Step-by-Step

In fourth grade, Ms. Leom (and Mr. Grenigner) do not just announce the skill, talk for five minutes, then expect students to sit and complete the paperwork. Our learning is carefully planning, scaffolding in place, and we work together. Two examples from the last two days ...

In Spelling, Ms. Leom introduced "Spelling Week 2 Read" assignment. We usually do it the day before the test. Students have the opportunity to find examples of the spelling pattern IN a text. We start by writing our name on the paper. We title the assignment. Then we take "notes". We write down the skill we are developing (on the left, under the assignment name). After that, we list the steps: 1. Read. 2. Underline -er/-est. 3. Label. Ms. Leom reads the title. Together we check for the pattern. She reads the first sentence. Someone raises their hand. They found one. We underline it on the board. We label it. We talk about how it fits the pattern. The student who found it shares how they noticed (looking at the ending). We continue, one sentence at a time. Ms. Leom walks around the room to make sure students are on track and understanding the direction. We write the number of expected examples in the left margin. We start the second paragraph. This time, we do not point out each example as we go. Students are asked to find them on their own. At the end of the paragraph, students check with a partner and discuss. We are now at a point that we can point out examples that do NOT fit our pattern: deer (because the "er" ending is not a suffix, but part of the original word) and reader (because the "er" is not comparative. We don't say, "Read. Reader. Readest." Reader refers to the suffix -er meaning a person who does that). We go over all the answers. Ms. Leom reads the third paragraph. Only on the final paragraph, do students work independently. At the end, we encourage them to connect with a neighbor. We don't be this thorough later in the year, when we KNOW that students understand the expectations.

Our second focus of learning this week was Main Idea and Details. We started by reviewing the goal on the board, "I can name the main idea and details of the text, so I can comprehend, and I will be successful when I name the main idea with details for "Land Beneath the Waves". Then we look at the "tools" we will use ... title, pictures and captions, repeating words, asking ourselves, "What is the entire text mostly about?", as well as first and last sentence. Not all these strategies work ALL the time, but some of them overlap and help us. Ms. Leom reads the text. We apply our "tools" and see what makes sense. Ms. Leom models on the board. She walks around the room and makes sure students are on track and participating. The work didn't fit on the space, so Ms. Leom wrote on the picture. She encouraged students to use the lower margin.

Mr. Greninger's homeroom

Ms. Leom's homeroom

Our learning is very specific, with lots of examples, modeling, and support. We use a step-by-step approach. Being in class matters.