Gearing Up For Assessments

Every spring brings the heightened sense of discomfort in taking standardized tests.    Thankfully, at MRA we believe that a student's learning can be assessed through a multiple of non-traditional venues, as well as traditional testing.   It has been such a relief to teach in an environment where teachers are encouraged to evaluate students' learning through projects and uses of multiple intelligence.  However, our children are growing up in a world where they will have to learn how to pass standardized tests to obtain licenses for different career paths.  So, with that being said, I believe it's important that our students are exposed to and made aware of what standardized tests look and feel like.  For the next couple of weeks we will be taking practice tests during our computer times.  These will be done in a relaxed environment where they can ask all the questions they have and we will be modeling how to work through problems we get stuck on.  Please take time to walk through a few of these problems with your students and encourage them to ask questions.  Problem solving together can create stronger critical thinking skills.

Here is the website for the practice tests.  http://oaksportal.org/students/

Just select "guest school" and click on the grade level your student is in.  Then continue on to the practice tests.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

6th-8th Oregon Battle Of The Books

For the last six months these ladies have been reading, studying, memorizing titles and authors, logging details into their brains from sixteen different books in order to prepare for the Oregon Battle Of The Books.  

They competed in school battles and then moved on to regionals which were held at Reynold High School this past Saturday.  There were over 60 teams across Clackamas County that came to do battle.  We fought well but were just 15 points shy of making it into the next round.  

I am extremely proud of these young ladies and the dedication they poured into reading and working together as a team.  Way to go Abbey Briley, Chloe Corless,  Jelly Waters,  Lola McIlhenny, and Kayla Appleton.  You make MRA proud!

Read Across America

Here are a few examples from our Alder (5th-6th grade) students learning how to make different tables and organizing information using Google Docs. 

Stay tuned to more details for our celebration of Dr. Seuss Day!  

Google and More...

In our Cedar Media classes we have been learning the ins and outs of Google Sheets.  The students have taken data that they have collected from their classmates and are working on turning it into  eye-catching charts.  They have learned how to use functions, import data, make charts, and use different formatting to enhance the spreadsheet.

Abbey Briley's Google Sheets Project

The Alder classes have been focusing on Google Docs and are learning how to import images, links, use different formatting, use equations, and tables.  They will be creating a project where they will be organizing data into tables in the document.  Stay tuned for examples to be posted up and around the Media Center.

A Legend from the Cherokee Tribe

A Legend from the Inuit Tribe

The Clarkia are continuing to concentrate on proper typing posture and skills.  They are coming along quite nicely on their accuracy and speed.  In their library times we are focusing on Native American legends according to the region they have been studying in class.  We have noticed that legends have some way to explain how something in nature came to be.  

The Huckleberry library classes are concentrating on nonfiction text elements.  What are indexes, glossaries, headings, table of contents, diagrams, captions, and more?  We read a book about groundhogs to find these elements.

In the Trillium library class we are discovering what an author's job is.  We read several Mo Wilems books, one of my favorite authors.  We discovered what an Newbery Award is.  The Trillium loved reading,

Assignment Make-Ups

In the Alder and Cedar computer classes all students are required to pick up a "Make Up Assignment" slip if they have been absent from a class.   About half of our class time is spent on developing correct typing skills and posture.  With more concentrated efforts in developing the proper typing etiquette our students will be more successful as they enter high school.  At this time most 5th-8th grade students are encouraged to be typing between 20-40 WPM with 90% accuracy.  
 
A "Make Up Assignment" slip requires 15-20 minutes of typing done at home on www.typing.com.  This is the site that our students use in class and they are very familiar with it.   Please monitor your child's work and then sign the slip and return to me as soon as possible.  Thank you.  This makes for a successful typist!

2016!

Our Media Center Schedule has changed.  Please check out our schedule to find out your child's library day.  Many students still have library books out from the break.  Please help remind them to bring them back on their library day.  Thank you.

In our Trillium library classes we are discovering the parts of a book are just like us.  We are reconstructing a book to see the different parts.  In Huckleberries, we are discovering nonfiction elements and the purposes of why we read non-fiction.  In Clarkia, we are reviewing fables.  This week we played a matching game to see which group could match all the different fables to their correct elements.  We were a little rusty but I think by next week we will have it down.

Folktale Matching Activity

During our computer times the Clarkia are working on typing posture and choosing a typing skill to improve their accuracy.  The Alders and Cedars worked on finishing up their scratch projects and continue to work on typing accuracy as well.