.  It's A-MA-ZING!  There are tons of posts about math journals.  Do yourself a favor and just click on "Math Journals" OR "Math Journal Sundays"under  LABELS on the right hand side of the blog.  

Science Notebooks

If you've been around the blog, you're no stranger to this little gem, either.  Seriously, these people must be WAY better at managing their time than I am.  ;-)

 

Sonya Trent and Shelly Newton were very excited to tell us about one of the presentations they attended at Star Summit.  It was about interactive notebooking and they shared a strategy called "left side/right side".  We did some searching and found an example similar to what was shared with them.  This one is a science example, but could be used for any interactive notebook.

  

Check out this blog that was shared with us.  The author is a self-proclaimed control-freak and she has posts for science, math, AND social studies.  Click on the icon to go to a post for a notebook/journal linky party.  What's a linky party, you ask?  Go check it out.  We're about to take blog-stalking to a whole new level.

Happy notebooking! :-)

Introduction to Guided Math

Guided math provides a structure to differentiate instruction by:

• creating flexible small groups 
• creating activities for various learning styles
• providing immediate feedback
• giving students the opportunity to talk with peers, ask questions, and justify their thinking
• giving the teacher the opportunity to reteach, reinforce, and expand strategies and skills
• scaffolding lessons for learners
• building student confidence 

Just like when you begin reading and writing workshop, setting up EXPECTATIONS at the beginning is crucial.  Teach, model, model, model, and practice, practice, practice! ;-)

Guided math is designed similarly to reading and writing workshop:

• 10-15 minute mini-lesson
• Small group work
• Students go through rotations, including a station with the teacher
• 10 minute closing/sharing

Of course, if you're interested in trying guided math, you should take time to read about it and find out what management works for you.  Try some of the strategies and structures for yourself!

Recommended Reading:

Guided Math by Laney Sammons

Guided Math in Action by Dr. Nicki Newton

Blogs to Check Out:

Standards-Based Grading, What's All the Buzz About?

Making the Case for Standards-Based Grading

Click on the link below to read this interesting article:

http://essentialeducator.org/?p=3415

One quick and interesting page to ponder:  

Thomas Guskey has posted this table which shows grades for various students based on different grade calculations:

Skip Counting Songs

Check out Relyn Lawson's third graders singing skip counting songs to help them with their multiplication!

Multiplying Threes!

Multiplying Fours!

Multiplying Sixes!

Multiplying Sevens!

Thanks for sharing, Relyn! :-)

Send us your learning artifacts, too.  They might just end up on the blog! :-)

Honoring Veterans

Veterans Day is November 11th. It is a day we honor living and fallen service members.  Below you will find resources you can use in the classroom to help your students understand the history and significance of Veterans Day.  Thank you to all who have served!

Videos

Veterans Day - History and Meaning (appropriate for grades 1-5)




History of the Holidays:  History of Veterans Day (appropriate for upper grades)




Unplugged:  Guarding The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
(not Veterans Day specific, but high interest for students)

Literature

America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven

The White Table is set in many mess halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit. As a special gift to her Uncle John, Katie and her sisters are asked to help set the white table for dinner. As their mother explains the significance of each item placed on the table Katie comes to understand and appreciate the depth of sacrifice that her uncle, and each member of the Armed Forces and their families, may be called to give. It was just a little white table... but it felt as big as America when we helped Mama put each item on it and she told us why it was so important. "We use a Small Table, girls," she explained first, "to show one soldier's lonely battle against many. We cover it with a White Cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart when he answers his country's call to duty." "We place a Lemon Slice and Grains of Salt on a plate to show a captive soldier's bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return," she continued."We push an Empty Chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here..."

The Wall by Eve Bunting

A young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to look for the boy's grandfather's name among those who were killed in the conflict. This is a sensitive and moving picture book that can be used to generate discussions about our war heroes. 

H is for Honor by Devin Scillian

Written by the son of a career officer, this book explores the branches of the Armed Services and speaks from the heart about the honor, privileges and sacrifices of military families everywhere. Children will discover why drill sergeants have to be so tough, what it means to be patriotic and why we need Special Forces such as the Navy SEALS, the Green Berets and the Army Rangers. H is for Honor also explains why the annual Army/Navy football game is more than just a game, how much letters from home mean to soldiers, how often military families have to move and what life on base is like. With an underlying message of courage and commitment that every child can relate to, the book will be especially meaningful to those whose parents, siblings or other relatives serve in the Armed Forces.

Other Resources

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has resources available for teachers and students including a teacher's guide, history, and information about Take a Vet to School Day.

Scroll down to the bottom of this LINK.

Check out VA KIDS for student activities and teacher resources.

NEA has posted lesson plans, activities, and resources as well. Click HERE!

TeacherVision has art activities, printables, lesson plans, reading and language arts resources, music activities, social studies and history resources, and MORE. 

Thank you for your service, Veterans!

Google-craze!

If you've ever wanted to just take a peek into using Google forms, this post is for you!  This is a great resource for the independent, let-me-play-around-with-it-type of learner.  It is very user-friendly and detailed, walking you step-by-step through things like:
What is Google forms?
Creating a new form
Adding collaborators to the form
...and more!

Click on the icon to check it out.

Pets in the Classroom - FREE!

Wandering through the classrooms at JTSD, we stopped by Summer Holmes's third grade classroom and noticed the two new friends she had caged in the corner--RAT friends!  She shared with us a website:  petsintheclassroom.org, which gives grants to teachers for classroom pets!

If you've ever thought about having a classroom pet, check out the site.  What are the benefits of a classroom pet?
*Responsibility - feeding and care
*Bonding - sensitivity and awareness
*Persuasive Writing - which pet should we get?
*Research - what would our class pet need to survive?
*Habitats - what kind of environment does our pet need?

It's Time for Another Nixerest!

Here are some great teaching tips from Nixa teachers:

LOVE all of our artistic teachers!

What a great way to "bless" your favorite read alouds!

The teacher supplies a block of wood and titles it "Writer's Block."  Throughout the year, the students and teacher add ideas to the writer's block.  When students say, "I don't have anything to write about,"  you can refer them to the writer's block for ideas.

Word walls made with ribbon, word cards, and clothespins.  This way students can get an unknown word and bring it back to their desk if they have any visual tracking issues.

Color code your word wall.  New vocabulary is on green cards.  Math vocabulary is on pink cards.  And science words are on orange cards.

 

Add math vocabulary to a Math Word Wall as the terms are introduced.

Each student has these four cards (own it, clear, hazy, and lost) at their seat.  The teacher uses these as a quick formative assessment at the end of a lesson/unit to check student understanding.

Here's a twist on displaying learning goals.  Each frame has a sheet of scrapbook paper with the subjects printed at the top.  The back of each frame has magnets on it.  The teacher writes the learning goals on the glass.  Goals can be easily changed just by erasing the goal that is currently being displayed.

This is a great book to use for increasing student vocabularies.  Donavan's Word Jar is an early chapter book with a 670 lexile level/DRA level 30.  Donavan doesn't collect baseball cards like other kids—he collects words for his word jar, and they bring an unexpected delight. After reading the book, the class can start their own word jar.  Students can add interesting words to the word jar.  Then, words are picked out of the jar when you finish a lesson early, while the class is waiting in line, etc.  Students take a lot of ownership in these words because they came up with them.

Here's one way to deal with those "no name" papers.

LOVE all the vocabulary work we are seeing in primary and intermediate buildings.

Missing work can be spotted at a glance.  Each subject has a different colored set of laminated strips.  When a student is missing an assignment, the teacher writes the assignment on the correct laminated strip and puts it in the student's numbered pocket.  The student knows exactly what they need to do to be caught up.

Do you ever find yourself asking, "Didn't you just go to the restroom?" or "Where's Mackenzie?"  If so, this whiteboard could be your saving grace.  When students leave the classroom, they sign out.  When students return to class, they simply put a line through their name.  What a great way to keep track of students!

Celebrated Authors get to share a piece of writing at the end of Writer's Workshop.  Once a student has shared, their card goes to the back of the pile.  Great way to encourage everyone to share.

Mathematical Practices posters are displayed in classrooms and referred to often.  

The Jordan School District in West Jordan, Utah, has released mathematical practice posters by grade level like the ones above and  below.  Click on your grade level to download the posters for your own classroom!

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Sixth Grade

We have been spotting more and more poetry being used in Nixa classrooms.  Even intermediate and special education classrooms are getting in on it.  Short, sweet texts with rhythm and rhyme are loved by all levels of readers.