Steve Said:

Cheapest place to buy Comprehension Cliffhanger Stories (Grades 4-8)?

We Answered:

Comprehension Cliffhanger Stories (Grades 4-8)
Author: Tom Conklin
Brand: Scholastic
Category: Book

List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $7.62
as of 11/1/2009 17:51 PST details
You Save: $5.33 (41%)

Qty: 1 13 In Stock

Marie Said:

am i a mean 4th grade teacher?

We Answered:

You are not a mean teacher: you are a good one, because you make your students do the exercises they're supposed to, in order to ensure that they are learning what they need to. Keep up the good work!

Sara Said:

What can I do to help improve my childs writing and spelling?

We Answered:

Spelling and penmanship are matters of practice. Just like improving a jump shot or correcting a bad slice in one's drive, practicing the skill is key, and practicing with guidance toward improvement is even better.

Spelling - Make a list of words he has trouble with. Help him look up the rules that seem to govern those words, and practice applying the rules to different words. Commonly misspelled word lists could be practiced the same way he practiced his math computation - flash cards, worksheets, drills.
Let him use a word-processor to type letters or notes, and then rather than just clicking the options for the underlined words, ask him to look up the word and find it, and keep those words for his personal spelling list.

Penmanship - buy elementary school penmanship tablets and have him practice with a model of correctly formed letters and words in front of him. Give him time on task and positive reinforcement. Let him write something important to him, (copy lyrics to a song, write an original poem, a letter to Santa, sports statistics - anything that has his attention) and display the nicely penned work somewhere prominent. Workbooks for penmanship are available all over the place.

Writing - Composing is also a skill, and the best way to learn it is to start small and grow, just as you do with any other skill. By 4th grade, he should be able to do multiple paragraph compositions, but if he can not, then start with paragraphs. Having him write if the physical act of writing is difficult for him is a dilemma. You want his penmanship to improve, but the ideas he is presenting need to be developed, and the two problems complicate one another. Let him use a keyboard and word processor for at least some of his writing, so that he can learn to edit and revise without the drudgery of rewriting everything over and over.

Get him to learn to ask himself questions as he writes: "What makes you say that?" "How do you know?" "What is important about this?" for each statement he makes. This will get him in the habit of explaining his ideas more completely. Without knowing his specific difficulties, I'm having trouble being more specific.

If I honestly had to make a choice between penmanship and composition, I'd go for composition, because writing technologies change, but the ability to capture our ideas and put them down for others is a skill that is always going to be invaluable.

Brandy Said:

where can i get help for my 4th grade son with ready comprehension?

We Answered:

I presume you mean "reading" comprehension? This question really can't be answered here because you need to speak with an education specialist. Many more questions need to be asked before an answer can be given and every child is different.

Please start with your child's teacher for his/her assessment. Your pediatrician should rule out any physical disorders. Your child should also have an eye exam.

If you are very concerned about your son's reading ability and suspect a learning difference, please have him tested for dyslexia and ADD. If he's dyslexic, Lindamood Bell is an excellent program.

Above all, try to be patient and encouraging.

Brent Said:

From 4th Grade to Kindergarten - Please Help!?

We Answered:

I made this same move, so I might be able to give you some ideas.

First, you must internalize that you will be working with infants. They are like little sponges covered with antennae and will read your every mood. Some of these children may come reading ready, but many will barely be toilet trained and able to recite the alphabet. The kids will need the full hour rest time as they will actually sleep and be refreshed afterwards. If you do not give them adequate rest, they will be restless and irritable. For those who are outgrowing napping, have a "stay quietly on the mat and 'read' your book" rule. Don't skip recesses either..they will need the fresh air and physical stress release. If the weather is bad, take some physical activity breaks in the classroom.

Three huge differences between 4th and K are 1. You will be teaching the children how to be in school as much as you will be teaching content. 2. They will need much more positive reinforcement, token rewards, pats and hugs, and individual attention than your older students. Be ready with stickers and prizes. The "I like the way Tasha is sitting in her place on the reading rug..." type statements. NEVER use sarcasm (goes over their heads), yelling (scares them, so they can't learn the rest of the day), harsh statements or anger (makes them defiant and make parents mad). Positive works better with this age group in all respects. Praise, praise, praise. 3. Children this age learn better through play than through structure, so your language arts will focus much more on sound-symbol acquisition, basic letter/number printing, word recognition (at least until Christmas), left-to-right progression, parts of a story, etc..... but in fun, playful ways - puppets, music, coloring, word games, storytime, etc. Everything needs to be presented to multiple learning styles and in multiple repetitions. Use constructive play as a reward system, too: puppet time, puzzle time, floor time in the development areas, sand table, computer center, etc.

Keep your lessons brief. Don't count on 15 min centers being adequate for all the learners. Be be flexible in your pacing, but strict in your routine. Penmanship practice is a good sponge activity for early in the day to get them focused. Reading and math are always good mid-morning before they are too hungry and tired. Story time is good right before naptime--settles them. Art or seatwork is good after nap so they can begin as they awaken. Go to one of the experienced and supportive K teachers (or lower level 1st grade teacher, if everyone K is new) and see how she organizes and paces everything. See how she preps the parents for involvement and how she deals with first-child-at-school parents. Focus on communicating with parents and providing lots of feedback on each child's progress.

Verbalize everything and teach explicitly. Teach them all your expectations and establish firm routines, so they know what to do next. Have a schedule of the day so the kids know "When the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 10, it is 10:00. What do we do at 10:00? Circle time on the story rug!" Speak slowly, softly, kindly, and say everything at least 3 times at 3 different times. (If you have little catch phrases, you will find the kids begin to say them to each other in positive peer pressure to behave and attend.I tried many, but two of mine that every class liked were: "I love busy bees buzzing." and "Are your listening ears and thinking caps on?") Children this age love to help, so have lots of helpers and rotate everyone--fairness is huge with the K-1 set. You will not have a lot of grading, but you will have more prep. You won't have the pressure of standardized test prep, but you will have more individualization of instruction to focus on.

Much of your time will be diagnostic..watch for vision, hearing, and developmental delays that are interfering with learning. Above all, find out if you can love this age group. Not everyone can be a good K teacher, but those that love the kids find it is a heavenly placement. You will know it is all working when they forget and call you "Mommy" instead of your name and when they cry to stay at school with you instead of going home for the weekend!! Kids never forget their K teacher--for good or for bad!!

Whew, probably more than you wanted or needed, but good luck!!