Saturday, February 8, 2014

A Peek at My Week {2-09-14}

It's Sunday, and that means it is time for another edition of A Peek at my Week!

What have you got going on this week?
This week, we will begin another round of parent-teacher conferences.  However, in our 4th grade, these are student led conferences.  This is a great time for parents, students and me to sit around a table and hear directly from the student how their year is going, what their goals are for the remainder of the year, and what kinds of help they still need.  We also take time to celebrate the student's accomplishments too -- very important!  Have you ever tried student led conferences?  I would highly recommend them.

As a side note, I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was so funny.  Do you have any students like this???
Source:  http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a0/08/6a/a0086afbc57c4f9930d0a388ccaa18d8.jpg

Also this week, my 4th grade writers will be revising one of their drafts from their Writing Circles experience to be published.  This was a great experience for all of us and I can see how some of my more reluctant writers have grown through Writing Circles.  (You can read my original post here.)  They have asked for another round with a different response groups so we will begin those on Wednesday.
One of the things that I like the best about Writing Circles is how many of my students are taking the feedback they receive from a draft and are applying it to their next project.  They are trying new things and growing, growing, growing!

This week we are also going to do a little work with fluency.  I had each student pick out a poem they would like to practice.  On Friday, I hope to have a Poetry Cafe, where everyone reads their poem to the class.  Next week, I'm going to be smarter about this.  Instead of ME copying poems out of a book, I'm going to have my students go on Giggle Poetry and print their own.  Have you seen this site?  It is AMAZING!


Have a great week!

9 comments:

  1. Hi friend! I'm still alive. :) Sorry it's been so long but I am trying to get back in the game. :) Thanks for sharing Writing Circles. It will next on my list of PD reads.
    ~Brandee
    Creating Lifelong Learners
    Follow me on Bloglovin'

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  2. I would love to hear more about your student led conferences! I have always wanted to do them, but wasn't really sure where to start.

    Sara :)
    The Colorful Apple

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  3. I love student-led conferences. They really allow for students to take ownership in their work. I forgot about giggle poetry. Thank you for the reminder!

    Mary
    Fit to be Fourth

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  4. Thank you for introducing me to Giggle Poetry.

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  5. You know I love Student Led! One of my friends does a poetry slam; the kids wear turtlenecks and drink hot chocolate while the listen to each other. It is adorable:).

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  6. I just finished report cards... I'll be right there. :)
    -Lisa
    Grade 4 Buzz

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  7. I had never heard of Giggle Poetry before - it looks great! Thanks!

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  8. :) Looks like you've got a full week ahead (not like you don't every week...) but add conferences in there and boom, week extended! I'm glad you are doing student led conferences! I've done them in the past, however this time I'm not going to. With me being gone for the end of the year, I feel like I have a lot to go over with parents! I'm still trying to get to your room for writing circles..... PROMISE!!! Keep those updates coming! Glad students are enjoying them so much.
    Ana
    Mrs. Bentin's Blackboard

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  9. I love the idea of student led conferences! I need to look into the Writing Circles more. That sounds amazing! Pinned the "Giggle Poetry" for later too. :) Thanks for all the great info!
    ~Holly
    Fourth Grade Flipper

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