Wow! It is so hard to believe that today is the last Monday of the school year! We need to have a productive week in order to prepare for your visit on Friday. The children were rather restless and quite chatty. Help me get them through this week and we can relax the last two days of school next week!
We are completing our Real-Fantasy-Real stories. This time the children will have additional illustrations including a creative cover. We will share these with you on Friday during our writing celebration.
In Social Studies, the children are to find 5 effects of Hernando Cortes arrival in Mexico in 1519. We read the Chapter in class last week and discussed along the way. Tonight, I would like them to practice their strategic reading skills to find specific information.
We have begun our third grade reflections. Today I asked the children to make a list of all the learning experiences, activities, programs, visitors and events that they could think of. Well, as you can imagine, the list grew and grew. I was pleased to see all that each child could remember. It was interesting though to discover which experiences were the most popular and then how much diversity there is amongst the group according to interests. I will have the children share these with you also on Friday. However, I will need to save them and put them in their reflection folder for next year.
This week for Math homework, I have given each child a letter of the alphabet. They are to write at least 5 math vocabulary words or more that begin with that letter. Then they are find 3 pictures to go with the words that they have chosen. I asked them to use magazines and newspapers and not to draw their own this time. Some children graciously accepted the duty of completing two letters as were were 7 people short of a full alphabet.
The children do have their last reading comprehension activity that is due on Friday. The reading portion this time is very short, but the performance part is very specific and covers many facts. The children must take the facts and place them in the correct category. Another strategic reading exercise.
We are working on our Sawgrass project. Today, we successfully completed our technology component to the project. Tomorrow, the children will begin organizing their information and begin designing the poster or whatever they have chosen to share their knowledge. We have worked in groups for various things this year, but this is truly a lesson in division of labor and productivity.
There will not be a spelling list or test this week or next.
I will send out an email later on this week to remind you of our events on Friday. We hope you can join us for lunch at 12:10 and then stay with us through the afternoon. However, if this is not an option, our first event begins promptly at 12:45. I believe the I-Movie presentation will be in the room next to Mrs Lippincott's Guidance room called the Children's Studio.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Merry Monday!
Wow.. only a few more Mondays to go! It is truly hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the year and your children will be heading to fourth grade. I need the children to continue to focus and do their best work.
This week we are back to our normal schedule with just a couple of changes to the schedule. This week we have Guidance class on Thursday along with the First Grade Rehearsal show. Then on Friday, we visit the fourth grade classrooms and teachers. This gives the children time to ask questions and observe what a fourth grade classroom looks like.
We will have our Spelling test on Friday. The children are also coming home with a Reading Comprehension activity on an Italian Race Car Driver. This comes on the heals of our Science cars that we "fine tuned" and added a sail to on Friday. The children had to work together in small groups to decide if they needed or wanted to redesign their car, knowing that a sail made out of cardboard had to be added. The wind did cooperate with us on Friday. I hope to get one more run in before we reflect on this project.
We will begin Lesson 11 in Wordly Wise. The children will be bringing this workbook home this week for homework. If you would then encourage you to take 5 minutes to practice matching the words and the definitions for a test on Friday.
We will complete our Real-Fantasy-Real writing samples this week. The children will organize their stories and begin writing tomorrow. They will probably bring home their story one night this week and read it to you. You will want to focus on the exact moments when the story moves from the real to fantasy and back. AND, ask the children to explain the "thread" that exists throughout the entire story. We worked on that element today in writer's workshop. We read the story, Where the Wild Things Are specifically listening to the how or what the writer uses as the common thread in the real and in the fantasy.
The children were given a new class novel today, Caleb's Story. This time they are allowed to read any and all the book on their own terms. However, it would be the expectation that all the children would be completely finished with the book by Friday. There is plenty of independent reading time built in the day. So this is not an unrealistic goal.
Tonight for homework, the children have a social studies activity about Christopher Columbus. They are to use their social studies book and practice the critical reading strategies that we have been discussing in class. I did put them in groups on Friday to get started. Some are finished, but others need to finish tonight for homework. The words that go in the blanks have to be words from the reading and have to tell a true story of Christopher Columbus's travels.
We will have our Math Test tomorrow. The children have a practice study test in their homework folders. We reviewed each skill and they had plenty of time to ask questions. Our next unit will explore more multiplication and division algorithms, positive and negative numbers, and sharing money, with a review of fractions, arrays, and area.
This week we are back to our normal schedule with just a couple of changes to the schedule. This week we have Guidance class on Thursday along with the First Grade Rehearsal show. Then on Friday, we visit the fourth grade classrooms and teachers. This gives the children time to ask questions and observe what a fourth grade classroom looks like.
We will have our Spelling test on Friday. The children are also coming home with a Reading Comprehension activity on an Italian Race Car Driver. This comes on the heals of our Science cars that we "fine tuned" and added a sail to on Friday. The children had to work together in small groups to decide if they needed or wanted to redesign their car, knowing that a sail made out of cardboard had to be added. The wind did cooperate with us on Friday. I hope to get one more run in before we reflect on this project.
We will begin Lesson 11 in Wordly Wise. The children will be bringing this workbook home this week for homework. If you would then encourage you to take 5 minutes to practice matching the words and the definitions for a test on Friday.
We will complete our Real-Fantasy-Real writing samples this week. The children will organize their stories and begin writing tomorrow. They will probably bring home their story one night this week and read it to you. You will want to focus on the exact moments when the story moves from the real to fantasy and back. AND, ask the children to explain the "thread" that exists throughout the entire story. We worked on that element today in writer's workshop. We read the story, Where the Wild Things Are specifically listening to the how or what the writer uses as the common thread in the real and in the fantasy.
The children were given a new class novel today, Caleb's Story. This time they are allowed to read any and all the book on their own terms. However, it would be the expectation that all the children would be completely finished with the book by Friday. There is plenty of independent reading time built in the day. So this is not an unrealistic goal.
Tonight for homework, the children have a social studies activity about Christopher Columbus. They are to use their social studies book and practice the critical reading strategies that we have been discussing in class. I did put them in groups on Friday to get started. Some are finished, but others need to finish tonight for homework. The words that go in the blanks have to be words from the reading and have to tell a true story of Christopher Columbus's travels.
We will have our Math Test tomorrow. The children have a practice study test in their homework folders. We reviewed each skill and they had plenty of time to ask questions. Our next unit will explore more multiplication and division algorithms, positive and negative numbers, and sharing money, with a review of fractions, arrays, and area.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
ERB Tuesday!
Today was another successful day of testing. I sensed that the children were more at ease today since they knew what to expect. That in turn also recreated a more attentive rest of the day and we were able to dive more into fractions in math. You will want to look in the homework folder and take a look at a sheet that we worked on today. Very "big time" stuff!
As you are already aware, we will not have a spelling test this week and we will hold off on our Math test until next Tuesday. We will review this week in class and I would expect that the children will want to practice at home. But, we decided as a grade that we would not give any other tests this week, thinking that the ERB's are more than enough.
Third Grade is celebrating the Kentucky Derby on Friday. The children are to design and create a hat that depicts the nature and excitement of the Kentucky Derby. With your permission, I told the children that they should go on-line to find out the names of the horses that are running and maybe design a hat around a horse, especially for the boys since I am sure they will no want flowers on their hats. Smiles!
The children will be completing their Explorer project this week. They will work on the finishing touches in computer lab this week by making a video. We have worked on the sets and scripts in class and now it's time for the video and music. We will share these projects later on this month, hopefully on the same day as our Writer's Celebration. We have a couple of writing pieces to revise and edit and then we will be ready to share both our Writer's Workshop pieces and our Reading Response Journal.
May 18 is the big Splash Day for the children. Each child has a letter in their homework folder explaining the details of that day. I will remind them again as that day approaches. The children are encouraged to wear their bathing gear under their uniform clothes on that day. We will not be giving them extra time to change clothes. But when they return, they will be allowed to take the wet clothes off and put dry uniform clothes back on.
As you are already aware, we will not have a spelling test this week and we will hold off on our Math test until next Tuesday. We will review this week in class and I would expect that the children will want to practice at home. But, we decided as a grade that we would not give any other tests this week, thinking that the ERB's are more than enough.
Third Grade is celebrating the Kentucky Derby on Friday. The children are to design and create a hat that depicts the nature and excitement of the Kentucky Derby. With your permission, I told the children that they should go on-line to find out the names of the horses that are running and maybe design a hat around a horse, especially for the boys since I am sure they will no want flowers on their hats. Smiles!
The children will be completing their Explorer project this week. They will work on the finishing touches in computer lab this week by making a video. We have worked on the sets and scripts in class and now it's time for the video and music. We will share these projects later on this month, hopefully on the same day as our Writer's Celebration. We have a couple of writing pieces to revise and edit and then we will be ready to share both our Writer's Workshop pieces and our Reading Response Journal.
May 18 is the big Splash Day for the children. Each child has a letter in their homework folder explaining the details of that day. I will remind them again as that day approaches. The children are encouraged to wear their bathing gear under their uniform clothes on that day. We will not be giving them extra time to change clothes. But when they return, they will be allowed to take the wet clothes off and put dry uniform clothes back on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)