FSA Informative Essay Example

Dear Parents,

This week we worked on writing to inform and final drafts were due today.  Students read the text set, and wrote and informative essay  containing text-based evidence.  On last week's essay, only 8 students out of 49 wrote an essay that would have met the FSA writing test's minimum expectations.  Many students are writing too little, with loose organization and little to no text based evidence.  Please monitor your child's writing each evening and continue to encourage them.  As soon as I grade this week's essay, I'll send it home.  Here is a example of the type of writing we're looking for:

Juliette Gordon Low- Informative Essay Example

            The Girl Scouts was founded over 100 years ago by Juliette Gordon Low.  She was a creative and independent woman who inspired many girls. 

            To begin with, Juliette was born on October 31, 1860 and she grew up in Savannah, Georgia.  According to the text, Juliette Gordon Low: A Guiding Light for Girls by Valerie Davis, she was a happy, creative, and artistic child.  She grew up in a family with 5 siblings, and Juliette enjoyed writing poetry, plays, and drawing pictures of the world around her.  The text explained that Juliette was both adventurous and athletic.  She enjoyed exploring outdoors, and she also played several sports.  For example, she excelled at swimming, she played tennis, and she held the position of the captain of her rowing team.  The article stated that when Juliette grew older, she went away to school in Virginia, and then New York.  Although her schools were meant to prepare her to be a “proper” young lady of that time period, Juliette longed to be more adventurous!  She wanted to travel not just around the United States, but also the whole world!  Juliette got married when she was 26 to an Englishman.  The text revealed that in 1911, Juliette met a man who changed her life forever. 

            Next, Valerie Davis explained that Sir Robert Baden-Powell was the founder of the Boy Scouts.  This organization taught a variety of skills to boys that would help them throughout their lives.  Juliette loved this idea, and was inspired to start the same type of group in the United States for girls.  The article A Chance Meeting by Janine Butler, stated that Juliette had a lot in common with Baden-Powell.  For example, he too was adventurous, he loved to travel, and he loved the arts.  Juliette felt at this time that her life did not have much purpose.  She thought the idea of teaching survival skills to girls would be important and fun.  The last paragraph explained that Juliette created the Girl Scouts in 1913.  She used her adventurous spirit to give girls the same opportunities as boys.

            To conclude, Juliette Gordon Low’s organization, the Girl Scouts, is still in existence today.  The text indicated that over 59 million girls have been members of the Girl Scouts and have enjoyed learning skills to help them become strong and confident women.  

Informative Essay notes

Chapter 9 Math Notes

The Chapter 9 Math Test will be given on Monday, February 23rd.  Students should have brought home their Math Notebooks, but in case they didn't here's mine.

Decimal Place Values

Writing Equivalent Fractions

Comparing Decimal Sizes

Adding Decimals and Fractions

These students are on track with AR!

The more a student reads, the better reader they become.  After all, practice makes perfect!

By today, students should have earned 80% of their points for the 9 week grading period with an average quiz score of 85%.

The following students are currently on track to meet their 9 week AR goal:

Jordan
Ladarion
Chris D.
Kennedy
Arionna
Jaden
Christopher W.
Antavious
Nathan
Mariah
Latavia
Deshawn
Ryan
Au'Libria
Ember
Carolina
Shaloni
Dylan
Rayahna
Corron

I'm so proud of these students!!

AR counts toward your child's final grade each 9 weeks.  Students only have 3 weeks until the end of the 3rd 9 weeks to meet their goal.  Students are given time in class to read, they are required to read a minimum of 30 minutes nightly, and time is given daily to check out books and take AR tests.  Please support our efforts to improve the reading achievement of your child by holding your child accountable for meeting their goal.

Weekly Update 2/17

Good morning!

• I'm VERY proud of the work students have been doing in Math.  Their Chapter 8 Test scores were fantastic!  The kids are enjoying watching their overall Math grades go up!  For a detailed Math grade report, check Parent Portal.  
• Students will take the Chapter 9 Math Test on Friday or Monday.
• Please check your child's agenda book nightly to see what they should have completed for homework.  Mrs. Rodriguez is asking that they focus on a different portion of writing each night.  
• Behavior update:  We're reaching a time of year when behavior problems starts to increase.  Please encourage your child to follow all school rules and directions.  Some key phrases that we're using a lot are "the way you say things matters" and "we use nice words to speak to one another."  These two things can make all the difference in having a smooth school day.
• Talking with your child's teachers:  We are happy to speak with you about grades, behavior, questions, etc.  We are asking that you send an appointment request in an email or a note in your child's agenda book (please tell them to show us, we don't check agendas every day).  Please understand that our time without students is limited and we are dedicated to maximizing the time we have with them, so we are not often able to take calls or meet with you if you come up to school without a scheduled appointment.  Thank you for understanding.  :)

Final Drafts are due tomorrow!

Text set: Helping Your Community

Informative Essay Example

          (This is an example of what we're looking for in your child's essay:)

            There are many ways that kids can help out in their community.  Kids can be a big help by cleaning up garbage in a park, or by training dogs to assist with people with disabilities.

           

            To begin with, helping to clean up garbage in a park is a wonderful way that kids can help out in their community.  In the story, A Clean Park by Joseph Long, it described how kids picked up garbage in their community park.  Tyler was riding his bike in the park when he noticed that there was lots of garbage on the ground such as soda bottles and old food wrappers.  The kids thought that the garbage looked gross!  He met up with Lauren and some other kids from school to pick up the garbage in bags.  The kids cleaned for about an hour.  When they were finished, they felt happy about how great their park looked!  What an awesome way to help out in their community!

            Next, another example of how kids can help out in their community is by training dogs to be the eyes, ears, and hands for people with disabilities.  In the article Healing Paws, by Stephanie Hurtz, I learned about a fifth grader named Cree Hayuga.  She spends each Wednesday afternoon training dogs.  Dogs are taught how to open and shut doors, turn lights on and off, and throw away trash for people with disabilities.  By volunteering with the dogs, Cree has leaned both patience and responsibility.  She also has lots of fun!  It has also inspired her to become a veterinarian when she grows up. 

            In conclusion, kids can make a difference in their community by volunteering.  Two great ways to make community contributions are by cleaning up a park and by volunteering to train dogs to help people with disabilities. 

Valentine card exchange= Satisfactory Behavior

With behavior problems on the rise, we made our Valentine Card exchange activity contingent upon the students having satisfactory behavior.  Sadly, some students in Mrs. Rodriguez's class are not eligible to participate.  If your child is currently not on track to participate, they were instructed to write that in their agenda book today for you to see.  Perhaps your encouragement will remind them that every time they talk, play, or fail to follow directions, it makes it harder for them to be successful with our rigorous curriculum.

We have a parent sending in juice boxes and cupcakes.  Please only send in your child's Valentine Cards, already addressed to their classmates.  They may attach a small treat to it if they choose.

Friday will be a busy day with students taking the practice FSA reading test, as well as a test in math.

2015 Envision Educational Ambassador

Good morning! 

I am a finalist for serving as the 2015 Envision Educational Ambassador and I need your support. 

Voting has opened for the three finalist and you can cast your vote on the following site: http://successforeducators.com/2015envisioneer

Please share this link to as many people as you can in order to get help me reach my goal.

Voting will last through February 19^th 

Thank you in advance!

Dr. Christopher Small

Proud Principal

Springwood Elementary School 

We need to earn an A for Attendance!

Dear Parents,

Help!!

If a grade was given to a class based on attendance, our class would get an F! 

Lately, we have had between 4 and 6 students walk into class late per day. 

Many of these students didn't show up until our class has already transitioned to their math class. 

We take attendance at 8:30.  Students prepare for the day, sharpening pencils, getting notebook paper, and listening to the announcements.  At 8:40, they go to class and the teacher begins instruction.  

This morning, from my homeroom class, 6 students were marked absent, and 3 later walked into class late.  When I started class with Mrs. Lynch's students, 4 were originally marked absent by Mrs. Lynch and 3 of those students ended up arriving to my class AFTER I introduced our next form of writing, and had already passed out the materials and explained what we were going to do. 

We want our students to succeed, but when they repeatedly miss out on instruction, it makes it difficult for them to catch up!  Additionally, it causes a disruption for the teacher and the class as students trickle in late and require attention.  

I am very appreciative when my students are in school on time and ready to start the day.  Please support attendance and punctuality in order for your child to be prepared for the rigor of fourth grade.  

Help us to earn an A in attendance!!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Rodriguez

Valentine's Day Card Exchange

                                                

We will have a Valentine’s Day card exchange on Friday, February 13^th at 2:15. 

Your child is welcome to bring a card for each member of his/her class.  They may attach a sweet treat to the card too! 

We are very busy covering material in our math and reading classes, so we will keep this celebration small by limiting it to a cupcake per child and a juice box. 

Please let me know if you would like to provide either the cupcakes or the juice boxes. 

Students with satisfactory behavior will be allowed to attend.  

Sincerely,

Fourth grade teachers

Progress Alerts

Progress Alerts are coming home today.  Please sign and return it on Thursday.  We will send it back home for you to keep on Thursday.

For more details on your child's grade, please log into Parent Portal.  (Look on the "Stay Informed" tab for directions on logging in.)

Text Based Writing Rubrics

Here are examples of rubrics that we'll use to evaluate writing. 

Opinion Writing

This week's writing instruction is on text based opinion writing.  Students have a text set containing 3 sources that they read.  Next, they have been instructed on how to plan for their writing using the opinion organizer.  Tonight students need to complete the organizer and be prepared to write their first draft tomorrow.

Weekly Update

Good morning.  It's "FSA testing season" so don't be surprised when you see changes in your child's homework or 

• Progress Alerts will come home on Wednesday.  Please sign and return them on Thursday.  (We will check students off and send it back home.)  
• To see a detailed grade report, login here.  If you need your child's login information, please send us an email or give a note to your child.   You can set up email subscriptions so you don't have to login each week.  Check out the "stay informed" tab for directions.  
• As we learn more about the FSA test, we are changing our teaching to ensure that the students are as prepared as possible.  At this point, you will mostly notice changes in Language Arts.  Students will be working more intensely in Writing and their nightly homework will no longer be a reading log. Please check their agenda book for nightly ELA homework.
• Students are still expected to meet their AR Goal.  Each week they are given a small goal to reach.  Ask them about their goal for the week.  To log into their account and see for yourself click here.  (AR also has email subscriptions, so you'll know each time your child takes a test.)
• The Chapter 7 Math Test will be given on Wednesday, February 5th. Students have been preparing in class, and homework wise, for 2 days.