March Report Cards

As report cards are sent home again tomorrow, here is a timely post about the use of the March report card. 

Both November and March report cards are interim report cards which describe a student's progress related to year end goals for his/her grade level. Please take a look at the post in November regarding general information about interim report cards. 

The information in the following link clarifies some common misconceptions about report cards:

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/report_cards/docs/opinions_facts.pdf

Additional information about a few specific subject areas is included below:

Math:

Assessment of problem solving in math was addressed in the November post.

In the area of mental math, students are expected to meet specific goals by the end of the school year in the areas of fact fluency and use of mental math strategies including estimation.

For grade specific outcomes please copy and paste the link below into your browser and click on your child's grade for his/her year end goals. Students in both Grade 4 and 5 need to demonstrate fact fluency in addition and subtraction as well as a strong grasp of estimation and the mental math strategies taught in class. As we work on multiplication and division, Grade 4 students will need to be able to recall multiplication and related division facts up to 5 X 5 and demonstrate an understanding of division facts up to 9 X 9 using a variety of mental math strategies. Grade 5 students will be expected to recall multiplication and related division facts up to 9 X 9.

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/math/outcomes/index.html

English Language Arts and Social Studies:

Students are expected to think deeply and critically at higher levels in Grade 4 and 5. This includes deep comprehension strategies when reading, viewing, and listening, such as asking questions about format, purpose, and style when reading texts and responding to reading and research independently both orally, in writing, and by representing understanding through artwork, movement, etc.

Being able to "decode" by reading the words at higher levels does not ensure comprehension, thus students needs to show consistent and independent practice of strategies such as asking questions; making connections between themselves, texts, and the world; making predictions; and noticing and empathizing with characters. Assessment of reading includes evaluation of students' written responses to reading, observations of comprehension and critical thinking strategies, conversations with students about these strategies, and a small amount is based on a students' reading level or benchmark.

Students who actively question information and form arguments to support their opinions and preferences show very strong critical thinking and communication skills. Students in Grade 5 are expected to demonstrate these skills with greater independence and sophistication than in Grade 4 as they set goals for themselves as readers and researchers. 

As always, families are welcome to meet with teachers to discuss questions or concerns about their child's progress.