Speaking of goals, many students wrote fantastic, attainable goals, but I think sometimes the connection is not made between setting the goal and following the goal. Already at the beginning of the nine weeks, with lots of great discussion about new beginnings and second chances, about taking our time and doing our best, I'm seeing a lot of work that is too messy for mid-year fourth graders. By now, all students should ALWAYS do their very best. Checking over work for errors and checking against criteria charts should be second nature, or automatic. Many times, I think students mistakenly think I "give" grades. I always grade according to the criteria given ahead of time so that students should be able to see exactly how they are doing. Grades should not be a surprise.
Please remind your child to copy the agenda carefully each morning, to highlight homework, and to show it to you for a signature each day, whether or not I check it the next morning. My agenda checks are sporadic, but if there is not a signature, it counts as not having homework that day. Speaking of homework, late assignments are beginning to creep in again. Just a reminder that late assignments lose 11 points the first day they are late. Only medical absences allow for extra days.
In writing we are reworking our expository writing from our December benchmarks. The kids are working hard to make improvements to their writing now that we have analyzed others' writing that were scored on the 4-3-2-1 rubric. I think they were surprised to see what it took to write a piece that scores at least a 3. Spelling right now is a focus on non-negotiable words from the AISD list. We are doing practice and activities that are applications of those words (word parts, affixes, meanings.)
In Texas History, we are continuing our journey in colonial Texas.