HAPPY FALL FESTIVAL DAY!

Oh my...I have SOOOO much to share...I think you should be prepared for three entries...first will be about our week, the second will be just about today...and the third...saving the best for last...the kids' commercials that I video taped this week!! So, grab a pillow (not that you'll want to sleep, but you may want to get comfy...), a snack, and a drink, and enjoy...


This week was a week full of wonderful words, exciting science, marvelous math, and fabulous fables...your kids were superb students and I am proud to be their tired teacher ;-)!


We have been working with words...lots and lots of words...171 to be exact! The kids are flagging words in their reading...words they love, words they want to learn the meaning of, any words they find intriguing. We have been adding them to a long list and this week they chose two favorites to explore...using a word map...they LOVE words and it is fun to watch them learn about them and try to use them correctly! I like to call them all WORD NERDS...in a kind way, of course!


In science we are definitely collecting a ton of data that will help us identify our powders...we tested our powders with vinegar and iodine this week and recorded all of our observations...we have a few more tests and we'll be ready to put all the clues together! I got to see a lot of data collection for science fair projects today. Thanks to all of the parents that sent a note letting me know your child is still working on the project and not ready to share data! Keep an eye on the due date list so that your child will have plenty of time to do a good job!


We did quite a few things in math this week...we finished up our Chocolate Math project...stay tuned for a different post of the finished products! We worked with function tables and patterns, too. Each child designed a function table...many of your kids' tables had two functions...the kids had SO much fun trying to determine the function of each others' tables! We worked with growing patterns with at least five levels and repeated patterns with at least two core...the kids also designed patterns to challenge their classmates! We will be moving into fractions next week!!

Our Ella stories are all ready for peer conference...we kind of put a hold on those this week...but we'll be moving into the next stage of the writing process for this piece next week, too! As you are aware, the kids had an independent study with fables this week. We started out the week with the famous fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare." I modeled finding personification and determining a moral...both characteristics in fables. I am anxious to read their packets to see what they discovered while choosing fables to read and think about.

Today was a ton of fun! Thanks to all of the parents that helped out today being here and all of you who helped out behind the scenes...the kids had a great day because of all of you! I promise to post pix and commercials sometime soon...my daughter Kate has her birthday party this weekend and my family will be enjoying Halloween festivities, too (add in a few soccer and basketball games...oh my!), but I am anxious to post it all, so I will do my best!

Have a great weekend with YOUR families!

Can you believe we're two months into school?

Happy Friday, everybody...I have lots to share, no time to spare! (teehee...I'm a poet, and I know it!)


I've decided this week to use the project we're working on as the subheadings, because all of these projects have so many different subject indicators that it's hard to split them up by math, language arts, science, etc...so here we go!


"Ella" stories
I am so excited about these stories!! Wait until you hear Purrella, Medusarella, Tigerella, Snakerella, Prince Lugia, Candyella, and SOOOO many more!! We will spend one more writing time drafting before we move into reading our stories with partners. While working with a partner the kids will be focusing on organization...specifically BOLD beginnings, MIGHTY middles, and EXCELLENT endings. Once revised, we will be typing these stories in the computer lab. Many past third graders have put their "Ella" stories in the UES Quill, our school literature anthology!

Short Stories...
We are continuing our study of short stories...this week we read some folktales. We read about a black spider named Anansi. These stories originated in Africa and have been passed down from generation to generation...and most of the time a folktale involves trickery of some sort. Trickery is always evident in an Anansi tale! We also had the good fortune to go to the Weinberg Center to see Strega Nona!! It was Strega Nona the musical and it was very enjoyable and quite timely!!


Have you heard about our chocolate factories?!?
"OMG"...to quote the teens of our nation...your kids are amazing! I put together a "little" culminating project for our multiplication unit that also involved calculating area...it has turned into a "REALLY BIG" culminating project planned by your children! They have created chocolate companies, invented new candy bars, cut and measured the area of their candy bars, written product descriptions/advertisements for their products, designed the wrappers for their candy, cut and measured the area of their wrappers, and they have now decided we need to produce commercials. I can't even begin to list the indicators that this project is covering...but it is so exciting and the kids are very motivated. Yesterday, the final wrappers were cut, measured, and designed. Each candy bar was placed in its wrapper, and the product descriptions are being typed as I work on the blog right now! Next week we will do commercial rehearsals and then I will videotape each student "selling" his/her candy bar. I hope to be able to download the commercials on the blog...stay tuned!


They are such amazing scientists!!
This past week we did a water mixtures test on all five chemicals. This included adding three spoonfuls (1 at a time, being stirred for 30 seconds each) to 10 mL of water. The students had to observe the solubility of the powders, and then they had to filter each mixture using a coffee filter. On Monday we will observe the residue left after the filtration of each powder...they will be surprised at the results! I can't type anymore about that because some of your kids read the blog, so I don't want to ruin the results! We will be testing the powders using vinegar and iodine next week!

And so on, and so on...
A few reminders!!
1. The Fall Party is this coming Friday from 1:15-2:25 pm.

• The kids can bring their costumes to school, but they are supposed to be able to change into them without having to undress...if you can help with this, that would be great! We just don't have the facilities or time for all 21 kids to use the bathrooms to change.
• Mrs. Lizik has planned some fun activities...thank you!! And so many of you all have donated $ and items to make this a wonderful party...thank you so much!

2. Pumpkin Math is also this coming Friday, but it's from 9-10:30 am.

• If you'd still like to come, but haven't had a chance to let me know, please send in your form or drop me an email. Also, if you can't come, but would like to donate a medium sized pumpkin...I could use two or three...thanks!

3. Science Fair project data collection is due this coming Friday, too!

• As I explained to the kids...I realize that not everyone will be finished collecting data by Friday the 29th...this is just a suggested due date. I had everyone write "work on science fair project" in their agendas for this weekend. I told the kids...working on it over the weekend is not required, it is suggested. If you and your child are able to follow the due dates, your child's project will be completed with time to spare and no rushing. Just let me know on the due date if your child's data is not ready yet. Thanks for helping your child follow the timeline suggested.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing your kids next week...its always a crazy week leading up to Fall Festival...and it's going to be even crazier as we celebrate "Red Ribbon Week" by wearing different fun things!!

Sorry to make you wait...

Hello to my favorite families! I must confess...I left for the beach at 8 am Friday morning and got home about an hour ago...some much needed R and R with friends!!


Let me fill you in on how we spent our four days last week and let you know what's coming up in the next couple weeks!


Language Arts
We are still working with fairy tales...we spent time reading and listening to different versions of Cinderella this week! And now your kids are writing their own "Ella" tales...wait until you hear some of these wonderful stories!! They are using themes and/or alliteration to enhance their stories...much like the authors' books we have been reading!


We only had one Writer's Workshop time this week, which is always disappointing to your kids...but they are continuing to plug along with their writing pieces...drafting, editing, revising, peer conferencing, teacher conferencing, publishing...it is a busy place and the kids are using the six traits of writing as they move each piece through the writing process!


Another exciting thing occurred in Language Arts this week...we all became "WORD NERDS"! We spent time making a list of wonderful words...words that sound awesome, words we are unfamiliar with, words we just like...and then we each chose one and completed a word map about that word. This is just one of the fun ideas I got from my 1/2 day in-service on vocabulary last week...and the kids really got into mapping their words!


Math
This week we worked with problem solving and multiplication...the kids worked to use the advertisement they brought to school to answer some questions applying their multiplication skills. Now the kids are working on a culminating project while we move into algebra...they have each created a chocolate company, designed a candy bar using multiplication, arrays, and area, and now they are going to design a wrapper for their candy bar and write a product description that will make your mouths water!! I love to see their math skills and creative skills come together...they are thoroughly enjoying this project!

Science
We have tested each mystery powder with water and recorded our observations...the kids have lots of predictions about what each powder is...but we have SO many more tests to complete before they can make solid conclusions! We will do more with water this week and then we will use vinegar to conduct new tests with our mystery powders!

DID YOU KNOW? This week is National Chemistry Week! Mrs. Shrode, Maddie's Mom, has some fun things planned for the kids...I'll leave the details for next week's post!

I was pleased to read ALMOST everyone's science fair project description!! I read each one carefully and often jotted down comments or questions...these questions are there for you and your child when planning out the next part....some kids thought they needed to be answered and then resubmitted...this is not the case...I just wanted you to consider certain things while working on the project. I am VERY excited about all the different science fair projects that our class is working on! The next due date is not until October 29th...this is when the data collection is due. One child said to me, "Mrs. Wills...my project won't be ready by then." Please remember these deadlines are put in place to help your child manage his/her time...it is perfectly acceptable to not "meet a deadline" as long as the project is underway!

Fall Festival Party - Friday, October 29th
Well, most of you have seen the Fall Festival Party form that went home on Thursday...it is going to be a lot of fun! I hope that any and all of you that would like to attend will join us...please remember that you need to be a trained volunteer to work in the classroom (this includes chaperoning a trip and class parties)...UES now has a quick and easy way to get trained...check out the school website where you can get the link to be trained from the comforts of your own home!

All that being said...the morning of the Fall Festival Party, I am planning a pumpkin math activity that is loads of fun! If you cannot attend in the afternoon, but can come in the morning...OR...you just want to spend the WHOLE day with us...please send me an email. I am hoping to have at least four volunteers for the morning. Each volunteer is asked to bring a medium sized pumpkin and a few easy supplies...if this sounds exciting to you...contact me and let me know you'd like to come join us...it will be from 9-10:30 that Friday morning.

Field Trip - Weinberg Center
Thank you to all the many parents who volunteered to come on our field trip. I wrote all of your names on slips of paper, put them in a basket and pulled out four...it was the most fair way I could think of...Mr. Lizik, Mrs. Sherwood, Mrs. Wolcott, and Mrs. Sobocienski will be joining us this Thursday to see the folktale Strega Nona. I am very excited about this trip! I am sorry that you all couldn't come with us...but there are two more field trips this year, and I promise you'll get to come on one!

I look forward to seeing you all sometime this month...hope you had a great weekend...I sure did!

Comparing Fairy Tales!

Your Scientists at Work!!

WRITERS' WORKSHOP!!

Happy Sunday!

I hope your kids told you that the post would be delayed this weekend...I knew I wasn't getting to it until today...I hope the wait is worth your while...I have lots of pictures to share!


This was our first five day week since before Labor Day! We had a phenomenal week together...here is how it went down...


Math
We have submersed ourselves in multiplication. We have solved word problems, refined our estimating skills, found the importance of multiplication basic facts when solving the algorithm, and continued work with multiplication properties. Sometime this week we will be moving into algebra...the "mathies" in my classroom are going to LOVE it! I may even be able to convert a few "non-mathies" with the algebra unit...you never know!

Language Arts
This week we focused on the elements of a fairy tale. We discussed and identified the setting, the protagonists and antagonists, the plot, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. We found that magic and royalty exists in most fairy tales and found other similar characteristics. We read two versions of two different fairy tales. We read The Princess and the Pea and Princess Pigtoria and the Pea, and then we read Cinderella and Dinorella. Both second versions were written by Pamela Edwards Duncan. She used alliteration to enhance each of her fairy tale verisons. This week we will be mapping the story of Dinorella, identifying all key points, and then the students will use that model to write their own versions of a fairy tale. The kids will have an option to write a "Princess and the Pea" fairy tale or a "Cinderella" fairy tale using alliteration. I am really excited about this writing project!

Science
That's right...science in the house! ;-) You would have thought it was Christmas morning on Monday when the kids came in and saw science on the schedule...it was wonderful! We have jumped right into the "Chemical Tests" unit, and there is wonderful science happening in my classroom. The students have been divided into five groups and these groups will be consistent throughout the unit. They will work as teams to hypothesize, experiment, observe, collect data, analyze the data, and make conclusions about their five mystery powders! They will observe measurable properties as well as physical properties while they experiment. They take their jobs as scientists very seriously and they recorded excellent observations about each powder's properties this past week. Tomorrow we will begin testing each powder, using our schema and some research to draw conclusions and identify each substance. It really is SO fun!

And speaking of science...most of the kids have shown me a parent signature indicating you have seen the due dates for each part of the kids' science fair projects. This Thursday your child needs to share their project description with me. This description includes the hypothesis, a list of materials, the purpose, and the planned procedure. Just a helpful hint from one parent to another....as your child develops each piece, have them save it as a word document on the computer. That way, when it's time to put the project board together, they already have each piece typed up! They can show me the pieces on the organizer provided in the packet, or their typed version...that is totally up to you!

Miscellaneous Info
A field trip slip went home on Thursday. This slip is due this Wednesday! Many slips came in without the $5 fee. Please send the $5 by Wednesday...I will let you know the names of the chaperones Wednesday and then those parents will need to send $5, too. Thanks...I wish I could take all of you...but if you don't get to come on this trip, you will definitely be able to come on another one!

I am going to post the pictures in a separate post...I am at school right now (yes, it's Sunday...but I can't get it all done during the week!), and I need to upload the pictures from home...so look for that later today.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

HAPPY OCTOBER!

Can you believe how fast time is flying?!?!

This is going to be a long post...I can feel it, so grab a snack and enjoy....

SCIENCE FAIR

Urbana Elementary School holds a science fair every year and each student in the third grade magnet program is required to do a project...please don't start FREAKING OUT!! Ms. Maenner and I will be giving the kids a packet that makes completing a science fair project manageable for a third grader!! We will also construct a time line so that your child can do small steps at a time. I am linking a movie that the kids saw today to motivate them to do a science fair project...I would like you to see it because it offers lots of information and visuals that will help in the planning. Although the movie describes the THREE different types of science fair projects, we ask that third graders do "experiment-based" projects. Our first science unit (which begins Monday!) is an experiment-based unit, and we are able to easily tie in the scientific process of their projects with the unit. There will be a lot more information coming home next week...but today in your child's Take Home folder is a form that needs to be returned to UES to let them know your child will be participating. HOLD ONTO IT...don't turn it in quite yet...we need to spend some time discussing different science project ideas before we ask the kids to make a decision about their own project. So, hang it on the fridge and send it in at the end of next week, please!!

http://scienceelem.sites.fcps.org/scool_science_fair

BOOK FAIR

As Ms. Lizik stated in her email, the UES PTA is holding the annual book fair this month!! And although it is not during conferences this year, I hope you will try to get to school to see the wonderful selection! Our school media center gets to use the credits to purchase books for all of our kids to check out and enjoy...so if you are thinking about ordering books...think about making your way to school Oct 6-8 and checking out the Book Fair!

VOLUNTEERS

Speaking of Ms. Lizik, I would like to thank her for organizing the volunteer calendar. I LOVE the monthly calendars and appreciate the time she puts into it!!

I know that many of you are probably disappointed that you only received one volunteer slot per month. I want you to know that you are MORE than welcome to come hang out in our classroom ANYTIME...I love to have extra smiling faces...but I just don't have tons of work for you...therefore, I'd rather schedule you once, and not waste your time while you're here. If you have a day off coming up, and you'd love to spend 40 minutes with us...just drop me an email...we'd love to have you!

WHY NO PICTURES?

I haven't wanted to admit this aloud (or in print) because it makes it so very real....but...I LOST MY CAMERA. You have no idea how sad this is...not only did I LOVE my camera...but it had an SD card with over 600 pictures on it! :-( Just typing it makes me want to cry. I have exhausted all the places it could be...twice...the only place I haven't heard back from is the baseball tournament we attended Labor Day weekend...I can't get a return email...but my guess is...it's long gone. ANYWAY...I have an older camera at home, so I will start carrying that with me...and I promise to upload pix soon!!

And now...our week in review...

MATH

We have jumped into the world of multiples, factors, products, prime numbers, 3 digit times 1 digit multiplication, 3 digit times 2 digit multiplication, problem solving, estimating...you name it...we're learning it...if it has to do with multiplication!! With each concept I assess your child and then place him/her in a instructional group. All students are taught the 4th grade indicators to mastery, and some are introduced to the 5th grade indicators as well. These kids LOVE numbers and it is fun to see them excited about math. IMPORTANT NOTE: Your child is taking timed fact tests at school. They should be practicing their math facts at home at least once or twice a week until they score 90% or better on their fact tests. They know their scores because they are the ones who check them!! Ask your child about his/her addition, subtraction, or multiplication fact test scores...and if they can't remember...throw me an email. I have fact test records so that the kids can work to improve each time they take a test. There are wonderful websites for fact practice...many are linked to the blog. We will continue with this unit next week!

SOCIAL STUDIES

We leave social studies behind today...for awhile...we ended this unit with a local government simulation...every student had a job within the government and researched their position to understand the responsibilities of their department. Then, in small groups, we received letters from concerned citizens and decided which part of the government we thought might help solve the problems. After all of the mail was delivered, we took on our government positions and read the letters that had been sent to our departments and discussed how we could help these citizens. It was a wonderful lesson to tie in all we have been studying in Social Studies this quarter. Next week the kids will receive a study guide for an upcoming social studies test...stay tuned. We head into Science next week and the kids are SO excited...me, too.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Monday we begin a new unit...short stories! This is one of my favorite units as we delve into fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, and legends. This past week, we finished up our reading strategies unit and our novels. Most kids read one novel, but some read two during this unit. The strategies introduced during this time will be used throughout the rest of the school year. I am still in the process of assessing your kids...I don't get to do it very often, because they need to work independently for long periods of time, and that's just not how I run a classroom...but I am determined to finish, so it WILL happen!

Writer's Workshop is just a fantastic part of our week. We use an hour every Tuesday and Friday for Writer's Workshop and the kids CANNOT get enough! Today we had three kids share published pieces...it was a very proud moment for me as a teacher...and the three kids who shared did a fantastic job taking a first draft through the entire writing process making improvements along the way. It is always a highlight of the week and I get as excited as the kids on Writer's Workshop days!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend...this is by far my very favorite time of year and it looks like we have great weather ahead of us!!