Jan. 30 - Feb. 3

     Hope everyone had a great weekend!  They seem to go by so quickly, just like the school year.  It's hard to believe that February is almost here.  This is the month in which we begin to get extremely serious about MAP testing.  Everyone needs to be at the top of their game.  My goal is for everyone to be proficient in both math and communication arts.  We will be working very hard!
     The third grade teachers have decided to schedule a field trip later in the year for our students.  We will not go to Weldon Springs, however, because they are already booked for the year.  Instead we will search for another good field trip idea.  Your money is being safely kept in the office safe, and will be used for the future field trip.  If you sent in a check, it will be cashed.  If we are unable to schedule a trip, your money will be returned.  Thank you for your patience.

Here's what's happening this week:
Math:  We are beginning our study of geometry.  We will be learning all about lines, angles, plane and space figures.  There is a lot of memory work in this chapter, but we will review daily.  We will also be testing over our 7x facts this week, and will get our 8x fact cards later in the week.  We are almost done with our facts.  Be sure you are reviewing them frequently throughout the week!  Once the facts have been mastered, I'll be throwing an ice cream sundae party for the class.  They deserve it for all of their hard work!

Reading:  Continuing our work on summaries and cause and effect!  Some students just started a new book - Class Clown.  They are already telling me they love it!

Spelling:  The Blue Group will test on Monday.  Yellow and Green groups will test next week.

Science:  We will continue our study of matter.  Students can expect to be doing the sink of float experiment this week.  We will also make miniature boats out of tin foil and see whose boat can hold the most weight.  Hint:  Shape and density have something to do with it.

Social Studies:  Economics will continue in chapter 10.   Be sure to be working on your Economics Day plan so that you have plenty of time to work on your business!

Writing:  We will wrap up our Martin Luther King posters and essays.  I will choose three students' posters and essays to serve as entries for the MNEA poster/writing contest.  We will not hear about winners until the end of the school year.  One of my students won first place in the state last year.  I'm hoping for similar results this year as I am seeing some exceptional work from the students!

Special Events:
Monday - Spelling test for the Blue Group;
Wednesday - 7x fact test;

January 23-27

      Right now there is so much going on here at school, it is almost hard to describe!  We are getting to our first round of testing in math, science, and social studies.  We are also continuing to learn our multiplication facts and are reading daily and recording our reading times on the Six Flags reading log.  The third quarter becomes even more involved when you toss in Economics Day, Prism, and Jump Rope for Heart.  All of these activites provide students with meaningful experiences.  Thanks for encouraging your children to be joyful participants.  Your support is greatly appreciated!

Here is what's happening this week:
Math:  Please work on the 6x facts, while constantly reviewing 0-5x facts.  We will learn the remainder of the facts in the next couple of weeks and work on the skills in chapters 10 and 11.  After that we will begin geometry.
Reading:  Lots of work on summarizing and cause and effect!  One group is finishing a wonderful book, When Mack Came Back.
Spelling:  Tests -Yellow Group Thursday, Green Group Friday, and Blue Group Monday, 1/30.
Science:  We will begin the science unit on matter and energy.  There are a lot of fun experiments in this unit!
Social Studies:  Please work on filling out the Economics Day Plan.  The social studies books were taken home this weekend to help with ideas for advertising.  We will wrap up chapter 9 next week when we test on Wednesday.  Economics will continue in chapter 10.
Writing:  We are writing for the Martin Luther King poster/writing contest.  Students are doing a beautiful job with a very challenging topic!  This contest is sponsored by MNEA.
     
Special Events:
Monday - Ability Awareness Day
Tuesday - 6x quiz  
Wednesday - Library;  social studies test
Thursday - Spelling test / Yellow Group
Friday - Spelling test / Green Group;  deadline for writing essay - rough draft;

Weekly Update 1/9/ - 1/13

     Believe it or not, it actually felt good to be back after a very long and wonderful Christmas break.  The video above is of the holiday party.  Each child enjoyed painting a Christmas ornament.  These ornaments were baked over the holidays.  Mrs. Durham is checking to see when they will be ready for pickup.  Each ornament is labeled with your child's name and the date they were painted.  I hope they are a nice keepsake for you!  Thank you, moms and dads, for a very nice party!

    This Thursday our class will be going to Weldon Springs for a field trip.  Our classes will include one on solids, liquids, and gases, and another on food chains.  This week we will also have the third grade level spelling bee.  Alexis Landmeier and Vanesa Cruz-Hernandez will represent our classroom.  Jack Stephens is our alternate.  Congratulations to all three students for doing so well in our classroom bee.  Other events we are looking forward to are the school Prism Fair in Feb. and an upcoming social studies project for our economics unit.  Directions for this will come out sometime next week.  Of course, on top of all of this, we will spend the entire quarter preparing for the MAP test !

Here's what is planned for this week:

Math:  We are continuing to learn our multiplication facts.  This week we are working on the 3x and 5x facts.  We are also going over the properties of mutiplication. 

Reading:  We will be finishing our Tungsten review and then will be taking the January Tungsten on Tuesday.  After that we will be focusing on summarizing and cause and effect.  Reading for the Six Flags ticket will continue until February 24th.

Spelling:  Test for Yellow Group is Wednesday, Green Group, Friday, and Blue Group, Tuesday.                  

Science:  Our study of the solar system continues with the phases of the moon and solar and lunar eclipses.

Social Studies:  We are learning about economics.  This will include how to make a budget and how to start a business.  Directions for our business project will come out this week!  

Writing:  Our new year resolutions are almost finished.  I hope you'll stop by to read them after they are posted in the hallway.  The children are very goods writers, and I enjoy reading what they have to say!

Special Events:

Tuesday- Reading Tungsten

Wednesday- Math Tungsten; Spelling test for the Yellow Group;  Early release day;

Thursday- Field trip to Weldon Springs;  Grade level spelling bee;

Friday-  Spelling test for the Green Group;   

12/12 - 12/16/

     After a couple of sick days, I am very anxious to get back to school.  The class was in very good hands with Mr. Arnold.  We had a class meeting concerning manners the day before I was out sick.  However, Mr. Arnold took this to a whole new level with manner charts for everyone in the class.  The children were very receptive to this, so I'm hoping to see our manners at an all time high!  How is that for prepping for the holidays!
     Congratulations to Nathan Cobb, who is pictured above with his first place award for the Punt, Kick, and Pass Contest held down at the Ram's Stadium.  He is in the running for the National Punt, Kick, and Pass Contest as well, and has a very good chance of being selected to represent Missouri.  I'll will keep you posted as I find out more information.
     The quarter ends this Friday.  There are just a few more grades of which I am in need.  We will all be taking a spelling test on Thursday over my word pet peeve list.  These are the top ten words misspelled by the class when writing rough drafts.  We will also have a test over the Think Math lessons on Thursday.  Our tests in multiplication will be over the 11x facts, followed by the 12x facts.  After the holidays we will move on to the facts that require a lot of memorization

Here's what is scheduled this week:
Math:  Think Math test on Thursday;  11x fact test on Monday;  12x fact test on Thursday;

Reading:  I will finish the context clue lessons with the class.  The Chocolate Touch and Buttons for Washington groups will be wrapping up their books and response pages.  When Mack Came Back will have to carry over into Quarter 3.

Spelling:  Everybody Spelling list - test Thursday;

Science:  We will continue our study of the solar system when we get back from the holidays.  We will use this time for poetry writing.

S. Studies:  We will begin Chapter 8 after the holidays.  We will use this time to catch up on the Time for Kids Newspapers, which are lessons on current events!

Writing:  Final week for personal narratives.  All narratives are due by Thursday!  Many have written Christmas stories and acrostics in addition to their narratives.  We will begin hearing them on Monday at writing time.

Important Events:
Tuesday - Math Tungsten Test
Friday - Christmas party in the afternoon!

Weekly Update 12/6 - 12/10

     It feels good to be on my blog again!  So sorry I missed a week of updates.  I guess I was just enjoying that Thanksgiving break a little too much last weekend! 
     Now that we are back to work, we are making as much progress as possible in all subjects.  With the end of the quarter so near, you are apt to see more review quizzes in math as well as a final test on Think Math by the end of the quarter.  Along with Think Math (a two week math program that emphasizes strategies for multiplication) we are also beginning to memorize the multiplication facts.  All students have passed the 0,1, and 2x's tests.  Next we will learn the 5, 10, and 11x's facts.  After Christmas holidays we will focus heavily on all the harder facts .  A great website to help with learning these facts is www.multiplication.com.  I recommend that every student uses this site daily.  Now for other news: 

Math- Lessons 5-9 this week.  Please see the Think Math lessons that we have already completed.  They are kept in the math section of the binder.

Reading - We are reviewing the November Tungsten test and taking the December test this Tuesday.  We are also working on figuring out new vocabulary through context clues.  Students should continue to underline and number details when responding to questions in the the literature they read.

Spelling - Tests this week!  Yellow Group/Tuesday, Green Group/Wednesday, and Blue Group/ Thursday.

Science - We are studying our solar system.  Our lessons have focused on Earth's movement and its tilt on its axis.  We are learning what causes day/night and seasons.  We will have a quiz over this material Friday.  However, please consult the daily planner for more information!

Social Studies - Our test over Chapter 7 is this Wednesday.  We will spend Monday and Tuesday working on our Rights and Responsibility posters and reviewing.

Writing - Students are publishing their personal narratives.  Each day we share a finished story, and the class is amazed at how interesting each story is!  Those who are finished with their narrative are either attempting a Christmas disaster fiction story, a Christmas acrostic, or a story of their own choosing.  The important thing is that we are all writing! 

This weeks important events:
Monday:  Winter Holiday Music Program at school at 2:00.  Students perform again in the evening!
Tuesday:  Reading Tungsten Test;  Spelling test - Yellow Group;
Wednesday:  Early Release Day;  Social Studies Test;  Spelling test - Green Group;
Thursday:  Tungsten Math Test;  Spelling test - Blue Group:
Friday:  Science quiz;

PS:  I will notify you by email as to when we will have library.  I will have to schedule a time since our time is cancelled due to Early Release.  We will have the opportunity to buy books at the book fair at that time. 

Thanksgiving Week!

     Happy Thanksgiving week!  I know we are all excited about the holidays ahead.  I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with lots of family get togethers and fun.  With only two days of school this week, there isn't a lot to report, but here's what is in the news.

Math:  We will have a test on clocks, elapsed time, calendars, and time lines this coming Tuesday.
 
Reading:  Most groups will be finished their books and responses.

Spelling:  No new spelling words will come out until the following Monday.

Science/Social Studies:  We will be using the science/social studies times to wrap up government ch. 7 in social studies.  However, we will not complete the study guide or take the test until after the holidays.

Writing:  Look for the graded water project letters in tomorrow's home folder.  Several students are publishing the second quarter personal narrative. 

  

Weekly Update 11/14/11 - 11/18/11

     What a beautiful weekend!  I hope everyone in my classroom is taking advantage of this wonderful weather.  We had a very productive week last week.  The Tungsten Tests went very well for most students.  I am in awe of how hard these children work!  When these tests come home, please take time to go through them with your child so that you can see what your child is expected to do in the spring on MAP tests.  We will also go over them in the classroom before they are sent home.

This week's agenda:
Math - We will continue our study of clocks.  On Monday and Tuesday we will work very hard on how to determine elapsed time.  After that we will learn how to read time schedules and calendars.  Start brushing up on the months of the year!  As of now I believe our test is likely to be the following
Tuesday.  However, please check the daily planner in case I decide to have it a day earlier.

Reading-  The students are continuing to work on their comprehension through some very enjoyable books.  We are also working on how to find, underline, and number information that helps us to respond to questions.  We will continue with "story" homework while keeping in mind that everyone will make use of this skill when answering the questions associated with the story.

Spelling-  Students continue with their spelling skills.  Tests: Yellow Group/Tuesday, Green Group/Wednesday, Blue Group/Thursday.

Science- We will study weather and clouds this week.  We will do a project over this lesson rather than test.

Social Studies-  I'll try to get more accomplished this week in social studies.  We are continuing our study of government.

Writing- Our letters are just about ready to display!  You will receive your child's final graded copy by the end of the week (I hope!).  After your child turns in their final copy, I have them make a display copy in which they rewrite without any errors.  If your are around at the end of the week, check out our letters in the hallway!

Special Events:
Tues.:  Spelling Test/Yellow
Wed.:  Early Release Day;  Spelling Test/Green
Thurs.:  Spelling Test/Blue