Hello O. L. Smith Community,

There were two major reflections I had during the Malala unit regarding students abilities thatI would like to share with you.

Many students struggle with answering multi-part questions. On both formative and summative assessments, they frequently answered the first part of the question, but did not address the second part. To combat this, I am going to begin by asking questions using the format 1a., 1b., 1c., so students are more readily able to see each part of the question. As students become more comfortable with answering each part, I will condense the format, slowly, until the multi-part questions are formatted similarly to those seen on standardized tests.

The other struggle I noticed was basic grammar conventions. Students were writing “i” and capitalizing the first letter of a word after a comma and not always capitalizing the word after a period. I will be re-working the conventions part of our 6+1 traits rubric to be more specific to addressing these points.

In order to help at home, please review any activities sent home with your child. Ask them if they answered each part of the question and ask them to point out their written answer for each portion of the question. Also, have them read their answers aloud to you. Then, look at their work and help them find the errors in their writing. These errors aren’t anything advanced, simply look for proper capitalizationand punctuation in each sentence. Any help from home simply reinforces the importance of learning these skills at school!

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact me!

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

The students have been keeping me busy this week with writing their Short Essay Responses (SER) about Malala. A SER is different from a regular essay because it is only a paragraph or so long, however, it is a very lengthy paragraph. I am starting with this to allow students to focus on writing a solid piece with good information, rather than worrying about the length of the paper.

They were given four questions about Malala and had the opportunity to chose which one they would like to write about. Today, we finished our pre-writing and began typing our rough drafts. We will be typing again and editing tomorrow and, if needed, Friday. The essays are due Friday.

Some more exciting news regarding this week, students are accessing Google Classroom for the first time! I have the assignment sheet and rubric posted on Google Classroom and students are typing and sharing their assignments with me on Google Drive. When students are done, they simply hit the “Done” button on the assignment and I received a notification saying I can grade Jane Doe’s assignment. While I am still figuring out the ins and outs of the program, I am very pleased with how the first assignment is working out.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me!

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Today, we reviewed our pre-writing activity and tomorrow we are jumping into the article! The students are eager to begin reading, especially since we spent a week discussing vocabulary, the pictures, and the subheadings. We really want our students to be able to analyze the format of what they are reading before they begin. These skills are especially handy in college so students are able to focus on the important parts of the text and simply skim over the less pertinent sections.

During our department meeting after school, the Language Arts Department discussed ways of using the Promethean board and Google Classroom with our students. I plan on implementing what we learned immediately, starting with the Malala article. When reading, the students will be performing a class talk to the text with the Promethean board. It is a great way to allow students to be hands-on with a text and allow for deeper class discussion.

Google Classroom will be set up shortly and students will log in for the first time during class so we can navigate the app together. I will post when this will be happening along with a bit more about the program next week!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me,

Ms. Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

This week, we are beginning our look at an article, “Malala, The Powerful.” Malala is a young activist fighting for the right to education for girls, particularly those oppressed by the Taliban in the Middle East. Her story sends a message of strength and perseverance while reinforcing the importance of reading and education to our students.

This week, the students will be focused on pre-reading activities such as vocabulary and accessing prior knowledge. Some words students have chosen as their vocabulary words include pseudonym, oppressive, and corruption. Please ask your students about the words they have chosen and talk about how understanding these specific words could benefit them in their future.

Next month, a documentary will be released called, “He Named Me Malala.” I encourage you to take your child to watch the documentary as a way to expose them to the material outside of class.

Finally, I will be sending home ClassDojo invites tomorrow with your student. Please get the access code from them. Each student has a different access code so you must get your child’s access code from them.

Thank you and have an awesome week,

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

I’m very excited about our short week this week and I know many of you are too! Even though it is a short week, we have a lot to accomplish. Our focus for the week is our “Reader’s Identity.”

What is our reader’s identity? The easiest definition is how we see ourselves as readers. Unfortunately, many students do not see themselves as reader’s and lack a recognizable reader’s identity. Through completing and discussing an “Interests and Reading Survey” as well as a “Reader’s Anticipation Guide,” we are starting to reveal ourselves as readers.

In recognizing ourselves as reader’s, we also will begin to realize the power we can gain through reading and education. These ideas will be carried into our unit after break, “Malala, the Powerful.”

You can help build your child’s reader’s identity at home in many ways. First, help them find literature they enjoy, whatever that may be. Some students will only read if it is a very short text. That’s okay! It’s a start. Next, ask your student what they are reading and show interest. Students are more likely to read when family members and friends show interest. Finally, in order to highlight your interest in reading, let your child “catch” you reading. When they see a book in your hands, they are more likely to pick one up for themselves.

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas to add about encouraging reader’s identity, I’d love to be in contact with you!

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community!

My name is Ms. Timpf and I am a new teacher here at O. L. Smith.

Here is a little about me. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University in April 2015 after working very hard for five years. During that time, my parents and brother spent a lot of time supporting me and helping me through school. My parent’s, Don and Mary, and my brother, Ben, may be familiar to some of you! They are frequently seen helping with Edsel Ford’s Performing Arts Department and my Mom is an instructional coach at Geer Park Elementary. While speaking of family, it would be a shame if I didn’t mention my adorable puppies, Cooper and Baxter, or my main man, Orion, who is my lovable cat.

As my students will tell you, my favorite past time is roller derby. I play on the Arbor Bruising Company with the Ann Arbor Derby Dimes. In addition to playing, I also help as an assistant bench coach for the Ann Arbor Brawlstars, who are currently ranked 64th in the world.

If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to e-mail me! I look forward to getting to know all of you and your students as the year goes on.

Go Vikings!

Ms. Timpf