Weekly Update

Good evening!

As you have heard, our writing curriculum is completely new this year. It requires kids to write a lot more in a shorter period of time. We are focusing more on craft than grammar, and we have spent the first few weeks of school studying mentor texts. Some of the things we focused on were using onomatopoeia (sound words) to help be more descriptive, writing interesting lead and closing sentences that "hook" the reader, and using quotation marks and dialogue! Each student drafted two narratives and chose one for publishing. We had a celebration on Wednesday to commemorate this accomplishment! Some students really blossomed during the first 20 days of writing workshop as you can see below. This is just the beginning for writing narratives and I cannot wait to see how each child continues to grow and change as a writer! Check out a few of the samples below!

Important Reminders:

• The Chapter 2 and 3 math test will be Tuesday, September 24. Please use the review, homework and graded papers in the binder to study. You may also use the math notebook or log on to the online textbook. 
• Picture Day is Wednesday, September 25. Please send all money and order forms if you have them to school or I believe you can pay for them online. We do not get our pictures taken until 1:25 P.M., so I will work hard to keep them looking their best! 
• No school Friday, September 27. The entire school district will be learning about best practices with technology in the morning and safety training in the afternoon. 

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Writing: writing personal narratives with independence; strategies, storytelling, editing

Reading: visualizing, identifying the narrator and determining author's purpose

Spelling: meet with groups, complete daily activities

Math: Test over Ch. 2 and 3, Begin Ch. 4: Addition Concepts

Social Studies: identifying land forms, the seven continents, and oceans of the world, making a map

Leader in Me: Begin with the End in Mind- We will identify a goal that each child would like to accomplish by the end of the narrative writing unit based off of where they are right now. We will create a plan for achieving that goal. 

Remember, you should not have to worry about the Moodle anymore from home. We will switch that to being an "in-class" resource instead. Please use the class website and blog for anything that you may need. Thank you and have a great week. Enjoy the pictures below!

 

Weekly Update

Good evening!

Last week we took the eValuate test. Please remember that this does not affect their classroom grade. It is a test that shows what they know and are able to do, but it is also a test that shows how well students are learning third grade concepts (informs my teaching). They have not learned a portion of what is on the tests at this time. By December, students should start scoring closer to 80% or above. We placed the graphs in our binders today and will graph our scores this week. Please leave these graphs in the evaluate tab of the binder all year! Thank you!

Here is what we are working on this week:

Writing: celebrating our first personal narratives
Reading: checking for understanding as we read, solving unknown words, and using punctuation
Math: Chapter 3- place value, compare and order numbers to 999,999.
Spelling: starting daily group activities this week. (On a ten day schedule, test will not be for 2 weeks. We will write on calendars in binder, on our website, and list in planner when test gets closer. They will each have a copy of their spelling words in their binder. I do not give spelling "homework" except to study closer to their test).
Science: wrap up plants unit Tuesday, share "create a plant" projects.
Social Studies: map skills, begin learning about landforms, continents and oceans

Important Reminders:

• Wednesday, September 18 is a 1:40 early release day. Students will eat lunch at school. Students are released according to the transportation information I have on file. Please review this with them or send a note if something has changed. Teachers will be meeting in grade level teams at the various elementary schools on Wednesday to focus on writing. (The writing curriculum has greatly changed this year, as you may have seen in Dr. Parker's e-note).
• We will have Challenge Course during gym on Wednesday. Students will only be able to participate if they wear socks.
• Today at school students attended a fundraising assembly. The first day students can turn in order forms to obtain prizes is Thursday during lunch time. If you have questions about this fundraiser please let me know.
• This Friday, September 20 I will be sending home your child's first bi-weekly progress report. Letter grades at this time of the school year are not as reflective as they are towards the end of the quarter, but it will give you insight as to how your child is doing so far. Please be sure to sign and return this progress report and send it back to school on Monday.
• On Friday, I will attach the passwords list for the online textbooks and websites so you do not have to log into Moodle from home anymore.
• The math test is penciled in on the calendar for next Tuesday, September 24. It will be over chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2's study guide was completed with the sub last week and should be in the binder. We will complete Chapter 3's review sheet closer to the end of the unit and I will send it home so you have something to study/review before the test. Please remember to use the math notebook and all papers in the binder tab as a reference when studying.

Thanks for your patience. I LOVE teaching and have been really focused on curriculum (especially since writing and science are new), making sure papers are graded, etc. This is a sweet, eager to learn class and we are having a lot of fun together. I appreciate all of the volunteers and will do my best to get everybody in! Thank you and have a great week.

Inquiry: What are the parts of a plant?

Today students explored parts of a mum plant like real scientists. They measured the stems, used hand lenses to observe the tiny root hairs, and even discovered a caterpillar living in the soil. We made a huge mess and loved every minute of it! 

Weekly Update

Good evening,

Last week we explored leaves under the microscope! We specifically wanted to learn about leaf veins and how they transport water and sugar to other parts of the plant during photosynthesis. Using the microscope was very exciting and we will use it again Monday to explore the parts of the plant. I bought cheap mums from Wal Mart and we are going to take them apart! Check out the leaf veins below!

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Math: Place Value of 3, 4, 5 and 6 digit numbers!
Reading: How to write a weekly reading response letter during reading workshop
Writing: Revising, editing and choosing one personal narrative draft for publishing
Spelling: determining groups, will begin next week (re-testing a few students)
Science: parts of a plant, how plants reproduce, life cycle of plants
Seven Habits of Happy Kids: We are reading the last two stories (Synergize and Sharpen the Saw) in our book. We will be revisiting the 2nd and 3rd habits this week and discuss how to create goals.
***We will be taking the monthly math and communication arts eValuate tests this week. 

Important Reminders:

• I am almost finished updating the classroom website. My goal is for you to use the classroom website for anything that you would need. The class and I will still use Moodle at times at school. This way, you will not have to log into Moodle from home unless you want to. I will post daily homework, links to textbooks, and important classroom links on my classroom website. I will send home a password sheet and hopefully this will end the frustrating Moodle log-in process and will make life easier for you at home. 
• I was given access to the online science textbook this week. I will set up a user name and password for your child so you can access it as soon as possible. Please know there will not be a test over the Plants unit. Students will complete an in-class project to show what they have learned instead. 
• We will welcome a new student, Angel T., to our class on Tuesday! That brings our number of students up to 23. 
• There will be a substitute in the afternoon on Tuesday, September 10 because I will be at the high school for technology training. 
• We have library tomorrow (Monday) and it is a D day so we will have technology. Mrs. Maddock will also make her first visit to our class this week. 

I hope you have a great week! If you have any questions about the website changes that are coming, please let me know. I am just trying to make life easier for us all. Thank you!