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I an linking up again at Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Here is a glimpse at my week.
The snow finally caught up to us on the west coast of Canada. This is a picture from our kitchen window on Sunday afternoon. The snow continued to fall through the night and we had a snow day on Monday.
My class had a great time following the Olympics. They were so excited every time Canada won a medal. We began writing stories last week from my writing activities package. They are finally done and on the bulletin board. I am so proud of the stories they created. Even my weakest students wrote incredible stories. They also created fabulous illustrations to go along with them. I can hardly wait for the parents to see them next week at our student-led conferences.
My students have been having a blast doing idioms. When I found this blog post by Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, I had to show it to my class. Now they have homework for the weekend. I can hardly wait to see the idioms they bring to school.
I also created a set of task cards which we played with today. I am amazed at how much they have learned about idioms.
February is such a jam packed month, it is hard to find time to do teaching of core material. I find that I need to squeeze it in between all the events going on. We have just started working with measurement in math and with the scientific process in science. I was able to get a set of measurement tools cards from Camping Teacher and I also created a set of anchor charts and conversions that we will be using.
The kids had fun going around and measuring things in the classroom using measuring tapes, rulers, links, cubes, pencils, erasers, and hands. We also did a math lesson as an experiment. We wrote it up using the scientific method and then we proceeded to test it out. I will share what we did next week after we try it out again with the parents at the conferences.
Finally, I just wanted to comment on how effective I am finding the rules for WBT.
I have modified them a bit for my class, but they work like a charm. I have not needed to use a treasure box, behavior charts, or any other types of motivators this year. It is exciting to see the children buying into following the rules and taking it so seriously. It is time to say goodbye to the winter theme and create a new and brighter set for the spring. This set will be available for free for the weekend if you would like to grab a set for next winter.
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We have now completed 6 months of the school year. It is hard to believe that over half of the year is already over. Communicating student learning continues to be a focus in our district. Here is my post from the beginning of the year.
Soon we will be holding our second set of interviews. This is the first time that we have had a second scheduled interview with parents in a school year. For some of my colleagues, student led- conferences are a new way of meeting as well. They are used to doing parent interviews. We have this year to make the shift, and some teachers have yet to try the student led conferences. It is also a big shift to be sending home assessment material throughout the year instead of the standard formal report cards we were doing each term. It is supposed to be easier and more authentic, but it is becoming overwhelming and people are getting stressed out. Change is not easy and this is a big shift for many people. Hopefully as time passes, the stress will lessen and the process will be more streamlined. 
We are also moving towards using more technology and less paper. Some people are testing out using e-portfolios and class websites to communicate with parents. Others are uploading and scanning assessment papers, rubrics, newsletters, and work samples into group folders.
I have been doing student-led conferences for almost twenty years now, and I love them. Student-led conferences or three way conferences can be very powerful for both the students and the families. It allows for sharing of successes and focuses on what is going well. It is a great way to share learning. The time spent with the teacher is only a small part of the conference and it is usually after the child has done some sharing first. It is a time to discuss what is going well, areas needing improvement, and concerns. The atmosphere is inviting and empowering for the child.
Here are two activities from my student-led conference package. I find them very helpful in the process. The first one is great for getting conversations started, and the letter is a wonderful reflection for the child later on.
What are some of the ways you report back to parents and communicate student learning? I would love to hear about them.
February continues to be very busy and full of many different special times and events. I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share some of them with you.
Wow! What a busy February. We just completed Chinese New Year, Groundhog Day, and the opening events of the Olympics last week, and now we are into Hundred Day Week, Valentines Day, and more Olympics. Time is moving so quickly.
February is always a very busy, but exciting month at school. We started the month out with Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, and the beginning of the Olympics. We also worked on a couple of writing projects. Next week will be Hundreds Day, Valentines Day, and more Olympics. Here are some of the highlights from the week.
I'm linking up for Five for Friday. Hop on over and check out some of the other posts. Have a great weekend and enjoy the Olympics.
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About Me Charlene Sequeira
I am a wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 9, and a retired primary and music teacher. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer at school and teach ukulele. 
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