Some of you may have noticed we have taken a week off in Word Study. At our last teacher in-service day the district provided training for the new word study program adopted district-wide: Words Their Way Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction, Pearson. As I told the students, fortunately we are ahead of the game in 4-3 because I chose to implement this program from the beginning of the year.
After being formally trained and receiving the structure and guidelines for implementation of this curriculum from DSL, I am taking some time to tweak our classroom word study routines. I will be "rolling" these changes out slowly and in phases. There will be some trial and error in this process too, as we explore how this best works for our class.
There are two critical changes I would like to share with parents. The biggest change is that there will no longer be a weekly assessment of the word sorts. The reason for this is that when we have a "traditional" spelling test at the end of each list, it encourages the students to take the traditional approach of memorizing the specific words each week and then in turn they really are not learning the pattern, rule or origin of words. With this program's approach, students truly learn, not memorize (and then forget) the orthography- the ways in which letters and letter patterns in words represent sound and meaning.
The second change is that each group's word sort will be staggered through the week. One group will receive a new list on Tuesdays, one on Wednesdays and one on Fridays. Each group will then work with that sort any where from 1-2 weeks depending on their grasp of the concept presented. Please check assignment notebooks and the blog for information weekly.
Assessment is an important part of instruction but the traditional approach of one spelling list for all students and testing weekly is not effective to meet the needs of all learners. The program provides opportunities for assessment using a differentiated approach. Any summative or formal assessments will be sent home when they are completed.
Word study homework will be as follows each week:
After being formally trained and receiving the structure and guidelines for implementation of this curriculum from DSL, I am taking some time to tweak our classroom word study routines. I will be "rolling" these changes out slowly and in phases. There will be some trial and error in this process too, as we explore how this best works for our class.
There are two critical changes I would like to share with parents. The biggest change is that there will no longer be a weekly assessment of the word sorts. The reason for this is that when we have a "traditional" spelling test at the end of each list, it encourages the students to take the traditional approach of memorizing the specific words each week and then in turn they really are not learning the pattern, rule or origin of words. With this program's approach, students truly learn, not memorize (and then forget) the orthography- the ways in which letters and letter patterns in words represent sound and meaning.
The second change is that each group's word sort will be staggered through the week. One group will receive a new list on Tuesdays, one on Wednesdays and one on Fridays. Each group will then work with that sort any where from 1-2 weeks depending on their grasp of the concept presented. Please check assignment notebooks and the blog for information weekly.
Assessment is an important part of instruction but the traditional approach of one spelling list for all students and testing weekly is not effective to meet the needs of all learners. The program provides opportunities for assessment using a differentiated approach. Any summative or formal assessments will be sent home when they are completed.
Word study homework will be as follows each week:
- Complete the Vocabulary Study worksheet for 4 words off their list each week. ( I will send those home next week for the current sort.)
- Sort the words EVERY night, for at least 5 minutes. Please see original word study parent letter with a description of the different sorts for students to do.(I will email this note electronically for anyone that needs another copy.) Please make sure that your child explains the concept of the sort at least ONCE in a week's time.
- A short worksheet provided from the program, this may be done at school from time to time.These already had been coming home as homework, so you should be familiar with them.
Traditional Literature Project Information
(This note was sent home today in home folders.)
(This note was sent home today in home folders.)
As part of our current Schoolwide Literacy unit study of fiction, your child will be choosing to create or retell a fairy tale, folktale, legend or Greek myth. Students have been given the option to also dress up as one of the characters or Greek god/goddess from the story. Fourth grade students will share these with other OMS students in the morning on Tuesday, February 14th.
We are asking that if your child chooses to dress as a character or Greek god/goddess that they bring their costumes to school that morning. This can be as simple as the student wants, or they can create props or other items that pertain to their story/myth.
The following are guidelines that we have outlined for the students to follow if they choose to dress for this activity:
Thanks in advance for your help!
We are asking that if your child chooses to dress as a character or Greek god/goddess that they bring their costumes to school that morning. This can be as simple as the student wants, or they can create props or other items that pertain to their story/myth.
The following are guidelines that we have outlined for the students to follow if they choose to dress for this activity:
- We are not asking for students to buy anything, so please use items at home for creating the costume, or if I can provide you with art supplies please don’t hesitate to ask.
- Make-up is not allowed.
- Any props or accessory items must be approved by the teacher before they are brought to school or created by the student.
Thanks in advance for your help!