Thanksgiving

I truly have the best job in the world.  There are days where the paperwork gets frustrating or the politics of dealing with the government, but it is all superseded by the moments I get to spend with your children.  There are days where we don't get as much done as I planned or have a bad day and it can be frustrating, but when I reflect on where we are, I am proud of all that we have done and look forward to what is to come.  I truly hope the work we do here this year is something that you will be able to observe in your child's life for the rest of their school career and beyond.

Often education is too focused on short term results and teachers forget the goal of producing life long excited learners.  This is a product of the system in which we are evaluated.  It is always nice to take a step back and appreciate the character growth that is going on that can't be measured by standardized tests.  I love watching kids come in excited to be in class and not want to miss a moment.  I love to see kids respectfully building on each other's conversations.  I love listening to them talk about how they treat others and want to be treated with respect.

We started the year with five expectations (Smile Every Day - Attitude, Respect, Integrity, Effort, and Teamwork.)  I am happy to proclaim that I feel we are doing a very good job at each of these aspects, but in my opinion the true measure is whether we are making a difference in these aspects ten years down the road.  I hope all of my students can still list those five principles of character on the day they graduate from high school and remember times when it was tough, but those principles meant more to them than taking a shortcut in life or following the wave of popularity.

It is in these times of reflection where I am truly thankful for parents who are willing to take time to read this kind of communication and help me have a long lasting impact on your child's life through character development and not just academics.  I love the little messages I have received from parents and students through e-mail and Dojo letting me know about how students are using our expectations outside of school.

I guess what I am trying to say is Thank You!  Thank you for sharing your kids and your wisdom.  Thank you for making these things important everywhere in their life.  Thank you for being on Team 106 and helping your children feel part of something special.

Here is to another great week!

Mr. Montgomery’s

Monday Memo

Learning Targets:

• I can use an addition algorithm to solve problems in the thousands.
• I can use estimation to check my work.
• I can use a subtraction algorithm to solve problems in the thousands.
• I can tell analog time to the five minutes.
• I can multiply two one digit numbers.
• I can read with purpose.
• I can use a Venn Diagram to compare two ideas in my reading.
• I can begin to explain the plot of a story by concentrating on the problem and solution.
• I can use a dictionary to expand my vocabulary and define words I do not know.
• I can ask myself questions as I read to improve my comprehension.
• I can use figurative language in my creative writing.
• I can identify the subject and the predicate found in sentences.
• I can identify a declarative, imperative, and interrogative sentence.
• I can write a paragraph with five sentences.
• I can explain how adults create change in their community.
• I can identify the differences in a rural, suburban, and urban community.
• I can identify the difference in natural (physical) and human characteristics in a community.

Schedule:

11/30 - Early Release Day 1:28

12/5 - Last day for Cool to Care Drive

12/5 - STAR Reading

12/13 - 2nd Grade Christmas Concert

12/19 - Holidays Around the World

12/21 - Christmas Party

12/22 - Board Game Design Kickoff

12/23 - Christmas Break Begins

Turning Good to Great - Inspiration to Innovation

One of my major themes for this next period of time until Christmas is going to be motivation.  The path from inspiration to innovation is sweaty work.  One of the most dangerous aspects of our society is that we often let our highest potential students become complacent with being good enough.  We inadvertently teach our kids to be happy with knowing the answers.  It takes a while, but I want to turn that idea on its head.

I cannot allow these kids to be happy with knowing the things they already know.  They need to have a hunger to learn.  We talked about this today as we thought about how hunger and the need to change has driven our society geographically and scientifically.  If at any point people became complacent, we wouldn't have the amazing advancements that we have in our society.  We have to have the hunger and inspiration to learn in order to have the ability to be the innovators.  I will never stop trying to be better at this job, and I hope that rubs off on the kids as I want to see them develop the same aspiration about their job as a learner.

DICTIONARY WARS

I have always loved having a competition with the kids to see how fast they can get at finding words in the dictionary.  I think it is an important skill and helps make the dictionary a better tool if they can use it more efficiently.  This is fun for them and great practice.  The difficulty has always been that it takes up an incredible amount of time from the teacher that I can't provide.  This year, I am planning on having my former students run it so that I can still be teaching and working with kids while they are running it.  It is not a huge deal, but if they want to practice it is all about finding words quickly and efficiently in the dictionary.

It is going to be a short week, but we will take advantage of it as best as we can and then enjoy some family time!

Mr. Montgomery’s

Monday Memo

Learning Targets:

• I can create a multiplication and division fact family.
• I can draw a model for a multiplication or division story problem.
• I can use an addition algorithm to solve problems in the thousands.
• I can use estimation to check my work.
• I can read with purpose.
• I can support my ideas with evidence.
• I can use a dictionary to expand my vocabulary and define words I do not know.
• I can make predictions in a nonfiction book by using prior knowledge.
• I can ask myself questions as I read to improve my comprehension.
• I can use figurative language in my creative writing.
• I can identify a simile and a metaphor.
• I can create writing that excites me.
• I can explain how adults create change in their community.
• I can identify the differences in a rural, suburban, and urban community.

Schedule:

11/24 - No School Thanksgiving break

11/25 - No School Thanksgiving break

11/30 - Early Release Day 1:28

12/5 - Last day for Cool to Care Drive

12/5 - STAR Reading

12/13 - 2nd Grade Christmas Concert

12/20 - Holidays Around the World

12/21 - Christmas Party

12/22 - Board Game Design Kickoff

12/23 - Christmas Break Begins

Learning Teamwork for the Team

Yesterday we had some larger group work to test some group working skills.  We were filling in information about the differences between a large city and a smaller town for our social studies.  Watching students work in groups of ten was very interesting.  Each group faced a different difficulty that kept them from their best work.  Each group was successful, but we also reflected on how we could be better.

I observed and shared that one group had students who sat back because they didn't feel welcomed into the group for some reason and we can't be our best unless everyone is engaged.  Another group dealt with the opposite effect where too many people were trying to take a leadership role and were talking over each other. We talked about how we have to find ways to take turns for us to be our best.  The final group had established a great group dynamic, but got silly and wasted the last five minutes and we talked about how we have to have the endurance to work the whole time.

It was a simple lesson, but a valuable experience in group dynamics.  We have really mastered the partner work aspect, so we will be working on how to get 6-10 students to be able to feel involved in a project and sharing.  I dislike group work myself, so I am sensitive to the difficulties, but I also understand the importance and want to be part of the people helping these amazing kids learn to respect each other and work together.

I am always talking about our team needing to have 30 paddles in the water rowing the boat.  We can't afford to have any passengers just riding along.  I hope that I can drill into them the importance of having everyone engaged in every lesson and contributing because they can learn so much from each other when they learn to listen to each other.

Each day is a process, but I truly feel like we are making good progress in the classroom and I look forward to seeing all the things that we will do.  We also cut apart some fact triangles yesterday that I told the kids they could take home if they wanted to practice them.  I am going to get some more printed so that you can have a set at home to work on addition and subtraction facts.  I kind of like the practice that asks them to think of their facts in a family because then you know your subtraction when you are automatic with your addition facts.

Questing for Words

It was so cool to see the support of parents pouring in on Class Dojo.  I hope that I didn't start something that becomes a pain for you as parents.  I thought it would be a fun way for them to see that parents on this team are cheering all of them on as we work.  The smiles were large as we read through the comments and encouragement.  I guess we will see where this goes, but I will continue to try sharing these comments as a way to motivate them.

I was going to have the students vote on a day for the pajama day reward, but since I forgot I will just make an executive decision and make it this Friday.  We will have a pajama day and spend some time in the afternoon reading or working on a fun lesson that I will put together for team building.

Today I passed out my first attempt at my word study program called Word Quest.  I offered your students a chance to bring it home and work on it at home.  I want to make sure that you understand that we are really focused on finding words that match patterns and compare them to other words.  I have one group that is working on "long a" words that the sound is made with "ai" or "ay."  There are others that started on "oo" and "ew."  Finally there is a group that is working on plural words with "-s" and "-es."

This is a work in progress.  You are more then welcome to help them find words to fit their patterns and the hardest working students will generate more words than the ten lines on the front of their packets.  I am not doing anything with the second page in the packet.  They can complete the 3rd and 4th page with the words generated from the front page.  This will evolve this year as we learn together what works best to help students key into the important word patterns in their spelling.

FAMILY GAME SPOTLIGHT: Doctor Eureka

I taught this game to a couple students today.  It is a fun dexterity and pattern matching game with a fun theme.  Scientists compete to create the right formula by dumping colored balls back and forth between the test tubes to match cards that are presented before them.  They have to strategically dump their chemical balls back and forth and sometimes put them in the wrong tube to clear it out for a different order.  It is a calming and fun experience if you aren't playing for speed.  I think it runs around 15 dollars on Amazon and makes a really fun experience for kids and even adults.

Life Long Collaborators and Learners

If I could guarantee anything this year, I would love to be able to know that everyone of my students would make a commitment to being a life long learner.  That is the ultimate key to being successful as a teacher, as we are challenged to constantly evolve and improve.  This is the attitude that I want to impart most on my students.  I want them to be flexible and to also have the desire to always learn how to do new things.

With that in mind, I have offered a chance to collaborate as a team.  I am responsible for educating your children, but I am also trying to grow into someone who makes parents feel that they are part of the team. Technology gives us so many ways that we can collaborate and share together.  That collaboration can be with me and then I disseminate the information to others or it could be a living team where parents learn from other parents.

I have been sharing information here on the blog, through class dojo, and through e-mail.  My new attempt is to use a website called stormboard.  The link to our discussion is here https://stormboard.com/invite/373612/fare7604.  If you have trouble logging in, please use the information below.

Stormboard is basically a huge bulletin board for posting.  Anyone should have the ability to double click on the screen to add a sticky note if you have a question or want to start some discussion around our topic of writing.  There is a legend for colors, but if you can't figure out where that is don't worry about it.  You can also click the chat box on each sticky note to see other's contributions to that question.

You can see one of the boxes blown up to see the comments inside.  You may also see the chat button at the top which is an open forum to ask questions or leave comments.  I have been using the activity button which will show you everything that has been added since the last time you have read the storm.  I don't know if this is going to be a great idea or just a fun experiment, but I appreciate the people that have jumped on to learn with me and help me grow as a teacher.

Ultimately we do everything we can so our kids have the best chance to be successful.  Please let me know if you have other ideas for us to grow as a team and an educational unit.  Thanks for being willing to let me experiment and be honest about not knowing everything.  Thanks for helping inspire your children to greatness.  Hop on if you get a chance and let your voice be heard.