Terrific Tuesday

This morning, after reading quietly, exchanging books in the media center, or practicing keyboarding, the students took the third, and final, installment of the MAP-M test.  This is the computerized, self adjusting test that students take three times a year.  It doesn't effect their report card or placement for next year.  It is used to drive instruction and planning.

The MAP-M test took the entire morning.

After enjoying lunch and outdoor recess, the students came in, cooled off with a drink of water, and then we reviewed today's independent work tasks.

Today the students read an Encyclopedia Britannica article about robots.  First they  read through the entire article to get the gist.  Then, all groups  created a t-chart  in their RRJ. On one side the wrote  main idea questions using the headings of each section of the article.  On the other, they answered their question by stating the main idea of that section of text.  Panthers and Tigers did the first section, after the introduction, only.  Leopards and Lions completed each section.  After that, all students cut apart their new word work words and wrote their initials on the back of each.  Next the children watch an Econ and Me lesson about consumption.  IN their social studies journal they defined the idea of a consumer, listed three goods they consume, 2 services they consume, and 1 economic problem faced by the children in the video lesson.  Finally, students worked collaboratively, using my feedback and grading rubric, to revise their inquiry project.

As the children worked, I met with reading groups.

Panthers:  I modeled their new word work sort, defining each word as it was introduced.  This sort focuses on /er/, /ear/ - sounding like ur, /ear/, and /eer/.

Tigers:  I modeled their new word work sort focusing on long a spelled, a - consonant - e, ai, or -ay, and the short a sound spelled, cvc.  We practiced reading each word and defined any that were unknown.

Leopards:  I modeled their new word sort which focuses on the prefixes un- and re-.  We practiced reading each word, and covering the prefix to identify the base, or root, word.  We also defined each.  Finally, the oddballs helped us figure out how we can tell when these letters are prefixes or part of the actual base word.  After that, we reviewed the main idea questions they wrote using the headers in the EB article about robots, and shared the main idea statements we used to answer the questions.  During this time I shared how I used this strategy (turning the heading into a question to help me focus on a section of text) to help me study in college.  We also practiced reading the topic sentences to identify the main idea of a section, and then reading the rest of the paragraphs to ensure that what remained was details elaborating on the topic sentences.

Lions: I modeled their new word sort which focuses on the suffixes -or, -er, -ian, and -ist.  We identified these suffixes as those indicating someone or something that either does or is related to the base word.   After that, we reviewed the main idea questions they wrote using the headers in the EB article about robots, and shared the main idea statements we used to answer the questions.  During this time I shared how I used this strategy (turning the heading into a question to help me focus on a section of text) to help me study in college.  We also practiced reading the topic sentences to identify the main idea of a section, and then reading the rest of the paragraphs to ensure that what remained was details elaborating on the topic sentences.

F&P:  The students reread their book focusing on what we learn about Gabe's character.  Then we began discussing what we learned about Gabe and Miss Waters, as a result of Gabe's behavior.

THERE IS NO HOMEWORK TONIGHT as a reward for working hard on the MAP-M.