Friday 28 March 2014

FRONTROWED.COM

AA Parents,

Students should be able to go on: 
www.frontrowed.com click on student sign in.
 Type their name and class code svqjpa
STEP 1

Download the iOS App or use on the Web

Download the app onto your iPad(s) or have students log in from the Chrome browser (Chromebooks are strongly recommended) at student.frontrowed.com. Remember that you don't need one iPad per student, you can rotate as few as 1-3 devices among your class. A student will be able to log into her personal account from any device.



STEP 2

Students Sign Up

A student using Front Row for the first time can sign herself up without your assistance straight from the app: all they need is their first and last names, and your unique class code, see above Here's how. If you'd still rather create student accounts yourself, you can do so from the Class Roster tab in this dashboard.

STEP 3

Baseline Assessment

In order to use the app, your class must first take a baseline assessment, which will automatically start the first time. Front Row uses this to start tracking progress for each one of your students, and to immediately provide adaptive content. When your students log into the app for the first time and choose a Common Core Math domain, they will immediately start the baseline assessment. The assessment can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how far into the content your students are.

STEP 4

The Power of Data

With the assessment out of the way, you can now use all of Front Row's features. Consult the Report Card, give your students personalized Printables as homework, see which groups of students you can pull aside for a group lesson, and find out more about each Common Core standard you can teach them.

STEP 5

Weekly Practice

Have your students practice 2-3x a week for about 20 minutes a session to always have the latest individual progress information, and to have Front Row accelerate their learning with its tens of thousands of bespoke exercises.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Spelling List Test Friday March 28


  1. cave
  2. chief
  3. circle
  4. cloth
  5. continue
  6. course
  7. December
  8. desk
  9. direction
  10. doesn't
  11. draw
  12. earth
  13. eight
  14. enter
  15. explain
  16. felt
  17. finger
  18. flat
  19. forget
  20. fresh 

Reading Strategies

Listed below are reading strategies that you can use with students in
grades 3-5:


Make Predictions

Predictions encourage active reading and keep students interested, whether or not the predictions are correct. Incorrect predictions can signal a misunderstanding that needs to be revisited. Instruct students:
  • Look at the pictures, table of contents, chapter headings, maps, diagrams, and features. What subjects are in the book?
  • Write down predictions about the text. During reading, look for words or phrases from those predictions.
  • While reading, revise the predictions or make new ones. 
Visualize

Many students think visually, using shapes, spatial relationships, movement, and colors, and can benefit greatly from this strategy. Instruct students:
  • Imagine a fiction story taking place as if it were a movie. Imagine the characters' features. Picture the plot in time and space.
  • Imagine processes and explanations happening visually. Use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to create pictures, diagrams, or other mental images.
  • Use graphic organizers to lay out information. Make sketches or diagrams on scrap paper. 
Ask and Answer Questions

Having students form their own questions helps them recognize confusion and encourages active learning. Instruct students:
  • Before reading, think about the subject based on the title, chapter heads, and visual information. Make note of anything you are curious about.
  • While reading, pause and write down any questions. Be sure to ask questions if there is confusion.
  • Look for the answers while reading. Pause and write down the answers.
  • Were all the questions answered? Could the answers come from other sources? 
Retell and Summarize

Relating the text in students' own words clears up language issues. Retelling challenges them to aim for complete retention. A summary allows students to discriminate between main ideas and minor details. Instruct students:
  • During reading, note the main ideas or events. Put a check mark in the book or write a note to point out a main idea.
  • At the ends of chapters or sections, review the information or story. Note main ideas or events and the details that support them.
  • After reading, retell or summarize the text. Focus on the important points, and support them with relevant details.
  • Refer to the book to check the retelling or summary of it. 
Connect the Text to Life Experiences, Other Texts, or Prior Knowledge

Connecting a text to students' experiences and knowledge helps students personalize the information. It also helps students remember information when they link it to their lives. Instruct students:
  • Is the subject familiar? Do the characters resemble familiar people? Have you learned about the concept from school, home, or other experiences?
  • Is the style or genre familiar? Does it resemble other texts? Television shows, movies, and games can be considered "texts."
  • Write down similarities between the current text and experiences, knowledge, or other texts.

Measurement !

AA Parents

I have posted a link to a PDF file. It is everything we are covering in class. Please print this out and get your child to answer the questions. It is a long document -  your child can work on this on their own time. It is good practice of what we are dong in class.

Please see link below

http://81west.com/curriculum/Grade%203/Math3/G3Munit001.pdf

Overall Expectations:
- demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply measurement terms: centimetre, metre,
kilometre; millilitre, litre; gram, kilogram; degree Celsius; week, month, year
- identify relationships between and among measurement concepts
- solve problems related to their day-to-day environment using measurement and estimation (eg.
in finding the height of the school fence)
- estimate, measure, and record the perimeter and the area of two-dimensional shapes, and
compare the perimeters and areas
- estimate, measure, and record the capacity of containers and the mass of familiar objects, and
compare the measures

Thursday 20 March 2014

HELP YOUR CHILD WITH EQAO

AA Parents,

On Jan 19 a blog was posted on how to get information about the EQAO I have also re-posted it. Since Jan 21 of this year I have been working with the students on how they should be answering the questions for the EQAO. The students are required to read passages and answer multiple choice and long answers. They are also required to write proper paragraphs on a given topic (i.e. Which method of transportation is the best form).


There are two kinds of writing. One tells a story and has a beginning, middle and end. The other gives information that has an introduction, body and a conclusion. The key to success for either type of writing is to have a plan that will tell about the topic (or a web). A great planner treasures writing out the sketch first by starting with a topic sentence or main thought. Next, he has to write or outline the reason(s) or fact(s) followed by examples as explanations. Finally, he writes the conclusion, which usually restates the topic sentence and becomes the ending paragraph or thought.
Here is a guide for your child to follow for writing a winning story or paragraph.
Writing Checklist for Success
  • Write a topic sentence
  • Sketch out ideas-reasons
  • Give details and examples
  • Draft
  • Reread and make corrections
  • Edit: Check for transitional words, capital letters, punctuation, spelling
  • Revise: Stayed on topic and have a concluding statement
  • Proofread
  • Final copy

Tip: The more your child reads, the better his/her writing skills will be. The more a child writes, the better he/she will read.

This Friday I will send out a Math booklet for students. The students have until next Friday March 28 to complete it. Then I will send a Language booklet for them to complete the following week. As parents I would like to ask for your help. Please double check your child's work. For math make sure they are able to explain their thinking (using math language and drawings). For language please ensure your child is including capital letters, proper punctuation (periods, commas etc), proper grammar (past tense and present tense),  check for spelling and whether or not the sentences are complete thought.

In class for language we are working on
Daily spelling (tests every Friday)
Grammar (synonyms and antonyms) This week and next week 
Proofreading worksheets (Monday - Thursday) [find all the grammar/spelling and punctuation mistakes]

Wednesday 19 March 2014

UPDATE

AA Parents,

Here is a brief update on what's been going on..


LANGUAGE - A focus on Spelling (daily - tests on Friday) Students write sentences at home. Proof Editing stories in class. EQAO preparation as well (reading comprehension, and paragraph writing). I will be sending out more EQAO packages for students.

MATH - We are still working on multiplication (every Friday). Meanwhile during the week we are working on measurement.

ISLAMIC STUDIES - We are now talking about Judgment Day. Thinking about the signs of Judgment day and what it means.

SCIENCE - Learning about forces and how they are used in our everyday life.

SOCIAL STUDIES - Looking at the Pioneer Life and comparing it with the modern life. Currently we are looking at how advertising was used to encourage people to come to Canada during the 1800's.

**Please check the your child's work especially for Language. Make sure the their sentences have capital letters and periods (proper punctuation).


SPELLING TEST FRIDAY

  1. case
  2. chance 
  3. choose
  4. clear 
  5. coast
  6. cotton
  7. crown
  8. deer
  9. different
  10. dive
  11. cattle
  12. chew
  13. church
  14. close
  15. coffee 
  16. couldn't
  17. dead
  18. desert
  19. dip
  20. doctor


REPOST - EQAO INFORMATION

AA Parents!

I hope all is well. Please find the information on EQAO below!

General Questions

What is EQAO?

EQAO is an independent agency of the Ontario government. EQAO provides accurate, objective and clear information about student achievement and the quality of publicly funded education in Ontario. In addition, EQAO works to ensure that this information is used to bring about improvement for individual students and for the education system as a whole.

Who is the contact person at EQAO?

People who have questions, concerns or suggestions are encouraged to contact EQAO by phone at 1-888-327-7377 or by e-mail.

What testing does EQAO do?

EQAO develops and implements provincial assessment programs for primary, junior and secondary school students in Ontario.
EQAO assesses all students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 in reading, writing and mathematics. EQAO also administers two secondary school assessments. The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is administered in March each year. The Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics is administered in January to students enrolled in first-semester mathematics courses and in May/June to students enrolled in second-semester and full-year courses.
EQAO also coordinates Ontario’s participation in several national and international assessments. The Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) is conducted by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada and evaluates 13-year-olds’ skills in reading, mathematics and science. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and involves random samples of 15-year-olds in similar subjects. The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses student learning worldwide in Grades 4 and 8. The Second International Technology in Education Studies (SITES) focuses on computer use in primary and junior schools. Both TIMSS and SITES are programs of the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

Why is EQAO testing Ontario students?

EQAO was established based on a recommendation of the Ontario Royal Commission on Learning in 1995. The Commission consulted extensively with educators, parents, students and taxpayers and concluded that province-wide assessments would help to respond to public demands for greater quality and accountability in the publicly funded school system.
EQAO’s assessments provide accurate, objective and clear information about student achievement that teachers and parents can use to improve learning for all students. EQAO publishes school and school board reports that parents, educators, policy-makers and members of the public can use to monitor the effectiveness of the education system over time.

What are the key benefits of EQAO’s work?

Students know more about how well they are doing in reading, writing and/or mathematics and what they need to do in order to improve.
Teachers and principals have more feedback on how well students are meeting the expectations in the provincial curriculum and how effectively teaching strategies and school programs are meeting students’ needs.
Parents are more familiar with the expectations in the provincial curriculum and better informed about their children’s achievement and progress.
Ontarians have accurate and objective information about student achievement and education quality in the publicly funded education system.

How Do I find Individual Student results?

All students who participated in EQAO’s tests receive an Individual Student Report (ISR). This report contains personal information that is protected under theFreedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
EQAO sends ISRs to schools for distribution to students who wrote the Grades 3, 6 and 9 assessments and the OSSLT. For further information, please contact your school’s principal.
information from http://www.eqao.com/AboutEQAO/GeneralQuestions.aspx?Lang=E 

Tuesday 4 March 2014

SPELLING LIST 2 - TEST THURSDAY


SPELLING LIST 2 TEST THIS THURSDAY
  1. Afternoon
  2. ahead
  3. anyone
  4. August
  5. beach
  6. begin
  7. board
  8. bottom
  9. cabin
  10. card
  11. against 
  12. alarm
  13. April
  14. band
  15. beat
  16. below
  17. body
  18. branch
  19. camp
  20. careful