MAP Testing

Tomorrow the third graders will take the first of two spring MAP tests. Please be sure that your child arrives on time and well rested tomorrow.

Week in Review

Well, we made it through the first full week (at least the first full week of me in the classroom) since break. After the cold weather that forced us inside for recess, it was a welcome relief to be able to allow the children the chance to run outside and burn off some energy.

This week we began our unit on multiplication. We start slowly and introduce the children to the concept by having them develop their own groupings and then work with them to to figure out how many total items. For example, some students wrote:

There are three black labs.
Each black lab has four legs.
There are 12 legs in all.

Working this way ensures that the children know when and why they multiply. We have begun solving these problems by counting by the number in each group (in the above example we'd count by 4) or through repeated addition (4+4+4=12). Several of the children already have some multiplication facts memorized and I look forward to seeing more children master this skill.

In writing, we continue to focus on word choice. this week we analyzed student writing and graded it using the rubric that I grade the students on. The children were asked to analyze various pieces of writing and then describe the positive and negative aspects of each piece of writing. The goal is to help the children better understand what constitutes good word choice. Ultimately, I'd like the children to grade their own work as harshly as they graded these samples.

This week we began our next science chapter. This one focuses on force, work, and simple machines. We didn't get too far on this, because we needed to allot time for our winter MAP tests. Like the fall, these tests were lengthy and focused on the skills of reading and math. I will be discussing the results of this test with your child next week.

Next week we start the second week of the quarter and many students are already behind on their AR reading. Please remind your child to read nightly. I expect each child to read at least 20 minutes each evening.

MAP Testing

Today the students finished up their last MAP test for the season. MAP is a computerized test that the students take in fall, winter, and spring. Each testing season consists a test in reading, language arts, and math and each test takes about an hour to complete.

This test is different than the WKCE test (which the students will take in late October or early November) in two important ways. The first is that teachers are able to view a more complete breakdown of the scores so that we can see specifically where a child's strengths and weakness lay. The other benefit to MAP is that we get the results immediately.

In January the students will again take the tests so that we can gauge each student's progress over the semester.

MAP Testing

MAP testing at Kozy begins again this week.  Students can't study for the test, but they can prepare by eating a good breakfast and getting plenty of sleep.  Please remind your child to try his/her hardest. 

Because the test is on the computer, it has the ability to change the difficulty of the questions.  Each time a student gets a question correct, the comptuer will increase the difficulty of the question. If a student gets it wrong, the computer will decrease the difficulty.  By the end of the test the computer should have determined each child's level.  Given the nature of the test even the brightest student in the school will have difficulty with one or more the questions and students should not become discouraged.

Rm. 200's schedule is as follows:
Jan 11-12:45 Reading
Jan 18-12:45 Language Arts
Jan 19-10:00 Math

Friday Wrap-up

As we finish up the first full week of the school year, I wanted to use this post to share what they students have learned this week.

They continue to work on cursive letters and have added j, p, and a to their repetoire.  The students are doing exceptionally well, but it is important that we continue to stress propper technique.  It is very easy to lapse into bad habits.

In reading, in addition to AR, we've complelted our second story of the year, Mulan. Using this story as a tool, the children have also been working on the skill of inferencing and then practicing that skill during their guided reading lessons.

The children have been learning the different types of words that comprise a sentence including, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.  Next week, the students will learn how to combine these elements in various ways to add interest to their work.

Yesterday the students completed their last MAP test of the fall.  I will use these results to help guide instruction over the next several months.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or write.