Fall Festival Celebration and a Presidential Election..who could ask for anything more!!?

What a wonderful week we've had! Researching candidates, learning about the electoral college vs. popular vote, running a mock election...we've been busy, but having a lot of fun...and let us not forget a whole day devoted to characters and our fall festival...Friday was a great end to a fantastic week! (And I need a nap. :-))

Social Studies and Language Arts

I feel the need to start with Social Studies...because if the kids enjoyed the past two weeks 1/2 as much as I did, it was WELL worth our time!! We spent last week discussing the history of voting...and this week we turned our focus to the two main candidates for president. We asked the kids who they wanted to see win the election...and then played an awful trick on them...we made them research "the other guy!" We felt that this was the best way to make them think outside of themselves and write about why the "other guy" was a good candidate...because whether or not he's the one we want, a whole lot of people think he's the best of the best...in each separate political party! They took this job on just like they do with everything they do...with motivation and a great attitude. They researched one day, and wrote informative paragraphs the next. The focus was on main idea, ideas to support the main idea, and details to support the ideas. The graphic organizer we used helped to make this make sense! After these paragraphs were complete, the kids got into groups and "voted" on the best well written paragraph for the candidate. Let me take a moment to say...ALL of the paragraphs were wonderful....but we couldn't share 16...they then chose speakers that would best communicate their message. Those choices represented the "popular vote", and then I represented the "electoral college"...I picked a few other people to share their paragraphs. THEN...here comes the really good part...Friday, we presented to Mrs. Foster's class and Mr. Schartner's class. We explained that we were not there to persuade them who to vote for, we wanted them to make an informed decision, therefore we were sharing information about the candidates. The speakers did an outstanding job...and the entire third grade participated in a mock election that afternoon. Believe it or not...I forgot to give the results to the kids yesterday...we were so busy with the Fall Festival...but in the third grade at Urbana Elementary School, Barack Obama won by 20 votes...the final tally was 61 votes for Obama and 41 votes for John McCain...I think we're in for a long night this Tuesday!!

Math

This week in math we started a unit on collecting and displaying information. We delved into double bar graphs, and we are headed into the world of stem and leaf plots, line plots, line graphs and much, much more!

Science

This week we found time to test our unknown powders...mixing them with vinegar...the "green" powder was very exciting to watch! We will test with iodine and cabbage juice this coming week. The following week we will be doing our final tests and then the students will be given some pertinent information to help them draw some conclusions based on all of our testing. We have some quite a few potential scientists in our group!!

FALL FESTIVAL!!

And then Friday...what a day...we started off the morning with a great pumpkin math activity...we made all kinds of predictions about pumpkins and then verified them all...we weighed, measured circumference, diameter, height, we counted pumpkin seeds...boy, were we surprised at how many seeds there were in each pumpkin!! After our math activity the kids did some creative writing...poems and stories about Fall...man, do I have some talented writers! And then in the afternoon, we had the most marvelous party planned by Ms. Kim and helped by so many wonderful parent volunteers. The kids made beautiful frames, played a fun memory game, and enjoyed delicious treats! Thank you so much to all of you...for making donations to make this party SO amazing...it was one the kids will remember for a long time. One more thing...Ms. Kim had the kids write down on a leaf what they are thankful for...and then they hung them on branches...this "Thankful Tree" is on the table in my room...if you get a chance this month...stop by to see it...your children are all very thankful for YOU.

Let me apologize for the SUNDAY posting...but I was definitely not getting one out on Friday...I had to hurry home and be "Mom" and go trick or treating...and I needed yesterday to recover!! So...sorry to make you wait...hope the pictures below make it worth it...this will be a very long post based on how many pictures I want to share...so enjoy the pictures and the extra two days with your kids! I look forward to seeing them on Wednesday!

OOPS...it's Saturday!

Sorry to all of you faithful blog readers...the week got away from me! I was at a Junior Great Books training on Wednesday and Thursday...it was wonderful!! But it kind of threw me off a bit! However...I'm back and ready to roll!

First and foremost...WE FILLED THE MARBLE JAR AGAIN!! Our celebration will take place on Tuesday...they have voted to bring a pillow, blanket, or sleeping bag, and do all of their classwork in the horizontal position...should be interesting! :-) So please help your third grader remember his/her things on TUESDAY the 28th!

Language Arts...we are in the middle of our Short Stories unit...we have read fairy tales, folktales and now we're heading into fables! This past week our focus was folktales, specifically "Anansi the Spider" tales. Anansi is the main character in West African folktales...he is a sneaky, sometimes clever spider who tries to trick other characters, but often gets tricked himself! The kids wrote wonderful cinquain poems about Anansi, and I will try to make these into a movie and get it on the blog...I guess you know by now that I gave up on the other movie...but never fear...I will win the battle of the blog video!!

Math...the kids took a test on Monday (will come home this Monday) and spent the rest of the week problem solving and delving into other numeral systems. After learning the Roman Numeral system, they researched, practiced and taught each other about the Babylonian, Greek, and Egyptian numeral systems. We will tie this all together on Monday and then move into a fun unit on data collection. The kids will be making double bar graphs, line graphs, stem and leaf plots, and much, much more!

Science...we are having so much fun in Science! We continue to gather as much information as possible about our unknown substances. We will be testing the powders with vinegar, iodine, and red cabbage juice this week! Last week we did a filtration experiment and found interesting things in our petrie dishes three days later. Some children observed crystals and were very interested in this phenomenon...hence a homework assignment that will come home on Monday. It is optional, but will give your child extra credit in Science if completed. See the take home folder for details! Also...be thinking about a science fair project...each third grade magnet student will be required to do a science fair project...so stay tuned!

Social Studies...we decided to take advantage of the timing and do a little learning about our political system and voting. Last week we focused on the history of voting, and this week we will be learning about the electoral college and how voting takes place in our country. We are thinking about having a mock election on Friday, but we will see how the week plays out. We have not talked with the kids about the candidates themselves, but we know they have their opinions and a mock election might be fun!

A few reminders:
1. Your child may bring a blanket, pillow, or sleeping bag on Tuesday, Oct. 28th to celebrate filling the marble jar. Some kids asked if they could wear their pjs...and bring a stuffed friend...that is fine with me!

2. Your child is to come to school on Friday dressed as a book character. They should have a written summary of the book they've been reading. HINT...this is not a retelling...just a summary...a paragraph will suffice! (Summar: who the book is about...what the main problem in the story is...how it is solved.) They will receive a speaking grade and a writing grade on this assignment.

3. You are welcome to enjoy our Fall Festival party on Oct. 31...it's from 1:30-2:30. If you are able to make a donation to the party, please place it in an envelope and label it Fall Festival. I will pass this on to Ms. Kim who is organizing a fun time for the kids!

4. Your child does not have school on Monday, Nov.3 and Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Enjoy your families!

I give up...

I tried and tried and tried...I had Mrs. Cicerone, our tech specialist, in to help me...NO LUCK!! I will try again next week...I will not give up...the video is worth the wait...I promise!

I just added a new website that I forgot about...my son, Connor, used it when he was in third grade...it's called "FunBrain.com" and it has a game titled, "Baseball" that is a fun way to practice math facts...you can choose your level and which skill you'd like to work on...I'd really like to see everyone practicing who has not scored 90% or above on a fact test...you know who you are!! :-)

Have a great weekend!!

Have a happy Friday!

What a week! Short days, but chock full of learning...my post will be much shorter today, but the 10+ minute video at the end will hopefully make up for it!! Here is how our week went down...

Language Arts:
We enjoyed the Fairy Tale Project presentations of all of our classmates! Our entire class did the "Wanted Poster" except for one child who did the "Pack your Trunk" project...they did a superb job using their creativity and they were outstanding speakers!! Also in LA this week, we continued to write our own version of "Cinderella" stories using alliteration...these are going to be wonderful pieces!

Math:
We finished up the unit on subtraction and addition and did some work on the problem solving strategy: find a pattern!

Science:
Our chemical tests unit is in full swing...on Tuesday of this week the kids observed five different mystery powders and made observations of their physical properties...the video below captures these scientists at work!

Cursive:
We have finished learning all of the lowercase letters and will begin uppercase letters next week!

Conferences:
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with all of you over the past two days. I am always interested in seeing your child through your eyes...I gain a new perspective. I continue to feel very blessed to have your children in my classroom every day. Please know that although there is only one scheduled conference, I am happy to sit down with you at any time during the year. As always, you may contact me by email with questions or concerns.

Have a great long weeked with your family! I plan to!

PS1...thank you SO much to the families that have been sending in tissues and ziploc bags and hand sanitizer...trust me, they are going to good use!! New need...if any of you have an old "playground" ball hanging around at home that is not being played with...I have plenty of kids who'd love to play with it during recess. I bought two at the beginning of the year and we've managed to lose both of them!! We still have a basketball and a football!

PS2...thank you so much for the book fair wish list items that you purchased for our classroom...the kids have been devouring them as they arrive...thank you for your generosity!!

HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY UPLOADING VIDEO...

will keep trying later today!!

It's late...but it's still Friday!!

Hello, all...sorry for the late post, but it was a crazy busy day (I say that everyday, for the record!!) :-) We had another great four day week...and get ready...next week will be even crazier!! Here's how this week went down...

Language Arts...we have jumped head first into fairy tales...and I don't know who is having more fun...the kids or ME! We started on Monday with Cinderella, with lots of groans from the boys...but I have to tell you...I think I have some converts!! It was probably the story "Dinorella" that helped them begin to like the "Cinderella tales." We enjoyed how the author used alliteration to write this wonderful fairy tale about a dinosaur. We focused on the "turning point" in a fairy tale, otherwise known as the climax. We used a graphic organizer to retell Dinorella and identify the climax. Today the students chose their own letter of the alphabet to brainstorm nouns, adjectives, and verbs, and then began using the same graphic organizer to write their own "Cinderella tale" using alliteration. You can look forward to Stinkyrella, Fisherella, Pinkerella, and many, many more!!

Math...I divided the kids into two groups this week...based on the pretest results. We have students who have subtraction of large numbers down pat and we have others that needed some work wtih manipulatives and review of regrouping...especially with zeroes...and they have all done a great job! Since we have such a crazy week next week, we will be finishing this unit and moving on the following week. There are a few kids who do not have their subtraction and addition facts committed to memory…they need to work on acquiring these facts! So, if you notice your child still using their fingers…please encourage him/her to practice their facts so that the adding and subtracting of larger numbers will be a lot easier.

Science...If you haven't heard by now...we've started our first Science unit...Chemical Tests!! We have some aspiring scientists in our classroom and this is such a fun unit. We have been working as scientists answering questions, making a hypothesis, and then experimenting to answer our questions. Next week we begin testing 5 mystery powders (common chemicals found in our homes) and the students will be making observations of the physical properties of the powders, recording their data, and eventually making conclusions. It promises to be a very fun few weeks of science!!

Social Studies...We ended our SS unit with the completion of our state brochures...these final products can be seen on the bulletin board inside our classroom. As you wait for the parent/teacher conference to begin, take time to look at the work your children put into these documents...they are WONDERFUL!!

Speaking of conferences...and the reason our week next week is so crazy...the conferences are scheduled back to back every 15 minutes next week...and I have certain things I want to cover during this time...but if you have something in particular that you want me to cover at your child's conference, please email me this weekend or Monday so that I can be prepared to answer your question...and make sure it is covered in the very quick 15 minutes! I will also have a calendar handy at the conference in case we run out of time...we can schedule another meeting to make sure all of your questions are answered.

I feel so fortunate to be your kids' teacher...they are a wonderful bunch and we are covering so much every day...ask them to show you some of their sign language...we've only covered a few things..."thank you, you're welcome, I want you to sit down" :-) that's one of my favorites! My sister is taking a sign language course, and my daughter is learning sign language at her preschool, so I've decided we're going to learn it too!! Nothing like adding more to my own plate!! :-)

I hope you have a great weekend...I will be outside attending more games than I did last weekend...if you can believe that!! Plus, my son has a fairy tale project due Monday...ugh! :-)
As always...email me or call me with your questions or concerns.

Happy 1st Friday in October!!

This is my kind of weather...slight chill in the air...shorter days...I LOVE IT!! Hope you and your family have something fun planned outdoors this weekend...it's going to be a gorgeous one! I will be attending FIVE (count them...) different sports games of my own kids this weekend! Kate plays U6 soccer, Jake plays U10 soccer and U10 baseball, and Connor plays U11 soccer and U12 baseball...AHHHHHHH!! Luckily it will be a great weekend weather wise!

But enough about me and my kids...let's talk about your lovely kids...I am one of the luckiest teachers alive because you have GREAT kids! I am so amazed at what we fit into a four day week...good thing, since we have a few of them back to back with a crazy week to end it all...the week of Oct 13-17th is really crazy! But here is what went on in our classroom this week:


MATH: we have been working on estimation and adding and subtracting larger numbers...we have been using white boards and breaking into smaller groups to differentiate the learning. A funny thing happened in Math this week that is very characteristic of these kids...I handed out an enrichment paper that had no numbers and instead had all letters...and the paper asked them to solve the equations and write down the addition/subtraction property used. You would have thought I asked them to write me a letter in Spanish...they were all staring at me with their mouths hanging open....you see, these kids are wonderful math students with their strengths being computation...but as you and I both know, applying it all is a whole different ballgame, and I stumped them BIGTIME!! :-) They all finally figured out how to use the letters and apply what they knew, but it was a struggle getting there! So, please bear with me as we're working on addition and subtraction...I am working hard to enrich and differentiate so that they remaein challenged!


LANGUAGE ARTS: we worked on "after reading strategies" this week using our Homer Price novel. "After Reading" asks a reader to reflect, reread, and remember...a student can show that they remember by RETELLING...("after reading" loves "r" words!) The students did an outstanding job retelling Case #3 this week. We talked about the difference between retelling and summarizing. When you sit at the dinner table and talk about your day, you summarize (if you're lucky enough to have a kid that says more than, "I don't know" or "nothing"!) Retelling is when you explain step, by step, by step...using words like FIRST, THEN, NEXT, AFTER, FINALLY...and it is a much longer process. Wait until you see the results...they did an amazing job! I also gave the kids some comprehension questions to go along with the novel. I haven't had a chance to grade them yet, but look for them next week in their take home folders!


WORD STUDY: I forgot to remind the kids that they had a word study test today, but I left class time for the kids to work with their words and study them...if anyone gets a really bad grade, I will definitely let them study next week and retake the test...SORRY, my goof!!

PROJECT: Sorry, I know, the dreaded word...but yes, they have a new one...and it's a quick turn around, but it's not as detailed as the first! Details about this project will come home today and the kids need to bring the bottom portion back on Monday with your signature. In this project the kids get to choose their own fairy tale. They can use a book from home, the public library, or our library...just FYI.


SOCIAL STUDIES: the children have been designing a brochure about their chosen state this week as a culmination of our unit...the brochure includes information about the physical geography, climate, and natural resources of their state, as well as "wow" facts and their own creativity...these brochures are wonderful! We will be sharing them with each other next week and you can look for them to come home by the end of the week. Another thing we did to wrap up this unit was the kids took a "Google Earth" tour of important landmarks in Frederick County. They were able to see them from an aerial perspective, and then visit the website for each one to find important information. They very much enjoyed this activity!


SCIENCE: we start a new science unit next week entitled "Chemical Tests"...I am so excited about this unit and cannot wait to get started! I will blog more next Friday about the unit and what's involved, but be on the lookout for budding scientists popping up at your dinner table!


REMINDERS: please make sure you signed the yellow sheet attached to the SS writing assignment and return both the yellow sheet and the paragraph. I like to make you aware of their writing, but I need to keep it in their folders for the year. I appreciate you sending them back to me as soon as you can!