Weekly Update

Good morning!

Lots to discuss this week! Please be sure to scroll down after this post to check out pictures from last week and the week before Spring Break. Also, check out the post below about Debra Frasier, an author/illustrator who will be coming to Long School on Thursday.

Important Reminders/Events:

• Wednesday, April 2nd is a joint Long/Crestwood Family night with Debra Frasier, the author that is coming to Long on Thursday. The event will be held at Crestwood Elementary. Please see post below for details.
• The Fun Fair will be at Long School this Saturday from 4:30-7:30. Third grade's theme is Wrap it Up. Please consider sending bows/gift wrap supplies to school so they can be put into baskets for auction. 
• All third grade students will begin MAP testing later this month (end of April-beginning of May). Next week's post will outline testing dates, how you can help at home, and links for practice/information. I will also be sending home a letter in the take home folders this week. 
• Wednesday, April 23rd is a 1:40 P.M. early release day. Teachers will be meeting with their grade level teams to discuss goals that were set at the beginning of the school year. Lunch will be served that day. 

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Writing: opinion writing/ review of prompt writing

Reading: review of comprehension strategies, reading skills taught this year

Spelling: we will work together on reviewing parts of speech, how to use a dictionary, and contractions. In class activities will be utilized. We will return to spelling sorts soon. 

Math: introduction to division; math skills review/test prep. PLEASE continue to encourage your child to practice math facts... we do not want to start all over with learning facts as we start division. Thank you! 

Social Studies: Government documents study guide and test will be this week. Test will likely be Friday. Check the test calendar as the date gets closer. 

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please let me know. Feel free to comment on the blog as well. Have a great week! 

Author Visit this Thursday!

This week, Long School will be hosting an author named Debra Frasier. On Friday, we read one of her books titled, A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake. We made a class "birthday cake" based off of elements from the book. What is really neat, is that the day the author will visit, it will be her birthday! If you are interested, Debra Frasier will be at Crestwood Elementary on April 2nd for a joint Long/Crestwood Family Night with a hands-on activity/event. It begins at 6:45 P.M, please contact the office for further information! Below, our very own birthday girl poses with Debra's book!

To go with the book, our class made our very own birthday cake. We did a great job synergizing and each group created a layer for our giant cake that depicted important ideas from the story. It will be on display to greet Debra Frasier as she enters Long School. Check it out below!

Informational Writing Celebration

We FINALLY were able to celebrate our informational writing with our Kindergarten buddies. It was such an eye opening experience! Students kept commenting on what a difference there is between kindergarten and third grade, a relatively short period of time! After each child shared their work and got feedback, we got to enjoy cookies and fruit snacks to wrap up our celebration. Even though we had to wait a while due to snow days, everyone was proud to share their published work! We had a great time!

Read Across America Week!

Here is our door decoration for Read Across America Week! This is a week everyone across the United States is encouraged to read and also celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. Special thanks to Mrs. Immer for helping us decorate this door!

Weekly Update

Greetings on another snow day!

That phrase is sure getting old, isn't it? Just when we get back into a routine of sorts, we get another day off! Hopefully it will all melt quickly because we are really needing to get outside!

This week we began our opinion writing unit, and I must say, I am impressed! One of the opinion pieces we are learning about right now is how to write a persuasive speech. Our first topic was about needing a third grade field trip. Dr. Parker stopped by and listened to some of our speeches on Friday. She gave us good ideas about the difference between convincing people and just whining!

Also this week, we began a unit in math on measurement, weight, temperature and fractions! We are working on measurement right now and are studying both the customary and metric ways to measure. To make things more fun, we are having a class competition to see who can make the longest paper chain using only one large piece of construction paper! Here are some of the chains so far:

Important Reminders for the Week:

1. On Thursday, March 6, Spring Parent Teacher Conferences will be held in our classroom. Most of the times have been filled due to the fact that I can only meet with half of the class that evening. If you would like to have a conference but did not have the chance to sign up, please contact me! If you have signed up for a conference, Sign Up Genius will automatically e-mail you as a reminder.
2. Progress reports and writing samples will go home this week. Please sign and return all three items (the progress report, the writing sample and the rubric). We will be meeting with our kindergarten buddies and will need our informational writing back to share with them during our celebration! Thanks for your cooperation! 
3. Friday, March 7 and Friday, March 14 are both 11:50 A.M. early dismissal days. Please make sure your child knows how he or she is going home. Also, lunch will not be served that day. 
4. We will be off March 17-March 21st for Spring Break.  

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Writing: persuasive/opinion speeches

Reading: drawing conclusions from a text, context clues, inferring

Spelling: all groups will be given new words this week

Math: measurement, weight and temperature

Social Studies: learning about how St. Louis was settled in the 1800s, how transportation and communication have changed over time, and how rivers are important to the city of St. Louis

Thank you and have a great week!