Addendum to Back-to-School Math Notes

A special thanks to the many parents who came to the Back-to-School night and last week's game night. It was nice to see so many parents taking an active role in their child's education.

A few more comments about our math program. Parents might view the homework as a way to foresee what will be on the upcoming topic tests. The questions which the students see on the test are going to look very similar to many of the questions on the homework. Additionally, the classwork which comes home (two-fold page which corresponds to the homework) can be used as a tool to open discussion about what was learned that day in class. The classwork does not need to be returned to me. It may be likely that you will find the classwork is not completed when your child comes home. There may even be mistakes.

As for the math test, in addition to questions that are typical of what the children have seen during instruction of the topic/unit, there will be questions which require students to apply what they've learned to a newer idea or perhaps to extend the thinking just beyond their instruction. These questions are used to help determine the score of a "4" on the test. When calculating the 70% cut off for a score of "3", the points for the more difficult questions are deducted from the total possible giving an adjusted score minimum necessary for passing. So students will be passing with 70% of the adjusted score and not the actual total which will show under your child's score at the top of the test. After each test, I will post statistics letting you know what the adjusted minimum score was necessary to pass (to obtain a "3") the test.

When we take the test, each question is read aloud at least once (usually more) and time is given for all or most of the children to complete each item. Students are allowed to ask for questions to be repeated. Students are encouraged to review their answers before turning in their test or to go back and complete items they may not have had a chance to complete. They are allowed to take as much time as they need to complete the test. For these reasons, make-up tests due to absences are usually not given but with occasional exceptions.

Advance notice for exactly which day a test will be given is not always possible due to various reasons including allowing for absences on any given day. With that said, we will likely be taking our first math test some time next week.

Seventh Day of School

Today's bonus question worked so well, we'll try to repeat it again tomorrow. Tomorrow the students will be asked if anyone knows two more story elements besides plot. The answer to this question is: I know that character and setting are two more story elements besides plot.

Today we began work on our second Thinking Map, the Circle Map where our topic was ourselves. These will be used to complete our upcoming Unit Project.

In math we worked on building physical representations for the number 8. Tomorrow we will learn how to record the information from our models on paper. Students who are able to successfully record a complete and organized set of number models will earn a rubric score of 4 on their math report. Students completing 5 examples will earn a score of 3.

A note about homework: on last night's homework, the final question was an open ended response question with two blank lines. These lines on the homework should indicate to parents that some type of explanation is required. Here are some examples of very good responses received:

• I know 8 is the other part because 8 - 0 = 8.
• If one part is the same as the starting number, then the other part has to be 0.
• If the whole is 8 and one part is 8, the other part has to be 0 because 8 + 0 is 8.

Please note: it is unnecessary to spell out numbers unless a number starts the sentence. Complete answers should not start with the word because. I will be speaking more about how to answer these open ended response questions at Back-to-School Night. Homework that is returned due to incomplete or incorrect answers should be corrected and returned to class for credit.

Bonus for Students Whose Parents Read This Blog

Today we reviewed that stories usually have a beginning, a middle, and an end. We discussed some examples and analyzed some stories for their 3 parts. I failed to mention that these 3 parts make up the story's plot. If you get a chance to talk with your child about this idea, I will be asking if anyone knows what story element (answer: plot) comes from the beginning, middle, and end of a story. If only one person knows the answer then that will be an opportunity to earn a chance ticket or extra homework credit. If possibly more children know then, great! I will have to award table points or something of equal or greater value. Let's see what happens.

If this oversight turns out useful, I may be making planned oversights in the future.

Fifth Day of School

Today we practiced forming and spelling with 'f' and 'h'. We learned a good word during word building: span. We practiced making and identifying rhymes and discussed what makes a rhyme. We also learned the meaning of antonym (opposite).

We began the pre-write portion (Bubble Map) of our first Unit Project. Ten students had enough time to complete their pre-write exercise correctly.

We began our first unit in Math.

For At-Home discussion:

• Name 6 adjectives to describe yourself.
• Define the word span. Show your arm span. Compare your child's height (have them lay on the ground feet flat against a vertical surface and mark where the top of their head lays) and their arm span (have them spread their arms between the point on the wall where their feet were and where the top of their head was). What do you notice?

Reminder

For safety reasons, children are only allowed to wear stud style earrings to school.

Per LAUSD dress code socks must be worn with shoes.

Third Day of School

Today we had our first blending lesson. We learned the importance of raising our hand to ask questions and listening to other student's responses. We also learned how we were required to raise our hand during blending if we needed clarification.

In math we again discussed models and representations of numbers. We then worked in teams to create models using our bodies as counters.

No homework was assigned for this evening.

Second Day of School

Today we reviewed letters 'p' and 't'. We reviewed sight words we and like. We made our first entry in our writing/response journals. We sorted objects by one attribute, We reviewed histograms and discussed some more number models.

In PE we learned how to find personal space for warm up activities.

First Day of School

Today was a good day. We studied the sounds and formation of the letters 'm' and 's'. We learned the meaning of the word threshold and a new meaning of the word arcade which some students will be able to articulate to parents. We also began our violence prevention training (Second Step). For homework we brought home math classwork to complete and return as well as a very short book to read to family members which contains some review words from kindergarten. It would be very helpful as well if each child brought back their emergency form filled out legibly tomorrow.

A personal note: I have to tell you that this was one of the smoothest (if not the smoothest) first days of school I have experienced. I believe it speaks volumes to so many things you do as parents. It's nice to have a class full of children prepared for school and ready to learn. Thank you for all you do.

Tomorrow I will send a reading log home for the month of August due at the end of the month (08/30/13). You will receive 3 reading logs for each reporting period. The logs count for part of the homework grade. If a reading log should happen to get misplaced, simply turn in a list of the books you read with your child for the month with your signature, child's name and number, and the month written on it. Books sent home from class do count as reading material for the log. If you are reading chapter books, one chapter can substitute as one night's reading on the log.

Start Smart Week 1 Preview

In our first unit of learning we will explore some of the things that make people unique. This week we will look at the characteristics of ourselves and others that make us special. Within this idea we will review the simple elegance of the Golden Rule for our Social Science lesson as we reinforce the importance of respecting the differences we discover in others (HSS 1.1.2).

For the first 3 weeks in Language Arts, we will review many of the concepts learned in Kindergarten. We will review the Kindergarten sight words as well as letter sounds and proper writing formation. We will also review rhyme and syllable segmentation. We will be reintroduced to our first thinking maps, the Circle Map and the Bubble Map as we learn how to describe ourselves in order to begin our first theme project: a book about ourselves.

In Math we will review number sense concepts emphasizing visual patterns and ideas for the numbers 0-12. We will begin our first topic: Understanding Addition (1.OA.1). We will be representing and solving problems using addition and subtraction.

In PE we will focus on balance and cooperation.

Welcome to Room 11

This blog has been created to keep parents and guardians of the students in room 11 at Caroldale Learning Community informed about daily activities in our classroom and school. Please discuss what you read here with your children when appropriate. Ask them clarifying questions. They don't necessarily need to know how you know what happened during their day, they should simply know that you are informed. Feel free to  respond to what you read. Please remember the most efficient way to communicate with me on timely issues is to write a note on or attached to your child's homework. Please avoid including students' names when responding to posts. General comments and questions are best in this arena. For convenience, you might consider linking to this page through an rss feed or through the google reader application.

Thank you,

Mr. B