I'm back and in probably a much safer situation considering the bug that has taken hold of my family...I don't want to jinx myself but maybe all these years in elementary school has built up my immune system.

Math: Last Friday's quiz was an eye-opener! We did well in most of the foundation areas but really struggled with the application aspect. This indicates the pace has been a bit much so I decided to treat it as a formative as I did earlier this year. It goes against our purpose to penalize the students when I didn't accurately measure their understanding...thus we've slowed down to strengthen rather than accelerate knowing the gas pedal will still work when the road dictates it.

With that said, our weekly quiz is tomorrow! We had our lesson in the computer lab today to reinforce their knowledge of equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and improper fractions. These activities are linked to the right - Rainforest Math - so that they can practice at home and select an appropriate challenge for themselves. Today we discovered that the 4th and 5th grade levels (according to the website) seemed to be the best match for our curriculum. I strongly encourage you check these activities out with them now, during spring break, and throughout the rest of the year - it's quite comprehensive and presented in an easily understood way.

Homework tonight is a packet on adding fractions that have common denominators so this shouldn't be too terribly difficult...

Language Arts:

Sarah, Plain and Tall - tonight each group should share their RRJ with you so that they turn in a "parent seen" response tomorrow. I spent a huge chunk of time to day meeting with almost everyone who felt they had adequately responded to their prompt but nobody passed the teacher test. If I met with them you will likely see my feedback written but in the event it isn't clear, I repeatedly referenced our group's discussion as I springboard to an appropriate response. Vague, I'm sure...but this is why I need you to check it out for yourself.

W&M - Please check out their symbol webs that were finally completed to day. I'm very pleased with the thinking that went into these and am excited to see how this translates to a persuasive piece. Also, I looked over their quote interpretations from late last week and wrote some feedback that they need to keep in mind going forward...not all bad but definitely a clarification of expectations the next time.