Wow, it has been so long since I have updated you! Once I made so many connections during Parent/Teacher conferences I lost track of time. We have had a lot going on so I will do my best to include as much as possible.
We have started something new with Literacy. It is similar to our Flipped Math program but we do most of the work in class. It is similar because students are now watching instructional videos for their reading and writing. Next they complete their reading and writing work in Google Docs. They are reflecting on their silent reading books and books I read aloud in class. And they do this everyday! The connections they are making are amazing. The first unit they did was a personal narrative unit and now we are working on historical fiction. While we are reading and studying historical fiction books, novels and picture books, the students are working on their own historical fiction writing piece. The students get to choose a time period in history that they are interested in so they get to study that time period in fiction and non-fiction books.
Once their reading and writing is done they are able to create illustrations, video clips and other added extras to really make their stories exciting. The students love this part. During this time I really see their personalities enter into their work and their excitement is contagious. Since we have started doing this the students engagement in reading and writing has increased!
By using this approach I am able to respond to the student's work very quickly and more easily. Each student is getting better feedback from me I am able to tailor my instruction to each child. This has also enabled me to work one on one or in small groups more than I was able to before.
Many students have started bringing in their own electronic devices to be able to do more reading and writing work without having to share. If you child is able to bring in a device it will help out.
We are about to finish up unit 3 in math. We will have a couple of days with no videos as homework while we finish up the unit and review for the test. Then we will move on to unit 4 which works on angles and circumference of circles. This unit is short with only 7 lessons in it. We should be able to finish it up in two weeks.
Tomorrow is the Veteran's Day Concert. Students are asked to wear red, white and blue.
Picture retakes are November 17th. The book fair is November 18th and 19th.
Ask you students about our reading and writing work in Google Docs!
