Posting from down south....

My family and I are in Georgia, right outside Chattanooga, TN...this is where my oldest son, his wife, and my grandson live.  We are here for a few days...but have no fear...I will return on Wednesday!  I hope you and your family are enjoying your weekend...I sure am!

Over the past two weeks we've had EIGHT jam packed school days...here is a snippet of what we've been up to....

Language Arts...
Our class is the proud owner of a set of Nooks for the next few weeks!  It is amazing how excited the kids get about reading when an electronic reader is in their hands!  I am running two groups and each group is reading a novel...we are reading How to Steal a Dog and Young Fredle.  Each story is full of rigorous vocabulary, underlying themes, and strong plots.  This past week our focus was vocabulary.  They found words while they read that they weren't quite sure of...then using the surrounding text, they predicted the word's meaning.  Using the dictionary feature on the Nook, the kids verified the meanings of these words.  We are building strong vocabulary which leads to increased comprehension of the story!  Over the next two weeks we will focus on digging deep into the text to find meaning, answering questions using evidence from the text.  We will all be sad to see the Nooks go...but we must share!!

I have the final opinion essays with me on my trip and will attempt to grade them while here...or at least on the drive home!  This essay was a labor of love that stretched over three weeks.  This all started with the reading of a debate..."Should every child receive a trophy?"  We all chose a side and then looked for evidence to support BOTH sides.  Its important for kids to see that the way they feel isn't always the best side to write about...the best side is the one with the most evidence.  After introducing this, the kids read many different debates and chose one they wanted to stand behind.  They had to list the YES and NO reasons/details for their particular debate.  After this step, I used the "trophy" debate to model every other step.  We wrote topic/opinion sentences for trophies...then they wrote their own.  We chose strong reasons/details for the side we were supporting about trophies and then they wrote their own.  We acknowledged the "other side" of the debate on trophies, and then they acknowledged the other side in their debate.  And last, we wrote a conclusion for the trophy essay and they wrote their own conclusion stating the opinion again.  All of this was recorded on a graphic organizer.  THEN...I wrote a rough draft essay using the graphic organizer about trophies.  They had to then write their rough draft.  Last, I used a self reflection sheet to revise/edit my rough draft.  They in turn, edited and revised their own.  Just this week they wrote their final drafts.  I am anxious to see their strong opinions come to life in their writing!

Science...
Fiddler crabs and newts and snails, OH MY!  We have aquariums in our classrooms with many living organisms!  We are studying so many things about their freshwater habitats while learning about the physical features of an organism that help it survive in its environment!  This coming week we will shift our focus to food chains, food webs, producers, consumers, decomposers, etc.  As you can imagine, the noise level in the room increases quite a bit when we are "doing science" due to their enthusiasm!

The kids have a test on Tuesday where they will have to label each organism listed above plus daphnia...all of the papers they need to study are in their green folders (which I made them all put in their backpacks on Tuesday!!)

Math...
In math we have been working with all things multiplication...and this week we used our knowledge of multiplication and arrays to work with area.  But not the area of any old object...your child is designing a brand new candy bar!  There are many different skills that go into the creation of this candy bar...but one of them is finding the surface area of the bar itself and then the area of the wrapper that they design to keep their candy bar prototype in.  This coming week the kids will be creating a written version of a commercial that we will eventually video to share with all of you!  They have taken on the roles of head of their candy company and lead candy bar creator VERY SERIOUSLY...can't wait for you to see the results!!  Take a look at the production in action...

We will do a bit of work with fractions at the end of this unit which will be the intro to the fractions unit we will begin in Quarter Two.

REMINDERS...
This coming week we have many fun activities planned...

One is our Pumpkin Math day this Thursday, October 31st.  Thank you to all of the parents who have signed up to come in and help...please remember that you must be a "trained volunteer" to work with the kids, so if you haven't completed that training, the link to do so is on the UES website!  We will work all morning predicting and verifying measurements of our pumpkins.  I have seven parents coming, but only three pumpkins.  If you are able to donate a medium sized pumpkin for this Thursday, can you send me an email?  I'd really appreciate it!

The next day we have our Fall Festival...on this day the kids can wear costumes, but they do not have to. IF they choose to wear a costume, they should wear them to school...they will be in them all day...the rules for these costumes have been sent out in the UES News...please make sure to read them...its awful to disappoint your child that day when their whole costume is based on a mask and we have to make them take it off because they weren't aware of the rules.  http://education.fcps.org/ues/sites/default/files/UES_News/UESNews10-4-13.pdf  Visit this link if you have not seen the rules...and please make sure you are on Find Out First...our UES News comes out through that service.  If you need help signing up for Find Out First send me an email!!!

Another fun activity planned for Friday is our annual "Walk for the Homeless"...we will do this with our buddy class whom we met earlier this week!  We have been paired with Mrs. Beach's 4th grade class and this past Monday the buddies interviewed each other in order to get to know each other a bit better.  See below...the kids had a great time!

Well that's it from down south...I will see your kids Wednesday, and hopefully I will see you guys sometime during the week!

Hope you stayed dry!!

Wow...we have had a ton of rain, haven't we?  For me, it's been kind of nice because that meant that all fields were closed this weekend and so my life slowed down a bit. Yes, it's all about me!! 

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! 

A day late...and always a dollar short!! ;-)

Thanks for your understanding!
Last week was great...we were very busy and VERY productive!  Here's how it went down...

Language Arts
This past week we focused on Main Idea and Detail AND Cause and Effect when reading NON-FICTION. We used the United States Communities and Neighbors textbook that the students have been given.  It is a consumable book meaning the kids can write in it.  I am pleased with this text as it has rigorous vocabulary and meaning.

We are also continuing the publishing of our State brochures...I'm hoping for completed products by Friday...these brochures will hang in the classroom for awhile, so if you're in over the next month for all of our Fall festivities, you will get to take a first hand look at the amazing work your kids have done!

In writing we are getting ready to do our first drafts of the opinion essays AND we are plugging along with Writer's Workshop.  These kids are always writing!!  And here's a snapshot of what "AUTHOR'S CHAIR" looks like...proud writers sharing their work!!

Math
In math we have moved into multiplication and division...this past week we defined both operations and discovered that just like multiplication is repeated addition, division is REPEATED SUBTRACTION.  We used color tiles to build arrays and groups to show our understanding of the concepts and the kids were introduced to the distributive property of multiplication.  Today we actually took this a lot further and we worked without tiles to solve problems like 367 x 6 = using the distributive property.  Don't ask them to show it to you yet...they're not ALL ready...but they are really getting the hang of it.  This is a really important concept even if your child knows the algorithm for this type of problem already.  Being able to show it with the distributive property helps me know that they understand the concept, not that they have memorized how to solve the equation. We are also continuing to work on multi-step word problems...underlining important information and using clue words to determine which operation to use is key. Our focus on multiplication and division will continue over the next couple weeks.

Social Studies
We integrated a lot this week using the Social Studies text in Language Arts.  Between reading for a purpose and the brochure work, we are becoming geography experts!!

Science
Our Aquarium Unit has begun...and the excitement is soooo....NOISY.  ;-)  A classroom of kids observing daphnia (our minute fresh water organisms) is so loud...because they are excited!  In pairs the kids got to observe the daphnia in their environment and then also in the top of a cup to magnified the critter.  We have discussed the different body parts and how each one helps the organism to survive.  Today the kids looked through the microscope at the daphnia...I only wish you could have heard the oohs and ahhs!  They looked at a labeled scientific drawing and then compared it to what they saw in the microscope.  Our unit continues for another month as we add different organisms to our aquariums.

 Pumpkin Math
By now you have probably seen the orange letter that came home on Friday about October 31st and our Pumpkin Math activity.  This morning is so fun, but only possible with parent participation.  My goal is to have six adults (other than me) to run groups...these will be groups of 5 or 6 kids...and the whole morning focuses on the pumpkin and all ways it can be measured...it is SO fun!  I have four volunteers at this time (THANK YOU!!)...if you think you can come, please fill the form out and get back to me...ALSO...please complete the volunteer training on the UES website before that day...you have to turn in the paperwork in order to volunteer in the classroom or attend a field trip, so get it done now...please.  ;-)

Fall Festival
Our Fall Festival party will take place on Friday, November 1st from 1:15 - 2:25 pm.  Our three wonderful room mothers are planning a great time...a letter will be coming home tomorrow requesting a $3 donation from each family to offset the costs they will incur.  Please read the letter and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks ahead of time to our Room Parents!!

Walk for the Homeless
That same day...November 1st...our entire school will participate in our annual Walk for the Homeless. The kids are allowed to wear their costumes that day for the walk and the party...if your child does not want to wear a costume, they certainly do not have to...this is optional.  More information to come about this...

Hand Sanitizer
We are in need...thank you to the couple of families that have donated, but we could use more, so thank you!!

Participation and Effort
In case you are unaware...every subject gets TWO grades with this new report card. A grade for the concepts/skills and a grade for participation and effort.  I have been explaining this to your kids, so this week I gave them a self evaluation in math and language arts. Then I evaluated their effort and participation in math and language arts...this sheet will come home later this week.  I really am doing it to make THEM aware of the fact that their behaviors affect the outcome.  They sometimes have a hard time making this connection.

On Friday we had a great assembly brought to us by the AMAZING PTA...The Magic of Recycling...different kids got pulled out of the audience to help...guess who got pulled from our class?!?!  Ask your kids about the show...it was a fun way to hear a very important message.

Have to head to McDonalds for McTeacher night to celebrate Mr. Kidd...and then to Fosters Grille to support a dear neighbor and friend.  Never a dull moment with the Wills.  Have a great week!