We are beginning the final month of third grade. There are a lot of activities and special events happening in the next few weeks. I will send an email notice when I update/add/change this list.
Homework Changes: I understand this is a very busy time of year both in and out of school. For the next 3 weeks, I will be sending home a small math packet on Mondays which will be due on Friday of that week.
This week is our final week of spelling. We will take our cumulative review on Thursday afternoon.
Week of 6/1/15:
Thursday 6/4 Trip to Pine Hollow Arboretum 9:45-12:00
Anyone can join us on this field trip, but you will need to drive yourselves. Please email me if you plan on attending. Students should plan on dressing according to the weather. If it is raining I would advise packing an extra set of clothes in backpacks. I will give students an opportunity to change when we return to school at noon.
Week of 6/8/15:
Thursday 6/11/15 Country Fair 2:30-3:00
Everyone is invited to attend our Third Grade Country Fair. We are working hard to finish our Power Point presentations and we are excited to share our hard work. If you would like to save a copy of your child's presentation please bring a removable memory stick with you to save his/her work during the country fair.
Please plan on staying through to the end of our country fair. There will be a special presentation at the end of the country fair.
Friday 6/12/15 Field Day
Please send in a complete (including shoes) extra set of clothes. We usually do the water relay station last and the students are soaking wet!
Week of 6/15/15:
TBD
Week of 6/22/12:
Wednesday 6/24/15 Last day of School 12:10 dismissal.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
Countdown to the End of the Year
Tomorrow begins the 26 day count down to the end of the year. Things
have not slowed down in the classroom, in fact we are busier than ever!
Reading
We are reading Pleasing the Ghost by Sharon Creech. This would make a great author to take into your child's summer reading.
Math
This week we will continue to practice multiplying two digit numbers. The students understand the concept behind this process. Some students are finding this frustrating because their facts are not automatic.
Social Studies
We are finishing our country research today and beginning our Power Point presentations on Tuesday. I hope you will be able to join us for our Country Fair on June 11th at 2:30 pm.
Science
The class is working on our Electrical Circuit's unit. We will be be testing conductors and insulators this week. Also, we will be learning about series and parallel circuits, by making them with our partners.
The ABC countdown for this week is:
Tuesday-Animal day= The students may bring in a stuffed animal.
Wednesday-Birthday day= We will celebrate summer birthdays by reading our birthday book aloud for those who have birthdays over the summer.
Thursday-Colorful day= The students should wear their favorite color to school.
Friday-Drink day= The students may bring in a special drink. Please no glass containers or soda.
Tomorrow is our Budget Vote. There is a Kids Vote Too where students can vote on indoor recess equipment. We have discussed this vote in class and the students have asked if I will be there. I will be helping the Kids Vote Too at the HS from 4 - 5pm. :-)
Reading
We are reading Pleasing the Ghost by Sharon Creech. This would make a great author to take into your child's summer reading.
Math
This week we will continue to practice multiplying two digit numbers. The students understand the concept behind this process. Some students are finding this frustrating because their facts are not automatic.
Social Studies
We are finishing our country research today and beginning our Power Point presentations on Tuesday. I hope you will be able to join us for our Country Fair on June 11th at 2:30 pm.
Science
The class is working on our Electrical Circuit's unit. We will be be testing conductors and insulators this week. Also, we will be learning about series and parallel circuits, by making them with our partners.
The ABC countdown for this week is:
Tuesday-Animal day= The students may bring in a stuffed animal.
Wednesday-Birthday day= We will celebrate summer birthdays by reading our birthday book aloud for those who have birthdays over the summer.
Thursday-Colorful day= The students should wear their favorite color to school.
Friday-Drink day= The students may bring in a special drink. Please no glass containers or soda.
Tomorrow is our Budget Vote. There is a Kids Vote Too where students can vote on indoor recess equipment. We have discussed this vote in class and the students have asked if I will be there. I will be helping the Kids Vote Too at the HS from 4 - 5pm. :-)
Monday, May 4, 2015
This week in third grade....
We will continue to practice
telling time as well as working on problem solving in math. Please be sure to
continue to practice multiplication math facts at home.
We have begun the exciting
hands on Electrical Circuits unit! Hopefully your children came home excited
about their first experience last week. This week, we’ll be building various
circuits and learning how to manipulate the materials.
This week we will begin
discussing our year end project. Each student will be researching a country.
Your child will be assigned to their country on Wednesday. We will need your
assistance gathering some research materials. More information to follow.
In addition, we are working
on a secret project. Can’t give any details! :-)
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Welcome Back!
Hello families!
I hope you all had a nice week either away or home. My family and I spent some time here and in Washington, D.C. We had a great time! Looks like the weather is getting good just in time for us to return to school!
Thank you for making our Wax Museum such a success! I was extremely proud of each student's hard work and dedication to the unit. They certainly learned a lot and did a fabulous job!
What a busy week we have ahead!
This Tuesday, we begin our NYS ELA exam. We will begin first thing in the morning. Please be sure your child has had a good night's sleep, a healthy breakfast, and is in school on time. This way we can begin as soon as everyone is present. The exam will be 70 minutes long for 3 consecutive mornings, with an additional 10 minutes or so to go over directions, procedures, etc. After the exam concludes, we will have some down time, either playing games or watching a movie and having our snack. If the weather is nice, we will spend some time outside, but it would most likely be in the afternoon after all exams and lunches have concluded.
Even though we have an exam this week, we still have a lot of learning to do!!! We will continue our geometry study. We will learn how to classify polygons by numbers of sides, types of sides, and types of angles. We will learn the different types of quadrilaterals and triangles.
We will continue learning about ancient Egypt. This week our focus will be on the Egyptian religion and we will understand the different gods and goddesses they believed in.
We will begin looking at the genre of realistic fiction in reading. In our guided reading groups we will focus on higher level thinking skills, understanding implied meanings and increasing our vocabulary.
In writing workshop, we will begin looking at opinion writing. We will learn how to state a claim and then argue our claim with facts to support our claims.
Your child will be bringing home a review spelling list for this week. They will have up to 20 words for their list this week. We will take our spelling test on Friday this week, since we have our ELA exam Thursday.
I do have an ambitious plan for this week considering we have an exam that will take up the most of each morning...Please don't be surprised if next week's blog post says "Please read last week's post." Thank you for your continued support.
I hope you all had a nice week either away or home. My family and I spent some time here and in Washington, D.C. We had a great time! Looks like the weather is getting good just in time for us to return to school!
Thank you for making our Wax Museum such a success! I was extremely proud of each student's hard work and dedication to the unit. They certainly learned a lot and did a fabulous job!
What a busy week we have ahead!
This Tuesday, we begin our NYS ELA exam. We will begin first thing in the morning. Please be sure your child has had a good night's sleep, a healthy breakfast, and is in school on time. This way we can begin as soon as everyone is present. The exam will be 70 minutes long for 3 consecutive mornings, with an additional 10 minutes or so to go over directions, procedures, etc. After the exam concludes, we will have some down time, either playing games or watching a movie and having our snack. If the weather is nice, we will spend some time outside, but it would most likely be in the afternoon after all exams and lunches have concluded.
Even though we have an exam this week, we still have a lot of learning to do!!! We will continue our geometry study. We will learn how to classify polygons by numbers of sides, types of sides, and types of angles. We will learn the different types of quadrilaterals and triangles.
We will continue learning about ancient Egypt. This week our focus will be on the Egyptian religion and we will understand the different gods and goddesses they believed in.
We will begin looking at the genre of realistic fiction in reading. In our guided reading groups we will focus on higher level thinking skills, understanding implied meanings and increasing our vocabulary.
In writing workshop, we will begin looking at opinion writing. We will learn how to state a claim and then argue our claim with facts to support our claims.
Your child will be bringing home a review spelling list for this week. They will have up to 20 words for their list this week. We will take our spelling test on Friday this week, since we have our ELA exam Thursday.
I do have an ambitious plan for this week considering we have an exam that will take up the most of each morning...Please don't be surprised if next week's blog post says "Please read last week's post." Thank you for your continued support.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Top of the Morning to You...
Hello families!! We have been working extremely hard in class on MANY various topics. We have been reading and taking notes in a biography to learn about an important person in history. We will be having a Wax Museum, April 2 from 2:30 - 3 in our classroom. Preparations for this are taking place in the classroom. We will begin to discuss any home responsibilities (dressing like the person they have read about). More specific information will come home this week.
In math, we have been investigating fractions and learning about data. We will continue our fraction work and begin to learn geometry vocabulary, Please continue to work on math facts. We have been taking multiplication math fact quizzes for 9 weeks and I have 2 students who have "mastered" these quizzes. I would like to see that number increase dramatically over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for all of your support.
We have been discussing the upcoming ELA and Math tests. I am introducing the format of these exams to the students as well as teaching test taking strategies. The past two weeks and continuing this week, we have been learning what it means to write an essay. I am not putting a lot of emphasis on these exams, just telling them it's a "show what you know" exam. We are working mainly on increasing our stamina by being able to sustain attention over a long period of time. If you have any questions regarding these exams, please don't hesitate to contact me.
We have completed solar system research and are now in the works of putting our research into paragraphs about each planet. by the end of this week, I hope to be ready to turn these paragraphs into a final project!
Important Dates:
March 20th: No School (unless we have a snow day before Friday)
March 25th: Palace field trip (AM)
March 26th: A visit from Pine Hollow Arboretum (AM)
April 2nd: WAX MUSEUM (2:30 - 3:00 in our classroom)
April 14, 15, 16th: ELA Exam (AM)
April 22, 23, 24th: Math Exam (AM)
In math, we have been investigating fractions and learning about data. We will continue our fraction work and begin to learn geometry vocabulary, Please continue to work on math facts. We have been taking multiplication math fact quizzes for 9 weeks and I have 2 students who have "mastered" these quizzes. I would like to see that number increase dramatically over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for all of your support.
We have been discussing the upcoming ELA and Math tests. I am introducing the format of these exams to the students as well as teaching test taking strategies. The past two weeks and continuing this week, we have been learning what it means to write an essay. I am not putting a lot of emphasis on these exams, just telling them it's a "show what you know" exam. We are working mainly on increasing our stamina by being able to sustain attention over a long period of time. If you have any questions regarding these exams, please don't hesitate to contact me.
We have completed solar system research and are now in the works of putting our research into paragraphs about each planet. by the end of this week, I hope to be ready to turn these paragraphs into a final project!
Important Dates:
March 20th: No School (unless we have a snow day before Friday)
March 25th: Palace field trip (AM)
March 26th: A visit from Pine Hollow Arboretum (AM)
April 2nd: WAX MUSEUM (2:30 - 3:00 in our classroom)
April 14, 15, 16th: ELA Exam (AM)
April 22, 23, 24th: Math Exam (AM)
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Back to reality...
I hope you all had a nice week off! Although it was freezing, my family and I were able to find a lot of "warm" things to do and took advantage of having the time off together! As nice as it is to be off, I think we're all looking forward to getting back on a "schedule" and are anxious for the weather to start warming up!
Here is a brief rundown of what we'll be doing in class this week:
Reading: We will be diving into biographies! By the end of the week, your child will be paired with a biography of a person from history that interests them.
Writing: This week we'll finish putting non-fiction text features in our non-fiction writing and learning how to edit with a partner.
Math: We are embarking on the "Wonderful World of Fractions!" We also will continue to work on multi-step word problems and learn some vocabulary associated with geometry.
Science: We will wrap up our solar system research this week!
There wasn't a Friday Letter before break. Friday Letter will resume this Friday. I did ask that students jot down what they read over break, so I'm expecting a Reading Log to be handed in tomorrow. Your child will be bringing home their spelling list for this week tomorrow. A March and April Current Events calendar will come home tomorrow as well.
NYS ELA and Math Exams: A brief note on the upcoming exams in April...our students have never taken an exam of this nature. Both exams are given over a three day period for 70 minutes each day. We will begin to learn test taking strategies as well as practice some sample exams so students become aware of their structure and become familiar with what will be expected of them. I feel that by being aware of the format, understanding how to take a test, and explaining that this is a "show what you know" test, helps to alleviate any anxieties. We do not spend a lot of time discussing this, but I do try to answer all questions students have openly and honestly. I let them know that this is to see if they have learned anything while being in school! :-) I encourage you to give them the same message.
Here is a brief rundown of what we'll be doing in class this week:
Reading: We will be diving into biographies! By the end of the week, your child will be paired with a biography of a person from history that interests them.
Writing: This week we'll finish putting non-fiction text features in our non-fiction writing and learning how to edit with a partner.
Math: We are embarking on the "Wonderful World of Fractions!" We also will continue to work on multi-step word problems and learn some vocabulary associated with geometry.
Science: We will wrap up our solar system research this week!
There wasn't a Friday Letter before break. Friday Letter will resume this Friday. I did ask that students jot down what they read over break, so I'm expecting a Reading Log to be handed in tomorrow. Your child will be bringing home their spelling list for this week tomorrow. A March and April Current Events calendar will come home tomorrow as well.
NYS ELA and Math Exams: A brief note on the upcoming exams in April...our students have never taken an exam of this nature. Both exams are given over a three day period for 70 minutes each day. We will begin to learn test taking strategies as well as practice some sample exams so students become aware of their structure and become familiar with what will be expected of them. I feel that by being aware of the format, understanding how to take a test, and explaining that this is a "show what you know" test, helps to alleviate any anxieties. We do not spend a lot of time discussing this, but I do try to answer all questions students have openly and honestly. I let them know that this is to see if they have learned anything while being in school! :-) I encourage you to give them the same message.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Happy Snow Day!
Wow! February already! With today's snow day, this week is shaping up to be a short one!
Tuesday is our first of two conference days this month. I have a full day of conferences planned for tomorrow, however, if you would like a conference and have not signed up yet, please look at available times for February 11.
This month current events are voluntary and we have about 8 students signed up to present. If your child has not signed up, but would like to, please have them check on an available date with me this week.
Reading
We continue to read our mystery book while taking notes like a
detective. We are also reading our independent chapter books and writing
a short response each day.
Writing
We will finish drafting our informational writing piece while
working on revising. We will also look at adding text features to make
our writing more interesting.
Math
We will continue division, looking specifically at rules to understand when you have a divisor of 1 and 0. We will spend a large portion of this week looking at word problems and figuring out when to multiply or divide to answer the story problem.
This week we will also continue to work on Area. This week we will find the area of large figures and
irregular figures.
Science
We have begun learning about the Solar System. This week we will
use the internet and books to research the planets. We will research
Earth together to learn how to use these resources. Then the students
will research each planet on his/her own.
Valentine's Day:
We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Friday, February 13th. If your child chooses, they can make a Valentine for each child in the class. They may decorate a "mailbox" for their Valentines. This "mailbox" could be a shoe box, a gift bag, a decorated coffee can, etc. Be creative! Please bring your "mailbox" and your Valentine's to school on Friday, February 13th. I will email you a class list so your child will be sure to make a card for each classmate.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Star Lab wraps up!
I hope you all have had a wonderful long weekend! We have a short, jam-packed week ahead! This week we'll dive into the mystery genre in reading workshop. We'll learn how authors of this genre set up their stories for their readers to try to solve the mystery, just like the detective or sleuth does! We will be learning the vocabulary associated with this genre as well.
We'll continue our non-fiction writing unit. We have developed strong tables of contents for our topics, have thought through each chapter and have practiced various non-fiction text structures. This week, we'll begin writing our chapters, thinking about the best ways to present our information, making it easiest for our readers to follow.
In math, we've begun looking at division concepts and have been learning about perimeter and now focusing on area. We continue to practice our math facts in class, and practice at home is highly encouraged!
Star Lab wraps up this week with a focus on the Big and Little Dippers. Last week, we understood the reasons for seasons, and this week we'll learn how to find Polaris using Ursa Major and be able to identify which season we are in based on the position of the dippers in the night sky.
If you haven't already done so, please sign up for a conference time with me. Report cards will be posted on ASPEN on January 30th. Please let me know if you'd like to make your conference a phone conference. If this is your preference, sign up for a time on signup genius, and then email me your preference, including the best number to reach you at the time you choose.
Enjoy the week!
We'll continue our non-fiction writing unit. We have developed strong tables of contents for our topics, have thought through each chapter and have practiced various non-fiction text structures. This week, we'll begin writing our chapters, thinking about the best ways to present our information, making it easiest for our readers to follow.
In math, we've begun looking at division concepts and have been learning about perimeter and now focusing on area. We continue to practice our math facts in class, and practice at home is highly encouraged!
Star Lab wraps up this week with a focus on the Big and Little Dippers. Last week, we understood the reasons for seasons, and this week we'll learn how to find Polaris using Ursa Major and be able to identify which season we are in based on the position of the dippers in the night sky.
If you haven't already done so, please sign up for a conference time with me. Report cards will be posted on ASPEN on January 30th. Please let me know if you'd like to make your conference a phone conference. If this is your preference, sign up for a time on signup genius, and then email me your preference, including the best number to reach you at the time you choose.
Enjoy the week!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!! With the new year comes many new adventures in third grade! Below is a run down of what to expect this week:
Reading Workshop: We will finish looking at non-fiction text structures. So far we have covered, description, sequence, and cause and effect. This week we'll delve into problem and solution and compare and contrast.
Writing Workshop: Our non-fiction writing unit is underway! We will look at the different structures of non-fiction to help us decided which structure we will decide to use for our own writing.
Math: We have finished being exposed to factors of 0 - 10 in multiplication. It is now time we work on memorizing these facts. A letter came home today explaining how we will begin math fact quizzes beginning this Friday. Please keep this letter as it will help guide which facts to work on for each given week.
This week, we begin "double math sessions." This means we will work on two different math concepts per week. This week we will complete multiplication strategies and begin the concept of perimeter.
Science: Our portable planetarium called StarLab is here!!! This is a program that all third graders participate in. For the next three weeks we will be learning about how to locate the winter constellations in the night sky, understand the reason for seasons, and learn all about the Big and Little Dippers. We will go into StarLab each Thursday for the next three Thursdays.
Reading Workshop: We will finish looking at non-fiction text structures. So far we have covered, description, sequence, and cause and effect. This week we'll delve into problem and solution and compare and contrast.
Writing Workshop: Our non-fiction writing unit is underway! We will look at the different structures of non-fiction to help us decided which structure we will decide to use for our own writing.
Math: We have finished being exposed to factors of 0 - 10 in multiplication. It is now time we work on memorizing these facts. A letter came home today explaining how we will begin math fact quizzes beginning this Friday. Please keep this letter as it will help guide which facts to work on for each given week.
This week, we begin "double math sessions." This means we will work on two different math concepts per week. This week we will complete multiplication strategies and begin the concept of perimeter.
Science: Our portable planetarium called StarLab is here!!! This is a program that all third graders participate in. For the next three weeks we will be learning about how to locate the winter constellations in the night sky, understand the reason for seasons, and learn all about the Big and Little Dippers. We will go into StarLab each Thursday for the next three Thursdays.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
December...what?
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!
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!
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!
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