Recently Ethan told me that he could practice his spelling words online. We did it once, but it just seems so much easier and more effective to do it the old fashioned way...look at the word on your paper and practice! On Monday when I had to take him to the ER, he didn't get this weeks spelling list, and for some reason his teacher didn't give it to him the next day. He didn't seem worried about it, but I quickly went to the site and wrote his words down so he could practice. I'm glad I did as the words were really hard! Thursday evening, I had him do a test online and practice a little more before his test Friday.
Finding the right letter.
He does really well with not looking for most letters!
These hands were so much smaller just a few days ago! ;-)
Concentration.
He has done exceptionally well this year with his spelling tests! I don't think he has missed more than two ever. Most weeks he gets 105% as he gets all his spelling words and the five bonus words correct! Yesterday he did miss two, but got all the bonus words right! He also does really well on his weekly multiplication tests! After the first month, he has only missed 0-3 a week out of 90. These are timed tests, and they get "Dolphin Grams" depending on how well they do.
The kids get Dolphin Grams for "good" behavior and other things. If a class walks down the hall quietly, another teacher can give the whole class DG's. If one student does something they should, while others are not, chances are they will get a DG. I'm sure there are many ways to get them...I just am not 100% sure on the inner workings of it all!!! In grades K-3, all the DG's go into big fish tanks. On Friday's names get drawn from each class, and they get prizes. The older grades "save up" for certain prizes. Ethan has traded in some of his for things, but has been saving since before Halloween. I'm not sure what he's saving for, or how many he currently has, but I'm sure its over 100!!! Natalie told me that she got 10 DG's yesterday. I asked her what for and she started talking about something else! I guess its not that big of news for her! :-)
I think its good to give the kids incentives to do well, but I honestly don't think the DG's do much. After the first few weeks of school, they aren't give out regularly for the "good" behavior they are seeking. And drawing names isn't exactly fair. There were a couple kids in Natalie's class last year that "won" at least four times and Natalie only did twice. Believe me, this caused more than one day of tears after school!
The kids get Dolphin Grams for "good" behavior and other things. If a class walks down the hall quietly, another teacher can give the whole class DG's. If one student does something they should, while others are not, chances are they will get a DG. I'm sure there are many ways to get them...I just am not 100% sure on the inner workings of it all!!! In grades K-3, all the DG's go into big fish tanks. On Friday's names get drawn from each class, and they get prizes. The older grades "save up" for certain prizes. Ethan has traded in some of his for things, but has been saving since before Halloween. I'm not sure what he's saving for, or how many he currently has, but I'm sure its over 100!!! Natalie told me that she got 10 DG's yesterday. I asked her what for and she started talking about something else! I guess its not that big of news for her! :-)
I think its good to give the kids incentives to do well, but I honestly don't think the DG's do much. After the first few weeks of school, they aren't give out regularly for the "good" behavior they are seeking. And drawing names isn't exactly fair. There were a couple kids in Natalie's class last year that "won" at least four times and Natalie only did twice. Believe me, this caused more than one day of tears after school!
1 comment:
DG's are an interesting program but Im not sure I trust the name drawing thing. That sounds rubbish.
Glad to hear Ethan is doing so well in school, that is awesome! He must take after his momma.
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