Happy Friday

Hello, lovely third grade parents!  I am writing to you while your awesome kids are practicing their keyboarding skills in the computer lab!  They are such a great group of kids and I missed them quite a bit this week while I was sick.  I left school on Tuesday at around 12:30 and was in bed for the next two and 1/2 days with a virus...this am I was fever free for 24 hours, so I happily returned, but I admit...I'm not up to par yet.  Hopefully the weekend will help me recover...who am I kidding...5 baseball and softball games in two days...oh well...'tis the season!

I sent detailed plans each day for my subs, so rest assured, a lot was accomplished while I was gone.  One of the things I'm most excited about is the narrative writing pieces your kids are doing!  This week the kids were introduced to "writing groups"...where they sit in threes and listen to each other read their narratives.  Then they were instructed to find TWO things they liked about the story and TWO questions they had...the questions help the author identify the places where more details are necessary...Mrs. Schuch said the kids did a REALLY great job with this.  Today the kids were editing and revising their narratives focusing on the six traits of writing.  Next week they will have one more opportunity to read to their "writing groups" before completing their final draft.  I'm excited to see their completed products.

In Math, we have been focusing on measurement, lines, angles, and triangles over the past two weeks.  The kids will have a quiz sometime next week on all of the information we have been covering...its not really something they need to study for...it will only cover things that have been taught and practiced in class...but this heads up allows you to work with your child a bit before then if you'd like!  Don't forget that there is a link to the right that connects you to our text book where you can find tons of resources!!

One of our Literature Circles has finished their novel!  I continue to be SOOOO impressed with your kids.  One of the ways you can keep track of the job your child is doing in Literature Circles is by checking out their written products as they bring them home...unfortunately, as I type, I think I have seven different sets of papers to grade...this is definitely the place I am being hit the hardest with our "work to contract"...but I will prevail!  Just be patient, please!

In case you missed it...I posted two different movies this past week...our field trip and our outdoor science lesson from two weeks ago...check them out!

ALSO...checklists have taken a back seat and I know many of you are curious how your child is doing...I am going to try REALLY hard to get them out today (however, I need the 11:15 planning time to get math ready today and prepare for Monday)...but I think a few of my friends are definitely "slipping" due to NO checklists, so I really need to get them out.

I hope you have a great weekend with your family...and I look forward to seeing your lovelies on Monday.

DON'T FORGET...keep collecting science fair data...the kids need to show some sort of data collection to me on May 1st!!

ESSL Field Trip

We had such a GREAT time at the ESSL!!  Click on the words "ESSL Field Trip" below to see our trip!

ESSL Field Trip

Erosion and Weathering

A couple weeks ago we had an awesome lesson outside led by Mr. Schartner...here is the movie of all the pictures I took!  Click on the words "Erosion and Weathering" below.

Erosion and Weathering

Happy Friday

Hello! We've had a great week back! Here is the quick run down...I took A LOT of pix this week, but will probably not get them loaded...eventually I will...sorry!

Language Arts...some of our Literature Circles are like adult book clubs...they are SO fun to listen to...I am very impressed with the comprehension level of many of the kids. It has matured a lot. We will continue with these novels next week. I have also given some comprehension questions to check comprehension and we've done some reading responses. The time to check all of this work is where I'm finding the "work to contract" so difficult. I spend every extra minute in the school day preparing the lessons and the papers are piling up quickly. I will see what next week holds and see if I can be an even better manager of my time.

We are beginning a narrative writing piece...this week the genre of writing was introduced and we will be delving into that more heavily next week.

Math...one of the kids asked if we were done with decimals...on the same day our warm up problem was, "Mrs. Wills is 62.3 inches tall." What is wrong with this statement? This was one of my most favorite warm up problems this year! To hear them discussing all the reasons why this might not be possible, and then to finally realize that inches CANNOT be divided evenly into TENTHS...it was a great lesson. We worked with inches and centimeters this week...so yes, we are still working with decimals since something that measures 324 millimeters is the same as 32.4 centimeters! We worked with measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch...as a matter of fact...your kids are on the computers right now using an Active Inspire flipchart and measuring with an online ruler...they are working cooperatively and loving it! This measurement unit continues next week with measuring weight and capacity!

Science...I feel like Science was the focus this week...we had great lessons sorting and classifying rocks and minerals...discovering the difference between the two, learning about MOH's Hardness Scale for minerals and how luster, color, streak, and , and then moving on to the subject of erosion...we did a fantastic experiment that helps us know how physical weathering affects earth surfaces...this is where I took most of my pictures...Mr. Schartner led this lesson outside for all third graders...it was awesome! This afternoon we are being treated to a special program brought to us by the PTA...all about SCIENCE!!

Speaking of Science...each third grade magnet student is required to do a Science Fair project. Your child is coming home today with a large packet that walks them through the process. Mrs. Maenner and I will be working with the kids on each part explaining what is expected. What is YOUR job? Talk with your child about what topics interest him/her. Google some science fair experiment topics and see if one grabs your child's attention. My students MUST do an EXPERIMENT BASED project. Please take time to read through the info with your child. On Monday we will be discussing lots of different topic choices, and on Tuesday, your child's school application should be turned in. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will return your email during the school day.

Thanks for all of the kind emails you sent showing your support of our effort. I know there is a lot of controversy out there when it comes to this decision. Just know that your child's day is not being impacted AT ALL.

Have a wonderful weekend!