The Average Third Grader...is there such a thing!? :-)

We had so much fun this week with a math unit called "The Average Third Grader"! In order to learn finding averages...the mean and mode...we found out the mode of our classes' hair color, eye color, favorite subject, favorite food, gender, and we found the mean height and the mean number of letters in our first names! All of this culminated in the creation of "MELANIE"!! She is a 52", brown eyed girl with brown hair who loves PE (go figure!) and pizza! You will get to meet her on Back To School Night next week! We will plan to compare the average third grader in both magnet classes on Monday...the "unveiling" is very anticipated...it's been sort of a secret competition...of course, we're sure ours is much better looking! :-) Ask your child about "Melanie" this afternoon and see if they can define mode and mean.

Your child is bringing home their first graded paper. I am aware that letter grades are new to your child and to many of you! We will be going over the grading policy at Back to School Night in depth...but to give you a quick summary. Each assignment is given a percentage grade.

90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
50% and below F



Please know that by the end of the quarter there are MANY grades to average...so if your child brings home a grade that you are not pleased with...there will be many others to raise the average. On that note...try to use grades to help the children see how they can improve...we don't want the kids to become too consumed with grades...they will follow your lead. :-)

We have been very busy in Language Arts! We have been working on "before reading strategies" when reading a non-fiction or fiction book. The children have become very good at setting a purpose and previewing text. We are now beginning to talk about "during reading" strategies. We focused on "making connections" yesterday and will devote one day to each of the other many "during reading" strategies. We have a classroom full of great readers and we are making them aware of strategies that can make them EVEN better readers! Often these kids equate that with harder text...but we're talking about quality comprehension!

Today your child drew a picture of Scooby Doo! "Why?" you may ask. Please ask your child...and while they describe to you the "because" of this assignment, encourage them to use the Social Studies vocabulary that we have been focusing on! Your children have become quite proficient in interpreting maps...and we have made the grid systems of maps a particular focus. Today using dry erase markers, your child identified places on the world and US maps using degrees latitude and longitude. Next week we will be focusing in on scales of a map using the map of the US and Maryland.

In Writing we have been talking about the writing trait "ideas" and how authors come up with ideas. Each child has a writing folder and in that folder is a "parking lot" where they park different ideas until they can return and write about them. We use sticky notes to put the ideas into our parking lots...and if you don't already know this about your child...he/she LOVES sticky notes...so they have LOTS of ideas!

As you can see, we were very busy for a four day week...as always, if you have any questions, please send me an email. I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family and I look forward to seeing you next Thursday night for Back to School Night.

PS...if you'd like to send a water bottle in for your child...feel free...but I send them home every Friday for a quick run through the dishwasher. SO try to help them remember to bring them back on Friday.

Our First Week!

We have had a wonderful week...I have to say it again, thank you so much for sending such "ready to learn" children into my classroom!!

We spent quite a bit of time this week getting to know each other. We all enjoyed learning about our classmates while they shared their "All About Me" bags. I told the kids that I was looking for strong volume and good eye contact during speaking...and they delivered!! We took notes while we listened so that we could record facts about each other.

In Language Arts we have been discussing reading strategies and the students have begun using a Reader's Response Journal. We often break into groups for instruction, in order to be able to work more closely with each student, and this week we focused on what to do during independent work time while not meeting with me! They have adjusted very well and I'm very proud of all of them. Next week we will continue with strategies for good readers and jump into a novel.

We did quite a bit of writing as well! We wrote acrostic poems about the Olympics. We used different resources and our schema (background knowledge) to collect information about the Olympics. The children wrote their poems in class and published the poems in the computer lab today! They will be hanging for you to read on Back to School Night...we have some amazing writers! We also wrote pieces titled, "The Important Thing About Me" after reading The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. The students did a wonderful job on these pieces and you can see them on September 11th, too!

This week, in Math, we collected data and reviewed the important parts of a bar graph. The students were introduced to line plots and next week will be gathering information to find averages...the mean, median, and mode. They are very enthusiastic about math and we have a good time while learning!

In Social Studies we spent time this week defining rules, laws, and being a good citizen...all which tie into our classroom, as well as our Political Science unit. We have reviewed classroom rules and the consequences...these students are very well behaved and all seem to do well with quiet verbal warnings.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or call me. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and I will see your kids on Tuesday!

What a WONDERFUL day!!

We had such a good day today...what a great group of kids I have this year!!

Today we read a story about a kingdom with no rules and discussed the ramifications of such a place! Then the students brainstormed important classroom rules in groups, sorted them, and realized that they all tie very nicely to "Urbana's Behaviors for Success". The students and I discussed positive reinforcement of these rules...our marble jar...and we discussed the consequences of not following rules. I wanted to communicate to you what we discussed so that we are all on the same page. If a student is not following "Urbana's Behaviors for Success", that student will be asked to change the behavior...if the behavior continues, the following steps will be taken each time the child has to be spoken to again.

1. be given a quiet verbal warning

2. lose 5 minutes of recess

3. lose recess

4. teacher calls home

5. visit to the office

Again, I can't imagine I will have to use many of those steps at all, but I wanted to share with you what I shared with the children.

A few reminders and then I'm off to bed! My feet are killing me!! :-)

1. if your child would like to bring a water bottle, they may keep it on their desk...we are not close to a convenient water fountain

2. the homework assignment "All About Me" is due on Wednesday...please remind your child to bring the ziploc bag in that day...thanks!

3. feed them a healthy, filling breakfast...12:15 is a late lunch for their little bellies!

Thanks for sending me such great kids. I look forward to seeing you soon!

WELCOME to Open House!!

You must be working on your Scavenger Hunt if you're reading this...good for you! I will post here on Fridays to inform your parents of the "goings on" in the classroom. I will also post during the week if there is an important announcement or reminder!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I can't wait until Monday!!

Mrs. Wills

OPEN HOUSE ON FRIDAY!!

Hello, everyone! I'm hoping that many of you are visiting my blog sometime this week!! I have a few pieces of information to share with you!!

1. If you are planning to attend the Open House on Friday, you will be going on a classroom scavenger hunt, so make sure to leave at least 15 minutes for your visit!

2. KIDS...if you'd like to "move into your desk" and get it all set up for the first day of school, please feel free to bring your school supplies on Friday. You may visit the classroom anytime between 3pm and 4pm and then head outside for ice cream!!

3. PARENTS...please remember that Friday is for getting to see the classroom, become familiar with the new setting, and meet ME...if you have any questions, please email me or give me a call...I will get right back to you!

karen.wills@fcps.org or 240-236-2173.

I look forward to meeting each and everyone of you on Friday!!

Welcome to 3rd Grade Magnet!!

Hello! I am guessing that many of my "soon to be" students (and parents) are visiting this website and I wanted to welcome you to the third grade magnet program! I am thrilled to be teaching third grade and very excited about the year ahead!

I am starting to go into our classroom this week to get things ready for all of us. I can't wait to get in there and begin getting organized!!

I hope I get a chance to meet you all at the Open House scheduled for Friday, August 22nd from 3pm-4pm...you can get a look at our room, see where your desk will be on the first day of school, and meet ME!

Feel free to write an email to me (karen.wills@fcps.org) and let me know your thoughts about the upcoming year or just some information about YOU! I would love to hear from you!

Back from the Beach...Again!!

I promised to blog at the end of July and I'm only two days late!! Just got back from Rehoboth Beach again...a wonderful time and I got an even better picture than the last one...don't you think?!

I know many of you are getting ready to buy school supplies...isn't that exciting!?

Have a great rest of the summer...school is right around the corner!!