How is it December already? I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of food, family, friends, and fun! Here is a quick run-down of what we will be working on this week:
Spelling: Tomorrow, your child will be bringing home their spelling list for this week. The quiz will be on Thursday, since this week is just a review week of the past 4 spelling reviews. No sentences are necessary for this review test.
Language Arts: We spent the month of November looking at punctuation marks, specifically quotation marks, periods, and most recently commas. We have noticed that commas are EVERYWHERE and it is hard to figure out when to use one and when not to. This week, we'll be switching gears and looking at prefixes. We will come to understand what prefixes are, what they mean, and how they can change the meanings of words.
Reading: We have been working on understanding Non-fiction Text Features. We are understanding their importance and how they are deliberately chosen to help relay information about a particular topic. We will finish up learning about the many different features of non-fiction this week and then spend the next couple of weeks learning about Non-Fiction Text Structure.
Writing: Your child brought home his/her personal narrative before the break. We are now shifting gears to learn how to become effective non-fiction writers. Have your child search their home libraries for any sources of non-fiction they have and would like to bring in to share. We will spend a lot of time looking at various sources and learning how to effectively incorporate structures and features in a non-fiction piece.
Math: We are in full multiplication mode! This week, your child will bring home their first multiplication chapter test. This test covered multiplication concepts only. We have just begun looking at facts. So far we have covered 2s and 5s and have briefly begun looking at patterns for a factor of 9. I highly encourage multiplication math fact practice at home. There are many FREE apps available when you search multiplication fact practice. Any of them would be a great starting point.
Science: This week we will begin to look at and learn about various fall and winter constellations. In January, we will have the opportunity to go in STAR LAB, which is our district's portable planetarium. We will spend these few weeks in December understanding constellations, the reasons for seasons, and focus on the Big and Little Dippers. Then, in January, we will go in STAR LAB to view these constellations as we would see them in the night sky.
Here's to a fun, yet busy week ahead!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
November News
Reading
We will put the finishing touches on our character study early this week. Last week we began reading short texts (fiction and nonfiction) together and closely studying the author's purpose, word choice and main idea.
This week we will begin our nonfiction unit. We will begin by examining the common text features found in nonfiction and how we can use them to help deepen our understanding of a nonfiction text or article. We will continue to read short stories and poems together this week.
Writing
This week we will work on revising our narratives and adding more detail to the heart of the story. Today, we had put the word "said" to rest. We are developing an amazing list of words we could use in our writing instead of said! We will also continue to practice writing cohesive paragraphs.
Math
It is that time!!!! MULTIPLICATION!!! The class is very excited and so am I. We took a short test on subtraction today and will begin our first multiplication unit on Tuesday. We begin by relating addition to multiplication, then looking at arrays and the properties of multiplication.
Science
We pollinated our plants and have watched as our plants went through their final stages of life. Today we looked at the seed pods that were produced after pollination and we said "goodbye" to our plants. The children brought home their plant logs today. They really learned a lot of valuable observation skills during this unit!
Language Arts
We have been reviewing what makes a complete sentence and the different types of sentences. We are looking at various types of punctuation and how punctuation can change the meanings of statements. We are preparing to learn the different types of sentences and will then look at complex sentences.
We had a very nice Halloween party and we did so many fun activities on Friday we weren't able to write a Friday Letter.
Our Mystery Reader from October 24th! Freddie's mom!
Pictures of our painting our pumpkins! A special thanks to Drew's mom, Natalie's mom, and Freddie's mom for making our pumpkin painting possible!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Fun times!
This past Friday, we had a visit from Mr. George Steele! He turned our classroom in to a NYS mammal museum!
Thank you to Ronan's dad for coming in for Mystery Reader!
Some notes for this upcoming week:
I think we are all looking forward to getting back to a "regular" schedule after the half day tomorrow. We will have a quiz on rounding and estimating both sums and differences this week and continue to practice adding and subtracting greater numbers. We began guided reading groups last week and I'm anxious to get them up and going again to focus on character traits.
This week in spelling is our review week. Your child brought home their spelling list that covers every spelling word they've had in units 1 - 4. Thursday they will be quizzed on these words again and Friday they'll bring home a "normal" spelling list for Unit 5.
Reminder: Picture day is Wednesday!!
Sunday, October 5, 2014
October News
Many exciting things have been happening in our room...first of all, we planted Wisconsin Fast Plant seeds!!! We will watch the entire life cycle, which will take about 6 weeks.
If you're interested in learning more about our plants and watching videos, click HERE.
We have continued to learn various map skills in social studies and will begin to understand the difference between a state, country, and continent.
This week in reading we will begin our character study unit. We will focus on character traits and understand how characters learn and grow through their experiences.
We have been learning a lot about personal narratives and will continue this week on writing a great lead.
This week, we'll begin two new units. One will be on writing a paragraph and the other will be learning dictionary skills.
In math, we'll continue to work with rounding numbers to the tens and hundreds and begin to estimate sums and differences. We have finished the four weekly addition and subtraction fact quizzes. Results of those quizzes will be discussed at our parent teacher conferences beginning this week.
On Friday, I sent home a login for XTRA math. This is a useful tool that tracks student progress on their math facts and will individualize a program for each child. It takes about 3 minutes each time you log in and there is an app for it as well. I would like each child to try to use this resource a few times a week. We will continue to write practice math facts on our daily assignment pad, and I encourage using XTRA math as your practice. If you need another log in information sheet please let me know.
This week, Current Events will begin. A calendar was sent home 2 weeks ago for both October and November. Please use the current event websites listed on the sidebar of this blog as a resource for your child's article. If there is a video that accompanies the article please send it to me and we will view it together.
We have welcomed our first two mystery readers over the past two weeks! I have some openings left and if you weren't able to sign up the night of Open House you can do it when we have our conference together.
We have continued to learn various map skills in social studies and will begin to understand the difference between a state, country, and continent.
This week in reading we will begin our character study unit. We will focus on character traits and understand how characters learn and grow through their experiences.
We have been learning a lot about personal narratives and will continue this week on writing a great lead.
This week, we'll begin two new units. One will be on writing a paragraph and the other will be learning dictionary skills.
In math, we'll continue to work with rounding numbers to the tens and hundreds and begin to estimate sums and differences. We have finished the four weekly addition and subtraction fact quizzes. Results of those quizzes will be discussed at our parent teacher conferences beginning this week.
On Friday, I sent home a login for XTRA math. This is a useful tool that tracks student progress on their math facts and will individualize a program for each child. It takes about 3 minutes each time you log in and there is an app for it as well. I would like each child to try to use this resource a few times a week. We will continue to write practice math facts on our daily assignment pad, and I encourage using XTRA math as your practice. If you need another log in information sheet please let me know.
This week, Current Events will begin. A calendar was sent home 2 weeks ago for both October and November. Please use the current event websites listed on the sidebar of this blog as a resource for your child's article. If there is a video that accompanies the article please send it to me and we will view it together.
We have welcomed our first two mystery readers over the past two weeks! I have some openings left and if you weren't able to sign up the night of Open House you can do it when we have our conference together.
Casey and her mom
Colin and his mom
Sunday, September 21, 2014
A 4 day week ahead...
It was such a great turn out Thursday night at Open House. Please know that if you ever have any questions or concerns contact me! Email is a great way to communicate, however, if you'd like to have a phone conversation, email me what you'd like to talk about so I can have the information prepared to make the most of our call.
Your child brought home their first spelling list on Friday. Spelling reviews will always be on Thursdays, however, we have this Thursday off. Your child will take their first spelling review on Friday and will bring home their new list. Remember, students will need to spell the word correctly and use it appropriately in a sentence. We talked about "third grade sentences" and what they look like. We decided each sentence should have at least 6 words, and only one sentence should contain the subject "I". They each wrote one practice sentence in class and I highly suggest they practice some more sentences before their first review on Friday.
This past Friday we ran out of time to complete a Friday Letter. We got involved in a close reading of a Time For Kids article about school dress codes and ended up having a great debate (that ran WAY over the time I had allotted) but these are times I enjoy in the classroom the most! We had some great opinions on the matter, with more children hoping a strict dress code never makes its way to Elsmere! They prefer to showcase their own styles. Friday Letter will resume this Friday :)
We'll continue reading strategies this week in reading workshop and personal narratives in writing workshop. We'll look at Verbs, specifically helping and linking verbs.
Our 14 and 15 math fact quiz will take place this Friday as well as a Topic 1 chapter test, which covers place value, reading and writing numbers to the thousands, comparing and ordering numbers, and making an organized list.
Map skills will continue in Social Studies and if all goes as planned, we hope to begin our first science unit on plants by Friday.
Your child brought home their first spelling list on Friday. Spelling reviews will always be on Thursdays, however, we have this Thursday off. Your child will take their first spelling review on Friday and will bring home their new list. Remember, students will need to spell the word correctly and use it appropriately in a sentence. We talked about "third grade sentences" and what they look like. We decided each sentence should have at least 6 words, and only one sentence should contain the subject "I". They each wrote one practice sentence in class and I highly suggest they practice some more sentences before their first review on Friday.
This past Friday we ran out of time to complete a Friday Letter. We got involved in a close reading of a Time For Kids article about school dress codes and ended up having a great debate (that ran WAY over the time I had allotted) but these are times I enjoy in the classroom the most! We had some great opinions on the matter, with more children hoping a strict dress code never makes its way to Elsmere! They prefer to showcase their own styles. Friday Letter will resume this Friday :)
We'll continue reading strategies this week in reading workshop and personal narratives in writing workshop. We'll look at Verbs, specifically helping and linking verbs.
Our 14 and 15 math fact quiz will take place this Friday as well as a Topic 1 chapter test, which covers place value, reading and writing numbers to the thousands, comparing and ordering numbers, and making an organized list.
Map skills will continue in Social Studies and if all goes as planned, we hope to begin our first science unit on plants by Friday.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
This week in grade 3...
We will be busy!!! We have had some time to adjust to the new routines and expectations and are doing great! On Friday, your child wrote you their first Friday Letter. This is a great way to communicate our experiences in class with you. I ask that you respond in writing to their letter and send it back to school on Monday. The children enjoy reading your responses Monday morning. Please keep in mind, this is an "on-demand" therefore un-edited piece of writing. The goal is for communication and I'm sure you will see such growth in your child's writing as the year progresses!
Tomorrow your child's first Reading Log is due. I ask that they read for at least 20 minutes 5 out of the 7 nights. On the two nights they choose not to read I ask that they write the word "OFF" and you sign each box. These reading logs allow me to see the types of books your child is reading outside of school to help me better understand them as readers.
In Reading Workshop this week we will begin discussing how "Reading is Thinking". Your child will be introduced and will practice the reading strategies making connections, visualizing, and questioning. We will continue to work on our reading goals we made last week, by slowly increasing our silent reading stamina.
In Writing Workshop we will continue Personal Narrative by learning another strategy to gain ideas for true stories as well as developing our writing stamina.
In Math we will wrap up our first topic of Place Value. We'll look at values of numbers, number lines, comparing and ordering numbers to the thousands, and making organized lists in response to word problems. There will be math homework this week on Tuesday and Thursday.
In Language Arts we'll finish common and proper nouns and begin to look at Verbs. Your child's first spelling list will come home this Friday.
In Social Studies we'll look at globes and begin parts of a map.
Thank you for the many responses you have written me about your child. I find great value in them and welcome them still if you have not yet sent one in. I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday night at OPEN HOUSE which begins at 6:00 pm in our classroom.
Sign up HERE for our October conference!
Tomorrow your child's first Reading Log is due. I ask that they read for at least 20 minutes 5 out of the 7 nights. On the two nights they choose not to read I ask that they write the word "OFF" and you sign each box. These reading logs allow me to see the types of books your child is reading outside of school to help me better understand them as readers.
In Reading Workshop this week we will begin discussing how "Reading is Thinking". Your child will be introduced and will practice the reading strategies making connections, visualizing, and questioning. We will continue to work on our reading goals we made last week, by slowly increasing our silent reading stamina.
In Writing Workshop we will continue Personal Narrative by learning another strategy to gain ideas for true stories as well as developing our writing stamina.
In Math we will wrap up our first topic of Place Value. We'll look at values of numbers, number lines, comparing and ordering numbers to the thousands, and making organized lists in response to word problems. There will be math homework this week on Tuesday and Thursday.
In Language Arts we'll finish common and proper nouns and begin to look at Verbs. Your child's first spelling list will come home this Friday.
In Social Studies we'll look at globes and begin parts of a map.
Thank you for the many responses you have written me about your child. I find great value in them and welcome them still if you have not yet sent one in. I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday night at OPEN HOUSE which begins at 6:00 pm in our classroom.
Sign up HERE for our October conference!
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Off and running...
We have been learning new routines and expectations. There are many exciting things happening this week in all subjects!
Reading: We will be setting up our reading community and getting to know each other as readers.
Writing: We begin personal narratives by finding ideas through various strategies.
Math: We will learn the various ways to represent numbers to the 1,000s. In addition, on Fridays in September we will also have lessons on telling time. A letter will be coming home early this week about practicing addition and subtraction math facts and math fact quizzes. Please read this information carefully.
Spelling: I am using a list of district priority words to pretest each student on the words that must be spelled correctly by the end of third grade. Your child's first spelling list will be coming home this Friday. Spelling lists will come home every Friday, with spelling reviews (tests) on Thursdays.
Language Arts: We will begin discussing nouns and learning about common and proper nouns.
Social Studies: This week we'll investigate where in the world our seven continents and four oceans are.
Steno Pads and Take Home Folders:
Beginning on Monday, your child will be bringing home an assignment notebook. Each day after lunch, we will write down our assignment, explicitly explain assignments, and put any materials in our take home folders. The take home folder and assignment notebook are required to go home and come back to school each day. I ask that you initial or sign next to the "X" in your child's steno pad. By signing or initialing, you are indicating to me that you saw the notebook and know what the assignment was. Please look for this each day!
Feel free to jot any notes to me in the assignment book, however, please do not write early dismissal or change in routine notes that need to go down to the office. Those notes should be written on separate paper.
Reading: We will be setting up our reading community and getting to know each other as readers.
Writing: We begin personal narratives by finding ideas through various strategies.
Math: We will learn the various ways to represent numbers to the 1,000s. In addition, on Fridays in September we will also have lessons on telling time. A letter will be coming home early this week about practicing addition and subtraction math facts and math fact quizzes. Please read this information carefully.
Spelling: I am using a list of district priority words to pretest each student on the words that must be spelled correctly by the end of third grade. Your child's first spelling list will be coming home this Friday. Spelling lists will come home every Friday, with spelling reviews (tests) on Thursdays.
Language Arts: We will begin discussing nouns and learning about common and proper nouns.
Social Studies: This week we'll investigate where in the world our seven continents and four oceans are.
Steno Pads and Take Home Folders:
Beginning on Monday, your child will be bringing home an assignment notebook. Each day after lunch, we will write down our assignment, explicitly explain assignments, and put any materials in our take home folders. The take home folder and assignment notebook are required to go home and come back to school each day. I ask that you initial or sign next to the "X" in your child's steno pad. By signing or initialing, you are indicating to me that you saw the notebook and know what the assignment was. Please look for this each day!
Feel free to jot any notes to me in the assignment book, however, please do not write early dismissal or change in routine notes that need to go down to the office. Those notes should be written on separate paper.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Welcome to Third Grade!!!
Hello and welcome to 3P!
This blog is designed to keep all families updated on what's happening in our class! It will be updated weekly once school begins. Please bookmark this page and check it frequently.
A sincere thank you to all of you who have already emailed me your responses to my questions about your child. These insights really assist me in learning about who your child is and how I can best meet their needs during the first few weeks of school.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you today at our supply drop off between 3 and 4 pm. Below is our supply list...
I look forward to a successful year with both you and your child!
This blog is designed to keep all families updated on what's happening in our class! It will be updated weekly once school begins. Please bookmark this page and check it frequently.
A sincere thank you to all of you who have already emailed me your responses to my questions about your child. These insights really assist me in learning about who your child is and how I can best meet their needs during the first few weeks of school.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you today at our supply drop off between 3 and 4 pm. Below is our supply list...
24 sharpened
pencils (Ticonderoga brand recommended) to be shared
with classmates – these do not need
to be labeled with your name
scissors
4 glue
sticks-to be shared with classmates
1
highlighter (yellow only)
1
pencil case
2 marble
black/white composition notebooks
2 “one
subject” spiral notebook
1 durable
two pocket folder of your choice
2 post-it
note pads
1
package of loose-leaf paper (wide lined, not college ruled)
1 box
colored pencils
1 box
of crayons
Box of
tissues (optional)
Clorox
wipes (optional)
1 pair
of headphones
The scanned copy of the supply list was difficult to read, therefore, please have all supplies by Monday, September 8.
I look forward to a successful year with both you and your child!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
This week...
Wow, Wednesday already?! This morning we took Book 1 of our NYS Math Test. Tomorrow we will have Book 2 and Friday we will have Book 3. Just like the ELA, I will begin first thing in the morning. It is
important for the children to eat a good breakfast as we will delay our
snack by more than an hour. Thank you for your support!
We have begun working on many interesting units! In Science, we are beginning our Electricity unit. This unit is a hands-on, inquiry based unit. The students will use wires, batteries and bulbs to create different types of circuits and perform experiments. This week we used a battery, bulb, and one wire to learn how we could light a light bulb!
In Social Studies, we are learning about the Ancient Egyptians. We are reading a non-fiction book about the Ancient Egyptian culture, called Mummies and Pyramids. As we learn about different areas of this culture we have been creating our own examples of Egyptian artifacts.
In Math, we have been reviewing fractions and word problems to boost our confidence for the NY State Math test. When testing is over we will be reviewing multiplication and extending our learning to two-digit multiplication.
In Writing, we have begun a unit on Persuasive writing. They began working on persuasive speeches aimed at convincing Mrs. Kloss to allow them to sit with students from the other third grade class. We invited her in to hear our speeches and she has given us some counter arguments for us to think about and try to develop some more convincing reasons to have her allow us to earn this possibility! All of your children are super negotiators!
In reading we have begun working independently on reading and writing about our thinking as we're reading. We have also spent a lot of time with non-fiction articles. Vocabulary development has been a main focus with both our fiction and non-fiction texts.
Friday Letter resumed last week and we will continue to have a Friday Letter each week until the end of the school year.
We have begun working on many interesting units! In Science, we are beginning our Electricity unit. This unit is a hands-on, inquiry based unit. The students will use wires, batteries and bulbs to create different types of circuits and perform experiments. This week we used a battery, bulb, and one wire to learn how we could light a light bulb!
In Social Studies, we are learning about the Ancient Egyptians. We are reading a non-fiction book about the Ancient Egyptian culture, called Mummies and Pyramids. As we learn about different areas of this culture we have been creating our own examples of Egyptian artifacts.
In Math, we have been reviewing fractions and word problems to boost our confidence for the NY State Math test. When testing is over we will be reviewing multiplication and extending our learning to two-digit multiplication.
In Writing, we have begun a unit on Persuasive writing. They began working on persuasive speeches aimed at convincing Mrs. Kloss to allow them to sit with students from the other third grade class. We invited her in to hear our speeches and she has given us some counter arguments for us to think about and try to develop some more convincing reasons to have her allow us to earn this possibility! All of your children are super negotiators!
In reading we have begun working independently on reading and writing about our thinking as we're reading. We have also spent a lot of time with non-fiction articles. Vocabulary development has been a main focus with both our fiction and non-fiction texts.
Friday Letter resumed last week and we will continue to have a Friday Letter each week until the end of the school year.
Friday, March 21, 2014
A few updates...
Here is a brief overview of what has been going on in third grade and some important upcoming dates to keep in mind...
In both reading and writing, we have been focusing on biographies and learning how to write a first person narrative essay. We based our essays on the information we gathered from reading our Who Was biography. Our next step is to create a timeline of our person's life.
In math we completed our units of study on perimeter, area, and fractions. We have just begun Geometry. There is a lot of vocabulary associated with geometry, so we are learning many new terms and trying to use these terms in our math conversations and how we classify plane figures.
Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, March 27 at 2:30 is our Wax Museum! We have been working really hard to prepare for this in class. The only responsibilities at home are to practice their speech (they will bring it home today) and to gather a costume that represents their person to wear for the museum. These costumes do not need to be elaborate! We have been discussing various ways each person could be represented with items found in your home.
Friday, March 28 : Visiting author Matt McElligott
NYS ELA Exam Tuesday, April 1, Wednesday, April 2, and Thursday, April 3
We have been discussing and preparing for this upcoming exam. My hope is to alleviate any anxiety about this exam by answering all of their questions and giving them practice samples to take in class. The format and length is something they're not familiar with, and I am working on increasing their stamina and teaching them test taking strategies. The best way to prepare at home is to continue reading and to get a good nights sleep the night before and eat a healthy breakfast the morning of.
In both reading and writing, we have been focusing on biographies and learning how to write a first person narrative essay. We based our essays on the information we gathered from reading our Who Was biography. Our next step is to create a timeline of our person's life.
In math we completed our units of study on perimeter, area, and fractions. We have just begun Geometry. There is a lot of vocabulary associated with geometry, so we are learning many new terms and trying to use these terms in our math conversations and how we classify plane figures.
Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, March 27 at 2:30 is our Wax Museum! We have been working really hard to prepare for this in class. The only responsibilities at home are to practice their speech (they will bring it home today) and to gather a costume that represents their person to wear for the museum. These costumes do not need to be elaborate! We have been discussing various ways each person could be represented with items found in your home.
Friday, March 28 : Visiting author Matt McElligott
NYS ELA Exam Tuesday, April 1, Wednesday, April 2, and Thursday, April 3
We have been discussing and preparing for this upcoming exam. My hope is to alleviate any anxiety about this exam by answering all of their questions and giving them practice samples to take in class. The format and length is something they're not familiar with, and I am working on increasing their stamina and teaching them test taking strategies. The best way to prepare at home is to continue reading and to get a good nights sleep the night before and eat a healthy breakfast the morning of.
Some of our mystery readers....
Logan's mom on Hat Day!
Matteo's dad
Izzy's mom
Monday, March 3, 2014
Happy March!
I've changed the background on my blog to green...with my fingers crossed that we will actually begin to see some green outside some day soon!
We welcome the month of March with preparations for our ELA exam the first week of April. We are learning how to take a reading and writing test and how to utilize various strategies that are helpful when taking a test like this. The emphasis in the classroom isn't on how this is an important test...I'm just trying to prepare them for the length and rigor. They have never experienced anything like this before.
We continue in reading workshop with our biographies. We are learning so many interesting facts about our person and the time period in which they lived! Please save the date!!! We will be inviting families in on Thursday, March 27th from 2:30 - 3:15 for our Wax Museum. (Detailed information will be sent home soon).
In writing workshop, our non-fiction writing has been put on hold to learn essay writing and using textual evidence to support our written responses. We will continue with non-fiction here and there throughout this month.
In math, our focus continues to be on fractions and we are now investigating area. Please be sure you continue to practice math facts at home. Encourage your child to go on xtramath.org. If you lost the login information please let me know. I'd be happy to send it home again.
Solar system research is off and running in our room. We have begun researching the planets and learning how you spend most of your time reading information when researching and how researching really means to "search" for information. :-) Many of us want the answers to pop out in big, bold letters, but we are finding that we must read to find our information.
We are also continuing our discussion on prefixes and suffixes, with an emphasis on suffixes this week. We are learning to dissect words and their meanings and how we can put various prefixes and suffixes to different words and their meanings change.
We welcome the month of March with preparations for our ELA exam the first week of April. We are learning how to take a reading and writing test and how to utilize various strategies that are helpful when taking a test like this. The emphasis in the classroom isn't on how this is an important test...I'm just trying to prepare them for the length and rigor. They have never experienced anything like this before.
We continue in reading workshop with our biographies. We are learning so many interesting facts about our person and the time period in which they lived! Please save the date!!! We will be inviting families in on Thursday, March 27th from 2:30 - 3:15 for our Wax Museum. (Detailed information will be sent home soon).
In writing workshop, our non-fiction writing has been put on hold to learn essay writing and using textual evidence to support our written responses. We will continue with non-fiction here and there throughout this month.
In math, our focus continues to be on fractions and we are now investigating area. Please be sure you continue to practice math facts at home. Encourage your child to go on xtramath.org. If you lost the login information please let me know. I'd be happy to send it home again.
Solar system research is off and running in our room. We have begun researching the planets and learning how you spend most of your time reading information when researching and how researching really means to "search" for information. :-) Many of us want the answers to pop out in big, bold letters, but we are finding that we must read to find our information.
We are also continuing our discussion on prefixes and suffixes, with an emphasis on suffixes this week. We are learning to dissect words and their meanings and how we can put various prefixes and suffixes to different words and their meanings change.
Last week's mystery reader was Catherine's mom!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
And we're back...
I hope you all had a great break last week. I absolutely LOVED the sunshine and higher temperatures this weekend. Spring is on the horizon (hopefully)!!!
Below is a run down of what we will be hoping to accomplish this week in each subject:
Reading Workshop:
We will continue our study of biographies and begin applying what we've learned and read a biography of a famous person taking notes and learning as much as we can about that person independently. We'll also discover how understanding historical events during the person's time is essential in understanding that person's accomplishments.
Writing Workshop:
We are continuing to draft our non-fiction writing pieces as well as learning how to write short answer responses by rephrasing the question and using textual evidence to support our answers.
Math:
Fractions is our main focus in math, although we will also be learning about perimeter. We'll learn the necessary vocabulary associated with fractions and how to identify fractions as parts of a whole, parts of a set, and how to place fractions on a number line.
Science:
We have been working with partners to learn about various aspects of our Solar System, specifically focusing on the sun. This week our attention turns to the planets. We'll be working with partners to research various aspects of each planet using internet sources. Using various websites will allow us to cross reference our information and to identify which sources might be more useful or more accurate.
Word Work:
This week instead of having a vocabulary word of the day, we will be focusing on root words/base words and various prefixes and suffixes. We'll discuss common prefixes and suffixes and how depending on the prefix or suffix the word meaning changes.
Miscellaneous Info:
Below is a run down of what we will be hoping to accomplish this week in each subject:
Reading Workshop:
We will continue our study of biographies and begin applying what we've learned and read a biography of a famous person taking notes and learning as much as we can about that person independently. We'll also discover how understanding historical events during the person's time is essential in understanding that person's accomplishments.
Writing Workshop:
We are continuing to draft our non-fiction writing pieces as well as learning how to write short answer responses by rephrasing the question and using textual evidence to support our answers.
Math:
Fractions is our main focus in math, although we will also be learning about perimeter. We'll learn the necessary vocabulary associated with fractions and how to identify fractions as parts of a whole, parts of a set, and how to place fractions on a number line.
Science:
We have been working with partners to learn about various aspects of our Solar System, specifically focusing on the sun. This week our attention turns to the planets. We'll be working with partners to research various aspects of each planet using internet sources. Using various websites will allow us to cross reference our information and to identify which sources might be more useful or more accurate.
Word Work:
This week instead of having a vocabulary word of the day, we will be focusing on root words/base words and various prefixes and suffixes. We'll discuss common prefixes and suffixes and how depending on the prefix or suffix the word meaning changes.
Miscellaneous Info:
- We will have our Valentine's celebration Monday, February 24th in the afternoon. I have not asked for any food or drink. We spend the time passing out Valentines and munching on any candy that our Valentine's may have.
- Due to the snow day we had on the Friday before break, we missed our multiplication math fact quiz. We will take our math fact quiz this Friday, February 28th.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
January is over???
Well it looks as if we're wrapping up ANOTHER month! Can it be? This year is flying by! I want to thank you all for the wonderful turn out at our Star Lab night last week. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as your children have over the past few weeks. They sure have learned a lot about our sky!
This week we will be wrapping up our mystery unit. Your children have been loving reading mysteries, trying to solve them before the detective in the story does. Some fun series for your children to read at home are The Calendar Club, Third Grade Detectives, Jigsaw Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, A-Z Mysteries and Cabin Creek Mysteries.
We continue to learn about how to write informational texts. We are all experts on so many interesting topics!
Math is now being taught twice a day...we are working on mastering our multiplication facts, understanding division as it relates to multiplication, and working on multi-step problem solving. We are also learning about telling time. This past week, we reviewed telling time to the quarter hour, half hour, and minute. This week we'll look at units of time and understand elapsed time.
Since math is twice a day, Brazil has been put on hold. Brazil will be taught sporadically over the upcoming weeks.
Soon we will begin investigating the Solar System and learn how to conduct short research on various aspects of our galaxy.
A few miscellaneous things...
1. It is imperative that you set aside daily math fact practice time at home. We only write practice math facts on Thursdays in our assignment books since the quizzes are on Fridays, but it should be done daily!
2. Spelling practice should be continuous throughout the week as well. Again, we only write study spelling on Wednesdays for the review on Thursdays, but our words are increasing in difficulty with multiple meanings.
3. Report cards will be uploaded to BC@ Home at the end of the week. Be sure to log on to view your child's report card. I look forward to meeting with you all over the next few weeks to discuss your child's progress.
This week we will be wrapping up our mystery unit. Your children have been loving reading mysteries, trying to solve them before the detective in the story does. Some fun series for your children to read at home are The Calendar Club, Third Grade Detectives, Jigsaw Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, A-Z Mysteries and Cabin Creek Mysteries.
We continue to learn about how to write informational texts. We are all experts on so many interesting topics!
Math is now being taught twice a day...we are working on mastering our multiplication facts, understanding division as it relates to multiplication, and working on multi-step problem solving. We are also learning about telling time. This past week, we reviewed telling time to the quarter hour, half hour, and minute. This week we'll look at units of time and understand elapsed time.
Since math is twice a day, Brazil has been put on hold. Brazil will be taught sporadically over the upcoming weeks.
Soon we will begin investigating the Solar System and learn how to conduct short research on various aspects of our galaxy.
A few miscellaneous things...
1. It is imperative that you set aside daily math fact practice time at home. We only write practice math facts on Thursdays in our assignment books since the quizzes are on Fridays, but it should be done daily!
2. Spelling practice should be continuous throughout the week as well. Again, we only write study spelling on Wednesdays for the review on Thursdays, but our words are increasing in difficulty with multiple meanings.
3. Report cards will be uploaded to BC@ Home at the end of the week. Be sure to log on to view your child's report card. I look forward to meeting with you all over the next few weeks to discuss your child's progress.
Mystery Readers
Camella and her mom.
Haley and her mom.
Luke and his mom.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Week of January 13th
What a busy month January is proving to be and not just inside the classroom: Lip Sync, Star Lab, CAPER, One School/One Book (starting in a week or so...), the Science Fair (at the beginning of February), just to name a few!
We have been off and running since returning from break. I'd like to use this blog post for some important announcements and reminders.
Star Lab Parent Night is Wednesday, January 22nd from 6 - 7pm. Please send in the RSVP by Tuesday, January 14 whether you plan on attending or not. This will give Mrs. Mooney and I time to organize the event to make it run as smooth as possible based on the number attending.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Last week I sent an email with a link for an online sign up for parent/teacher conferences. These conferences are optional, however, I believe it is important to touch base. With only 2 afternoons at my disposal I have set up 15 minute blocks of time to be able to accommodate everyone. I understand it is difficult to take time off from work to come in for only 15 minutes, so I am willing to conduct phone conferences at the time you sign up. Please visit the link below to sign up for a time and then shoot me a separate email requesting that I call you at that time, including the best number to reach you at. I look forward to meeting with all of you!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A9A82DAAFE3-february
Math:
Math Facts
We have been working tremendously hard on memorizing our multiplication facts here in school as well as now moving on to understanding division concepts. It is extremely important that math fact practice is worked into your daily homework routine. We continue to have math fact quizzes every Friday. This week many have moved on to the 6's, however, I still have people working on the 9's, 3's, and 4's. On each fact quiz that is taken on Friday I make a note as to which facts your child should be working on.
Problem Solving
Your child now has 4 different operations to choose from when solving word problems: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We have been discussing at length the difference between these operations and what these operations are actually asking us to do.
1. addition: putting together groups of different sizes
2. subtraction: taking away from the total number
3. multiplication: putting together equal groups
4. division: taking the total number of items and separating them into equal groups
Last week your child brought home word problems to solve. The format of those word problem sheets are meant for your child to think through what the question is asking them to do, show their work, put their answer in a sentence, and then explain their thinking.
For example:
Problem: Naomi has 45 red beads and 69 purple beads. She loses 16 beads while making a bracelet. How many beads does Naomi have left?
What do you know?
45 + 69 = 114
114 - 16 = 98 beads
Answer Sentence: (Tell me in a sentence what your answer is)
Naomi has 98 beads left.
Look back and check. Explain why your answer makes sense. (Tell me why you knew which operation to use).
I needed to find how many beads Naomi had to start with since she had 45 red and 69 purple. Once I found that, I knew she lost 16 so I had to subtract that from the total number of beads she started with.
This week your child will be continuing to focus on choosing an appropriate equation to figure out word problems.
We have been off and running since returning from break. I'd like to use this blog post for some important announcements and reminders.
Star Lab Parent Night is Wednesday, January 22nd from 6 - 7pm. Please send in the RSVP by Tuesday, January 14 whether you plan on attending or not. This will give Mrs. Mooney and I time to organize the event to make it run as smooth as possible based on the number attending.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Last week I sent an email with a link for an online sign up for parent/teacher conferences. These conferences are optional, however, I believe it is important to touch base. With only 2 afternoons at my disposal I have set up 15 minute blocks of time to be able to accommodate everyone. I understand it is difficult to take time off from work to come in for only 15 minutes, so I am willing to conduct phone conferences at the time you sign up. Please visit the link below to sign up for a time and then shoot me a separate email requesting that I call you at that time, including the best number to reach you at. I look forward to meeting with all of you!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A9A82DAAFE3-february
Math:
Math Facts
We have been working tremendously hard on memorizing our multiplication facts here in school as well as now moving on to understanding division concepts. It is extremely important that math fact practice is worked into your daily homework routine. We continue to have math fact quizzes every Friday. This week many have moved on to the 6's, however, I still have people working on the 9's, 3's, and 4's. On each fact quiz that is taken on Friday I make a note as to which facts your child should be working on.
Problem Solving
Your child now has 4 different operations to choose from when solving word problems: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We have been discussing at length the difference between these operations and what these operations are actually asking us to do.
1. addition: putting together groups of different sizes
2. subtraction: taking away from the total number
3. multiplication: putting together equal groups
4. division: taking the total number of items and separating them into equal groups
Last week your child brought home word problems to solve. The format of those word problem sheets are meant for your child to think through what the question is asking them to do, show their work, put their answer in a sentence, and then explain their thinking.
For example:
Problem: Naomi has 45 red beads and 69 purple beads. She loses 16 beads while making a bracelet. How many beads does Naomi have left?
What do you know?
- Underline that in the problem.
- Circle that in the problem.
45 + 69 = 114
114 - 16 = 98 beads
Answer Sentence: (Tell me in a sentence what your answer is)
Naomi has 98 beads left.
Look back and check. Explain why your answer makes sense. (Tell me why you knew which operation to use).
I needed to find how many beads Naomi had to start with since she had 45 red and 69 purple. Once I found that, I knew she lost 16 so I had to subtract that from the total number of beads she started with.
This week your child will be continuing to focus on choosing an appropriate equation to figure out word problems.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Happy New Year!
Wow, what an amazing two week vacation! I hope you all were able to enjoy time with family and friends. I can't wait to hear from your children about all of the amazing things they were able to do during the time off from school.
This month brings new topics of study:
Reading Workshop: In reading, we'll begin looking closely at the genre of mysteries. This week we'll learn how to read closely to identify right away what the mystery is, how to step in the detective's shoes, how to read with suspicion, collect clues, and retrace our steps.
Writing Workshop: We'll learn how writers of information teach their readers about something. We'll start off the week thinking about topics we may be experts on and write about these possible topics until we decide on the topic we know the most. This week we'll focus on the different structures informational writers can use to organize their writing.
Math: This week we'll begin diving into division. We'll relate division to subtraction and then to multiplication. Keep practicing multiplication! We'll spend time every day in class reviewing our multiplication facts. Fact quizzes on Friday will continue.
Science: Our portable planetarium StarLab is here! For the next 3 Fridays we will be going into StarLab to learn about constellations, the reason for seasons, and how to identify which season it is based on the location of the Big and Little Dippers.
Social Studies: We'll continue to look at Brazil. This week we'll look at the needs and wants of various people in Brazil and we'll compare these to our needs and wants in the United States. We'll also learn about their flag and what it represents.
This month brings new topics of study:
Reading Workshop: In reading, we'll begin looking closely at the genre of mysteries. This week we'll learn how to read closely to identify right away what the mystery is, how to step in the detective's shoes, how to read with suspicion, collect clues, and retrace our steps.
Writing Workshop: We'll learn how writers of information teach their readers about something. We'll start off the week thinking about topics we may be experts on and write about these possible topics until we decide on the topic we know the most. This week we'll focus on the different structures informational writers can use to organize their writing.
Math: This week we'll begin diving into division. We'll relate division to subtraction and then to multiplication. Keep practicing multiplication! We'll spend time every day in class reviewing our multiplication facts. Fact quizzes on Friday will continue.
Science: Our portable planetarium StarLab is here! For the next 3 Fridays we will be going into StarLab to learn about constellations, the reason for seasons, and how to identify which season it is based on the location of the Big and Little Dippers.
Social Studies: We'll continue to look at Brazil. This week we'll look at the needs and wants of various people in Brazil and we'll compare these to our needs and wants in the United States. We'll also learn about their flag and what it represents.
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