Friday, November 1, 2013

Dynamic Dialogue 11/1/13

Happy Friday Dynamic Team!

Upcoming Events:     Nov. 4th:  Term 3 and Explo 2 begin
    Nov. 5th:  Professional Day, No Student Attendance
    Nov. 8th:  Term 2 Grades Mailed
    
                                    


Important Information:    If you would like to activate your Edline account, please contact Mr. Daniels or Mrs. Pettid for your activation code.


English –

Anchor Activities: students are using EVERY minute of class time! Anchor activities are designed for students to work on either immediately at the beginning of class time, between activities or after their class work has been completed, so that their instructional time is maximized. Students may/should also work on the activities in the evening as homework. The activities keep students “anchored” to learning & literacy. These activities are intended to review or extend learning of the subject matter, not to be busy-work.  Activities may be designed for students to complete independently or in small groups. Activities are selected per the curricular standards. Currently students are honing their skills of: editing, sentence construction, summarizing and spelling. Each activity has its own expectations and grading. One activity may be self-scored while another might receive written feedback. All activities must meet the standard set forth for that particular activity in order to earn the ten points; therefore, revision is expected.


Our Outside reading expectations are going digital! Dynamic students will move their daily reading tracking to the online software Reading Rewards.  This interactive reading tracker motivates students’ reading through avatars, book discussions, and of course, rewards! Reading Rewards allows parents and the teacher to easily monitor a student’s progress in daily reading, and it allows us to set up rewards/incentives for students’ reading. See the flyer foraccount set-up and additional details. If you would like to offer a team-wide incentive, please contact me at Artkras.susan@wgmail.org.

This coming week we will start a new unit which will focus on the literary elements of creative writing—short stories and poetry. We will continue honing our skills of summary and essay writing, too.

Is your child bringing English work home? Daily homework for English:
1)      Study vocabulary (root words and affixes)
2)      Read 20+ minutes
3)      Anchor activities
4)      Writing project (if needed)

Technology: Please encourage your child to use Google Docs for their writing assignments. Google Docs allows a student to access their work from any internet connected computer. Many classroom resources are available on the teachers Google Cloud account. For English, this includes unit outline, instructional notes, mini-lessons, web links, assignment expectations, handouts, and writing models. If you would like to be directly connected to Ms. Artkras Cloud account, please email me from the account you want to receive the Cloud invitation.




Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org


Math- This week students started on a new unit (Variables & Patterns).  Students will learn a lot of algebra concepts, such as use algebraic symbols to write rules and equations relating variables.  Students will also construct tables, and graphs to display relations among variables.

Please check the parent portal to view your student math grade.  The grades were based on our first unit and students got to fix any mistakes on the assessments. I allow this so students can learn from their mistakes and to keep them motivated
in math.




Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org

Science –
Learning Goal: I am able to interpret and analyze data to compare and contrast universe objects.
In Dynamic Systems Science the students have been doing their presentations of their research on universe objects. The formats I’ve seen are PowerPoint’s, Google Presentations, Posters, Songs, Prezis, YouTube videos, Google Documents, and painting on a canvas with a 3D objects attached. 

Students completed a self-reflection survey on Google Form, “Scientific Method Test: Why Did I Get the Grade I Got?” Please ask your student about what student skill they need to improve.

The summative assessment grades for the Scientific Method unit test have been posted. I was very pleased at the accomplishments of the students! 82% of the students demonstrated proficiency, A’s or B’s, on the Scientific Method Unit Goals! If a student wants to re-test any of the 3 learning goals, here is the process:
1.      Meet with Coach Daniels before or after school to review their test.
2.      The student will be assigned some practice activities depending on their status of their student skills.
a.       For example, if the student does not have good notes on graphing, they will be required to review the shared Google Presentation and take notes, and review them with me for feedback.
3.      The student will meet with me again before or after school to get feedback on their practice activity.
4.      The process is repeated until the student demonstrates proficiency.
5.      Once a student had demonstrated they have become proficient with the learning goal, they will take the alternative assessment on that goal.

The students who would like to begin the process for re-testing the Scientific Method Goals are required to begin this process before the end of the day on Wednesday, 6 November 2013. The process must be completed by Friday, 15 November 2013.

If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Dynamic Science Course Website


Dynamic Systems Science – Coach Daniels -
daniels.mark@wgmail.org


314-918-4603

Social Studies –

This week we wrapped up our look at Mesopotamia and took a quick visit into ancient Israel.  The open note quiz was Thursday.  On Friday we began looking at India with geography.  Google Earth: India is due on Monday at the end of class.  We will spend roughly two weeks in India and then wrap up the unit.  Students will then receive a study guide to prepare for the Unit Assessment.

Grades have been updted and are posted on the Parent/Student Portal.

After school help is available in my room every Tuesday until 4:00 


Dynamic Social Studies Course Website:

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org
314-918-4602

Please visit the following links for more information:


Dr. Heisserer's blog - http://hixsonprincipal.wordpress.com/




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