We're having a FANTASTIC FALL!

I absolutely LOVE your kids...we are having so much fun while stretching our brains...thanks for sending such responsible, hardworking, "eager to learn" kids!!  Please read all the way through...important CONFERENCES message at the end!

FALL FESTIVAL DAY

We had sooo much fun...click on the date below to see a picture video of our day...enjoy!

October 30, 2015

LANGUAGE ARTS

We finished narrative writing and we are now headed into a unit where the kids will be information writers.  I LOVE this unit and it fits nicely as we segway from novels back to reading non-fiction. Take a look at the editing/revising/publishing process in our classroom (this also happened to be PJ/Stuffed Friend Day.) 

SCIENCE

We are coming to the end of our Chemical Tests unit in Science.  We have been testing five mystery powders in order to try to draw some conclusions about their identity.  We've tested with water, vinegar, iodine (your child knows what iodine can indicate), red cabbage juice (a pH indicator), and finally, on Monday, we will watch what happens as heat is applied to each powder. We've worked with water mixtures and discussed whether the mixture is a solution or a suspension.  We've recorded observable properties and looked for chemical changes. The kids love this unit and cheer every time I say it's time for science!  We have done a lot of reading for information alongside this unit.  We read rigorous text and pull it apart to find meaning.  Its how we tried to make sense of testing with iodine and red cabbage juice...we've also watched video clips about what to look for when a chemical change takes place.  After Thanksgiving we will move into our next Social Studies unit: Immigration and Government.

MATH

What do I want to say about math?  Phew...making sure each child has been exposed to and works toward mastery of all third grade concepts is one thing...challenging those that come already mastering them is another...I keep busy in the math classroom as I work with flexible groups every time we change a skill or concept.  PLEASE, PLEASE have your child practice multiplication and division facts.  One important reason is because by the end of third grade they are to be proficient...but an even more important reason is because not knowing facts slows down so many other processes.  As we work through multiple strategies in multiplication and make connections between those and the most efficient strategy, the algorithm, kids who do not know that 4 x 7 is 28 are really stuck on skip counting instead of the other processes.  All students should be studying their multiplication and division facts AT LEAST three times a week.  There are multiple sites on our Math Google Classroom for practicing.  The students also made monster wheels in the classroom to aid them in studying at home.  They only created one, but after mastering that one, they are more than welcome to take home another to create there.

CONFERENCES

If you returned a conference slip saying you are unable to come to the time you signed up for, please email me for an alternate time.  The slip said to contact the office, but they will just send you to my voicemail...its a much quicker process if you email me.  

For my conferences this year, please use the OUTSIDE DOOR of my classroom to enter.  This way you do not have to stand in the other third grade classrooms if you are early and have to wait. (It's also so much quicker to just come to me from the fire hall parking lot than having to walk to the office and come back.) Although I hate to end conferences before all has been discussed, I have 29 conferences that are 15 minutes each.  I will be using the clock to ensure you are not left waiting or short changed on time.  That being said, if I am one minute late, please be patient.  I promise you will get your entire 15 minutes regardless of what time we start.  I will put the schedule on the door outside of my classroom and be using my iPhone clock to keep us on schedule.  If we cannot finish our discussion during our conference time, or you have unanswered questions, do not hesitate to send me an email and we can either discuss over email or we can schedule to meet again. I greatly appreciate your patience on those three days knowing I have spent hours upon end preparing for these conferences and do all that I can to stay on time.  Please be prompt because there will not be any extra minutes anywhere.  Thank you.

VETERANS DAY

Last, and most importantly...your kids learned about Six Word Memoirs this past week...and after gathering information about Veteran's Day, they wrote six words with so much meaning.  I can't post them all...however they are all posted in the art room hallway...make sure to visit that bulletin board after your conference.  It is an extremely moving bulletin board.  One of my students had this to say about Six Word Memoirs...

"So little. So much meaning. How?"

God, I love these minds.

Your Kids Are Awesome!

So...let me start off with a quick apology...I am fully aware that I am about two weeks late in my "twice a month" postings...HOWEVER...I've chosen to make sure your kids' papers are returned in a timely manner and I continue to put my energy into instructional planning for the different needs of my 29 kids...hence the delayed post...I hope you'll forgive me!

That being said...let me catch you up.  I don't just say this about any ole class...YOUR KIDS ARE AWESOME.  I've always loved my job, but this group...WOW.  Look at the things we've been doing...

Two weeks ago we attended the Scientific Circus at the Weinburg Center in Frederick.  It was a great show where science concepts and comedy were fused together to keep the kids laughing, making connections, and gazing in awe the whole time.  We had a lot of fun!

On the Friday of that same week, UES held it's first annual FUN RUN...what a concept!  The kids participated in a heart healthy way AND raised money at the same time!  It was a lot of fun and great job by the UES PTA...the kids raised over $25,000!!

A few times a week our class has a "Number Talk"...where a problem is put on the Promethean board and the kids have to see how many strategies they can come up with to solve a problem.  They are not allowed to use paper, it is a mental math challenge.  I've incorporated the mantra "I love to struggle" this year...I want them to struggle...research says that kids are getting into tough high school classes or all the way to college and haven't truly learned what to do when they "hit a roadblock"...they need to experience and figure out HOW to work around and through struggle...so we're facing it HEAD ON...I pose a question and then they struggle (sometimes)...the emphasis is on listening to others' strategies in order to build their own toolbox of strategies.  Well...I invited our own Mr. Watkins in to conduct a Number Talk in our classroom...it was a lot of fun!

We recently finished up a research project in our classroom...different groups of students were studying the different regions of the United States, focusing on the vegetation, climate, landforms and landmarks, and the natural resources of that region.  Each group had the choice to make a travel brochure about that region OR create a commercial.  After the projects were complete we got to watch and learn from each commercial, and then we took a gallery walk around our classroom to learn from and enjoy the travel brochures. (The files of the commercials to are too big, so I have to figure out how to post clips...I will work on that!)

Social Studies unit? Check. Science unit....here we go! We have just started a science unit entitled, "Chemical Tests."  This unit focuses on the science processes...just this past week the kids learned/experienced that the physical properties of two separate materials can change once those two materials are mixed together. Needless to say, science and messy are two things these kids LOVE!  They were true scientists...using tools, recording data, making observations, analyzing their data, and drawing conclusions...it was a complete success!

I don't have any pictures of math lessons or language arts lessons because I run three groups and am always instructing...however...here is a quick recap of what's going on...

In Math we have been continuing the unit "How Big is Big?"  However, we hit a roadblock of sorts when I got to the part that required use of the multiplication algorithm...so we broke away from it for awhile and I ran groups to teach, reteach, and extend that skill...we will revisit the end of this unit later this year as it asks for serious struggle and we're all not quite ready for that yet!

We will continue with multiplication, but veer off a bit to work on data collection...we will look at bar graphs, picture graphs, line plots...which will tie directly to some of our science lessons as well!

And in Language Arts we are all reading novels on NOOKS!  Its amazing how an electronic book motivates students!!  Each of the three groups is reading a story that incorporates the concept of change...a concept we will discuss throughout the novel...and they all involve animals, too!  We will work on the 3rd grade Reading for Literature standards while discussing rich, rigorous text.  

And all of your kids are getting ready to write the final drafts of their personal narratives...I'm really excited to see how they were able to incorporate all of the lessons taught about narrative structure and about being a good storyteller into their writing!

Last, and certainly not least (in the eyes of your child)...this week we met our Buddy Class.  This is the first year that they have a buddy YOUNGER than themselves...and it is so fun to see them take on the more mature role! Your kids interviewed the kindergarteners, in order to get to know them better, and the kinders read their books to the third graders...it was loads of fun!  We will see them again this Thursday for our Walk for the Homeless!

FINALLY...this Thursday is going to be tons of fun!  We will participate in the Walk for the Homeless from 9:15-10...then we will have pumpkin math from 10-11:15.  Thanks so much to all of the volunteers and pumpkin donations...we are all set!  THEN...that afternoon from 1:30-2:15 we will have our Fall Festival party...please remember that you need to be a trained volunteer to come into the classroom to assist with parties...so if you haven't gotten that training yet, PLEASE DO!!

I think that's it...email me with questions or concerns as usual...hope you had a great weekend!  I sure did!