Ms. Reece

Spellingcity.com is now available for 4th grade spelling words. For each story in readingl, we will post the spelling words on spellingcity.com. You can access the words and your child can online games that will help them learn the words. You can even make printables for extra  practice. I hope you use this great tool as it helps make learning fun!

To see the current words click on the link before:

www.spellingcity.com/ogden4

I will not be at  mid-quarter progress report card meetings on Friday. If you would like to schedule a meeting with me to discuss your student’s progress, e-mail me at ereece@cps.edu

I came across Salaman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education  on Ted Talks. Salaman Khan started creating and posting math videos on YouTube in order to help tutor  his cousins. Now, a few years later, he has quit his cooperate job in order to create a database of over 2,000 online lectures and lessons in all subject areas. He makes some very interesting arguments for this model of learning in the video. He suggests that students can use the videos for supplemental lessons in order to ensure mastery. Parents can also make use of the videos in order to help their children with homework. I found the most interesting argument to be that we should use technology to humanize the classroom. He explains that if students complete online lectures at home, they will be able to control the pace at which they learn and will have the ability to rewind and review. He further explains that if the lecture portion is used as homework, students can actually use the time in the classroom to practice and work with the teacher on mastering the skill. Visit Khan Academy to check it out.

Back to school night is Tuesday 9/13 at 6:00 p.m. I will be walking around from class to class if you would like to meet or see me. Also, check out my classroom (room 215). See you then!

Attention parents: Some of you may notice some of  your children have extra stickers in their planners as well as on the first folder in their binders. The sticker on the bottom of each day in the planner is for your child to use as a reminder tool so they will know which books they need to bring home with them. After writing their homework down, they are to circle which books they need to bring home in order to complete their homework. At the end of the day they can reference their sticker in order to remind them which books they need. The stickers on the front and back of the first folder in the binders will help with organization of papers. The front pocket is for homework. Homework should be returned to this pocket upon completion. The back pocket is for work and papers that are to go home and you may keep. Hopefully these strategies will keep our students nice and organized!

During one of our beginning of the year professional development sessions we talked about the importance of discussing local, national and international current events with our students on a regular basis. Dogonews.com is one website that was introduced during our professional development. I really enjoy this website for a couple of reasons. The website features short news articles based on global current events. The articles are easy to access, full of pictures and present the material in an entertaining and engaging manner. I was able to create a classroom page (http://class.dogonews.com/msreece) where I can pull specific articles for students to read and have them post comments after reading. I can’t wait to explore this website more and use it with my students!

I hope everyone had a great summer. I had a wonderful relaxing time, but I am looking forward to a new school year in the new building. I will be writing and posting information on here throughout the year, so check back regularly!