It's Friday...do you know where your children are...because I don't!

It is so weird to be here on a Friday without your lovelies! I am getting a lot done and averaging grades...so it's a worthwhile day, but a little lonely! :-) We had a good short week (I feel like I say that a lot!) Here is the run down....


Language Arts
Each student has finished King of the Wind, I even have a child REREADING it...warms my heart! The kids have been working on an independent novel project focusing on character feelings and traits, setting, plot, and book parts. Each child has to complete three of the nine activities. We are also continuing the study of word parts: root words, prefixes, and suffixes. I read some amazing sentences this week. A few kids are still writing simple sentences. I would like you to help me by encouraging your child to put a little "umph" into the sentences they write...making them "WOW" sentences! I walk around and read each child's sentences and if they "WOW" me...I say very quietly, "WOW." Wish you could see those smiles...I want to say "WOW" more and more!


Math
We are combining math and social studies this week and starting a new unit called Entrepreneurs...they will be given a budget, designing a product, purchasing supplies to create the product, advertising that product, and then selling their products. Then, to top it all off, next Monday they will get to buy each others' products. I think this is going to be a winner of a project...and this will take us right up until Spring Break!

Social Studies
The kids took a quiz on Thursday...they had to match vocabulary to the definition, but then they had to take it a step further rewriting a story about "Jake and his Webkinz snake" using all of the important vocabulary...a true test of their understanding...good news is...they understand it! :-)

Last, but not least...this is your child's last quarter as a third grader...so to prepare him/her for fourth grade, I am going to get tougher...missing homework assignments - not ok...rushed, messy work - not acceptable...talking during independent worktime will not be tolerated...so if you've seen slash marks on previous checklists for coming prepared to class, following directions or self control, do not be surprised to see number signs...slash marks are not changing the behaviors. Just a friendly heads up for quarter four!

Have a wonderful weekend...enjoy the springtime weather!

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Whew!! ...and I know your kids feel this way, too! Yesterday was probably our longest day...two straight hours of testing...they really did a great job. Today we celebrated the end of testing with popsicles for the whole third grade! It was a nice day out and we let them eat and then run off some energy!

I don't have a ton to post about...but please make sure to read the other two posts from this week...just some info about a contest and our St. Patrick's Day fun!

Next week is a short week, but as usual, we'll be busy...we will be focusing on our Economics Unit, finishing our novel activities for King of the Wind, and in math, we'll be doing some problem solving with decimals and money. We have a two hour early dismissal on Thursday (3/26)and the students have no school on Friday (3/27), so please make a note of it!

If you have any items at your house that could be used for a project, would you please send them in? We're thinking about teaching a unit called "Entrepeneurs" where the students would create an item, advertise it, and then sell it...it looks to be very fun and makes a great connection to our math and social studies indicators!! But we need some supplies...straws, pipe cleaners, yarn, ribbon, paper towel rolls...you name it, we can use it! Thanks...we appreciate it!


Enjoy your families this weekend...I sure plan to! And make sure the kids get a lot of fresh air and time to just chill out...they've earned it.

The TFK Kid Reporter Talent Search

OK...so, this is just an FYI...but Time for Kids, our grade-wide weekly publication, is having a talent search to find 12 students from around the nation to be members of the TFK Kid Reporter Team for the 2009-2010 school year...and I think that one of those kids might be in our class!! SO...go to the link below, read about it, and see if your child might be interested...it sounds like a wonderful opportunity and we have some kids who a) love to write and b) love to talk...what better job for them than to represent our nation by reporting for a news magazine!


If your child decides to try out for this unique opportunity...let me know!


http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/news/story/0,28277,1602510,00.html


GOOD LUCK! And may the best young future journalist win! :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Today was a fun day! I believe we were visited by Leprechauns!! Our morning slide show was unusually green...there were green pencils on every desk...green shamrocks on every desk...and our afternoon was full of St. Patrick's day fun...each child got a chance to use the promethean board in our Lowe Lab...this is an interactive board the size of a classroom chalkboard...you use a "pen" like you would the mouse of a computer...the kids LOVED it! While small groups got to come to the promethean board, everyone else visited a very cool Inspirations page that had a link to a movie about St. Patrick's Day, links to four informative websites about St. Patrick's Day, a "Pot 'O Gold" website to play math games, and a link to Google Earth, to take a trip to Ireland! My very helpful and technology savvy leprechaun friend (Mrs. Cicerone) prepared this amazing site and the kids had a blast.

I am very proud of the work they're doing on the MSA's...they are taking their time and checking their work...make sure to tell them I said so! They have a break tomorrow...no testing...but then we're back at it on Thursday...so keep up the yummy breakfasts and good nights sleep...we're half way done!

Thanks...and Happy St. Patrick's Day...I'm thinking about having something green after school...:-)!!

MSA Testing...Ready or Not...Here It Comes!

I'll just be glad when it's all behind us and the kids feel great about the job they did! However...it is MY job to remind you of these very important tips for the upcoming week!

• Make sure your child eats a good breakfast!
• Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep!
• Make sure your child gets a good "brain break" in the afternoons/evenings... there will be no homework and they need to play and relax...trust me.... their brains will be exhausted!

I am excited for your children to see the notes you sent to them...thank you...Monday morning will be full of smiles thanks to YOU!!


Our week was great...here is the run down...

In Language Arts this week we continued to discuss test taking and took some sample tests...the kids did a great job...remembering all of the tips they've been learning about. They did such a great job using their "before reading" strategies...they did such a great job writing BCRs and answering questions...and I was probably most impressed with the job they did rereading and checking their work. This is a skill that is very necessary for this group of kids...and the hardest to get them to use! We will dive right back into our novel, The King of the Wind, this upcoming week. The students will be working on an independent project for the novel and reading the rest of the book at their own pace...I know they will LOVE this!


In Writing we have been reviewing the necessary parts of a persuasive essay. We have been talking about the different letters that I received and I have been using them as examples. We have a new lego box for recess, I am explaining "big words" more often when I use them :-), and we will be listening to classical music in the mornings next week...just to mention a few of the things I've been persuaded to change or add! In the weeks after MSA we'll be writing multiple paragraph persuasive essays...so these are the steps leading up to that final product!


In Math this week we did SO many different things! All of the children got a chance to try out the CPS chalkboard (you may remember if from Back to School Night...I used it to advance the power point instead of using the computer)...they got a real kick out of trying to write on something and looking at the screen to see what they were writing...we used this tool as we reviewed fractions, decimals, and money. This week we also worked on comparing and ordering decimals and created a human number line using decimals. The students had to answer the questions which decimal is bigger 0.28 or 0.6? Most of the kids were able to answer this with ease...they did this in their math spiral and I graded it, but it will remain in their desks as we use the spirals most days. We will be working with money a little bit this week...using what we know to solve the mystery of how much money did Mary have after they have read a take off on the Mary Had a Little Lamb song. They will get a real kick out of this problem solving experience!


We have left Science and the Rocks, Soil, and Fossils unit...but not before we were fortunate enough to have Mr. Esko share his expertise of this subject with us...we went out to his "learning cottage" to have him take us on a virtual field trip to the Potomac River. They were instructed on that particular area of the Potomac River and were asked lots of questions challenging their background knowledge of the subject of fossils...fyi...they did well! Then, the kids worked in groups of four to dig through sand looking for fossils...they were to categorize the things they found as fossils, non-fossils, and a category for ones they weren't sure about. They LOVED this investigation. Keep in mind, this investigation was followed by an even more informative lesson about the different types of fossils, why sharks teeth would be in the Potomac, why crocodile teeth might be found in the Potomac, how the snail's shell dissolves and the sand and muck that was inside it becomes the fossil, what a stingray dental plate is and what it looks like 10, 000 years later, etc, etc (I could go on for pages!) The kids soaked it all up. He followed the lesson with a segment of a movie that shows what life may have looked like millions of years ago when water covered the land. To say that the kids loved it would not be doing the lesson justice. The kids wrote letters to Mr. Esko (in beautiful cursive) thanking him and sharing all that they learned. He will love reading them!

In Social Studies we began our unit on Economy...starting off with a lesson about scarcity. There is a wonderful DVD that goes along with this unit...Econ and Me. Econ is a person who helps a group of kids understand that everyone has "economic problems" (ain't that the truth!) and that when making choices you're often faced with an economic problem...this first lesson focused on a scarcity of hats and space as the kids were playing. It's a fun unit with lots of vocabulary, but all used in situations that the kids can understand!


So...as usual...we've stayed busy...oh, and I didn't even mention our in depth study of affixes and roots this week...we'll be continuing with that for awhile...once the kids understand the word parts and their meanings, it is amazing how well they can decipher unfamiliar words.

"Who in the World Reads Our Blog?"

Welcome to Aravind's grandfather in Chennai, India!!

We're glad you read the blog!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your families. Your kids are doing such a good job...make sure you tell them I said so!!

Summer Program Options for Elementary and Middle School Students

On the sidebar of my blog is a list of summer program options for children in the Frederick area given to me by the Office of Gifted and Talented to share with all families. The list is certainly not inclusive, but provides some possible options that address a wide variety of student interests. "In providing the list, the Office of Gifted and Talented Education of FCPS is not endorsing or promoting the programs, but is simply offering information as a service to parents and children." I have included as many of the links as possible, but there were a few that had no website...they are listed below.

Dream Catcher Farm - offers summer riding camps in Adamstown, MD
301-607-4238

Frederick Arts Council - sponsors programs
301-662-4190

Clustered Spires Golf Course - offers golf camps
301-624-1295

Again, I was asked to disseminate this information and I decided instead of using paper, to make it available on line. If anyone has any questions about these programs, please visit the websites.

Spring Forward!!

Don't forget...this weekend we "spring forward"...
so change your clocks before you go to bed on Saturday night!!

OK...so let's start with ....

"Who in the World Reads our Blog?!?!"

Hello to...

...Ashwin's aunt, uncle, and cousins in Edison, New Jersey!

...his uncle in Mumbai, India!

...his grandparents in New Delhi, India!

We're so glad you're with us!!

We've had a busy, fun four day week...here is how it all went down...

In Language Arts this week we have been focusing on the indicators in our Reading Ancillary Materials unit..."students will preview tests by skimming directions, main parts, questions and time allotments...students will read test questions to determine if a factual or critical thinking response is required...students will review and reread questions that they find particularly challenging on tests..." We have been using the Reader's Handbook to gather information about using "before, during, and after reading strategies" when taking a test. We have worked in groups, pairs, and individually...we have taken copious notes...we have made posters, flyers, written poems, and performed skits to show our understanding of all of the information gathered. The kids have done an amazing job and I'm very proud of them. All of the students in my class will do very well on the MSA's if they take their time...they will find a lot of the activities "easy" and I worry that they will hurry because they "know it all"...I say that with love :-). So, one reminder you can give to your child is to take his/her time, even when they think it's easy, to reread directions, to underline and circle important key words, and to always use any extra time to check over their work. Magnet students make careless mistakes because their brains are working way faster than their pencils!! So we want them to slow down and use time wisely!! We will finish this unit next week...all the while doing "practice" tests to get them used to the stopwatch that keeps time, their desks being moved into a different arrangement, and their teacher saying OVER and OVER and OVER again..."I'm sorry I can't help you, you need to reread and do your best!"...with a big smile! We took a break from King of the Wind this week, which has not made them very happy, but we will bring it back some next week and do lots of reading the week of MSA's.

In Math this week we have been "up to our ears" in fractions! Depending on where your child is in the "spectrum of learning" this week the kids have: found equivalent fractions, simplified frations, converted common fractions to mixed numbers, plotted fractions on number lines, added and subtracted fractions with unlike denominators, and solved problems involving fractions...see what I mean about "up to our ears"!!! I feel very confident on their knowledge of fractions and we will move into money, decimals, and time next week...I attended a two hour technology class last night and found some WONDERFUL websites for time and money...so we should have a fun week with it all!

In Science this week we shared our composting projects and our gems research...the kids did a great job! We have been observing our soil investigation and are quite puzzled with the results...ask your child about it this weekend...we have to conclude that the baggies must be having an effect on the investigation! This will make more sense once you ask your child about what has happened to our seeds! I was SO pleased to see children using fractions in their observations...1/2 of the seeds have shown growth...they used measurement...the plant is 7 and 1/2 inches tall...and they used properties...the plant is bent over, the plant is green with two seed leaves...I was very impressed! We are getting ready to move into a Social Studies unit about Economy...a big switch from Rocks, Soil and Fossils! It is chock full of vocabulary and decision making...the kids will LOVE it!

A big thank you to Ms. Kim and all of our parents who helped to make our silent auction basket so wonderful...I'm thinking of bidding on it myself! A humidifier, a heating blanket, and many, many other great first aid needs can be found in the beautiful basket...have a look:

Have a great weekend...enjoy the weather!