Often your child's teacher will provide a rubric to accompany an
assignment, be it a written piece for one night's homework, or a long-term
project or paper. The use of
rubrics has become very common; most teachers use them at some time during the
year. A well-written rubric assists teachers, making the assessment
of a student's work more precise and efficient.
However, rubrics also are teaching tools, used not only to help children
assess their own work, but also to internalize the criteria of quality work.
A one-page document that describes varying levels of performance, a rubric is usually written for a specific assignment. It outlines the list of qualifications, or "what counts" in the assignment, providing descriptions of excellent, satisfactory, and poor student responses. Students (and parents) can tell at a glance exactly what the teacher is expecting and exactly what standards are being used to assess the performance.
It is no longer just assumed that students will know what makes a good
project, essay, or illustration. Rubrics
are a way to articulate those standards to the students, to write them out
clearly, with the intent to teach children what quality work looks like.
Students become familiar with the language of a rubric, and begin to use
these criteria when speaking about their own work. Consistent practice with this
self-assessment process leads to students taking a critical and an honest look
at their own performance. The levels of quality allow students to see areas in
their assignment that do not measure up, and provide them with concrete ways to
improve their work.
Heidi Goodrich Andrade, professor at Ohio University, cites reasons why
rubrics should be used with students. Rubrics
are easy to use and to explain. They
provide the students with more informative feedback about strengths and
weaknesses than traditional assessments do.
Rubrics support learning, the development of skills, understanding, and
deeper thinking.
The events of September 11, 2001 had an effect on everyone.
Duffy students have had an opportunity to express their thoughts about
America. Their words are an
inspiration to those of us who sometimes forget that the world is a wonderful
place.
"United States
of America has the flag flying in
the air right now. My mom put a
little red, white and blue flag on her car that she taped.
You will see other cars on the road with little American flags.
The people put the little flags to represent
the people who died and the people who got injured." - Amanda R. (Grade 2)
"Yesterday
could have been the biggest thing since 1993.
Yesterday they completed their mission to kill thousands of people.
They took the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and they even took
the Pentagon. This day will be
remembered and people will frown at the people who did this.
There will be children finding out that they will never see their mom or
dad again. Just sit down and think about how these children felt, and
the people who died knowing they would never see their children again."
- Tully H. (Grade 5)
"The flag of
the America is red, white and blue. Some people fly the flag of our nation.
United States of America is important for the people that live here.
The Statue of Liberty stands for United States of America.
This land is very important to us. We
have to care for our people and our flag of America."
- Jehwoo A.(Grade 2)
"Today is
September 12th, 2001. I am 10 years
old. It is a day of a terrible
catastrophe, one that could change America forever. Four different planes were hijacked by at least ten people
who were willing to kill themselves to make their point to the United States.
This situation is terrible. I
hope in my life never to see something like this again."
- Natalie R. (Grade 5)
"Lots of
people are flying their flags proudly. I
hope the families of the people who went on the planes are okay, they may not be
okay. Here are some of our symbols:
Statue of Liberty, the bald eagle, Uncle Sam, the American flag, and Washington,
D.C." - Ellen B. (Grade 2)
"When I saw the news yesterday, my blood ran cold, all those people dead! I felt that my uncle who was just outside the twin towers when it blew up was lucky that he was fast enough to escape death. My heart filled with sorrow for the dead people's loved ones and families they had left behind. I said, "What can I do to help?" - Tara S. (grade 5)
"I am glad that people that are in the United States of America are alive. We pray for the people that are in New York City. I hope that we can fight for our culture to have peace. We all love our flag, and we all care about our city." - Ana D. (grade 2)
Parents have asked how they can support their children's teachers in doing the best job they can for their students. Here are ten ways that can show your support as recommended by the Regents of the University of California:
Talk positively about the school experience. Emphasize the positive opportunity that school affords your child. Rather than, "You have to go to school today." you might try, "You get to go to school today!"
Talk positively about teachers, education and homework. Our children are truly fortunate that in our country, school is available to everyone to learn and grow and advance. Your positive attitude models for your child his own enthusiasm for learning.
Show interest in what your child is learning. By asking questions and letting your child share, you communicate that learning is important and stimulating. Try asking, "What was the best thing you learned today?" , "What did you do today that you really enjoyed?" , "What good book are your reading?" , or "What good question did you ask today?"
Let your child teach you. As someone once said, "To teach is to learn something twice." You can strengthen your child's learning by letting her explain new concepts to you.
Help your child find ways to apply his learning to everyday life. The more connections to his day to day world his learning is, the more motivated he will be to tackle new material.
Develop realistic expectations for your child. Encourage your child to do the best she can in school. Children are special for who they are, not how well they perform.
Provide a quiet place and time for homework. Most students do best with regular study time and a special place to work. This expectation builds a routine and an atmosphere conducive to learning.
Encourage your child to read at home. Since reading is the cornerstone of much learning, the more your child practices this essential skill, the better he will do in all his subjects. Model for your child by reading to or with him as often as you can.
Come to school meetings when you are invited. These meetings not only provide you with important information, but your attendance also communicates to your child that she and her school are important to you.
Let the school know what is going on at home. When families go through extra stress such as an illness, death, or divorce, it can affect the children the most. Informing the teacher will alert him or her to possible changes in your child's behavior and/or offer support when needed.
Making mental images is an important part of the learning process. Being able to create a visual image, by sorting information, and organizing it in some way, helps us remember what it is we are trying to learn. One way to remember is to look for patterns in ideas, connect to personal experiences, and relate new ideas to knowledge you already have. Graphic organizers are useful tools for students in creating these visual images, and they are useful for teachers for assessment.
One way for teachers to get an insight into the understanding of their students is to ask them to create a graphic pattern of the subject matter. Concept maps or word webs demonstrate how a child is connecting ideas learned within the unit of study. A child might begin with one circle in the center, in which he or she writes the main topic of study. From there, ideas are added in circles of their own, these ideas may be in the form of single words or phrases. Relationships between these ideas are depicted by lines the student draws to connect them. The resulting network of lines and circles gives both student and teacher a visual picture of the student's patterns of thinking.
Venn diagrams are another way of sorting information and revealing understanding. This Compare/Contrast organizer takes the form of two overlapping large circles. Each circle is labeled with subjects related to the study. Students then list attributes of each subject in the large circles. Characteristics that are shared by both topics are written in the area where the circles overlap. Since the students are generating the ideas that are listed in the organizer's two circle areas, the teacher is able to see the depth of the student understanding.
Graphic organizers can also assist a student in pre-learning as well. Overviews of a chapter of study, vocabulary connectors, story maps, and herringbone diagrams can provide learners with an efficient way to create visual images as they study. These techniques serve to anchor student's understanding and lock these ideas into memory. Mental images and understanding are closely linked, and an integral part of the building knowledge process.
It is almost that time, when the long lazy days of summer stretch out ahead of us. Parents begin to wonder how those fill those hours with meaningful activities that support school success. Rather than worksheets or workbooks, real world activities are filled with learning. Here are some natural learning opportunity suggestions from the Regents of the University of California to build numerical and scientific concepts:
Cooking offers a wealth of possibilities for understanding the ideas of quality, measuring, sequencing, following directions, and fractions, not to mention the delicious reward of enjoyable eating!
Family games involving cards, numbers, or money promote organization and strategies as well as ideas of quantity and computation, and they are fun.
Shopping offers chances to talk about money, learning about decimals, making change, different ways to combine coins to get the same total, and computation. Catalogs can be just as rewarding as the real thing, and give us something to do with all that junk mail.
Travel games such as license plate bingo, computing mileage, or working with maps, build graphing and directional skills, and include the child in making important travel plans.
Collecting inspires many budding scientists, especially when the activities involve nature exploration. Future biologists are made by comparing and contrasting found natural objects.
Measuring and weighing is fun for everyone, look at the Guinness Book of World Records to verify the significance of tracking the longest, the biggest, and the best. Even non-conventional measurements can be fun, eg. How many of your shoe lengths does it take to measure from the kitchen to the bathroom?
Using time is the best way to learn about it. Time words reflect concepts of now, then and soon, before and after, as well as building the understanding of hours, days, and next week.
Following directions involves taking steps in order, planning ahead, and building sequencing skills. Cooking, model building, treasure hunts with map and compass skills, are all important direction following activities with the family working together.
Calculators allow us to solve problems without the worry of correct computation. They also teach us the importance of careful input of data and recognizing a reasonable answer.
Have fun this summer, and incorporate some real-world learning activities in your plans.
One of our goals for our students in reading is to be aware of what is going on in the story. Yet, it is equally important that our children are aware of what is going on in their minds and hearts as they read. We call this mindful reading, and it is a way for all readers, young or old, to monitor their own understanding as they construct the meaning from the written page.
In our classrooms, we encourage our students to be intrigued by what they see on a page, by what they author says and does. A strategy we might use is marking a place in a book using a sticky note. Students might mark parts they want to discuss with their classmates, parts they found puzzling or intriguing, or places in the story that were confusing. They also might mark places where the author used particularly wondrous words or phrases that jump off the page with significance.
The students then might share what it is that about the text they found enjoyable or interesting. They are allowed to share their personal responses and interpretations. Here the students get in between the lines, and find out how the author manages to create the meaning without fully revealing all the details. They are encouraged to make connections to experiences they have had that are similar to the story. These memories and attitudes help us construct meaning from what we encounter. Discussions might follow on how the author used particular words and phrases to convey mood or feeling, or why the author would include such ideas, what was his purpose?
In conversations such as these, students begin to recognize the thinking that goes on in developing an understanding of the text or story. Through discussions, the readers are listening to each other's strategies and thinking patterns, and recognizing similarities or differences in their own approach to making meaning. By talking to others, children identify the evidence they pulled from the story, and are able to connect their responses to more specific references in the text.
Our mindful reading times allow all of us, teachers and students, to share in making meaning, to share in a heart to heart conversation about what the words on a page are saying to each one of us. These conversations can be had between parent and child as well. Take some time to not only enjoy reading a good book with your child, but engage him or her in some meaningful dialogue. You'll be surprised by the depth of understanding that can occur.
Since 1970, America has been celebrating Earth Day every April 22nd. This day is was originated by Senator Gaylord Nelson. He was concerned that our country's air, water and soil were getting polluted. He knew the American people wanted to change things, but there were no laws being passed to help the situation. He had an idea to create a nationwide demonstration of concern, where lawmakers could see for themselves how many citizens wanted action to save the earth. The first Earth Day was this chance. People around the country pitched in to clean up their neighborhoods and take classes where they learned ways to care for the earth. Since then Americans have asked their congressmen to pass legislation to clean the environment, and have been more willing to reuse and recycle materials that were once thrown away.
Our fifth grade students learn about the effects our lifestyles have on the planet. They begin to see that new scientific discoveries and advancements can lead to new benefits for humankind, but also may create unexpected problems or harmful side effects. Along with environmental studies with Westmoor Park, these students also learn the social responsibility of ecology. They learn about saving energy, buying things that will last or biodegrade, and to save trees. Duffy has its own recycling team made up of concerned students. The students work with Mrs. Gray to collect paper from the classrooms, modeling for us the need to be mindful of what we throw away.
We will not be in school on Earth Day to celebrate, but would like to encourage you to take this time to recognize the significance of this day with your children. It is a chance for all of us to help our next generation recognize the importance of a healthy planet, of caring for their environment, and to learn about nature and respect it.
Our Duffy first graders went on a simulated voyage to the continent of Africa in March. With a packed suitcase and a passport in hand, the students paid for their tickets by check, and off they went for a day of activities designed to introduce them to the culture of the African people. That day they donned a kanga (a wrap made of kente cloth), learned words of greeting in the Swahili language, heard stories told by storytellers, and tasted some foods of the land.
Each classroom is continuing this unit of international study both in the classroom and out. The first graders are learning about the tribes in Kenya, contrasting the lives of the Masai to their own. Through a study of culture, children will notice the different styles of homes, of clothing, of farming methods and products grown, and of transportation. They will learn that the climate of east Africa influences the way the people live and the games they play. The students are compiling books to display the research they have done. A trip to Action Wild Life in Goshen will introduce them to many of the large mammals they learned about in class through fiction and non-fiction books gathered from the library. The children will learn African songs and play the drums, and make a warrior mask to appreciate the art and music of the people.
On Children's Night, parents will be able to visit the classrooms and see the objects and crafts made by the children, and view their amazing books. We invite you to stop by, be ready to be transported to the vast and beautiful continent of Africa.
As part of an ongoing effort to connect with the public, the West Hartford Police Department has a Community Relations Division. This support services division provides educational programs in personal and public safety issues to our school children. Two times per year every student in the 15 district schools is visited by officers who come to their classrooms for instruction. Our Community Service Officer is Dave Cavedon.
Officer Dave's job is to develop a familiarity and a trusting relationship with the students that will last throughout their school career. In addition to Duffy, Officer Dave visits children at Smith Elementary, Sedgwick Middle School, and Hall High. He promotes awareness of local issues and ordinances that affect our young people, reinforcing, through classroom interactions, issues that you have previously discussed with your own children at home.
In these classroom visits, Officer Dave acquaints students with the operation of the police department, and with its personal responsibilities in the maintenance of safety, law and order. The focus of each grade level visit builds upon their previous understanding and experiences. Children in Kindergarten learn Officer Recognition and Familiarization in the fall, and Stranger Danger in the spring. First Graders learn Pedestrian Safety and Stranger Danger (part 2). In Second Grade our students learn about Character Building and Bicycle Safety. In Third Grade they address Substance Abuse and Child Abuse topics, with an introduction to what we call refusal skills, or ways to say no. Fourth Graders talk about how to act responsibly when they are Home Alone, along with more Bicycle Safety issues and ordinances. Finally, in Fifth Grade, Officer Dave revisits Substance Abuse with deeper understanding and practice in refusal skills, as well as discussing expectations for Public Behavior, acting responsibly when away from adults when out in the community.
Having Officer Dave in our building portrays law enforcement as an integral part of our community. Our children see in his friendly face a sense of caring, trust and support. We all benefit from Officer Dave's interaction with our children and their talking together of these important issues. Feel free to contact him if you have any questions or concerns. You may reach him by email at dcavedon@westhartford.org , or by phone at 523-2053.
This information is reprinted from the Bits and Bytes publication of the West Hartford Schools Department of Information Technology:
As more children connect to the Internet at home, they must learn to be street smart - even on electronic highways. One of the biggest challenges to online safety for children is the "cybergap" that often exists between children and adults. Even technologically saavy parents are facing the challenges of dealing with children whose computer skills have surpassed their own.
Here is a listing of websites families might find helpful:
http://www.safekids.com/index.html
A comprehensive package of information and resources on safe internet use.
Information for parents and teachers, plus lists of safe sites for kids.
Excellent explanation of technologies that help parents, teachers, and others choose appropriate content for children.
Guidelines for parents who want to set standards for their kids' Internet use.
A pledge for children to take with their parents on safe Internet use.
Our students begin school with considerable experience with language. Since birth they have been surrounded by the sounds and symbols we use to communicate with each other. They have heard and been part of conversations with family members and friends, they have tried new words, and been praised for stringing them together into sentences. Our students have also been surrounded by print in street signs, labels on packaging, computers and books. Many have had stories read to them, and many have had experiences with writing. Their crosses, circles, and scribbles were attempts to use symbols to communicate with loved ones.
It is upon these early experiences with language that we build our program of literacy. This literacy learning is viewed as a developmental process that is supported and promoted in an environment that immerses students in oral and written language, that supports and promotes experimentation with language, that views reading and writing as critical tools for life-long learning. Our goal in West Hartford is to help each student become a self-directed, strategic reader and writer who can determine a purpose for reading or writing, can decide how to approach a text or task, can monitor their understanding of oral and printed language, and ultimately view reading and writing as sources of enjoyment and relaxation.
During the month of January our Duffy students will have a first-hand opportunity to learn about the night sky. The StarLab program provides each class with a chance to visit a portable planetarium for an interactive age-appropriate look at the stars. Each grade level will experience their curriculum integrated with exciting night sky observations. We will all focus on the stars and constellations that can be seen over our neighborhood this month. While all grades will outline the familiar Big Dipper, some will identify it as The Big Bear or Canis Major, or First Man, or even an elephant! Orion will be observed in all his spangled glory, for he is so bright in our sky just before the children's bed time. Some grades will identify him as Orion, while others see him as The Slender One or Osiris. Some will see that the night sky is an accessible clock and a calendar we can depend upon.
The StarLab is a room sized dome that inflates to accommodate about twenty-five observers. It brings the stars to close at hand, and allows the children to recognize the random patterns that make up our familiar constellations. It is a cozy environment when the lights go down, and the children see the stars glistening over their heads. It's easy to forget we are still in school! Star-gazing becomes a personal connection to cultures and events of the past, and a gateway to the future.
I want to thank the Enrichment Committee for supporting this adventure in science for our students. Members of this committee have arranged for storytelling in each classroom, or volunteered their time to assist in setting up and taking down the equipment. A hearty thanks goes to the Music Department who are so graciously sharing their space for this. It has been a community effort to be certain that each and every student has the benefit of this experience. Plan to spend an evening this month with your children to look to the heavens in wonder. They will amaze you with what they learned in this intimate setting.