5. We earned a great compliment from Mrs. Bolton in music. Students were doing a great job following directions and got to play longer at the game due to their ability to follow directions and meet expectations. It is great to see special's teachers smiling when my class is coming down the hallway. It is important for me to see that students treat every adult with respect in the building.
4. Reading interviews went very well this week. I was happy that students could be honest about their reading habits during the week at home. Many students talked about being too busy to read and we talked about how important it is to practice just like we would for any sports team. I also asked students if they saw their parents read. Kudos to the families that have made reading important and your kids know how important it is for you to be a good reader and not just your student.
3. On Friday we planted lima beans with the Watch Dogs dads. The dads had fun and were both asking if they could come back and see what happened with the beans. We planted them in clear Ziploc bags so we can observe what happens underground. The kids were very excited by the fact that I let them put the beans in good places and bad places to see which grew best. We talked about variables and control and hypothesized what would happen with each bean. I am really working on teaching science through exploration and observation and not just giving them answers.
2. I was very proud of students in math on Friday. I had five students come up to the carpet and tell me they still didn't understand. We worked in a small group and got them on the right path while others worked on challenging work. I am starting to get an idea of who has a strength in math and who needs more help. I am very happy that the students are feeling safe enough to say I could use a little help and I was happy to see them be successful with just a couple small reminders in a small group. This really shows me that we can achieve great things this year.
1. STAR math assessment blew me away this week. I know that I can usually do great things with students in math, but this month was an incredible jump in results. I was excited to see our class average jump from the 68th to the 87th percentile. This is mostly on the backs of the students who wouldn't even count math as one of their strengths. Our best math students have less room to improve by percentile even if they are improving by skill level, but our students who work harder on math really pushed us toward the top by doing their best work. I am excited to be able to use this assessment to target skills that will help every student be more successful in math. I will say that there is a large correlation between knowing your addition facts and doing well on more challenging math so put in some time practicing some math facts each day.
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