Mr. McGill

Words Their Way Spellcheck Sort 10 will be January 23, 2012

Alex McGill — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:23:33 PST

Students in Ms. DeLass's and Mr. McGill's Language Arts classes (groups 1-4) will have a Spellcheck over the Sort 10 words from Words Their Way on Monday, January 23. We have had these words assigned since Friday, January 13.

The sort is related to base words which have the suffix -ation added to them (base words which end both with consonants and silent e). This set of words helps to demonstrate how base words which are verbs can be made into nouns by adding suffixes. We have been working on the spelling and the usage of these words in writing. Homework has been assigned nightly, and all of it is due on Monday once we begin the Spellcheck.

More practice in this area can be found on the Garrison Mill Web Links Notebook.

Alex McGill — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:23:49 PST

Ms. Delass's Assessment over World War I will occur tomorrow, December 21, 2011. Please go to her blog and view the Jeopardy game preparation for the assessment.

The Weekly Reader News, "Cub Cams" issue is due tomorrow to Mr. McGill as well.

We are working up until we leave for the Winter Break, so please be present in mind and body!

A Message from David E. Banks Cobb County School Board Post 5

Alex McGill — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:54:21 PST

School in Session Week Before Christmas

Just a reminder, even though other school systems will out this week, a majority of the Cobb County School Board felt that is was best that Teachers and Students be in session this week. It will be interesting to see the absentee rate for the first semester compared to 2010. Students who are out this week will be tested next year.

End of the Month Due Dates for Mr. McGill's Language Arts Group

Alex McGill — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:09:23 PST

Mr. McGill's Language Arts group will be having the Spellcheck for Sort 9 on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. All homework assigned for this sort will be due on the day of the Spellcheck. Pages 37 and 38 in the Words Their Way book need to be completed and ready for grading by this day as well.

The "Cub Cams" issue of Weekly Reader News will be due Wednesday, December 21, 2011. The back page needs to be completed for this assignment. The issue is to be turned in to Mr. McGill's Reading drawer by the end of this day.

Alex McGill — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:06:10 PST

The area of problem solving is one which teachers recognize as pervasive in all academic pursuits. When meeting as a team, the fifth grade teachers agreed that Math is not the only subject area where consideration of facts, recall of processes, and application of knowledge is important. In all subjects, problem solving is necessary.

One method for improving a child's skill at solving any problem, is to have them practice. The Garrison Mill Web Links Notebook offers countless opportunities to hone one's skills. Ms. Schulman has taken an enormous amount of information and put it at students' fingertips. The material can be searched by subject, grade level, or search engine. In addition to this, links to sites which have been purchased by the PTA and the GM Foundation are located here as well.

This resource is one which can be of great benefit to both the parent and the learner. On the day that your child comes home and says they are struggling with a concept, the Web Links Notebook is a terrific resource to find clarifying activities and reteaching strategies. For the student who wishes to extend what they learned in class or within their peer group, it is a place to explore the safe sites which have been compiled for student use.

Consider adding some time weekly to have your child work from the Web Links Notebook. It is here for our support, and it is excellent!

Alex McGill — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:01:30 PST

Please review Ms. Longyear's blog to learn about the Science Fair and the required date for delivering projects. Ms. Longyear met with homerooms today to share the information relating to the Science Fair and identified what is acceptable. She also reviewed the steps for considering good projects. Please meet with your child and begin to formulate what project they have of interest. Students have ten weeks to complete the project, so it is important to use the time available wisely. This will not be an "Oops, I have a project due tomorrow!" kind of situation. Ms. Longyear is looking for interesting, quality projects. There will be a competition among the entrants to be judged by people outside of Garrison Mill. Good luck!

Alex McGill — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:38:29 PDT

Parents,

There will be club photos taken for the school's yearbook on the morning of Thursday, November 10th for any student who has participated in any after school club.

This may include: Chorus, Art club, Young Rembrandts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Golf Club, Spanish Club, Cheer Dance, Club Scientific, Cub Scouts, Student Council, Wee Deliver, News Crew, Safety Patrol, etc. Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity which is strictly voluntary.

Student Grades in Perspective

Alex McGill — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:00:00 PDT

Grades indicate knowledge demonstrated in relation to an assessment of some sort (or a set of assessments). Just as poor grades are not a prophecy of future life difficulty, high grades do not indicate that a student has mastered a skill or concept for life and is guranteed future success. Actual learning is much deeper than that, and may not show up in a student's grades.

Students who persevere in the face of academic challenges are not always the ones with the highest grade point averages. True understanding and conceptual application may not be immediately measureable. Many times, students who have the greatest range in learning and growth start below expectations and improve their thinking to a large extent without demonstrating grades worthy of honor roll status.

Adults need to have the stamina and belief that students can learn, regardless of the current level of achievement or current grade on the subject. Dialogues between adults and students must be constructive, and must recognize growth in both knowledge retrieval as well as growth in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills. Unlike grades which represent knowledge at a particular moment in time, skills must be refined over the course of many months or even years.

Through these supportive interactions, students can begin to see the benefit of evaluating their own knowledge and skill development. At that point, the responsibility for their own academic results will reside first with the students themselves, and grades will be viewed from the perspective of a public representation of a private victory.

Please excuse the form of the post from today...

Alex McGill — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:09:48 PDT

For some unknown reason, typepad.com's formatting system is not cooperating with my new blog entry. Please do the best you can with it. I'll attempt to get some help with this in the future.

Thought Flexibility Can Be a Pathway to Success

Alex McGill — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:04:52 PDT

Thought Flexibility Can Be a Pathway to Success

Hello Parents,
Some of the most consistently studious school-age students find themselves struggling later in their academic lives. This may be because grades K through 12 often emphasize absorption and application of content rather than what could be called “flexibility of thought”. Once high achievers get to college, they may find that the parameters of their thinking are too narrow, that there is not a “right” answer they can simply locate. They often discover that professors look for evidence of a certain process or synthesis of information rather than a concrete answer that remedies a quandary.
Thought flexibility enables a person to consider beyond their own experience, and incorporate other ideas outside what they personally would advocate. Being flexible doesn’t indicate agreement, but it does enable a person to better understand how ideas coexist. This makes extrapolation and manipulation of ideas easier. It also helps a person solidify his own observations and beliefs.
Elementary school students enjoy being creative, and flexible thinking requires creativity. It is important that creativity be fostered beyond a student’s artistic pursuits and cross over into academics. Practice in critical thinking, logic games, and wordplay through creative writing not only fosters a sense of fun, but also builds students’ thought flexibility. Take the time to share insights, jokes, and favorite activities, (sports, music, cooking, magic tricks, etc.) with your child. This will further their ability to see connections between ideas and concepts; it will help them think with flexibility.
Flexibility in one’s thinking is easier to develop if it comes into play before a person is thrust into the work world as we know it. Those who can consider a variety of possibilities (and manage their thoughts, workload, and investigation of said possibilities) and their potential outcomes will find themselves more sure of their ideas and abilities. This is good because it enables a person to be possibility-minded, empowered, and more able to handle stress. Having confidence in one’s thinking will foster a surer transition into future situations which require collaboration and interdependent problem solving.

Sincerely,
Alex McGill