2020-21 4th grade Extended Math/Reading Lines Elementary School

Happy Spring Break! I wanted to reach out to thank you all for your support throughout this year! I have enjoyed conferences and speaking to each of you about your child's personal growth. I am lucky to be their teacher.  As I mentioned I read a lot of articles: this one is a great one to keep things in perspective and to help us all remember some important words.  30 Phrases That Will Change a Kids Day!  30 Phrases That Will Change a Kid’s Day (for the Better) 2021/03/16 | Leah R. Singer 0 Shares     When you become a parent, you pick up the basics pretty quickly. It’s figuring out how to raise happy and confident kids that can be a challenge as the years go on. What we do know is that positive words for kids will go a long way to help boost their confidence and change their day for the better—sometimes it’s words of encouragement, and sometimes it’s just a simple “I love you.” In that spirit, here are 30 positive things to say to kids. Scroll down to read them all. photo: Samanth

THE RESEARCH IS IN The Mistake Imperative—Why We Must Get Over Our Fear of Student Error The fear of making mistakes is often paralyzing, but cognitive science suggests that errors are part of the fundamental machinery of learning. By  Youki Terada November 19, 2020 When Disneyland opened in 1955, it was a disaster. Although 15,000 visitors were expected, nearly twice as many descended upon the park, thanks to thousands of counterfeit tickets. Guests were plagued by long lines, malfunctioning rides, and a shortage of food. To top it all off, a tiger and a panther escaped from the circus, terrifying children and parents on Disney’s suddenly family-unfriendly Main Street. The day having been dubbed “ Black Sunday ” by his employees, Walt Disney took it all in stride. “If you do big things, you make big mistakes,” he told reporters. For Disney, creativity and mistakes went hand in hand. As the founder of a company that offered fantasy as its core product, he encouraged his team of enginee

Why It's Imperative We All Learn To Be 'Emotion Scientists' MindShift Nov 20, 2019 Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link This is a very interesting way to think about emotions. I took a graduate class that was called "behavior is language" which spoke about our job as adults to recognize behavior and try to help unpack the "why" of the behavior and not look to punish but instead look at it as a way to help kids discover more about themselves.   Here is the article 

This is great information that can help to see the importance of growth outside of comfort. One goal of mine is to continue to help kids "feeling comfortable being uncomfortable" with their new learning!  It is not easy but it is worth it!  Zones - Worth the read! 

  Sketchnoting  is a powerful tool that can really helps students learn, think, and grow their ideas. We learn and practice this as a tool in our extended class. Take a look.... Why Teachers Are So Excited About the Power Of Sketchnoting Katrina Schwartz Nov 3, 2019 Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Carrie Baughcum's sketchnote of why she uses sketchnoting in her classroom.  (Courtesy  Carrie Baughcum ) Once a month,  Rayna Freedman ’s fifth-graders present their genius hour projects. They get to explore anything that interests them and present what they’ve learned to the class in whatever way they want. Freedman likes  genius hour projects  because students often get more excited about researching and sharing their knowledge about a topic that interests them. But she was never sure what the other kids were getting out of listening to the presentations. One day she noticed a student in the back of the class drawing during the presentations. She went over, ready to reprimand him for