Artic. Groups: This week students who are focusing on speech carryover skills handed in their January calendars in which they rated their speech last month. They have received new calendars and are setting speech goals for February. Some of the students have found it challenging to evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses. They are thinking of specific ways they can improve their communication at home or at school.
Other artic. groups continue to practice self-monitoring. They are making progress listening to themselves and identifying their own errors. Many of these children are beginning to need fewer reminders during small group discussions as well as when they practice word and sentence lists. At this point, students often speak at a slower rate in order to enunciate. Mrs. DeYoung is encouraging some children who are doing well with self-monitoring to increase their rate of speech and speak clearly so that they sound more natural when they talk.
Language Groups: Third graders have enjoyed playing "The Guessing Game" (similar to playing 20 Quesitons) to practice describing critical attributes and forming questions. This activity helps to develop analytical thinking skills as well as improve grammar.
The fourth grade language group reviewed science vocabulary about the animal kingdom. They are comparing and contrasing different types of animals and learning the terminology of classification. Next week students will complete a worksheet using the new vocabulary.
Older students have read a sample extended response and identified the necessary parts of the essay (main idea, text proof, interpretation, and extension). Mrs. DeYoung is showing them actual examples of student writing to demonstrate how they can apply target skills in their own work.
