Hi Families,
This will be a short update since we have a short week.
The Book Fair started today! Our class will be visiting the Book Fair tomorrow morning. If you would like to send money with your child, they will have the opportunity to buy some books then. Otherwise, they can make a wish list for you and you can visit the Book Fair when you are here for conferences. The students in my class will recieve a $5 gift certificate for bringing in the most money for Lap-A-Thon. I will give those to the kids tomorrow before they go to the Book Fair. They can either spend it then, or you can take it with you when you go.
Parent Conferences are Wednesday evening and all day Thursday. I am pretty sure I have everyone scheduled. So I look forward to meeting with you later this week.
Students do not have school on Thursday or Friday this week!
A quick look at our learning for the week:
Reading- We began Theme 5 today--Times Have Changed.
Math- We are continuing to learn different multiplication facts. This week we will learn 1, 0, and 10.
Social Studies and Writing- The boys and girls began doing research on a state last week. We will continue to gather information this week as well. They will be presenting the information that they collect on Tourism Day, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Science- Solar Houses are due on Monday, October 24th!
Halloween Party and Parade-- next Friday, October 28th; parade is at 2:45 followed by the party at 3:00
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
October 10-14
This is the last week of the 1st quarter!! Can you beleive how fast it has gone?! There will be no school for students this Friday. This will be a teacher work day in order for us to finish up our 1st quarter grades and get prepared to meet with you for Parent Conferences next week.
Here's a look at the learning that will happen this week in our class:
Reading
We are still practicing how to "synthesize" information when we read. This is when we put ideas together to create new ideas.
Our Theme Test will be on THURSDAY this week.
I will not be meeting with small groups this week or next week. I will be benchmarking students to get their current reading level so that I can re-evaluate reading groups for the 2nd quarter.
Spelling
The patterns this week are:
1. ie, igh, oa, and ow
2. "tri-" which means three.
The test will be on Thursday this week.
Writing
We are publishing our "I Am" poems and our sequences this week.
In grammar we will be learning about imperative and exclamatory sentences. Ask your child if they can tell you the difference between the two types of sentences.
Math
We did a review lesson today and will be taking our Topic 4 test tomorrow.
We will begin Topic 5 on Wednesday. The lessons in this topic focus on multiplication facts and patterns.
Social Studies
We are continuing to study maps and will begin a state research project later this week. The majority of this project will be completed at school. The 3rd graders will be hosting a "Tourism Day" on October 27. This is the culminating event for this project. Students will have the opportunity during our "Tourism Day" to share all the information they learned about the state they researched.
Science
Reminder: Solar Houses are due on Monday, October 24th.
Here's a look at the learning that will happen this week in our class:
Reading
We are still practicing how to "synthesize" information when we read. This is when we put ideas together to create new ideas.
Our Theme Test will be on THURSDAY this week.
I will not be meeting with small groups this week or next week. I will be benchmarking students to get their current reading level so that I can re-evaluate reading groups for the 2nd quarter.
Spelling
The patterns this week are:
1. ie, igh, oa, and ow
2. "tri-" which means three.
The test will be on Thursday this week.
Writing
We are publishing our "I Am" poems and our sequences this week.
In grammar we will be learning about imperative and exclamatory sentences. Ask your child if they can tell you the difference between the two types of sentences.
Math
We did a review lesson today and will be taking our Topic 4 test tomorrow.
We will begin Topic 5 on Wednesday. The lessons in this topic focus on multiplication facts and patterns.
Social Studies
We are continuing to study maps and will begin a state research project later this week. The majority of this project will be completed at school. The 3rd graders will be hosting a "Tourism Day" on October 27. This is the culminating event for this project. Students will have the opportunity during our "Tourism Day" to share all the information they learned about the state they researched.
Science
Reminder: Solar Houses are due on Monday, October 24th.
Monday, October 3, 2011
October 3-7
October is here already, seems like time has been flying by this year! Conferences will be here before you know it (Oct. 19-20), so make sure you have signed up for one! Time slots are filling up!
Math
This week we will be starting multiplication! The kids are really excited because it's something new for them and should be a lot of fun. We will be working on how multiplication is repeated addition and can be arranged in groups or arrays. We will also bring up the commutative property again, which just means that the order of the numbers you multiply does not matter because the product is always the same.
Reading
This week we will begin Theme 4 in Rigby which is How Does Electricity Work?
Our comprehension strategy in this theme is synthesizing. The students weave what they read together with their own ideas to create new and complete thoughts. I will be sending home information about synthesizing and how you can help your child practice this strategy at home today in your child's Monday folder.
Spelling
Our patterns for the week are:
Rigby list--the letters ai and ay make the long a sound, and the letters ea and ee make the long e sound.
Prefix list-- "Bi-" which means 'two'.
Science
Solar house projects are due October 24th! We will continue to talk about the moon and stars this week.
Social Studies
We will start a new unit on Geography this week! I think the kids will really like learning about how to create maps and about the different types of maps. We will also be focusing on learning the continents and oceans.
Writing
We will write our final drafts of our sequence stories this week and continue working on a poem titled "I Am".
Math
This week we will be starting multiplication! The kids are really excited because it's something new for them and should be a lot of fun. We will be working on how multiplication is repeated addition and can be arranged in groups or arrays. We will also bring up the commutative property again, which just means that the order of the numbers you multiply does not matter because the product is always the same.
Reading
This week we will begin Theme 4 in Rigby which is How Does Electricity Work?
Our comprehension strategy in this theme is synthesizing. The students weave what they read together with their own ideas to create new and complete thoughts. I will be sending home information about synthesizing and how you can help your child practice this strategy at home today in your child's Monday folder.
Spelling
Our patterns for the week are:
Rigby list--the letters ai and ay make the long a sound, and the letters ea and ee make the long e sound.
Prefix list-- "Bi-" which means 'two'.
Science
Solar house projects are due October 24th! We will continue to talk about the moon and stars this week.
Social Studies
We will start a new unit on Geography this week! I think the kids will really like learning about how to create maps and about the different types of maps. We will also be focusing on learning the continents and oceans.
Writing
We will write our final drafts of our sequence stories this week and continue working on a poem titled "I Am".
Monday, September 26, 2011
September 26-30
The boys and girls had a great time last week!! Between experimenting with their solar cookers, taking a community walk to McDonalds, and ending the week with the Lap-A-Thon, I would say that it was an enjoyable week for each of them!
REWARD-- The class has been earning letters to spell the word 'reward'. They got their final letter last week. As a class, we decided for our reward to be a movie party. We will be watching the movie Charlotte's Web this Friday. The students are allowed to wear their pajamas also!
They want to bring treats that can be shared with the class. So, if you would like to send a bag of chips or cookies or a baked good to class, we will set them out for all the kids to have a buffet of treats to choose from while watching the movie.
This week will be a little less 'event'-ful, but also full of learning!
Reading
We will complete Theme 3, What is Light?, on Friday with a Theme Test. We will continue to practice making inferences and writing good questions about the text that we read.
Small Group books should have come home on Friday. The boys and girls will bring one of these home every week and are expected to read it to an adult over the weekend.
Reading logs will continue to be collected every Monday and/or Tuesday. This is part of our school-wide reading program. Please make sure your child reads and turns in his or her minutes. If you do not have a reading log at home, simply write the minutes on a piece of paper.
Spelling
The spelling patterns for the week are:
1. Digraphs- ch, sh, th, and wh
2. Prefix- "uni-" which means 'one'.
Math
The kiddos did really well last week learning about addition. This week our focus will be on subtraction.
*Subtracting with expanded algorithm
*Models for Subtracting
*Subtracting 3-digit numbers
*Subtracting across zeros
*Problem solving
Writing
The students began drafting a sequence of events last week. This week we will continue through the writing process to draft, edit and revise those sequences.
Science
We completed our solar energy unit last week with our solar cookout. We have one last culminating project for our solar energy unit, which will be coming home today. The boys and girls will be creating a solar house--on their own at home. The directions and examples will be coming home today. The houses are due October 24th.
We will spend this week learning about Stars and the Moon.
REWARD-- The class has been earning letters to spell the word 'reward'. They got their final letter last week. As a class, we decided for our reward to be a movie party. We will be watching the movie Charlotte's Web this Friday. The students are allowed to wear their pajamas also!
They want to bring treats that can be shared with the class. So, if you would like to send a bag of chips or cookies or a baked good to class, we will set them out for all the kids to have a buffet of treats to choose from while watching the movie.
This week will be a little less 'event'-ful, but also full of learning!
Reading
We will complete Theme 3, What is Light?, on Friday with a Theme Test. We will continue to practice making inferences and writing good questions about the text that we read.
Small Group books should have come home on Friday. The boys and girls will bring one of these home every week and are expected to read it to an adult over the weekend.
Reading logs will continue to be collected every Monday and/or Tuesday. This is part of our school-wide reading program. Please make sure your child reads and turns in his or her minutes. If you do not have a reading log at home, simply write the minutes on a piece of paper.
Spelling
The spelling patterns for the week are:
1. Digraphs- ch, sh, th, and wh
2. Prefix- "uni-" which means 'one'.
Math
The kiddos did really well last week learning about addition. This week our focus will be on subtraction.
*Subtracting with expanded algorithm
*Models for Subtracting
*Subtracting 3-digit numbers
*Subtracting across zeros
*Problem solving
Writing
The students began drafting a sequence of events last week. This week we will continue through the writing process to draft, edit and revise those sequences.
Science
We completed our solar energy unit last week with our solar cookout. We have one last culminating project for our solar energy unit, which will be coming home today. The boys and girls will be creating a solar house--on their own at home. The directions and examples will be coming home today. The houses are due October 24th.
We will spend this week learning about Stars and the Moon.
Monday, September 19, 2011
September 19-23
Community Walk field trip is on Wednesday! Make sure to get your child's permission slip signed and turned in by Wednesday morning. (They went home on Friday- if you did not recieve it or do not have one, just write a little note, and sign it, that gives your child permission to walk with us).
Reading
We will be starting Theme 3 this week titled "What is Light?". During this theme we will be practicing the reading strategy of "making inferences".
We will also continue to practice "asking questions". We will begin to develop two types of questions this week, "on the surface" (the answers to these questions can be found directly in the test) and "under the surface" (the answers to these questions need to be thought about).
Reading Logs will come home again tonight in Monday folders. Send them back next Monday or Tuesday. This is a school-wide reading program, so please make sure your child is reading regularly.
Spelling
Spelling this week will be the "long vowel" pattern, OR the prefix "poly-" which means many.
Math
We took our Topic 2 test on Friday and will re-test today.
We are beginning Topic 3 this week and will cover the following lessons:
* Adding with an expanded algorithm
* Models for adding 3 digit numbers using place value blocks
* Adding 3 digit numbers
Science
Our Solar Cookout was postponed until tomorrow! There was NO sunshine on Friday, therefore we will cook our bagel pizzas and smores all day tomorrow. The students will still be eating their normal lunch at school. The cookout will count as their afternoon snack. We will set out the cookers in the morning, check them periodically through the day to make sure the sun is hitting them correctly, and then eat our snack in the afternoon.
Social Studies
Learning about the community is an important part of the 3rd grade curriculum. We would like to take the students on several walks throughout the year to help them learn about different parts of the community. So, we will have our first walk on Wednesday to the local McDonalds. We will be eating lunch at school and then leaving for our walk shortly afterwards. Please send a small amount of money to school with your child that day if you would like for them to be able to buy a treat.
Writing
The class is just about finished publishing the stories that we have been working on. The students will begin writing a technical piece later this week, that will show a sequence of events.
Reading
We will be starting Theme 3 this week titled "What is Light?". During this theme we will be practicing the reading strategy of "making inferences".
We will also continue to practice "asking questions". We will begin to develop two types of questions this week, "on the surface" (the answers to these questions can be found directly in the test) and "under the surface" (the answers to these questions need to be thought about).
Reading Logs will come home again tonight in Monday folders. Send them back next Monday or Tuesday. This is a school-wide reading program, so please make sure your child is reading regularly.
Spelling
Spelling this week will be the "long vowel" pattern, OR the prefix "poly-" which means many.
Math
We took our Topic 2 test on Friday and will re-test today.
We are beginning Topic 3 this week and will cover the following lessons:
* Adding with an expanded algorithm
* Models for adding 3 digit numbers using place value blocks
* Adding 3 digit numbers
Science
Our Solar Cookout was postponed until tomorrow! There was NO sunshine on Friday, therefore we will cook our bagel pizzas and smores all day tomorrow. The students will still be eating their normal lunch at school. The cookout will count as their afternoon snack. We will set out the cookers in the morning, check them periodically through the day to make sure the sun is hitting them correctly, and then eat our snack in the afternoon.
Social Studies
Learning about the community is an important part of the 3rd grade curriculum. We would like to take the students on several walks throughout the year to help them learn about different parts of the community. So, we will have our first walk on Wednesday to the local McDonalds. We will be eating lunch at school and then leaving for our walk shortly afterwards. Please send a small amount of money to school with your child that day if you would like for them to be able to buy a treat.
Writing
The class is just about finished publishing the stories that we have been working on. The students will begin writing a technical piece later this week, that will show a sequence of events.
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 12-16
MAP testing is complete! This was a new experience for these kiddos. They had to learn very quickly that when we take an important test online, that the room needs to stay quiet for over an hour. It was quite the challenge for many of them, but they all did GREAT! I will have final results from the MAP tests for you at parent conferences in October.
Reading
We are back on track with our Rigby reading this week. The students will take their Theme 2 test on Friday. We will spend the week working on vocabulary and asking questions.
I am planning on beginning reading groups this week as well.
Spelling
We will resume with spelling this week. The Rigby word list contains a "consonant blend" pattern. (ex. gr-, sl-), and the Challenge list contains the prefix "mono-" which means 'one'.
Writing
The class is moving into the publishing stage of their stories. They should be completed by the end of the week. I will also be introducing how to write showing a sequence of events.
In memory of Sept. 11th, the class will be writing letters today to firemen to thank them for being such brave and heroic citizens. Some local firemen will be coming to visit the 3rd graders later this week so that they can learn more about what it takes to be a fireman.
Grammar focus this week will be subjects and predicates.
Math
We will be completing Topic 2 this week with a test on Friday.
This week in math the students will be learning about:
*Estimating Differences
* Making sense of addition and subtraction equations
* Problem solving
* Reveiw for Test
Science
We will be having our Solar Cookout this Friday (weather permitting). We will be assembling the cookers on Thursday afternoon. See the attached flyer for more details. We still need another volunteer to help that afternoon and quite a few more items to be donated.
If the weather is uncooperative on Friday, we will have the actual cookout on Monday. Bottom line is...we need a sunshiny day!
Social Studies
We are continuing to learn about communities and will be building 3-dimensional rural, suburban and urban communities this week. We are planning a community walk next week down to our local McDonalds. Look for a permission slip form to come home for that event.
Have a great week!
Reading
We are back on track with our Rigby reading this week. The students will take their Theme 2 test on Friday. We will spend the week working on vocabulary and asking questions.
I am planning on beginning reading groups this week as well.
Spelling
We will resume with spelling this week. The Rigby word list contains a "consonant blend" pattern. (ex. gr-, sl-), and the Challenge list contains the prefix "mono-" which means 'one'.
Writing
The class is moving into the publishing stage of their stories. They should be completed by the end of the week. I will also be introducing how to write showing a sequence of events.
In memory of Sept. 11th, the class will be writing letters today to firemen to thank them for being such brave and heroic citizens. Some local firemen will be coming to visit the 3rd graders later this week so that they can learn more about what it takes to be a fireman.
Grammar focus this week will be subjects and predicates.
Math
We will be completing Topic 2 this week with a test on Friday.
This week in math the students will be learning about:
*Estimating Differences
* Making sense of addition and subtraction equations
* Problem solving
* Reveiw for Test
Science
We will be having our Solar Cookout this Friday (weather permitting). We will be assembling the cookers on Thursday afternoon. See the attached flyer for more details. We still need another volunteer to help that afternoon and quite a few more items to be donated.
If the weather is uncooperative on Friday, we will have the actual cookout on Monday. Bottom line is...we need a sunshiny day!
Social Studies
We are continuing to learn about communities and will be building 3-dimensional rural, suburban and urban communities this week. We are planning a community walk next week down to our local McDonalds. Look for a permission slip form to come home for that event.
Have a great week!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
September 7-9
MAP TESTING this WEEK!
Students will be taking MAPS each day from Noon to 1:30 pm. Please make sure your child is well rested and ready for school in the morning. THANK YOU!
Wednesday= MAP Reading
Thursday= MAP Math
Friday= MAP Language
enVision Math
Please notify me if you haven't received the parent letter for enVision with your child's user name and password. I have sent it home last week in Monday folders. Each lesson that your child views in class is also online so you are able to see what we complete in class. Please do let me know if you have any questions at all. (Math has changed A LOT since we've been in school.) The login site is as follows: https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/login/login.jsp
The students took an online test and a hard copy test (both were exactly the same) last week over Topic 1. Most students performed better on the hard copy test; however, we are trying to help prepare the students for the computerized testing they will have to take in the Spring. I will plan on going forward with both forms of testing at the moment and will record the higher test score for each child. I was very proud of how the students did given this was the first time they had something other than Saxon. They are doing a great job!
The current topic is Number Sense: Addition and Subtraction. This week we will cover Using Mental Math to Subtract, Rounding and Estimating Sums. We will begin using an Estimation Jar soon to help us with our estimating skills.
Rigby Reading
We will continue focusing on Making Connections. After reading, you can ask your child how they are able to relate to the text, relate it to another text, or relate it to the world. We will also focus on Asking Questions as we read to help us better understand the text.
*Grammar-We will continue to focus on identifying nouns and verbs and have an introduction to subjects and predicates.
Spelling
No spelling this week due to the short week and MAP testing.
Science
We will continue our solar energy unit. The students will test earth materials and create solar heat collectors. Please note that we will have our Solar Energy Cook-Out on Friday, September 16. We will need parent volunteers to help throughout the day. Students will also have their own Solar Houses due at the beginning of October. Look for more detailed information regarding both events very soon.
Social Studies
We will continue our communities unit. This week we will be covering the history of Shawnee, recreation and city services in Shawnee.
Writing
Last week we began a draft a topic of their choice. This week we will focus on revising, using voice, having strong a beginning and strong conclusion in our narratives.
Have a great week!
Students will be taking MAPS each day from Noon to 1:30 pm. Please make sure your child is well rested and ready for school in the morning. THANK YOU!
Wednesday= MAP Reading
Thursday= MAP Math
Friday= MAP Language
enVision Math
Please notify me if you haven't received the parent letter for enVision with your child's user name and password. I have sent it home last week in Monday folders. Each lesson that your child views in class is also online so you are able to see what we complete in class. Please do let me know if you have any questions at all. (Math has changed A LOT since we've been in school.) The login site is as follows: https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/login/login.jsp
The students took an online test and a hard copy test (both were exactly the same) last week over Topic 1. Most students performed better on the hard copy test; however, we are trying to help prepare the students for the computerized testing they will have to take in the Spring. I will plan on going forward with both forms of testing at the moment and will record the higher test score for each child. I was very proud of how the students did given this was the first time they had something other than Saxon. They are doing a great job!
The current topic is Number Sense: Addition and Subtraction. This week we will cover Using Mental Math to Subtract, Rounding and Estimating Sums. We will begin using an Estimation Jar soon to help us with our estimating skills.
Rigby Reading
We will continue focusing on Making Connections. After reading, you can ask your child how they are able to relate to the text, relate it to another text, or relate it to the world. We will also focus on Asking Questions as we read to help us better understand the text.
*Grammar-We will continue to focus on identifying nouns and verbs and have an introduction to subjects and predicates.
Spelling
No spelling this week due to the short week and MAP testing.
Science
We will continue our solar energy unit. The students will test earth materials and create solar heat collectors. Please note that we will have our Solar Energy Cook-Out on Friday, September 16. We will need parent volunteers to help throughout the day. Students will also have their own Solar Houses due at the beginning of October. Look for more detailed information regarding both events very soon.
Social Studies
We will continue our communities unit. This week we will be covering the history of Shawnee, recreation and city services in Shawnee.
Writing
Last week we began a draft a topic of their choice. This week we will focus on revising, using voice, having strong a beginning and strong conclusion in our narratives.
Have a great week!
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