Children's Writing

Children's Writing - Room 6

The children have been learning to improve their story writing by planning their writing first and then adding interesting character and setting descriptions.

Angelina has done a great x-chart plan for her character description that includes what the character looks like, sounds like, smells like and feels like (or makes us feel). She has then written a few clear sentences from her plan about her pirate character.

Willem described his character Edward using his plan on the previous page.

Children plan and write over two days, usually, and then re-read their work checking it against the rubric or success criteria to see if they have everything they need.

Children's Concept/ Topic Writing

This term the concept at St Mary's School is communities. Room six have been discussing and thinking about the roles and responsibilities people have in the different communities that they belong to. They have also been looking at the word interdependence - where everybody in a community depends on everybody else to perform their role so that the community runs smoothly. We then started looking at how ant communities work through interdependence. The children did some explanation writing to explain how one particular kind of ants works with another insect, the aphid, in a community. The relationship of the ant and aphid is said to be one of 'symbiosis'. In the ant and aphid community the ants and aphids show interdependence.
Some of the children's writing is shown published below:

Ants and Aphids by Alex

IN THE FOREST ARE ANTS AND APHIDS . ANTS CRAWL AROUND LOOKING FOR  FOOD.  DO YOU THINK ANTS EAT APHIDS NO, APHIDS HELP ANTS AND ANTS HELP APHIDS . BEACAUSE APHIDS MAKE HONEY DUE FOR THE ANTS TO KEEP GOING. APHIDS EAT  FLOWERS. NEXT WHEN ALL THE APHIDS EAT THE FLOWERS  THE ANTS TAKE THE APHIDS TO ANOTHER FLOWER . When the aphids are eating the flower the ant goes and finds some food when they suddenly find  lady bug  eggs. Next a giant ladybug  comes but the ant scares it off with its jaws.

Ants and Aphids by Kim

Ants protect aphids so aphids  will give them honeydew. I also learnt that aphids got the honeydew from the leaf. If the plant is dead the ants will move them to another Plant. One of the words I learnt is symbiosis.  Ants give aphids these kind of medicine so they won’t get some kinds of diseases. They lick the aphids and that’s how they make aphids stay alive. When a ladybird comes it will try to harm the aphids. If it does the ant will hurt it back and eat its egg for a treat . If the aphid all die ants will all die because ants cannot  get any honeydew. Ants let aphids go to there colony for winter.

Ants and Aphids by Ria

Ants and aphids are partners, they work together. Ladybugs like to eat aphids so ants look after aphids and protect them, this is called symbiosis. Aphids suck juice from plants, and ants take honeydew from the aphids. When aphids get diseases ants put saliva on their bodied to protect them. 

Ants and Aphids by Naina

Ants are very small, they look after aphids, they are like there sheep. Aphids suck roses crisanthanems and when the ants scrape the aphids backs the ants get sweet juice called honeydew. The ants also help the aphids from a disease called fungus. When a large predator like a ladybug comes an ant would bite with it’s manibles and the ladybug flies away. Ants form a big community in India, there are red ants, they walk in a line they bite and it is really scratches and stings. I am really interested in ants. I don’t really like bugs but ants are ok. The biggest ant is the queen ant. Ants can’t live without aphids and aphids can’t live without ants. To ants we are giants ant’s think we are there enemies and we are wanting to kill them. Ants have antennas and on the end of the antennas they have noses. 

Ants and Aphids by Misty

Ants and Aphids work together as a team. Ants protect aphids by keeping predators away by nipping  them with their jaws. Their jaws are really big .Aphids make honeydew for ants. Ants make sure that aphids are clean. Ants lick them and always protect them from anything. Do you think that ants will kill them? Not at all.

 Life Education

On Friday last week room 6 were lucky enough to have a second learning session with Bernie and Harold the Giraffe in the Life Education truck.

Children learned about the functions and locations of some of the organs in the human body and got to play doctors for the day. Bernie also talked to us about how to treat others around us and how to avoid and protect ourselves against bullying behaviour.

 The children had great fun identifying the organs in the human body and placing them on 'Suzie' in the right place and position. Everyone was keen to be chosen to play doctor. Only those on their absolute best behaviour got chosen, although as usual some children did miss out.

 Doctor Naina and Doctor Tyler try to work out what an organ is and where it goes on Suzie. If the doctors couldn't work it out then they asked the audience to put their hands up to answer.








Angelina is keen to be chosen as a doctor.

 Harold came out to talk to us at the end and to remind us of all the learning we had been doing. Harold tried to convince Bernie he had been behaving and not watching too much 'Sponge Bob Squarepants. Bernie wasn't too sure if she could believe him.









The children creep forward to get a better look at Harold.

 Bernie and Harold are amazed by all the stars on the ceiling of the truck.

Willem is lucky enough to get up close to Harold and meet him. He pats Harold and gives him a hug. Because they have been so well behaved during learning at Life Education, Harold agrees that everyone can come and greet him personally and give him a pat or a hug.

Reading in Room 6

 Reading in Room 6 

Children are told from the first day that after improving self management the most important thing they can do to help learning in all areas is to READ.

Children are encouraged to read whenever they have a spare moment during the day. Room 6 have silent reading time for 5-15 minutes straight after lunch. Mr Bach always has a chapter book (usually Roald Dahl at the beginning of the year) that he is reading to the class. He also uses Big Books to read to the class and to use during group work.

 During instructional reading time the children work in their groups and go through different activites on a rotational basis. Children read with Mr Bach on the mat at least every second day and discuss different word decoding or comprehension strategies. We also look at different words to build the children's vocabulary. On some days children are expected to demonstrate independence and either read their stories to a buddy or read silently at their desks, or on the mat.

 During other parts of the rotations children will complete worksheets, do an activity or play a literacy game on the i-Pads, read from a CD-ROM  or do a literacy activity online using the computer.

 Room 6 children seem to enjoy reading to their buddies. In this way we cooperate and help each other with our learning.

 Room 6 also now has two Mac laptop computers to go with our 6 computer workstation.

 There are plenty of areas around the room to work during reading. We make use of all our space.

 Children are sometimes allowed the privilege of completing worksheets on the mat rather than at their desks.

  

 On some days children will read their stories in their heads. As children become more able readers the best and most relaxed way for them to read is silently in their heads, as this allows the children to process information without having to consider pronunciation, or worry about unknown words.

Room 6 also has 45 minutes of library time each week. Our library TIME is Tuesday from 11:45-12:30. Mrs O'Leary has a fantastic library set up for us and is always doing exciting things. Children are encouraged to take a challenging book out each week, to take home, or to read during silent reading time.

Check out Mrs O'Leary's 'cool' promotional idea.

Writing Time in Room 6

Writing Time in Room 6  

Most writing in Room 6 takes place over two days. The children are learning that writing is a process that takes time and careful thought. 

Writing begins on the first day with a whole class lesson on the mat, where the rules and structures of writing and the techniques of various genres (types) of writing are discussed and modelled. On the mat we also talk about vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and the importance of writing in clear sentences so the reader can understand our writing.

Children are taught that the key to learning in writing is self management - children managing their own behaviour during writing time and taking responsibility for their own learning.

After the lesson on the mat children return to their desks to begin planning their writing, and then writing the first sentences of their piece of writing.
Mr Bach and Miss James circulate among the children helping them with their plan and writing clear sentences from their plan. Children may also need reminding of today's particular learning intention.


On the first day children continue writing until the end of the session being constantly encouraged to read back over their work for sense and clear sentences with capital letters and fullstops. Mr Bach and Miss James continue to give assistance throughout. Some children are beginning to type up their writing on the computer and these will be shown in later blog posts.

On the second day the children finish their piece of writing, read over it for sense, capital letters and fullstops and anything else that the writing should have.

The children follow this by self assessing against the solo rubric on the interactive whiteboard, for whichever type of writing they have been doing. This self assessment allows them to see how they could improve their writing this time or next, and it also increases self management.





Children strive to become 'Relational' writers who structure and link their ideas, use punctuation and check their work rather than 'Multistructural' writers who are able to just write several ideas and give their book to the teacher.

 Our children look mighty proud that they are using the writing process of plan - write - check and self assess. They are using the solo rubric to check their own writing and finding what to do next to get better at their writing.

Koby






Angelina







Veronica

Patrick

Ryan

Josh

Naina

Mele

Vincent

Joseph

First Aid Training for children 2013

First Aid Training -

On February 19th twenty two of our year 5 and 6 children took part in first aid training in the hall, in order to become First Aid Monitors for 2013 at St Mary's. The training was run by Red Cross New Zealand with a tutor trained specifically to teach children of senior school age. Our trainer was Mrs Sandra Berry. The children will all receive their certificates at assembly in the coming weeks, but are now already certified at the Child's Basic Training level.

 The children received instruction and guidance from Mrs Berry in the morning and completed some organising and thinking activities, as well as some book work in their training manuals, as they went along. Mr Bach helped and assisted where and when he was able.

In order to receive their certificates the chidren needed to complete their training manuals, participate in the group activities and then perform a role play at the end to demonstrate their learning and understanding of dealing with one type of injury.
The children needed to follow the DRS ABC sequence model. Dangers - Response - Send for Help - Airways - Breathing - Circulation and also understand the specific actions needed for each particular type of injury.
The most important thing for a first aider is to not panic and get adult help as quickly as possible. The children's role is very much a support role to adults, as well as one of providing care and comfort for minor injuries.
I think poor Finn felt a bit lost being the only boy among all the girls, but Mr Bach stepped in to act as his partner for the activities. Luckily we had lots of boys trained up in November last year. We have about 45 First Aid Monitors for 2013, who will be rostered on in 3s. I am sure they will all show self management and turn up for their required duties. Evert monitor will receive a personal copy of the roster to refer to. Please encourage all children to respect and listen to the First Aid Monitors. Until an adult arrives they are in charge.
If you think your year 4 child might be interested in becoming a First Aid Monitor next year, as well as, or instead of, being a school leader, then listen out for the next training intake in Nov/Dec this year or early in 2014.

Swimming 2013 - St Mary's School Pool

Room 6 PE for Term One -  Swimming 

 In Room 6 we have swimming on even numbered weeks. We get instruction on developing the skills necessary to be confident in the water and to perform the freestyle swimming stroke. We have had an excellent turn out of swimmers in the first couple of weeks with swimmer numbers in the 20s every day. Keep it up Room 6 children by remembering to bring your togs again this week as it is week 4 - an even numbered week.

Parents please not only remind your children but encourage them to self manage and remember by themselves to get their own togs ready.It does not matter if children can't swim yet as our school pool is shallow and we would just like to increase children's confidence in water.

After our 20-25 minutes of swimming instruction we get to have free time for 5 minutes before we have to get out. We are allowed to play with balls, flutter boards and flotation tubes, or we just play with each other.

 Tom, Ryan and Josh wrestle over a volleyball in the water.








Charis gives her best Hollywood smile for the camera

 Willem, Patrick and other children play by themselves.







Oh no! The boys have spotted the camera and decide that sharing is caring. Nice smiles boys.

Letter of Introduction from Mr. Bach Classroom Teacher

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

   This letter is to introduce myself as your child’s teacher and to outline the expectations I have about learning and behaviour in room 6 in 2013. 

Learning and Behaviour

   Children should all understand by now that the main reason for them being at school is to Learn and that the best way to become better Learners is for them to become better self managers. I will be continually encouraging children to manage their own behaviour and learning, and to take increasing responsibility for their own lives. Please assist me by encouraging your child to take responsibility for themselves, in every area of their lives, as much as possible. Poor self management will lead to ineffective learning and can disrupt teaching.

Teacher Contact Details

Please note that we have a class blog up and running this year and that I will be using the blog for all communications with parents about news, events, homework and anything else that may be going on around the school. The Blog address is: http://room6stmarysrotorua2013.blogspot.co.nz/

You may contact me by email at any time. I check my mail at least twice daily Sunday to Friday. My address is david@stmarys.rotorua.school.nz

I am also happy for you to contact me by cellphone, or at home, for urgent matters, at any time. Please come and ask if you would like my cellphone number.

If you have any other questions about room 6 in 2013, or if you have any issues or problems you wish to discuss, please contact me sooner rather than later. I have an open door policy, but please be aware that some days can be very busy. The mornings are not a good time, unless it is brief, or in an emergency. After school, later in the week, is the best time for me to meet parents.

Please make sure you sign up for the beginning of year teacher interviews next week. Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz , enter the event code that was in the newletter, and follow the steps to book a 10 minute interview time to discuss your child’s learning for the year.

Homework

  

   Homework is a delicate subject that arouses a variety of opinions among parents and I wish to make my philosophy clear from the beginning. The most important homework for young children is personal reading and this will be my main homework focus for the year and the only absolutely compulsory homework. It is often apparent, at the beginning of the year that some children are not reading anywhere near enough on a day-to-day basis, outside of school. When possible children should be reading for a minimum of 20- 30 minutes a day, outside of school, (usually in the evening) including holidays and attempting to read a range of materials at their level e.g. fiction books, non-fiction (fact) books, children’s magazines, and appropriate online materials aimed at children. Putting in the reading mileage (reading a lot, often) helps learning in all areas.  Many independent learners even at 7-9 years old are reading for several hours a day. Please note it is free for Rotorua residents to join the Rotorua Public Library and children’s books are free to take out. Children may also borrow books from St Mary’s School Library and my own personal class library.

Reluctant readers can be hard to motivate at home. One technique that I found worked well with my own son at 7-12 years old was to model reading behaviour by reading my own book or newspaper on the bed next to him as he read (and ready to answer questions). Of course some of the younger members of the class will need direct assistance in reading their books to you. Some children, who need extra help will go onto the Home Reading Program and will receive books to take home on a Monday, to be returned on Friday. Children under the standard will also receive one-on-one tutoring in reading to try and give them an extra boost to catch up. Books are not systematically sent home with all children at the Middle School Level.

   If possible I would like to see children spend about 5 minutes a night on memorizing their basic facts, including times table facts for the more able mathematicians, for instant recall. This is mainly a memory exercise for gaining factual knowledge, rather than a purely maths one, and will greatly assist classroom teaching of increasingly complex math’s strategies. It is a simple fact that many children need someone to help and motivate them.  Repetition out loud is one way to reinforce the basic fact to memory, especially if it part of a competition or game. Online math’s games such as tut-pup can also be a fun way to learn basic facts and I am encouraging children to sign-up to tut-pup so they can practice basic facts at school and home, by competing against other children online. Please remind your child that they need to choose a level or a times table that is challenging, not one that they can already do. Many children in the class will understand the math’s concept that 3 x 5 is 3 groups of 5 and can work out that the total is 15 (especially if given equipment, or by using skip counting), very few know 3x5=15 as an instantly recalled fact.

   Children will also usually receive a written or research task for homework for the week, or they may be referred to a link on the class blog. The task may be linked to our school term Concept. This term our concept is Communities. I am also encouraging the children to use the class blog and to look at the posts and links at home, as well as at school. Homework can be done in the homework book or on a computer.  In 2013, for spelling, we will be running our Smartwords program again, but essential word lists are available on request for those parents who like using these lists. Some families are very busy and some children are very tired by late afternoon, so it is up to parents to judge how much a child is capable of doing each day and week. Again, please note that the 20-30 minutes reading a day is the only ‘must do’ homework on ‘most’ nights. If a child is too tired or angry forcing them to read is not advised, leave it until tomorrow. If a child persistently refuses to read please come and see me. I will post the homework on the Class blog each week. Please ask for a paper copy to be sent home if you require one.

     

Middle School Teaching Program

The children will be writing about personal experiences this term and learning about explanation writing, which will be linked to our concept of Communities. In RE we will be doing the Jesus Strand as well as looking at Lent. In reading I will be looking at introducing the children to a wide range of comprehension strategies. The children are currently being grouped for maths and will receive teaching, at their stage, on place value and addition and subtraction strategies. We are looking at the Statistics Strand in maths, which is highly relevant with the National Census coming up soon. Here’s hoping for a productive year of learning in room 6 in 2013.

Yours Sincerely

David Bach

Classroom Teacher