Friday Tip

This week's Friday tip is well-known by all the Noble Academy families, but I thought I would share with those not familiar with the "Noble Way." Keeping homework and completed assignments organized is a challenge for most students. Last year we started using these "Nikki" folders so that everything would have a place, and everything would be placed in it. The front of the folder is used for completed assignments going home as well as forms and papers from parents returned to school. Inside the the folder one side is for homework to do, and it is placed on the other side when it is done.  Super simple idea but such a time saver!

Word Wall

So what is a word wall, and how is it used? I am using our word wall a little bit differently this year because of the nature of our class.  Most word walls are blank at the beginning of the year and words are added throughout the year.  We do add new words each week, but we started the year with 100 of the most common sight or "trick" words from first grade and kindergarten already posted.  We review these words, and the students can use the word wall as a reference for spelling these words.  We add new words each week after the class has had the chance to work with these words in class, guided reading lessons and for homework.  We are constantly review the spelling of these words by chanting and clap-spelling.  Because these are high-frequency words, it is likely that students will read them often. Having the words posted permanently in the room provides a great opportunity to practice writing these words in our writing. 

"Word Walls are useful because they make sight words more visible in the classroom- and when words are visible, students learn to read more readily." -Gail E. Tompkins

Wilson Key-Words &Sounds

Vowel sounds are reviewed every day.  The proper way to review is to
start with the letter name, keyword, and sound.  i.e..
"a" apple /a/. 

It may seem silly, but keywords for sound retrieval are vital!  It still amazes me when I see a student self-correct using this simple strategy.  If the student spells the word "fish" as f-e-sh, they can self correct by using what I call their built-in spell-check.  Start with the vowel.  What is the keyword for e? Ed. What sound does the "e" make? /e/. Usually they immediately see their mistake and correct the word. 9 times out of 10 spelling mistakes are made by confusing vowel sounds.  because of this we review the vowel sounds every day.  We are only focusing on the short sounds this semester, and long vowels will come next semester.  However, we are not "avoiding" long vowels, in fact we are still looking at them through our daily sorts and Words Their Way lessons.  At this point long vowels are described as saying their name in words.  We will get much deeper into this during the second semester, and look at various ways words with long vowels are spelled.

Digraphs also have keywords and sounds.  Any guesses when to use "ck" option  for the /k/ sound? 

Friday Tip

These "window readers" are great to help improve reading fluency, and they also assist in improving accuracy.  Many students get overwhelmed when they see lots of words on a page, but these little windows help to narrow the focus into processable chunks.  They also minimize reading errors because they help the eye to focus and mentally segment words.  They come in many different colors, but there is some research that suggest yellow is the best at helping the the eye process information to the brain. I picked these up at the local teacher supply store- the best $0.99 ever spent!

Ice Cream Graphing!

We have had a great time graphing the past few weeks, and who doesn't love graphing fun things like ice cream? By a landslide chocolate is the preferred flavor, and I am still amazed that no one voted for strawberry!  The favorite topping was by far sprinkles- not sure why, do sprinkles even have a taste?  Ah, the good ol' days! My personal favorite is butter pecan, but the kids did not want to have anything to do with that!  Maybe next we will graph the least favorite flavors.  Has anyone had bubble gum ice cream?  A huge thank you to Mrs. Blodgett for organizing this!

The Homework Debate

The research is all over the place when looking at the pros and cons of homework.  Some experts cite the importance of reinforcing concepts learned earlier in the day while other experts cite evidence that claim there is no co-relation with homework and increased retention or advancement.  I'm not sure how I feel about homework, but I do know that it can be the cause of a great pain and torture for some families, while other parents like homework because it is a way for them to feel connected to what their child is doing at school.
As a teacher I am very hesitant to send home work that needs a great deal of explanation or assistance because I don't want to confuse my students.  Most of the work I send home is work that is self-explanititory or work that is basic memory or commutation work.  However, I know that this does not give a great deal of insight into the concepts we are learning in class.  I do like the act of having my class be responsible for taking something home, working on it, and bringing it back.  I believe just the act of turing in assignments teaches accountability and independence.  But, is a worksheet or spelling practice the best way to do this?

I'm curious what others think about homework.  Should it be something that is done as a family? Is it something that should be done completely independently? Is homework relevant in the 21st century? Can we think of other ways to help kids at home without the "drudgery" of an assignment, or would they be willing to work with parents if nothing was officially assigned?

Any thoughts?

Friday Tip

We use "magic reading stars" to help us track the words we are reading.  It is amazing the difference having something like this makes to the accuracy and fluency of reading.  Of course you can use a pencil or a even a finger, but it isn't half as fun!