The kids performed their plays this week for the other third grade classes...and they were FANTASTIC!! Our plays were titled, "Once Upon a Hundred Years Nap", "Two Pigs, A Wolf, and A Mudpie", and "Cinderella Outgrows the Glass Slipper". The scripts were very funny, and your kids did an amazing job! Some of you have budding actors/actresses on your hands!!
Have a great weekend!
June 6, 2008
I'm BAAAACK!
Rose Hill Manor
Well...I certainly did miss your kids! My family had a wonderful time in Tennessee and my son had a beautiful wedding, but I was happy to come home to your kids! I missed the field trip, but I am grateful to the two parents who sent pictures of the day...I used them to compile a video for you and your child to view. As you watch the video, use the pause button and allow your child to tell you about each place at Rose Hill Manor that they visited and it's importance. I had the kids write paragraphs and draw pictures on their return...once again I was blown away by their work. They wrote some amazing pieces. Those paragraphs went home in the Take Home Folders today...please take a minute to review that paragraph and watch the video with your son or daughter.
Cinderella Photo Story
Also while I was away, your child had a Photo Story assignment of his/her own. We have been having fun with fairy tales lately. We performed take offs of different fairy tales for our play performances, we've written persuasive paragraphs to the Fairy Godmother Agency, and keeping with the theme, your child completed a Photo Story (video) retelling the story of Cinderella. We are spending a good part of next Monday afternoon viewing each other's stories...they are getting a big kick out of their work...and as usual, I'm impressed!
SCRABBLE
Something else we're going to do next week is have a SCRABBLE tournament. I thought that would be a fun way to bring a game into our week while keeping it educational. Each of these kids has an amazing vocabulary and now we're going to use them to win Scrabble! I had two students bring Scrabble games today...but if I could find 3 or 4 more games, we'd be set. Check at home to see if you have one we could borrow. I would greatly appreciate it.
Next Week
There are a lot of other things going on next week...we will see the 5th grade play, our school will have a band and chorus performance, and the Frederick County Public Library will come in to do a program on Summer Reading. Speaking of reading...on Monday, your child will be bringing home a recommended summer reading list forwarded to me by the magnet office. I would suggest you look at the 4th and 5th grade suggestions when helping your child find new and different books to read this summer. I know, being a Mom, how hard it is to keep up the reading and math facts...but please trust me when I say, as a teacher, it is SO IMPORTANT!!! So, do the best you can and keep those kids reading!!
I know some of you may have been frustrated this week that your child was not bringing home homework. I apologize...but after being away for a week, I was lucky just to have each day planned...I couldn't think a whole lot past 3:30, so the homework never came into play. Think of it as the beginning of summer! :-)
By the way...it is official...I'm teaching fifth grade magnet with Mr. Esko next Fall...thanks to all of you for supporting me in getting a permanent position. I'm thrilled to be working at Urbana!
As always, please call me with a question or comment. I enjoy hearing from you.
Well...I certainly did miss your kids! My family had a wonderful time in Tennessee and my son had a beautiful wedding, but I was happy to come home to your kids! I missed the field trip, but I am grateful to the two parents who sent pictures of the day...I used them to compile a video for you and your child to view. As you watch the video, use the pause button and allow your child to tell you about each place at Rose Hill Manor that they visited and it's importance. I had the kids write paragraphs and draw pictures on their return...once again I was blown away by their work. They wrote some amazing pieces. Those paragraphs went home in the Take Home Folders today...please take a minute to review that paragraph and watch the video with your son or daughter.
Cinderella Photo Story
Also while I was away, your child had a Photo Story assignment of his/her own. We have been having fun with fairy tales lately. We performed take offs of different fairy tales for our play performances, we've written persuasive paragraphs to the Fairy Godmother Agency, and keeping with the theme, your child completed a Photo Story (video) retelling the story of Cinderella. We are spending a good part of next Monday afternoon viewing each other's stories...they are getting a big kick out of their work...and as usual, I'm impressed!
SCRABBLE
Something else we're going to do next week is have a SCRABBLE tournament. I thought that would be a fun way to bring a game into our week while keeping it educational. Each of these kids has an amazing vocabulary and now we're going to use them to win Scrabble! I had two students bring Scrabble games today...but if I could find 3 or 4 more games, we'd be set. Check at home to see if you have one we could borrow. I would greatly appreciate it.
Next Week
There are a lot of other things going on next week...we will see the 5th grade play, our school will have a band and chorus performance, and the Frederick County Public Library will come in to do a program on Summer Reading. Speaking of reading...on Monday, your child will be bringing home a recommended summer reading list forwarded to me by the magnet office. I would suggest you look at the 4th and 5th grade suggestions when helping your child find new and different books to read this summer. I know, being a Mom, how hard it is to keep up the reading and math facts...but please trust me when I say, as a teacher, it is SO IMPORTANT!!! So, do the best you can and keep those kids reading!!
I know some of you may have been frustrated this week that your child was not bringing home homework. I apologize...but after being away for a week, I was lucky just to have each day planned...I couldn't think a whole lot past 3:30, so the homework never came into play. Think of it as the beginning of summer! :-)
By the way...it is official...I'm teaching fifth grade magnet with Mr. Esko next Fall...thanks to all of you for supporting me in getting a permanent position. I'm thrilled to be working at Urbana!
As always, please call me with a question or comment. I enjoy hearing from you.
May 23, 2008
IMPORTANT UPDATE!! PLEASE READ!!
WRITING PIECE COMING HOME...PLEASE HAVE STUDENT RETURN THE WHOLE PACKET ON TUESDAY!!!
Today, in your child's take home folders is the WONDERFUL persuasive letter that he/she wrote to the Fairy Godmother Agency! Please enjoy reading it, review the county rubric and the grade sheet with your child, sign the pink slip, and RETURN THE WHOLE PACKET next week. I really appreciate your help with returning these letters. They stay in the kids' folders for next year's teacher.
BRING BOOTS OR EXTRA SHOES IN A BAG ON TUESDAY!!
The students will be partaking in a schoolwide planting in the Great Heron Wetlands. Our class will be planting in the afternoon on Tuesday, and they will need to have old shoes or boots to wear (and to take off when coming back into the classroom!)
Have a great weekend!!
Mrs. Wills
May 20, 2008
May 20, 2008
Nicole Davis sent this picture to me through email...if you'd like a copy, please email me at school and I will forward it to you!LANGUAGE ARTS
We have been working on dramatic plays the past two weeks. While working on the different plays, the students wrote persuasive letters to "The Fairy Godmother Agency"...from the perspective of Cinderella. These letters are wonderful! I am in the process of scoring them and they will come home one day soon. Your children are really good writers and I love reading their work! When this unit is complete, we will get to see the other third grade classes perform their plays and they will watch ours!
MATH
We worked with decimals last week and are finishing up the decimal/money unit making correct change from a $50 bill. The kids have no problem figuring out HOW MUCH change they should return to the customer, but now they are learning the proper way to count it back, using the fewest coins and bills. We will be "shopping" over the next couple of days to practice this skill...this also allows me to assess their skill aquisition. A few students had some difficulty with the fractions and decimal units...they will be bringing home an extra assignment that once completed, can help improve their quiz grade. Be looking for that in Friday's folder.
SCIENCE
You can't help but notice that our classroom has exploded into a science lab! On one table are experiments designed by the questions your children wrote about their daphnia. Some kids are testing the effects of light on the population of daphnia, some are testing the effects of different kinds of water, or temperature of the water, and some are testing how the food variable effects the daphnia population. On the counter we have populations of bush bean plants and fava bean plants. And on that same counter we have terrariums full of crickets and anoles (chameleons)!! We are having so much fun with this unit. Today the students researched anoles using two different articles and recorded their information in a web. This web was also used for their observations as they watched the anoles have "lunch"! The squeals and noise level during science is very indicative as to how much they're loving what they're learning!! Our wetlands planting got rescheduled from today to next Tuesday, May 27th from 1:30-2:15. If you'd like to come help our class plant flowers and other plants in the wetlands on Tuesday, please meet the kids out in the wetlands at 1:30pm.
FIELD TRIP!
We are headed on another field trip...Monday, June 2nd...to Rose Hill Manor! This field trip ties into the last social studies unit of the year...HISTORY. The field trip slips went home today. Please send the slip and money back to school this week. There is a spot to fill out if you would like to accompany us...we'd love to have you!!
NEXT WEEK
Next week I will be gone from the classroom (it's a four day week). My oldest son is getting married in Chattanooga, TN on Saturday, May 31st. My entire family is in the wedding and we are excited about this special time! It's hard to believe I'm going to be a "mother in law"! :-) Mrs. Gallo (Peter's mom) will be my substitute while I'm away. I am leaving her with detailed plans and I know that the kids will do a super job for her. I will have access to email while I'm gone, so as always, if you have any questions, please email me.
Have a great rest of the week and happy Memorial Day!
Enjoy your families!
May 16, 2008
Our Wax Museum was a HUGE success!!!
Well...I don't have time for our regular week's update...but the video below is enough said! What an amazing group of kids!! Thanks for coming today...have a wonderful weekend!
May 8, 2008
Thank you very much!
Thank you so much for all the cards and gestures of appreciation...I'm just happy to know that your children are happy...because I sure am!! We had another great week...full of science, fractions, and dramatic plays...read on for details! But first...a word about our WAX MUSEUM!!
WAX MUSEUM
Next week is our Wax Museum. Here are the details...
Monday - practice in the cafeteria 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Tuesday - practice in the cafeteria 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Wednesday - DRESS REHEARSAL for the 2nd grade magnet classes 9:15 am
Friday - WAX MUSEUM for parents 9:15 am in the cafeteria
It is very obvious the children have been practicing their speeches at home...please keep it up. The more they look up at their audience, the more believable it is that they are TRULY their famous person!!
SCIENCE
We have had so much fun in science this week...last week we asked the question "Will a soaked fava bean grow faster than an unsoaked fava bean?"...and now we know the answer!! Ask your young scientist what he/she observed today!! This week we conducted an experiment where the students were given two organisms, a seed and an egg. They were told that one lived in fresh water and one lived in salt water. They had to design an experiment to test the hypothesis they made about the organisms. Well, as many experiments go...not all of the "things" that were supposed to happen, happened! But luckily, the experiment went much better in Mr. Clutz's room, so we were able to observe his vials and make some definite conclusions! Most kids had made a hypothesis that the "Bigs" were the plants and the "Littles" were the animals, and they were correct in their predictions! There were vials full of brine shrimp swimming in salt water, and there were vials with clover seeds that had roots in fresh water! (Of course in our room, most of the brine shrimp never hatched and the clover grew roots in salt water...go figure!!) :-) These kids just love science and I love teaching them!!
FRACTIONS
This week we have been doing lots of work with dry erase boards...working with equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions by finding the greatest common factor, and adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators...all of these skills require excellent recall of multiplication facts...without it, it's like building a clubhouse without nails...REALLY hard! Please continue to work on math facts at home...they should be spitting them at you at a fast pace by now...so if they're not...make it a daily practice, please!!!
LANGUAGE ARTS
The students are working on three different scripts in our classroom. Ask your child the title of his/her play...the titles alone let you know how funny these plays are!! We have been analyzing the elements of a play and learning how stage directions and voice are key to knowing your character...the kids have all been assigned their parts and we are starting to use the separate plays to teach all of the elements and their importance. They love being dramatic (I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know!) so they are enjoying this unit a lot!
FROGS
Thanks to Brooke Hersey and her Mom for buying a dozen small crickets to feed our Fire Bellied Toads that Mr. Esko lent to us...we had SO much fun moving the frog container from table to table this morning and watching the frogs have their breakfast!! We are finished our study of frogs...and if you get a chance to stop by the classroom, your child made a Synthesis Pyramid about frogs and it is hanging on the wall! Feel free to just drop by...or make sure to walk down to the classroom next Friday after the Wax Museum.
Last week we went outside and played "Word Study Hopscotch"...this week we played "Toss a Word"...28 kids, on the blacktop, 14 small balls, and a whole lot of correct spelling...what could be more fun!?!? :-) Have a great weekend!
WAX MUSEUM
Next week is our Wax Museum. Here are the details...
Monday - practice in the cafeteria 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Tuesday - practice in the cafeteria 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Wednesday - DRESS REHEARSAL for the 2nd grade magnet classes 9:15 am
Friday - WAX MUSEUM for parents 9:15 am in the cafeteria
It is very obvious the children have been practicing their speeches at home...please keep it up. The more they look up at their audience, the more believable it is that they are TRULY their famous person!!
SCIENCE
We have had so much fun in science this week...last week we asked the question "Will a soaked fava bean grow faster than an unsoaked fava bean?"...and now we know the answer!! Ask your young scientist what he/she observed today!! This week we conducted an experiment where the students were given two organisms, a seed and an egg. They were told that one lived in fresh water and one lived in salt water. They had to design an experiment to test the hypothesis they made about the organisms. Well, as many experiments go...not all of the "things" that were supposed to happen, happened! But luckily, the experiment went much better in Mr. Clutz's room, so we were able to observe his vials and make some definite conclusions! Most kids had made a hypothesis that the "Bigs" were the plants and the "Littles" were the animals, and they were correct in their predictions! There were vials full of brine shrimp swimming in salt water, and there were vials with clover seeds that had roots in fresh water! (Of course in our room, most of the brine shrimp never hatched and the clover grew roots in salt water...go figure!!) :-) These kids just love science and I love teaching them!!
FRACTIONS
This week we have been doing lots of work with dry erase boards...working with equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions by finding the greatest common factor, and adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators...all of these skills require excellent recall of multiplication facts...without it, it's like building a clubhouse without nails...REALLY hard! Please continue to work on math facts at home...they should be spitting them at you at a fast pace by now...so if they're not...make it a daily practice, please!!!
LANGUAGE ARTS
The students are working on three different scripts in our classroom. Ask your child the title of his/her play...the titles alone let you know how funny these plays are!! We have been analyzing the elements of a play and learning how stage directions and voice are key to knowing your character...the kids have all been assigned their parts and we are starting to use the separate plays to teach all of the elements and their importance. They love being dramatic (I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know!) so they are enjoying this unit a lot!
FROGS
Thanks to Brooke Hersey and her Mom for buying a dozen small crickets to feed our Fire Bellied Toads that Mr. Esko lent to us...we had SO much fun moving the frog container from table to table this morning and watching the frogs have their breakfast!! We are finished our study of frogs...and if you get a chance to stop by the classroom, your child made a Synthesis Pyramid about frogs and it is hanging on the wall! Feel free to just drop by...or make sure to walk down to the classroom next Friday after the Wax Museum.
Last week we went outside and played "Word Study Hopscotch"...this week we played "Toss a Word"...28 kids, on the blacktop, 14 small balls, and a whole lot of correct spelling...what could be more fun!?!? :-) Have a great weekend!
May 3, 2008
The Friday post on SUNDAY...oops!!
Hi, everyone...sorry to miss my Friday posting...this week really got away from me! Here is an update on everything I can remember! ;-)
SCIENCE
We are well underway in our Populations unit!! The kids planted three different kinds of seeds yesterday in preparation for one of the populations that will be sent to us. We get a shipment of aphids in a couple of weeks, and the seeds we planted on Thursday will be used for our aphids! On Monday we'll be planting terrariums for the populations of crickets and chameleons that will be shipped to us later this month! The students used the scientific process while planting...we asked the question "Do soaked fava beans grow faster than unsoaked fava beans?" We observed the wet and dry beans and made a hypothesis. We will now continue to observe as we await the first sprouts and make conclusions based on our data...these kids sure love science!!
WORD STUDY
This past week we did a word study unit on vocabulary from science...and I'm pleased to say that everyone did a super job on their word study tests! During the school day we did many different activities to use the words in a fun and different way. We played "Spelling Hopscotch" outside, made "Spelling Flowers", and created a picture dictionary to make sure the kids knew the meanings of some of these rather large words! I was pleasantly surprised at how many kids enjoyed the "Create Your Own Activity"!! We had some amazing games and word searches that we all got to try out!! Next week we will focus on a different 12 words from the science unit...I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with for the "Create Your Own Activity" again!
MATH
We are jumping from one subject to another in math these days...Quarter 4 is a review and extension of so many of the objectives covered during the other three quarters. I pick the concepts to teach based on the pretest that I gave at the beginning of the Quarter. This past week we were focusing on geometry. We had a lot of fun with Marshmallow Geometry where we constructed 1, 2, and 3 dimensional figures and discussed their vertices, angles, sides, and faces. I had to pry the papers apart to look at them because they were SO sticky!! We constructed a triple venn diagram sorting shapes by attribute. We did this in cooperative groups...and I'm pleased to say...they were EXTREMELY cooperative! I am always in awe of these kids and their ability to work with many different people. They argued quite a bit during this project, but it was GOOD arguing...they were using all kinds of math language as they decided which part of the venn the shapes fit in. Yesterday we worked on using geometric shapes when making patterns and working through word problems.
LANGUAGE ARTS
We finished King of the Wind...I'm not sure who enjoyed it more...the kids or ME! What a wonderful piece of literature! We are now headed into a unit on plays. The students will be comparing a story to a play and identifying all the elements in a dramatic play. They will be assigned to one of three plays and will be doing all the leg work to prepare for a production...a small production that will put on in the classroom for the other two groups. All three plays are fairy tales that have been "fractured"...they are very funny and I think the kids will really enjoy this unit!
WAX MUSEUM
We have begun practicing our wax museum. The kids will be have to practice every evening for homework. They DO NOT have to memorize their biography. However, they should know it SO well, they can talk about "their" lives, not read about "their" lives. By now, the kids need to have a good idea of what they will wear or bring for their performance. We will be having a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, May 14th for the second grade magnet students, so they will need those things then. If you have ANY questions about the wax museum, please email me and I'd be happy to help! I am very excited to see the finished product!
I will be out Tuesday morning to attend a field trip with my four year old daughter, Kate. But will return in the afternoon. Mrs. Gallo will be subbing for me!
Have a great week...and as always, please contact me with any questions!
SCIENCE
We are well underway in our Populations unit!! The kids planted three different kinds of seeds yesterday in preparation for one of the populations that will be sent to us. We get a shipment of aphids in a couple of weeks, and the seeds we planted on Thursday will be used for our aphids! On Monday we'll be planting terrariums for the populations of crickets and chameleons that will be shipped to us later this month! The students used the scientific process while planting...we asked the question "Do soaked fava beans grow faster than unsoaked fava beans?" We observed the wet and dry beans and made a hypothesis. We will now continue to observe as we await the first sprouts and make conclusions based on our data...these kids sure love science!!
WORD STUDY
This past week we did a word study unit on vocabulary from science...and I'm pleased to say that everyone did a super job on their word study tests! During the school day we did many different activities to use the words in a fun and different way. We played "Spelling Hopscotch" outside, made "Spelling Flowers", and created a picture dictionary to make sure the kids knew the meanings of some of these rather large words! I was pleasantly surprised at how many kids enjoyed the "Create Your Own Activity"!! We had some amazing games and word searches that we all got to try out!! Next week we will focus on a different 12 words from the science unit...I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with for the "Create Your Own Activity" again!
MATH
We are jumping from one subject to another in math these days...Quarter 4 is a review and extension of so many of the objectives covered during the other three quarters. I pick the concepts to teach based on the pretest that I gave at the beginning of the Quarter. This past week we were focusing on geometry. We had a lot of fun with Marshmallow Geometry where we constructed 1, 2, and 3 dimensional figures and discussed their vertices, angles, sides, and faces. I had to pry the papers apart to look at them because they were SO sticky!! We constructed a triple venn diagram sorting shapes by attribute. We did this in cooperative groups...and I'm pleased to say...they were EXTREMELY cooperative! I am always in awe of these kids and their ability to work with many different people. They argued quite a bit during this project, but it was GOOD arguing...they were using all kinds of math language as they decided which part of the venn the shapes fit in. Yesterday we worked on using geometric shapes when making patterns and working through word problems.
LANGUAGE ARTS
We finished King of the Wind...I'm not sure who enjoyed it more...the kids or ME! What a wonderful piece of literature! We are now headed into a unit on plays. The students will be comparing a story to a play and identifying all the elements in a dramatic play. They will be assigned to one of three plays and will be doing all the leg work to prepare for a production...a small production that will put on in the classroom for the other two groups. All three plays are fairy tales that have been "fractured"...they are very funny and I think the kids will really enjoy this unit!
WAX MUSEUM
We have begun practicing our wax museum. The kids will be have to practice every evening for homework. They DO NOT have to memorize their biography. However, they should know it SO well, they can talk about "their" lives, not read about "their" lives. By now, the kids need to have a good idea of what they will wear or bring for their performance. We will be having a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, May 14th for the second grade magnet students, so they will need those things then. If you have ANY questions about the wax museum, please email me and I'd be happy to help! I am very excited to see the finished product!
I will be out Tuesday morning to attend a field trip with my four year old daughter, Kate. But will return in the afternoon. Mrs. Gallo will be subbing for me!
Have a great week...and as always, please contact me with any questions!
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I’m learning that this blog doesn’t really fit into my life anymore...any extra time I have is spent working on enhancing instruction...and ...
