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Grade 4 Standards pdf Write Traits Domain: IDEAS | |
Grammar/Spelling We're reviewing the basic patterns responsible for long and short vowel sounds. Many of the words can be reviewed at Spelling City using a variety of learning activities and games. Just search down the list for our school and click the list in which you're interested. We're also spending a lot of time on the topic of homophones. Not sure what they are? Check out this movie and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Match some homophones up in this interactive game: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/recognising/homophones/game.shtml For better clarity when writing, we've been working on combining sentences and fixing run on sentences.
| Memoirs: The memoir is a piece of writing that represents a snapshot of personal history, conveyed with great detail and attention to the emotions that the writer attaches to that memory. For an overview of the process commonly used as a strategic roadmap for creating a memoir, check out: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/memoir/index.htm Students will also benefit from looking at other students' memoirs. Scholastic has a large selection of student examples, varying in style and quality. Timelines can be a useful tool in thinking about one's life and the memorable moments in it. Additionally, a timeline can be used on a more focused scale to map out the events that take place within a distinct memory. A useful program for creating timelines online can be found at: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/readwork.asp?Genre=Memoir Additionally, students will benefit from numerous other pre-writing activities that force them to focus on different aspects of their memory such as setting, characters, and conflict. Such activities can be found at: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/storymap/ Great descriptions are key to keeping your reader's interest. We've been learning how to add more vivid descriptions using adjectives and adverbs. For some more advanced activities with adverbs and adjectives check out: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/adjectives-adverbs For more practice writing with good description, try some of the writing activities found here: http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?ID=1309 |
Parental Involvement:
Writing and speaking are areas that can be supported by parents in many ways. One of the most convenient practices is to use questioning strategies when your son or daughter is telling you a story or explaining a concept. Often, children explain and describe concepts and events in a very illogical manner. Help get them in the habit of structuring their ideas logically by having them stop, back up, and explain in a logical manner. This can mean approaching the story in a more time-ordered manner, or starting from the big idea and working into details later. It can also mean backing up their opinions with reasons. All of these questioning strategies help build logical thinking which is the basis of any expression. As a bonus, your child will get the distinct impression that you are valuing what he/she has to say by listening intently and asking for clarification.
Another practice that is helpful is having your child keep a journal. A nightly journal entry helps build self awareness of how thoughts can be structured with text. It also provides a no-risk writing zone where they can practice expression without worrying about revising, editing, or penmanship.
Have your son/daughter write down stuff for you. Make them your personal secretary. This is especially useful in the car. Keep a legal pad handy for it. Tell them to help you make a grocery list while you're driving the car. This not only enforces concepts of how writing is used in daily practice, but you can enforce penmanship and spelling later on when you're pushing the cart through the store. "What is this word here?" you might ask.
Writing is a life skill that is hugely important. There is no silver bullet for teaching it. The most important things are modeling, practicing, and providing feedback. In a classroom of over 30 students, it is difficult to pick apart every piece of writing critically to provide feedback. If you have the time to take on a more active role in the editing process, don't be afraid to take your child's work and edit it. Even if they don't have time to rewrite the piece, when they come in with those edits, it is just one more piece of information that I have to help identify and resolve problems as they crop up.
Push your child to learn new words by using them yourself. Try holding conversations that use vocabulary that you think your son or daughter might not understand. The goal isn't to talk above their heads, but rather it is to specifically not lower your vocabulary to their level. As long as they understand 90-95% of what you're saying, they'll pick up on those new words.
Play games! That's right, play games like Scrabble, Pictionary, and Tribond. There are others, but those are what I remember playing growing up. These are fun ways to increase your child's vocabulary and bring the family together.
dlindsay, 09/30/09 04:06 (GMT)
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