Common Core

Someone that reads my blog (Jenn AKA my only reader ha!) asked me what Common Core was. On the off chance that I have more than one person reading my posts, here is the meaning of Common Core, along with my thoughts. 

Basically, at the end of the school year in grades 3-12, students across the U.S. would take a test to show that they actually learned what was expected of them in their grade. All the states would then compare their results to each other, and then we'd compare ourselves to other countries. The United States typically does not do well compared to other countries, and there was a huge discrepancy between the states. For example, what one state set as a standard for fifth grade, another may have for second grade, which didn't exactly work well when trying to compare test results. Many universities and other colleges also commented that they felt incoming freshmen weren't really prepared for the rigor of their entry level courses, so changes needed to happen. 

To ensure all students were ready for success after high school, the Common Core State Standards were developed by experts and teachers from across the country. They are clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade. Each standard has a basic ‘anchor standard’.  This anchor standard remains constant from kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Each year, the teacher builds on this anchor standard, creating the ‘foundation’ needed for learning.  

Common Core testing also eliminates the pencil and paper bubble letter tests and allows students to use technology. Students are tested on computers, or other electronic devices. The other neat thing about Common Core testing, is that the questions on the test are based on student answers. This means students get to provide their own answers, instead of just guessing "C". This test is also graded by real people, which gives students a better chance of scoring higher on the test. For example, if I am a grader for the test and I see that the answer the student typed in is wrong, but that their mathematical process was correct I could potentially give them one point out of two. 

Personally, I love Common Core. I get to see it in three grades instead of one and I've noticed that my students work at a much higher level now. Is Common Core more difficult? Not exactly. It's just different, and just like with anything that is new and different, it is going to take some time to get the hang of things but from what I can see so far, it is worth it. 

Outdoor School

October has been a very exciting month at my school. We had Red Ribbon week, Parent/Teacher Conferences, and ended with Outdoor School.

Outdoor School is a wonderful program where students in fifth and sixth grade get to go away for almost week to a science and social studies camp. It's an over night program, so it can be a little nerve racking for some students, especially if they have never been away from home before. Out of 16 students, 13 of mine were given permission to go and we had a BLAST!

Every day involved hiking and learning about the different plants and animals in the area. One night we did a nighttime hike and learned about some of the constellations. The students were also given choices in the afternoons between a bunch of different activities including archery, survival hiking, arts and crafts, and one day there was even a 9 mile hike! Three of my students and I decided to give the 9 mile hike a try, and it was incredible. It was very hard, and quite challenging but the reward of seeing the view at the top of the mountain was worth all that work! Here are some of the pictures from the 9 mile hike:

There was one student that was given permission to go at the last minute. He is a sixth grader and his parents felt at first that it wouldn't be fair to send him to Outdoor School since they never allowed his older brother to go. This student decided to try to convince his parents by writing them a letter. In the letter he explained why he wanted to go and why he felt his parents should let him go. He even brought up his parents' reservations because they never let his brother go, so he gave them a list of things they could so with him to make it fair. They ended up letting him go to Outdoor School and he had a blast and was one of the students on the 9 mile hike. He has a few younger siblings, and I'm hoping they will get to go once they are in the fifth and sixth grade too. 

Artist of The Month

At my school we also do an artist and composer of the month. We have a music and art teacher that come in every week. Our music teacher will play a piece of music from the composer of the month, and will teach a little bit about that composer. 

Our art teacher will start each lesson with some background information on the artist of the month, and will then give an art lesson on the style of that artist. I love it, and so do my students. Not only do they learn, but so do I :) 

Our artist this month is Rene Magritte. Since it's October, this week my students did Pumpkins and Jack-O'-Lanterns in his surrealist style. 

I think they came out pretty great and I can't wait for the next art piece we do in our class. 

 

Research Project

It's already close to the end of October, and I have no idea where the time has gone. This school year seems to be flying by much faster than any other year. They say time flies when you're having fun, and right now I can't help but agree with that. I've been having so much fun with my students, and the projects we have been doing in our class. Our first literature circle ended, and was great. The students absolutely loved it, and have been anxiously waiting for the next one.

I wanted to mix things up a little, so I decided to give my students a research project in language arts. Each student chose a historical figure to read about and research for the next few weeks.  Allowing my students to choose who they researched was great. The each received a "Who Was" book on their historical figure, as well as, a type of graphic organizer to help them collect the information they find. Each student will be writing a biography, and will be presenting to the class. I had a list of people they could research, and placed only three students per figure. When they present, they will be presenting as a group instead of as an individual. They seem much more excited and interested in this project since they were given a choice.

We get the entire week off for Thanksgiving, so after our research project I think we will do another round of literature circles, which will most likely take us to winter break.