sore subject

fourth grade reading/writing
**disclaimer - i don't believe that the test is the end all, be all. i do not teach to the test. but i teach in a manner that they will still be successful on the test. it would be a disservice not to.**


this is a sore subject for me this week. my fourth graders just bombed their most recent (aka, last week) district benchmark.  if i take out the fifth graders' scores (which was an average of 85%) and one fourth grader's score (which was a 90%), the average for the last four PLUMMETS to a 60% average.


SERIOUSLY?! 60%.  i have extremely, extremely high standards for my kiddos. forget that this is their second (or third) language. they have to learn the same content as the rest of the kiddos and we do. i work my butt off, but so do work theirs even more. 


I digress..  these four souls are still mixing up fact and opinion (oh yes...). so i whipped up these signs to help them practice what each means. click HERE to grab them from TpT.

third grade intervention


i read on someone's blog last week (i hate i cannot remember! i couldn't find the post either) about sumdog.com.


my mini-locos are loving it. they work on their "challenge" after finishing their xtramath.org in our rotations. right now I am limiting the games they can play. I find that if you just give them access to all of the games, it's like letting them loose in a candy store. start off small, then work them up.


rotations
1. fast facts/number sense on computers
2. math content game
3. ela focused game


our ela focused game today was one I whipped up about plurals. they had six birds and the birds' nest. each bird has a different plural rule on it. they then had to sort the word eggs into which nest (or rule) that it follows. BIG BIG hit! they completed it independently while in the center, but the conversations they were having with each other put one of those big ol' satisfied teacher smiles on my face.


Here it is for sale in TpT for only $1.

HERE is a free version of the game using consonant digraphs.

I accidentally took a nap today instead of working out... I think I'll make it up to myself by creating some new stuff on my new computer.. that's not me bragging, swear.