McGill

Research Paper Reminder: Final Draft due February 1

Hello,

This is just a small reminder that the research papers we began in December are due this Friday, February 1.  Students should follow the packet details in order to know the order of the parts to the final draft.  Also, they should be prepared to submit all other work related to the final draft along with it.  This includes, but is not limited to, notecards, bibliography cards, rough drafts, and anything else which indicates the work spent accomplishing this large project.  So in other words, they need to have all of these materials when they arrive Friday morning. 

Because the emphasis has been on the process of the research paper and its related skills, it is a building block skill which will be utilized again in each child's future school career. 

Even if your child assures you that their paper is ready and complete, please proofread and discuss their work.  If they are requested, it is acceptable to share observations you have about the paper.  Certainly, the student should be responsible for the content of the paper.  Emphasize their own ability to determine whether they have met or exceeded the expectations detailed in the packet of guidelines.  Remember that the process of paper writing has many options and variables.  Avoid the desire to be too critical, but do ask questions if you believe your child has left some areas weak. 

As always, thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Alex McGill

Thank you for your commitment to your child

Hello Parents,

I enjoyed the conferences of the past several days and look forward to our future successes and learning opportunities.   One of the most important commitments to your child is the commitment of intrinsic motivation that may be fostered through continual communication.  Children need to know that their families and teachers are connected and are expecting good things of them.  When you look at their papers, ask questions, offer help or advice, or just check to see that they have homework, you are sending the message that they are accountable. 

In holding them accountable through their work, you create an opportunity for praise and guidance.  Kids tend to tune out "preaching" or "warnings", but they, like all people, appreciate praise. 

When you see that they have work to be done and they do it, give them a word of admiration.  This builds self-respect and a desire to continue (even with tasks they may view as simple, obvious, or otherwise repetitive). 

If your child struggles with a concept, skill, or method of completing their work, work with them to locate possible answers.  Take a few minutes to identify the problem and work together to determine possible solution pathways.  In modeling the motivation to seek a solution, you show your child that uncertainty is often a part of life, and that attempting a solution can be helpful in reducing stress and increasing self-awareness.  Students who believe they can figure out what to do tend to use their deductive reasoning in all areas of their lives (and have fewer stress-induced meltdowns). 

In our class, we often review some key principles about readiness with regard to tasks.  "Practice makes performance" is much closer to the truth than "practice makes perfect".  The way that students perform on assessments is directly related to how they practice.  Just as an artist, athlete, or musician must devote muscle memory to their tasks, students must practice the skill of problem solving in a variety of ways before they can actually apply this mental ability to a problem they experience in their own lives. 

Children who find certain tasks easy may balk at doing homework because they may tell you they "get it".  Whenever this happens, I find that this statement may mask an obstacle that the student wishes to avoid. 

Most children are not equally adept at all subjects and may have difficulty in one area because it is a challenge for them.  If your child is used to easy success, the one area that is troublesome may be avoided because it may cause them to question their abilities.  Allowing this "avoidance strategy" to flourish certainly is detrimental in the long run. 

Your child may need help from you in reinforcing the time, devotion, and effort needed to accomplish tasks that do not appear to have an immediate payoff.   Plus, there is good reason to develop systematic approaches to task accomplishment in elementary school.  Homework provides the vehicle for such development.  It is an effective exercise method for a child's mental skills and reflection.  Every parent or teacher who has experienced the school years beyond elementary school will tell you that having a plan for self-management is the key to happiness and lower stress for everyone. 

Misconceptions fuel the negative stereotype that has been projected onto homework.  Homework is designed to keep concepts and key information fresh in the minds of students.  Our class has at least two assignments for homework each night, five nights a week.  These assignments should generally take 30 minutes or less to accomplish unless they involve long-term projects or research.

Currently, we are reviewing and completing tasks related to research papers, reviewing fraction concepts and graphs, and practicing timed fraction reductions to aid in skill development in math.  These are not busy work; they are steps toward skill mastery and application. 

Monday through Friday, there are homework assignments that students have listed and are expected to accomplish.  Friday is listed as "Optional Weekend Homework", but the option is not to be determined solely by the students.  They are still expected to copy the homework verbatim into their agendas.  They should reflect on their own skills and areas of uncertainty.  If they do not wish to do the homework, they should still have the papers for you to see and be able to explain to you how they would accomplish the task.  If they can't do this, you should require them to do the practice work assigned. 

Homework is for review purposes, and often has an element of fun involved.  If students are listening in class, I may reduce the required number of problems during the lesson (only evens, only the first section, etc.).  This will also indicate whether your child is on task in class.  It may shed a light on why their grades indicate they are performing at an average level in a class you recall they have historically found exciting.   

My goal in assigning homework, is to get students to be involved in locating their own strengths (and I'm looking for specifics...it's a drag to hear "I'm good in Science, but I'm bad at Reading"-- Finding information about science topics like volcanoes requires reading, so perhaps that blanket statement is inaccurate).  Students also need to be exposed to positive challenges regularly and develop a possibility-minded attitude in relation to their problems. 

When a student steps out of their comfort zone to achieve on a skill that is hard won, they develop a higher self-esteem than they ever do by receiving compliments for mediocrity.  Ultimately, students believe they "aren't good" at a subject because they get reinforcement that improvement is a lost cause or is otherwise not worth their time. 

Homework enables students who are needing extra help determine when they have trouble with a step or are confused about the way to solve a problem.  This review/practice at home gets them ready for when we begin the class lesson and are identifying methods with which to solve the problem.   It also isolates the need to visit their teacher for a mini-conference and clarification.  If they are having trouble, this short one-on-one time may effectively guide them to the important steps they must complete to succeed in the task at hand.

Please continue to share your commitment to your child by holding them accountable for their skill development on a daily basis.  They may complain, but when they realize what a big benefit may result from the small steps of review and practice, they will see the benefits of giving their best effort routinely. 

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.  Full effort is full victory." --Mohandas K. Gandhi

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Alex McGill

Happy New Year!

It is good to be back at Garrison Mill with our students.  I have been impressed by the team's enthusiasm and commitment to starting off on the right foot this year.  We've had excellent attendance and the students have been right down to business.

Here is what we are doing in the coming weeks:

Mathematics

Students have begun new Math classes and are using their knowledge of place value, fractions, and decimals to learn about percentages.  The use of percentages in their daily lives can be found in almost any area, and the application of this knowledge will help them to better understand cause and effect relationships impacted by their choices.  After this, they will be learning about multiplying and dividing fractions.  We continue to use our Exemplars in class to improve our problem solving skills and consider variables when searching for solutions. 

The majority of our class's students have joined the 90% Club.   These students have exhibited the ability to add and subtract 100 facts each in four minutes or less.  Likewise, they can multiply and divide 100 facts each in five minutes or less.  Fact memorization and rapid recall are crucial to time management in the math setting as the math curriculum continues to challenge students with multi-step problems. 

Language Arts

We are resuming the focus on our Research Papers from last semester.  Students have chosen topics, located some resources of information at school, and have been making notecards on their topic.  Students must have at least one encyclopedia, a website, and one other resource (periodical, nonfiction book, textbook, interview, etc.) to meet the expectation of using multiple sources from which to report.  Notecards should be ready to sort and organize in class by January 18.  The final drafts of the Research Papers will be due on February 1, 2008.

Alongside this large assignment, we will be reading a new novel, practicing our grammar and spelling skills, and using critical thinking when reading information.  Each day presents new opportunities for extending our knowledge and sharpening our skills. 

Science

Our next field of study is animal and plant classification (including microorganisms).  In this study, students will be learning about the methods and need for classification of the various living things in our world.  We will also refer back to our previous studies on cells and matter to prepare for the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). 

Social Studies

Students are continuing to learn United States history.  To date, they have learned that the country changed dramatically at the turn of the century due to industrialization, immigration, and westward expansion.  With these prosperity-minded changes, there were also some negative side-effects that were unforeseen.  Students will be able to analyze how social, political and economic reforms during the Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson presidencies affected Americans (e.g., women, children, American Indians, and African Americans) with particular attention to the impact of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments, child labor, and labor unions.

Health

We have begun using Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum in class.  It is comprised of three units.  These include Empathy Training; Impulse Control and Problem Solving, and Anger Management.  Students engage in lessons designed to identify emotions, assume others' perspectives, and help them respond sensitively to others.  The students have responded well to the program because it is interactive and also includes role playing within its framework.  Students may apply the lessons in their own lives and make better choices from what they learn. 

Conference dates will take place from January 22 to January 28.  A letter with the proposed time slot for your conference was sent home today, January 10, with your child.  Please return them either with either an acceptance signature or a note with rescheduling options.  On those days, students will have early release from school.  If you would like your child to attend the conference, they are welcome to come.  We will be reviewing their progress at the conference and any questions you may have at that time will be addressed.  You will receive your child's report card as well as the code for on-line CRCT practice. 

Thank you very much for the class gift of the mobile filing cabinets!  Your generosity has enabled our class to make a wonderful start this new year. 

Best regards,

Alex McGill