I reviewed the expectations for tomorrow during and at the end of Fall Festival. We discussed the importance of having a "plan" set with you on where to meet you at a certain time if they get separated from you. I have the sign up sheet on my classroom door ready for you to sign when you all are ready to leave for the day. The children will remain with me after the parade for a story or any other work that we need to "tie" up. I will release them at 10:00am. You may want to designate a place for them to meet you at that time as well.
Please make sure you return the H1N1 form that I sent home yesterday if you want your child to be vaccinated. The nurse would like to have these turned in as soon as you can.
I will be working on report cards for the next few days. My plan for this grading period is to send a general summary of the work that has been completed and what my general observations are in the classroom via my blog. I will be more specific and more focused on just your child on the report card. Thus, my comments may not be as lengthy, but they will be detailed about your child regarding strengths and weaknesses in academics and work and study habits. This way I will spend less time repeating myself on items that I want each of you to know that pertain to all the children and savor the time and space to discuss your child specifically.
I hope everyone has a SPOOK-TACULAR weekend. Try not to get tricked too many times! Enjoy the extra hour!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wacky Wednesday!
Wow! I can tell that Halloween is near. My little ghosts and goblins are certainly getting excited for not only Halloween but Fall Festival. Please make sure they get a good night's sleep tonight. We will have a very busy morning trying to get in some of the work that we will miss on Friday. The children will have their spelling test and like last week, they will have to write the rules for the Vowel Consonant -e syllable. We will review these rules in the morning before the test as well. Other homework includes:
Math- Workbook page 71
Writing- read the paragraph and combine thoughts into one sentence where appropriate. Today as a mini lesson we worked on sentence fluency. We looked at writing samples and made suggestions on how to make our sentences "flow like rivers."I then put them with a writing buddy and they were to take a paragraph that they had not seen before on rocks and rewrite it to make it "flow." The activity tonight I would really like for them to complete on their own. But when you check it, please look to see if they have combined similar sentences by using commas or connector words such as and or but.
We have read up to Chapter 8 in our class novel. The children seem to be enjoying this story of adventure and friendship. We are also reading a read aloud entitled, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? You will want to ask your child about the mystery that needs to be solved and who has already been blamed. At some point, the children will go back to the library and check out a mystery chapter book. We will complete our first book report after we learn more about the elements of a good mystery.
We did not get a chance to completely review the Wordly Wise words this week. I will just carry this over to next week. Thus, they will not have a quiz on these words tomorrow.
We have begun our chart for the Timucua Native Americans. We are learning how to pick out key points/information and organize it for studying purposes.
I know Fall Festival will be fun on Friday. Yes, the children are to come to school dressed for the parade, but don't forget to send them with a change of clothes for the festival. After the parade, I will give the children time to change their clothes. There is usually a little down time until 10am. I will read the children a story or we may check a little work. I will release them promptly at 10am. You can meet us at the room or have your child meet you outside at a designated area. I am asking that you must sign your child out at noon back at the classroom. I will have a sign out sheet taped to the door for you to sign stating that you have your child and that you have left the premises. The children are in your care during the festival, but I need to be assured that each of my children leave with an adult. I will instruct the children that if they get separated or don't know where to go or where to find you at the end of the festival, they are to come back to the room and wait for you at the classroom door. You should still chat with your child and have a plan as to what you would like them to do when the festival is over. However, I feel it is always best to have a back up plan in case something unexpected happens. I will be mingling outside as well, but will also be in the room working from time to time. Thus the children will be able to find me.
Thank you for all your help and support. Please make sure that your child's work envelope has been signed and turned in by tomorrow. I will be needing them for next week's work.
Math- Workbook page 71
Writing- read the paragraph and combine thoughts into one sentence where appropriate. Today as a mini lesson we worked on sentence fluency. We looked at writing samples and made suggestions on how to make our sentences "flow like rivers."I then put them with a writing buddy and they were to take a paragraph that they had not seen before on rocks and rewrite it to make it "flow." The activity tonight I would really like for them to complete on their own. But when you check it, please look to see if they have combined similar sentences by using commas or connector words such as and or but.
We have read up to Chapter 8 in our class novel. The children seem to be enjoying this story of adventure and friendship. We are also reading a read aloud entitled, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? You will want to ask your child about the mystery that needs to be solved and who has already been blamed. At some point, the children will go back to the library and check out a mystery chapter book. We will complete our first book report after we learn more about the elements of a good mystery.
We did not get a chance to completely review the Wordly Wise words this week. I will just carry this over to next week. Thus, they will not have a quiz on these words tomorrow.
We have begun our chart for the Timucua Native Americans. We are learning how to pick out key points/information and organize it for studying purposes.
I know Fall Festival will be fun on Friday. Yes, the children are to come to school dressed for the parade, but don't forget to send them with a change of clothes for the festival. After the parade, I will give the children time to change their clothes. There is usually a little down time until 10am. I will read the children a story or we may check a little work. I will release them promptly at 10am. You can meet us at the room or have your child meet you outside at a designated area. I am asking that you must sign your child out at noon back at the classroom. I will have a sign out sheet taped to the door for you to sign stating that you have your child and that you have left the premises. The children are in your care during the festival, but I need to be assured that each of my children leave with an adult. I will instruct the children that if they get separated or don't know where to go or where to find you at the end of the festival, they are to come back to the room and wait for you at the classroom door. You should still chat with your child and have a plan as to what you would like them to do when the festival is over. However, I feel it is always best to have a back up plan in case something unexpected happens. I will be mingling outside as well, but will also be in the room working from time to time. Thus the children will be able to find me.
Thank you for all your help and support. Please make sure that your child's work envelope has been signed and turned in by tomorrow. I will be needing them for next week's work.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Weekend Math Challenge.....
If you should choose to accept this challenge, copy the problem and write what you think the answer is in your agenda and keep it safe until Monday. Good Luck!
45+9+37+6-10+85-19+8+5+12+25-30+200=?
45+9+37+6-10+85-19+8+5+12+25-30+200=?
Ghosts and Goblins Hard at Work!
It's Friday! Whew... we covered a lot of ground this week. We have concluded our study of Florida and have moved on the the Floridian Native Americans. We studied the Calusa this week. Ask your child why they are called the "Shell Indians." Next week we will begin our study of the Timucua Native Americans.
We are continuing with subjects and predicates along with adjectives next week. Please help me by encouraging the children to add adjectives to make their writing more descriptive. We also began listing the many homophones in our reading. With the help of last night's homework, we have a rather large list already. I have asked the children to be on the lookout for other homophones that were not used in the homework assignment for next week.
We have been reading a realistic narrative in our reading book, Grandfather's Journey. Our primary reading skill the last couple of weeks has been looking for cause and effect. We are learning that if we look for causes and effects, it helps us with details and sequencing of stories. We area also using this story as an example for our own personal narratives that we have begun in writing workshop. One observation that I have made during this writing time is that they have become more focused while they are writing and seem to be more comfortable with the rules of writing workshop.
We spent some time today in class looking up words in the dictionary and finding the matching guide words. Many of the children continue to have some difficulty when they have to go to the third or fourth letter of the word. They are quick to tell you that they can't find it. When they have words they need to spell at home, please have them look up the word in the dictionary with little to no help. Again, practice will only improve this skill. We will continue with this skill next week.
Measurement in math is going slowly. But, I am fine with that... measurement and fractions are generally the hardest skills in third grade. I am happy to take our time to make sure they have a positive experience. We will practice measuring using both standard and metric systems.
We have decided to take on the Scholastic Challenge. As a class, we are going to try and read 100 books in the month of November. It's called the Peyton and Eli Manning challenge. If we read our 100 books and turn in our paperwork, Scholastic Book Club, with the help of these athletes, will donate a million books to children in need. We discussed that this is truly a worthy cause. We also decided that this would be an easy goal for us to achieve in that not only are we good readers, but we read so much anyway that we should help others out while we're working. You should be able to get more details from your child if you are interested.
Since the Fall Festival is next Friday, I will have the spelling test next Thursday and the Wordly Wise test on Lesson 3 next Thursday. We will spend some time on these words on Monday and Tuesday so all they should have to do in review these words at home.
I hope everyone has a restful weekend.
We are continuing with subjects and predicates along with adjectives next week. Please help me by encouraging the children to add adjectives to make their writing more descriptive. We also began listing the many homophones in our reading. With the help of last night's homework, we have a rather large list already. I have asked the children to be on the lookout for other homophones that were not used in the homework assignment for next week.
We have been reading a realistic narrative in our reading book, Grandfather's Journey. Our primary reading skill the last couple of weeks has been looking for cause and effect. We are learning that if we look for causes and effects, it helps us with details and sequencing of stories. We area also using this story as an example for our own personal narratives that we have begun in writing workshop. One observation that I have made during this writing time is that they have become more focused while they are writing and seem to be more comfortable with the rules of writing workshop.
We spent some time today in class looking up words in the dictionary and finding the matching guide words. Many of the children continue to have some difficulty when they have to go to the third or fourth letter of the word. They are quick to tell you that they can't find it. When they have words they need to spell at home, please have them look up the word in the dictionary with little to no help. Again, practice will only improve this skill. We will continue with this skill next week.
Measurement in math is going slowly. But, I am fine with that... measurement and fractions are generally the hardest skills in third grade. I am happy to take our time to make sure they have a positive experience. We will practice measuring using both standard and metric systems.
We have decided to take on the Scholastic Challenge. As a class, we are going to try and read 100 books in the month of November. It's called the Peyton and Eli Manning challenge. If we read our 100 books and turn in our paperwork, Scholastic Book Club, with the help of these athletes, will donate a million books to children in need. We discussed that this is truly a worthy cause. We also decided that this would be an easy goal for us to achieve in that not only are we good readers, but we read so much anyway that we should help others out while we're working. You should be able to get more details from your child if you are interested.
Since the Fall Festival is next Friday, I will have the spelling test next Thursday and the Wordly Wise test on Lesson 3 next Thursday. We will spend some time on these words on Monday and Tuesday so all they should have to do in review these words at home.
I hope everyone has a restful weekend.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time Out Tuesday!
This week I have discovered a skill that the class is having great difficulty with. Take a look in their homework folder tonight. On one side they had to put words in alphabetical order. That is not the problem, unless the words have the same first and second letter. The skill that I discovered that I had to call "time out" on is the skill on the other side of that paper. The children have to decide what word or words one would find on a page given the guide words. Some children did not finish, some did finish but with less accuracy. So, I decided to send it home with them to look at the activity again. They are to bring that sheet back to school tomorrow for us to check. Even if they tell you that have completed the activity, please take a look at it. We will working on this skill the rest of the week and I may have a homework assignment or two dealing with this as well.This is a skill that just takes practice. I cannot expect them to use the dictionary voluntarily if they don't know how to use the guide words. Any chance that you have to focus on the order of letters in a word would really be a huge help.
We had to go back today and review how to read a ruler up to the quarter inch. The children are not completely sure of this skill as well. You can count on an assignment or two for the children to come home and measure items using standard measurement, inches and feet. My hope is for each child to get to a point where they can make conversions from inches to miles and everything in between. Tomorrow we will discover if your child is a square, tall rectangle, or short rectangle based on DaVinci's theory of mathematical ratios. Get ready.. they will be coming home tomorrow night ready to find out about you!
Today in Science Lab, we worked with objects to discover how friction and gravity work. You will want to ask which object seemed to move the fastest and what surface helped to produce the fastest object.
This week in spelling, our words are examples of Closed Syllables. The children wrote the rules for Closed Syllables in their notebook. They will be expected to write these rules instead of dictation this week. The rules are: 1) a closed syllable ends with a consonant and 2) the vowel before the final consonant has a short sound.
We have begun a new class novel entitled, The Whipping Boy. The children will be responsible for answering questions at the end of each chapter and occasional extra activity. Tonight they have a list of rather difficult vocabulary words to just learn how to pronounce. We worked on these words in class and I asked them to practice reading them at least two times tonight. Please make sure that list returns to school tomorrow so the children can finish creating their bingo board with these words. I want the children to be comfortable reading these words as they get to them in the book. You will want to ask your child about the custom of that time period of a whipping boy. As we progress through the book, this conflict of having a whipping boy will become the main idea of several class discussions.
The children have now begun searching for poems that they find interesting, humorous, or thought provoking. I want the children to be more aware of the various kinds of poems. Each child has been given a poetry book all of their own. Inside this book, they will collect different poems and comment on what makes these poems special.
Thanks for checking the blogs on a regular basis. This one contained some very important information that I really wanted to make sure everyone saw. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
We had to go back today and review how to read a ruler up to the quarter inch. The children are not completely sure of this skill as well. You can count on an assignment or two for the children to come home and measure items using standard measurement, inches and feet. My hope is for each child to get to a point where they can make conversions from inches to miles and everything in between. Tomorrow we will discover if your child is a square, tall rectangle, or short rectangle based on DaVinci's theory of mathematical ratios. Get ready.. they will be coming home tomorrow night ready to find out about you!
Today in Science Lab, we worked with objects to discover how friction and gravity work. You will want to ask which object seemed to move the fastest and what surface helped to produce the fastest object.
This week in spelling, our words are examples of Closed Syllables. The children wrote the rules for Closed Syllables in their notebook. They will be expected to write these rules instead of dictation this week. The rules are: 1) a closed syllable ends with a consonant and 2) the vowel before the final consonant has a short sound.
We have begun a new class novel entitled, The Whipping Boy. The children will be responsible for answering questions at the end of each chapter and occasional extra activity. Tonight they have a list of rather difficult vocabulary words to just learn how to pronounce. We worked on these words in class and I asked them to practice reading them at least two times tonight. Please make sure that list returns to school tomorrow so the children can finish creating their bingo board with these words. I want the children to be comfortable reading these words as they get to them in the book. You will want to ask your child about the custom of that time period of a whipping boy. As we progress through the book, this conflict of having a whipping boy will become the main idea of several class discussions.
The children have now begun searching for poems that they find interesting, humorous, or thought provoking. I want the children to be more aware of the various kinds of poems. Each child has been given a poetry book all of their own. Inside this book, they will collect different poems and comment on what makes these poems special.
Thanks for checking the blogs on a regular basis. This one contained some very important information that I really wanted to make sure everyone saw. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Fabulous Friday!
On Monday, our class will do a short presentation entitled, Florida Is.....the children worked with a partner and generated as many phrases or words that they have learned during our study of Florida. We then took these words and phrases and created a poster using Wordle, a computer program that the kids love. On Monday at our Town Meeting, each pair will present three items from their poster while carrying a bright pink flamingo. I will take some pictures and post them on the blog so that each of you can share in our experience.
Next week we will begin our study of the Calusa Native Americans. We will cover 3 or 4 Native American groups that lived in Florida. The children will design and organize a booklet that will store information they read so that they are better able to compare and contrast these groups.
We are continuing with our study of subjects and predicates with adjective work thrown in. We have been talking about the 4 kinds of sentences and the 5 parts to a sentence that allow writers to become more detailed. Hold up your hand and ask you child to identify your five fingers as it relates to writing a good sentence.
I hope you all are enjoying your three day weekend!
Next week we will begin our study of the Calusa Native Americans. We will cover 3 or 4 Native American groups that lived in Florida. The children will design and organize a booklet that will store information they read so that they are better able to compare and contrast these groups.
We are continuing with our study of subjects and predicates with adjective work thrown in. We have been talking about the 4 kinds of sentences and the 5 parts to a sentence that allow writers to become more detailed. Hold up your hand and ask you child to identify your five fingers as it relates to writing a good sentence.
I hope you all are enjoying your three day weekend!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Last Day of the Week on Thursday!
The children are responsible for the following:
Spelling: Test which includes the words, dictation sentences, and writing the two rules for Open Syllables
Poem: Trick-Or-Treat
Reading Assignment: How Big Is A Foot?
We completed our Florida Wordles today. Mrs. Baralt visited our class to help us learn the rules for using the rolling labs that we have in the third and fourth grade areas. I hope to post dome pictures of the children on my blog tomorrow so you can see them hard at work. Tomorrow we will practice our lines about Florida for the Town Meeting on Monday.
The children are also coming home with the math test that I told you about in the blog yesterday. Please make sure they review the page that has numbers 10-12.
Spelling: Test which includes the words, dictation sentences, and writing the two rules for Open Syllables
Poem: Trick-Or-Treat
Reading Assignment: How Big Is A Foot?
We completed our Florida Wordles today. Mrs. Baralt visited our class to help us learn the rules for using the rolling labs that we have in the third and fourth grade areas. I hope to post dome pictures of the children on my blog tomorrow so you can see them hard at work. Tomorrow we will practice our lines about Florida for the Town Meeting on Monday.
The children are also coming home with the math test that I told you about in the blog yesterday. Please make sure they review the page that has numbers 10-12.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Today was our first visit from the Picture Lady. You will want to ask your child about this unusual artist. The children definitely used their imaginations and contributed to the class discussion about their observations of the painting. The Picture Lady was quite impressed! Yea class!
I wanted you to know that the math test on Unit 2 is coming home tomorrow. As I was grading the tests, I discovered that many of the children made too many mistakes on one page for me to overlook. As a teacher, I have to stop and ask myself... does this mean I didn't teach it well or do we need more practice. So, today we spent our math time reviewing addition and subtraction with regrouping and trading and then working on the Ballpark estimate. I am going to keep the grade as it stands. BUT, I am going to give an additional test on Thursday using the same format as the exercises 10 through 14 but with different numbers. I will add that score into the test score. I feel that this is a fair way to treat this situation. This seldom happens, but when it does, I always blame myself first and then go from there. However, the children as a whole still struggle with basic adding and subtraction facts. We learned a strategy today whereby you pair numbers together that are easier to add. For example: 25+3+5+7=? One would group 25 and 5 and 3 and 7. It is traditionally easier to add number that end in 0 and 5. This is a strategy for mental math computation. I also find that they assume that if the first 3 problems on the paper are adding, then they all must be addition. We will continue to work on proofreading!
Thursday is a big day. Items that are due are: Poem, Spelling test, Reading comprehension sheet, How Big is a Foot. Don't forget to listen to them read it orally. We discussed at length the intent of the assignment which is to focus on repetitive phrases and sentences which give meaning to the text and make the story more fun to read.
I am finding that it is hard keeping up with the All About Me posters with everything else that we do in the mornings. So, I have a different approach. I would like the children to go ahead and turn them in to me as soon as they are finished, if they have not already done so. Then I will pull one out as a surprise for that day. Then if we don't do one on a particular day, feelings don't get hurt.
If anyone has a little blow up pool ring that fits your third grader, please email me and let me know. I am thinking that at our Town Meeting on Monday, we will present interesting facts from A to Z on Florida as a cumulative activity to the end of our study. The children don't know this yet, so don't spoil the secret. But, do email me so I can see how many if any that I would have to use as props.
Make sure you read over the parent letter for our new Unit in Math. We will doing a great deal of measuring in this unit.
I hope everyone has a great evening!
I wanted you to know that the math test on Unit 2 is coming home tomorrow. As I was grading the tests, I discovered that many of the children made too many mistakes on one page for me to overlook. As a teacher, I have to stop and ask myself... does this mean I didn't teach it well or do we need more practice. So, today we spent our math time reviewing addition and subtraction with regrouping and trading and then working on the Ballpark estimate. I am going to keep the grade as it stands. BUT, I am going to give an additional test on Thursday using the same format as the exercises 10 through 14 but with different numbers. I will add that score into the test score. I feel that this is a fair way to treat this situation. This seldom happens, but when it does, I always blame myself first and then go from there. However, the children as a whole still struggle with basic adding and subtraction facts. We learned a strategy today whereby you pair numbers together that are easier to add. For example: 25+3+5+7=? One would group 25 and 5 and 3 and 7. It is traditionally easier to add number that end in 0 and 5. This is a strategy for mental math computation. I also find that they assume that if the first 3 problems on the paper are adding, then they all must be addition. We will continue to work on proofreading!
Thursday is a big day. Items that are due are: Poem, Spelling test, Reading comprehension sheet, How Big is a Foot. Don't forget to listen to them read it orally. We discussed at length the intent of the assignment which is to focus on repetitive phrases and sentences which give meaning to the text and make the story more fun to read.
I am finding that it is hard keeping up with the All About Me posters with everything else that we do in the mornings. So, I have a different approach. I would like the children to go ahead and turn them in to me as soon as they are finished, if they have not already done so. Then I will pull one out as a surprise for that day. Then if we don't do one on a particular day, feelings don't get hurt.
If anyone has a little blow up pool ring that fits your third grader, please email me and let me know. I am thinking that at our Town Meeting on Monday, we will present interesting facts from A to Z on Florida as a cumulative activity to the end of our study. The children don't know this yet, so don't spoil the secret. But, do email me so I can see how many if any that I would have to use as props.
Make sure you read over the parent letter for our new Unit in Math. We will doing a great deal of measuring in this unit.
I hope everyone has a great evening!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Finally Friday!
The children are coming home with their Wordly Wise workbook in the backpacks. They will have a quiz on Lesson 2 words on Monday. With a four day week next week, I had to rearrange some responsibilities. I suggested that someone should read the definitions to them a couple of times and try to match the word and then have them orally read the words twice. The children will also receive a list of spelling words with dictation next week. Amongst our regular responsibilities we have the following next week as well: Guidance, Picture Lady, and a performance entitled, Jigsaw Jones.
The October poem is due on Thursday. These poems help reinforce public speaking and presentation. I have asked the children to practice in front of a mirror pronouncing the words correctly and clearly. Don't forget the title.
Our class will make a presentation at Town Meeting on October 19. At this time, I do not have a clue as to what we will be presenting. But, I wanted you to know ahead of time in case you wanted to come and watch. The presentation is only designed to last 5 minutes or so and will reflect some aspect of our curriculum. Please feel free to come and join us. Town Meetings begin around 8:05.
Here is the new blog challenge for the weekend:
35+45+10+9+12-7-10+54+100-31+89+200-67-54+25=? Once you get your answer, turn that number into money with a dollar and cent sign and of course a decimal. Show your work and your answer in your agenda. I have to see proof that you did the adding and subtracting without the help of a calculator.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
The October poem is due on Thursday. These poems help reinforce public speaking and presentation. I have asked the children to practice in front of a mirror pronouncing the words correctly and clearly. Don't forget the title.
Our class will make a presentation at Town Meeting on October 19. At this time, I do not have a clue as to what we will be presenting. But, I wanted you to know ahead of time in case you wanted to come and watch. The presentation is only designed to last 5 minutes or so and will reflect some aspect of our curriculum. Please feel free to come and join us. Town Meetings begin around 8:05.
Here is the new blog challenge for the weekend:
35+45+10+9+12-7-10+54+100-31+89+200-67-54+25=? Once you get your answer, turn that number into money with a dollar and cent sign and of course a decimal. Show your work and your answer in your agenda. I have to see proof that you did the adding and subtracting without the help of a calculator.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Thursday Announcements!
Wow... where does the week go!!!!!!!
Homework tonight is as follows:
Spelling Test...
Practice the October poem that is due on October 15...
Reading Activity on Thomas Jefferson.. please make sure you sign the assignment along with
your child...
You will want to ask your child about our writing activity today. I gave them 5 minutes to list all the things that drive them "batty." Then they wrote a paragraph describing the top 3 things that drive them batty, complete with explanation. They are now writing this paragraph on "bat" stationery. So cute!
We used this writing activity for a lesson on conferencing. We set out goals for what each group was to work on while conferencing. The final step of their conferencing was to tell their writing partner one positive element of the paragraph. I will lead them into not only continuing to share a positive element, but also to share an element of the writing that needs additional help without making a personal judgment. This is difficult for this age group, but it can be done. It just needs a great deal of practice.
I have completed my parent conferences and will be sending home the list of words from our Voices Reading Series that I would like the children to practice a little at a time. Take a few at a time and review them as many times as you can stand. Thank you for your continued support!
See if your child can copy this number model in their agenda and bring in an answer on Friday. I have told them to read my blog from time to time. I hope this catches their eye!
23+9+13+59-10-2+17-5+20+100=?
Homework tonight is as follows:
Spelling Test...
Practice the October poem that is due on October 15...
Reading Activity on Thomas Jefferson.. please make sure you sign the assignment along with
your child...
You will want to ask your child about our writing activity today. I gave them 5 minutes to list all the things that drive them "batty." Then they wrote a paragraph describing the top 3 things that drive them batty, complete with explanation. They are now writing this paragraph on "bat" stationery. So cute!
We used this writing activity for a lesson on conferencing. We set out goals for what each group was to work on while conferencing. The final step of their conferencing was to tell their writing partner one positive element of the paragraph. I will lead them into not only continuing to share a positive element, but also to share an element of the writing that needs additional help without making a personal judgment. This is difficult for this age group, but it can be done. It just needs a great deal of practice.
I have completed my parent conferences and will be sending home the list of words from our Voices Reading Series that I would like the children to practice a little at a time. Take a few at a time and review them as many times as you can stand. Thank you for your continued support!
See if your child can copy this number model in their agenda and bring in an answer on Friday. I have told them to read my blog from time to time. I hope this catches their eye!
23+9+13+59-10-2+17-5+20+100=?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Homework tonight is as follows:
MATH- workbook pg.53... we worked very hard today on the Trade First Strategy.. take a look at page 50 in their workbook..You may want to ask your child to tell you the little story that goes along with trade first with Mr. Ones, Mr. Tens and Mr. Hundred. Tomorrow I am going to challenge them by giving them numbers in the thousands.
WORDLY WISE-complete the first 5 questions on page 17. They are to reread the story that goes with it before they answer the questions.
HANDWRITING-page 33.. the beginning of cursive
We went to the Science Lab today and used spring scales to measure the force of pushes and pulls. The children compared 5 objects. You may want to ask them what the objects were and if their prediction and hypothesis was correct.
We will complete Unit 2 in Math tomorrow and then on Thursday the children will complete a review test before the final test on Friday.
You will also want to ask them ways that people celebrate birthdays in Vietnam, Australia and Mexico. We are reading stories that share the traditions within different cultures. I loved reading the family trees that came in yesterday.
The All About Me posters are fabulous. I can tell that the children have put a great deal of thought and time into making these posters. On Friday, I will give out the dates for the remainder of the children.
MATH- workbook pg.53... we worked very hard today on the Trade First Strategy.. take a look at page 50 in their workbook..You may want to ask your child to tell you the little story that goes along with trade first with Mr. Ones, Mr. Tens and Mr. Hundred. Tomorrow I am going to challenge them by giving them numbers in the thousands.
WORDLY WISE-complete the first 5 questions on page 17. They are to reread the story that goes with it before they answer the questions.
HANDWRITING-page 33.. the beginning of cursive
We went to the Science Lab today and used spring scales to measure the force of pushes and pulls. The children compared 5 objects. You may want to ask them what the objects were and if their prediction and hypothesis was correct.
We will complete Unit 2 in Math tomorrow and then on Thursday the children will complete a review test before the final test on Friday.
You will also want to ask them ways that people celebrate birthdays in Vietnam, Australia and Mexico. We are reading stories that share the traditions within different cultures. I loved reading the family trees that came in yesterday.
The All About Me posters are fabulous. I can tell that the children have put a great deal of thought and time into making these posters. On Friday, I will give out the dates for the remainder of the children.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Terrific Thursday!
Thank you all for making conference day so productive! I enjoyed meeting and talking with all of you. If along the way you feel like you would like to come back in and further discuss any topics that we discussed, please feel free to contact me.
Tonight for homework is as follows:
Spelling Test: Syllabication of two consonants in the middle of the word: yellow, sister, blotter, sudden, napkin, dentist, happen, admire, trumpet, number, magnet, contest, invite, moment, final, total, pilot, polo, icy....
Math: Finish completing workbook page 45
Map Work: They must complete both pages.. the front page may be the hardest if they weren't listening closely. All they have to do is list the four kinds of maps and write a SENTENCE about why that map is important to use, or what is its purpose.
Family Tree Sheet: This is not due until Monday. These are the oral directions that I shared with them today. First, put the names of your immediate family members in the roots..(the ones you live with in the house excluding the pets) Next, they were to color any 3 green leaves on the tree. Then they are to write the names of a few family members and special pets in some of the leaves and on other leaves they are right words or phrases that are special and specific to your family... ie. eat chocolate cookies for dessert on Mondays, order out Pizza on Saturdays, grandpa wears a red shirt everytime he comes over the dinner. (things or events that are truly special to your family)
I probably won't send the next batch of papers home till later on next week. I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Tonight for homework is as follows:
Spelling Test: Syllabication of two consonants in the middle of the word: yellow, sister, blotter, sudden, napkin, dentist, happen, admire, trumpet, number, magnet, contest, invite, moment, final, total, pilot, polo, icy....
Math: Finish completing workbook page 45
Map Work: They must complete both pages.. the front page may be the hardest if they weren't listening closely. All they have to do is list the four kinds of maps and write a SENTENCE about why that map is important to use, or what is its purpose.
Family Tree Sheet: This is not due until Monday. These are the oral directions that I shared with them today. First, put the names of your immediate family members in the roots..(the ones you live with in the house excluding the pets) Next, they were to color any 3 green leaves on the tree. Then they are to write the names of a few family members and special pets in some of the leaves and on other leaves they are right words or phrases that are special and specific to your family... ie. eat chocolate cookies for dessert on Mondays, order out Pizza on Saturdays, grandpa wears a red shirt everytime he comes over the dinner. (things or events that are truly special to your family)
I probably won't send the next batch of papers home till later on next week. I hope everyone has a great weekend.
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