On Wednesday the students were introduced to the novel, 21 Balloons, written by William Pene du Bois in 1947! The students previewed the novel, read the introduction, and began Chapter 1...they were begging to read more. That's the hardest part of teaching a novel...keeping them all at a similar pace. This is a wonderful novel that the children will thoroughly enjoy as we delve into story elements and building a deeper understanding of the story's meaning. Today the kids finished Chapter 1, read Chapter 2, and answered some "thick" questions...questions that make them think...not just locate the answer! The kids need to provide examples or details to support their thoughts...this is a skill that does not come naturally, so I've taken lots of time to model and discuss...but in order for your child to learn, he/she must engage...and if they don't engage in what is being taught/modeled/discussed...their answers aren't always well supported. Please look over your child's papers as they come home and discuss how they think they could improve their answers. There is a strategy that Mr. Esko is teaching his students that I've been telling the kids about...it helps them to remember there are many parts of an answer...
R.A.C.E.
R=restate the question
A=answer the question
C=cite examples
E=expand, elaborate, explain
Use this when talking with your child about his/her answers!
In Science this week we reviewed the four ways you can describe a collection of minerals...ask your child if he/she can name all four: color, hardness, streak, and luster. Then we gathered information about igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks...using our notes, we observed different rocks and tried to identify what type of rocks they were. We made predictions about the weight of the rocks and then found their weight using a spring scale. The kids did a nice job revising their weight predictions after measuring the first rock...I was so pleased to see such enthusiastic scientists!
Yesterday morning and this morning were dedicated to Mock MSA's...we spent Thursday morning taking an assessment set up just like the Reading MSA's and this morning we took the Mock Math MSA's...we did this for so many purposes...the MSA's are very intimidating...and we wanted to answer questions and take some of the "what's it like?" out of the actual MSA week. The kids were in their seats all morning...they weren't allowed to get up unless using the bathroom, they weren't allowed to ask questions, and they had to sit and do NOTHING when they were finished checking their work. All of these things I just listed are really hard for third graders. But now they have an idea of what to expect...and they know the "real ones" come with extra recess and no homework, so they have something to look forward to! Putting the "kid spin" on testing can help ease their minds! We have spent a great deal of time stressing to the kids that it is SOOO important to "show what you know"...they take for granted that I KNOW they're smart...but the people checking their tests only know they're third graders...and unless they put all their thoughts into the test booklet, know one will know the difference between being lazy, careless, or that they don't know the answer...they'll assume they don't know...and with your kids that is not the case. Am I making sense? It makes so much sense in my head, but Lord knows that doesn't mean it makes sense to you!!
Anyhoo...please do your part in making your child successful MSA week by making sure your child...
- has a good breakfast
- gets plenty of sleep
- feels good about themselves (as we all know, confidence is over half the battle!)
There is one other thing you can do...a big yellow envelope came home today...please open it, read it (for your eyes only) and return your "paperwork" to me by next Friday. Once you read the letter inside this will make much more sense!
CONFERENCES:
If you would like to meet with me about your child's progress, please send me an email and I will schedule you for Thursday evening or Friday afternoon. I still have plenty of empty time slots, so let me know what works best for you.
NEEDED
Many of your kids are in need of pencils...I think they may eat them, because I have NO idea where they end up...but they all seem to be searching for pencils these days! Thanks for your help with this matter!!
Have a great weekend!
