Homework Help

General Tips

• Take an interest. Stay informed. Why? Because kids value things that give them positive interactions and attention with YOU.
  Stay up-to-date on what your kids are learning by reading the class web page and talking about specific school projects with your child. Then you can ask questions like, "Are you still adding compound fractions?" instead of "What did you do at school today?" ("Nothin'...") Your child will learn from your genuine interest in the neat things he or she is learning that you value education, and your attitude will rub off!
  
• Let your child work (don't do the work for him or her).
  
• Encourage, facilitate, and reward good effort and attitude.
  In elementary school, we want to partner with you to help your child love learning, take pride in creating high-quality work, and feel good about improving. Model good educational attitude by taking an interest in learning things that interest YOU! Take an interest in what your child is learning. Talk shop. Notice good effort and compliment it, sometimes you might reward it!
• Read together for a few minutes every day.
  You can read together or alone (in the same room at the same time, though). Let your child see you enjoying reading what you like to read, whether it's a magazine, newspaper, mystery novel, or science textbook (some of us are that nerdy...)! You might even combine the two: read individually for 10-15 minutes, then come together for a few fun Shel Silverstein poems. Point out what you like (word play, funny situation, unexpected twist in the poem, alliteration/other word sounds, rhythm to the words, etc.

Specific Homework Help

Week of Oct 4

Science: We're working on leaf classification. May I suggest an after-dinner walk with the family? (Take the dog, too!) Allow your child to show you what he or she is learning.

Math: We're still learning our division facts. Keep a deck of flashcards out on the table and run through just a few of them (I'm talking less than a minute) once or twice a night. If your child gets one right immediately, then set it aside. Reserve the ones that were missed or which were difficult to go back into the pile for further questions another time.

Language Arts: Proofread your student's journals and other homework with special focus on semi-colons. (If you need help remembering yourself when to use a semi-colon see below.) Remember, use questions if you spot an error; do not give the answer away if you can help it! Also, we're continuing to read Holes. This unit we are hoping to reinforce the idea that reading is fun. Part of what can make reading fun is for the story to spark memories from the reader's own experiences, or the reader's knowledge of other's experiences in real life. So.... as always, take interest! Ask your child specific questions about "what happens next!"" to learn about the story. Talk about related things...

• how about when you went to camp?
• differences and similarities of the experiences in the book, your life, and your child's life
  
• what it would have felt like to be in the situation a certain character is in
• what you would have done differently, or the same
• etc...

Footnote: Semi-colons [ ; ] are placed between two complete sentences in order to join them. Why use a semi-colon instead of using a period and starting a new sentence? If two sentences are closely related in meaning, joining them into a single sentence can help the reader see the connection. For example, in this very post I wrote:

"Remember, use questions if you spot an error; do not give the answer away if you can help it!"

Student Writing: "The Fish and Snake"

by John Q. Student


Click to enlarge

I'm very pleased by the effort that many students put into this latest writing sample! Above we have a picture of John Q Student's paper, "The Fish and Snake". You can tell he put a lot of effort into this. Sweet. That's what it's all about!

This writing sample was complete as we practiced creative writing for the ISTEP, which is next week.

See also: Helping your Child Practice: Writing.

Zoo Field Trip Permission Slips

Look out for a pink field zoo field trip permission slip coming home in your child's Take Home Folder. They are due Friday, October 9,2009.

If you child has lost the slip, you can view and print a copy of it here.


Zoo Field Trip Details:


Did you know: Polar bears' fur is actually clear? They do not radiate or reflect any heat, so that they do not show up on infrared photographs! ("Polar Bear Fur", PolarBearsInternational.com, accessed 09/23/09)

Objectives/Activities: Your kids will get to explore the zoo to meet State standards 3.5, 6.1, and 4.3 which cover: hands-on activities fostering love of biology, classification of animals, and understanding of how habitat relates to physical characteristics of the animals that live there.

Date: October 18, 2009

Time: Busses leave at 9:30am; Busses return 2:00pm

Grades: 1st and 3rd grades

Location: Indianapolis Zoo

Campbell's Congrats!

We have collected our 1000th Campbells food label!! The kids are super excited, so let's keep them coming.

Here are three tips for remembering to cut the labels!

1. Keep a pair of scissors out on the counter in an old Campbell's can -- with the original label gone, of course! You can even decorate a new label and glue it on with your child.
   
2. Place a thick sandwich- or quart-size Ziplock bag in your child's backpack just for labels. Keep it there, even when there are no labels in it.
3. With your child, draw a label with a big red X over it, and tape it to the lid of the trash can!
   

Helping your Child Practice: Writing

Helping your child practice writing is a great way to build their skills. It also shows your children that you value education, and that rubs off on them. But best of all, working together will help you bond with your child!

There are four steps to basic writing in Mr. Manley's classes:

1. Organize your thoughts. That is, spend some time deciding what needs to be said about a particular topic, then decide what order these things should be said in. Index cards help!... Write down one fact or idea per card, then arrange them logically.
2. Write down a sentence or two for each thought on a piece of paper. Add an intro and a conclusion of about one sentence each. This is your rough draft! Your intro should relate the topic to your audience. For example, an essay about tigers that other classmates might read may start, "Pretty much every fourth-grade boy thinks tigers are awesome, but how much do they know about them?" A conclusion should summarize your info and/or make a conclusion. The tiger essay might end, "Tigers are awesome, and I can't wait to learn more about them by going to the zoo and the library. I just hope I never learn what it's like to be eaten by a tiger!"
   
3. Read it back. Do you need to rearrange your thoughts? Do you need to add or remove thoughts? If so, then update your Index Cards, rewrite your rough draft, and read it again. Repeat, if necessary, or go on to the final step!
   
4. Proof for for spelling and punctuation and clarity one last time.
   

Don't forget to read your child's writing afterward! Praise your child for hard work, show interest in what they have written about, and read the finished product together in a comfy chair! Then play together!

You may wish to proof-read your child's work after each step. If so, tell them in advance -- "Tim, what do we do after picking a topic?" [Come up with about five facts or ideas that we need to learn and write about the topic.] "Right. Get me when you've done that! I'd like to read them!" Then let your child work.

Tips:

• Allow breaks every 5-15 minutes. The break can be for a half hour, or a day -- whatever! Let your child know right away when to expect to resume work, so that he or she will be prepared and less likely to fuss. Praise your child for hard work, if appropriate, and allow your child to watch one TV show, get a drink, chit-chat with you (about things that interest the child, like toys, games, sports, etc. -- anything but school), or have dinner (if the child is pausing that task for the rest of the day). "Great effort. You've been working hard! When you reach a stopping point, let's play catch for ten minutes and then you can make some more progress!"
• When editing: Ask your student to scan for places to add capital letters or periods, and to find misspelled spelling words. Do not over-labor spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Focus only on a few things, such as spelling words from their spelling list and other important, easy words. Say, "I spy a sentence that is missing a final period!" or "Let's fix three words this time. Next time, we'll fix four," or something like that. Over time, as your student becomes faster and more efficient at correcting spelling, he or she can do a more and more thorough job of revision. Foster a fun hunt-like atmosphere around finding and fixing stuff.
• Let your child do the work. Do not write or think or remember for your child.
  
  For example, if your child says, "I don't know what to write," help him or her find a topic; do not pick it. You might say, "Tom, find three toys on the shelf, and bring them here. Now, what are they? Which one would you like to write about?" Or, "You choose: would you like to write about an animal, or what you did today on the playground?" Other categories you might suggest as options are: describing a person, a place he or she would like to go, and something your child likes to do.
  
  For another example, if your child is writing about tigers and there are ideas that are not on an index card that should be written about, you might say, "Hmmm... I know from your cards what tigers eat and what they look like, but what else should I know about them? There must be more to know about tigers..." If your child still struggles, try giving him or her more time, or brainstorm things to say about a similar topic. If all else fails, hint: "Yikes! I wonder if there are tigers in Indianapolis!...?"
• Praising effort is better than praising the quality of the work. Praising effort encourages students to love learning. Praising good results sometimes causes children to give up in the future, for fear of not meeting the same high standards. For example, say, "Wow, John. You have been thinking really hard. I am so proud of you." Or, "Are you happy with what you did?" They will know and feel good about their work in an appropriate way if you praise effort. Do not say, "You are so good at writing" or "Now that's a great piece of writing."
• Mix it up -- do related activities before and after writing time, such as playing word games like 20 Questions or reading some favorite books together.
• Keep it short. Three to five Index Cards, one sentence (or maybe two) for each Index Card, plus the introductory and concluding sentences.
  

Go for it!

Class Rules

1. Do your best
2. Raise your hand
3. Be as nice as you can

Our rules are simple, but they're great. We believe that students deserve a place to learn that is safe, full of encouragement for hard work, and pleasant.

Peaceful rooms foster happy, learning environments.

Ask your students about how to be nice -- even when others aren't. Help them think of ways to defuse situations, say nice things about people, ignore bullies, solve problems on their own (if no one and nothing is going to be hurt), and feel free to ask for help at an appropriate time when an adult is needed.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Kindergarten B weblog, or Blog for short!

Here you will find important announcements about field trips, homework, fun activities, and more!

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Thanks again! Talk to you soon!