Concert

Ms. Leom has been attending elementary concerts for over two decades. This is one of the best ones she has seen. In the terms of vocabulary learning, number of instruments, participation, movement, and the layers ... on many layers of learning, this was an impressive concert. Here are images, out of order, from the rehearsal and the concert (I couldn't get the same angles and get the different students from the performance itself):

SO PROUD of ALL the fourth grade performers! So many talents and a lot of hardwork is evident!

Desktop

It happened, while we were at our field trip. In Ms. Leom's classroom, she added three desktop computers to her learning tools. These computers offer learning and writing opportunities beyond the ipads. Ms. Leom will set up book marks for research, newspaper acces, and more. This will be a standing station. It will be a standing station. Ms. Leom also has ideas about additional ongoing literacy development. 

There are a few other "details" happening this week with our field trip, self assessing our fluency, concert, Thanksgiving break that took priority ... soon these will become a regular part of our learning tools.

Self Assessment

To self assess our fluency skills, students worked with a partner within their reader's theater group. One ipad had the script. The second ipad video recorded the readers. Then students viewed their work during Reader's Theater. They looked at three lenses: 1.) using time wisely: starting immediately, following directions; 2.) listening: eyes are following along during other parts, facial expressions are reacting to the story; 3.) fluency: pausing at punctuation marks and changing pace (from Unit 1) according to what is happening in the text. We practiced recording over two days. Our goal was to self assess our learning on the second day.

 

It can be uncomfortable to watch yourself and see yourself from a different perspective. Students used a Google Form to share their thinking with Ms. Leom. Their self reflection and assessment, reflects their learning and grade for the reading fluency: pausing at punctuation goal.