Mr. J's Jottings
3rd Week of the Year
Weekly Homework Expectations
- Read at least 25 minutes each day (its the foundation of all learning)
- Finish the Spellingcity Assignment
- SUGGESTED EXTENSIONS FROM CLASSWORK
- Tryatiles - designed to be visual and kinesthetic
- IXL (4th Grade) - MN standards-based
- CHESS
Homework (further clarification)
Homework is NOT given with the intent to add stress or to take valuable family time away. iPads should be charged and put away when homework is finished. iPads are not sent home as a form of entertainment.
Reading at least 25 Minutes:
- Minutes are hard to measure. Words understood can be easy to measure (Reading Counts). Research shows the amount of minutes read directly relates to reading comprehension success. I ask that students take the Reading Counts quiz when they're finished with a book so I can gauge their level of comprehension (if they can't find the quiz I have them fill out a sheet.
Spellingcity:
- The title of this is misleading. This is a website that helps us to practice many things in the English language (parts of speech, writing, vocabulary, spelling, alphabetizing, etc.). However we use Spellingcity primarily for vocabulary. Our week will look like this:
- I introduce the words, and meanings, on Monday
- We make the video as a class (using Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic principles)
- The video is posted on here so students and families can review the words
- The words, and their meanings, are practiced in class throughout the week
- Students log into Spellingcity at home to practice the meanings of each word
- The paragraph writing is a way to synthesize and apply the meanings of all the words in writing
- Finally, a vocabulary test is given on the last day of the week (results shared Monday)
Too much screen time?
If you are concerned about this, I want you to know I have a "non-digital" alternative. It will look like this:
Focus + Effort = Success
- Please click on the "Arcade" link below if you want to see how hard your child is working (for confidentiality reasons, you will need to know their avatar name)
What is ARCADE (what is gameification)?
* But please know we are not playing video games in the classroom.
Class Dojo
Focus + Effort = Success
Reading expectations each day.
- The average 4th grader reads more than 100 words each minute
- We read about 80 minutes each day
- That equals 8,000 words each day
- Therefore, each student could have about 96,000 words by now
- But, I am only expecting 30,000 words by the end of this week
Our goal is at least 650,000 words read this year (for each student).
We will look at this each week.
Our Greek and Latin Roots for the Week
This week, the root word is "man=hand." Please study the list included in the picture below.
Tryatiles
The 5 C's are all over this.
The auction?
Once each trimester, we will have an auction.
At this time, students will be able to spend their hard-earned money.
How do they earn the money?
- Classroom Jobs
- Tryatile Packets ($50)
- IXL columns ($100 each)
Why do I keep hearing about my child playing chess?
I have noticed, and many have quantified, how learning to play chess has a direct, positive correlation to academics. It also helps with building relationships and increasing self-control.
Please click on the following if you want to learn more!
Room 161
A place where the 5 C's thrive!
--- Choice, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking
Email: jared_johnson@edenpr.org
Website: www.edenpr.org
Location: 13708 Holly Road, Eden Prairie, MN, United States
Phone: 952-975-2370
Twitter: @rockinjohnsons