Bolton Public Schools

Curriculum and Instruction

Congratulations to all the 2013

Patricia Lewis Writing Award Winners!

Kindergarten Spring Is Here Olivia Bokshan

Grade 1 Snowman Daniel Coman

Grade 2 April Vacation Molly Martin

Grade 3 Essex Steamboat Ride Samantha Sondik

Grade 4 Day At the Zoo Katrina Erwin

Grade 6 Before and After Erica Dean

Grade 7 The Principal’s Office Eric Bycholski

Grade 8 White Hanah Scala

Grade 11 Path of a Soldier Adrian Caraballo

Study Tips for Connecticut Mastery Test

By Samantha Volz, eHow Contributor

As educational legislation and requirements have evolved, states have become more and more responsible for the performance of their students. To measure performance, many states have adapted standardized tests that are administered to students throughout their educational careers. In Connecticut, public school students take the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) in the fourth, sixth and eighth grades to test their skills in mathematics, reading and writing. Students can earn five scores on the test: advanced, goal, proficient, basic and below basic. To help your student prepare for these tests, follow some simple study tips.

Encourage Reading

Students taking the CMT should get used to reading for extended periods of time. Reading practice can help students answer reading-based questions on the test, as well as improve performance in all areas. Students taking the CMT will be expected to sit and read questions for a long period of time. Fourth-graders take two 60-minute exam sessions; sixth-graders take three 60-minute sessions and eighth-graders take two 60-minute sessions and one 70-minute session. To prepare for this intense exam, encourage your student to read for at least an hour each day. He could read books of his choice, magazines or newspapers, so long as the material is at or near his reading level.

Extended reading time will also help students with the reading and writing sections of the test. Students will be expected to read selections of text and answer questions about the content; they will also be tested on their writing and proofreading skills. The more reading students are exposed to, the more practice they will have understanding content and analyzing correct usage and grammar.

Practice the Questions

Many Internet websites contain practice CMTs. You can also find practice books at many book retailers. Encourage your student to practice these exams. Do not simply throw your student into these tests; more than likely, she will feel as if she has enough homework to do without you adding more. Instead, walk through the tests with her. Help her understand how to answer multiple-choice questions, including eliminating the answers that are obviously wrong. Take note of what areas are more difficult for her to answer and where she excels.

This type of practice will get your student used to the format of the test and will provide her with overall test-taking skills that can aid her on the test. It will also provide you with an understanding of her strengths and weaknesses so you can help her focus her study efforts where they are really needed.

Make Study Fun

Even young students will understand the pressure of succeeding on the CMT exams. They will hear about it from the schools and their parents. Help your student make preparation fun. Has your student excelled on a practice exam, or has he been working exceptionally hard? Give him a reward to indicate that you are proud of his success.

When it comes to actual studying techniques, find games that will help him understand the concepts. If he is having trouble with basic math, play the "24" game with him: He can use any combination of addition, multiplication, division and subtraction to make four given numbers equal 24. Instead of a study technique, this will seem more like a game, and he will be more willing to study and less stressed about the outcome.

Common Core Writing Tips for Parents of Elementary School Students

With the Common Core State Standards coming into effect in 2014, it is important that parents are educated on the new standards. Many parents are still unsure what exactly the Common Core changes entail, or what they can do at home to help their children with the transition. We encourage you to copy and paste the following tips into your classroom or school newsletter and pass it on to parents of your elementary students:

Important transitions with the Common Core

Previously, schools have concentrated primarily on narrative writing such as storytelling and personal narratives. The Common Core writing standards will also emphasize informative, research, and opinion writing.

Writing at Home

Those of you that encourage journaling at home should start asking your children to research something of interest to them and then write down facts from their research. This will help prepare your children for the informative and research writing components of the Common Core writing standards. For opinion writing, have your children write a letter that convinces you to change their bedtime or buy them something, etc. Make sure they back up the letter with supporting evidence.

This is an example of a paragraph planning sheet parents can use at home to assist with writing. Visit our parent resource page for more resources to share with parents.

The writing Common Cores say students should write pieces over short periods of time as well as over extended time frames. Therefore, encourage your children to write chapter books as well as daily quick writes.

Tips were provided by Arlynn King, Professional Development Coach at WriteSteps. Arlynn King has 37 years of elementary teaching experience.

A critical component of a student’s success in school is dependent on what and how they learn at home. This practical guide provides steps that parents can take to improve their child’s learning of the Common Core.

Common Core State Standards:Shifts for Students and Parents

http://engageny.org/resource/shifts-for-students-and-parents

Here are some additional links to the Common Core

1. An explanation of the Common Core State Standards (available in English & Spanish) http://www.commoncoreworks.org/Page/378

2. Grade-by-Grade Parent Guides for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts/Literacy

English: http://www.commoncoreworks.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=330 Spanish:http://www.commoncoreworks.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=365

3. Grade-by-Grade Parent Guides for the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics

English: http://www.commoncoreworks.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=366 Spanish: http://www.commoncoreworks.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=367

Plan a training or series of trainings to help parents in your network understand college readiness and the Common Core standards.

http://engageny.org/resource/planning-a-parent-workshop-toolkit-for-parent-engagement