We had a busy and VERY productive week. Read on to hear all about it!
LANGUAGE ARTS
We have finished our opinion essay rough drafts and will use this week for self evaluation and revision. This piece will not be seen by me until it is in its final draft state. Every step has been modeled along the way...reading the debate, choosing a side, using a graphic organizer, recording supporting points and details, making sure to acknowledge the "other side", and drafting the essay. This week I will model the self eval and revision process and they will write final drafts. I am excited to see the final products!
Also in LA we have continued to work with cause and effect and main idea. This coming week we will move back into fiction as we read tales from the Junior Great Books series. I read three different tales aloud this week and then let the kids choose which story they would like to "dig" into this coming week. We will use author's message, character motivation, and problem/solution to unwrap the meaning and answer difficult questions. I get excited just thinking about it!
SOCIAL STUDIES
Our social studies unit comes to a close with the finished brochures. They will be laminated this week and be on display in the classroom. I will work on grading them this week in hopes of getting the grades sheets back to the kids next Monday.
SCIENCE
The students worked to build aquariums this past week in preparation for the organisms that will arrive this week. We are getting fiddler crabs and newts, so we had to make sure they had habitats to move into. We have fresh water aquariums with sand floors, anacharis plants, snails, duckweed, and daphnia. Our crabs and newts will be happy in their new homes!
MATH
We are hot and heavy into multiplication and division. We are working on word problems, solving for the unknown using algebra, listing factors, skip counting by multiples, holding purposeful math talks using mathematical vocabulary, using multiple strategies to show our conceptual knowledge, and practicing our facts using lots of different math games. We work in small groups most days making sure that the instruction is differentiated and personal. Our math classroom is a fun place to be.
CHECKLISTS
We have a large class. I have a ton of curriculum and extensions I want to teach/cover. I do not have time to constantly repeat directions and invite children to the learning environment. For some kids this transition from second to third grade has been fine, and for others it has been hard. I spend sooo much time asking kids for homework after the slide show has told them where to put it, OR asking students to come to my desk to identify their papers since they have no names, even though my first oral direction was, "Please put your name and date on the paper." May sound like little things, but with 27 kids it is VERY time consuming. Please review your child's checklist and talk with them about the 2s and 3s asking them how they can improve. If they do not know (although we do talk about this often,) please write me a note on the checklist and I will discuss this with them. I greatly appreciate your support.
IMPORTANT INFO
Our class is participating in Pizza Hut's Book It program. Every month that our class makes our goal, each student receives a coupon for a free personal pizza. In order for me to actually know if your child is reading, I am using the signature on the agenda as a way to keep track. BY SIGNING YOUR CHILD'S AGENDA, you are letting me know your child has completed their reading homework (and their other homework,too!) Third grade magnet students are required to read 30 minutes a night M-Th and then one 30 minute stint over the weekend. This schedule has your child reading 150 min a week. Every Friday they are allowed to input their reading data into the "Pizza Hut Minute Tracker." They are only allowed to record the minutes they have signatures for. The alternative is giving them a different record sheet where they have to write the title, the author, and how many minutes they are reading. I am trying to simplify for both you, your child, and me... They already have to have the agenda signed, so let's make it count. If you do not sign your child's agenda regularly, but want them to have credit for the past two weeks, please send me a note stating that hey have done their reading assignments for the past two weeks. But let me be clear. This is YOUR CHILD'S responsibility. They need to bring the agenda to you and ask you to sign it. When a child says to me, "My Mom keeps forgetting," I tell them them, "Tell me that again and take responsibility for it!" Ok...I will get off my soapbox now!
I hope your weekend was full of family and fun! REMINDER...FOUR day week ahead...no school on Friday!
