WOO HOO it's FRIDAY!

ok...so that title has a couple meanings...

woo hoo...i got the post done and its still friday!

woo hoo...the kids and i need a break...and its friday!

either way you look at it, its a "woo hoo" kind of day and it was a "woo hoo" kind of week...here's how it went down...

Language Arts
This week was a lot of fun for the kids and me...we finished up our Functional Documents unit by creating our own! I taught the kids how to use Microsoft Publisher this week and then we spent a couple morning time slots in the Lowe Lab creating our recipes, fliers, menus, calendars, etc...your child's document should have come home in his/her folder...and there is one displayed in the classroom, too! It was a great way to once again weave technology into the curriculum and tie together all of the important parts of the indicators in Language Arts.

We also wrote tree poems at the beginning of the week...I'm hoping to publish these poems in a blog entry soon...we did this as part of our Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrations!

AND...we began a short story from the Junior Great Books series yesterday...we did our first reading of The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. Today we completed our second reading as we took directed notes, noting each time an action was taken against the duckling that made him sad or scared or that was mean. This helped us focus our thinking on his suffering and how that shaped him in his life. Next week we will be doing some vocabulary work with this book and all of the work will lead up to our Shared Inquiry Discussion where we take a question and work together to find answers we can support. Its a wonderful series and is written with the intent to help students deepen their comprehension of a classic piece of literature. The kids are doing a marvelous job!

Social Studies
We started a unit entitled "Econ and Me"...say it out loud. :-) They are being exposed to vocabulary such as: economic problems, opportunity cost, goods, services, income, consumption, etc. Through verbal discourse, the students are using the vocabulary to discuss the story Econ is teaching. They really enjoy these videos and cheer when I say we're going to continue with Econ today! We have two more segments for next week and then a terrific project (in class, don't worry!) that we will be completing to use all of the new vocabulary and concepts the kids are learning.

Science
Our anole friends left us...don't worry...they didn't "leave us, leave us", they went back to the science center. But our daphnia...well, they died. And even though the kids no longer have populations living in their classroom, they have a better understanding of food chains and webs, biotic potential (or lack thereof), and all of the other juicy vocabulary and concepts that came with this unit!

Math
DECIMALS...DECIMALS...DECIMALS...need I say more? We have been ordering decimals, decomposing decimals, using relational symbols to compare decimals, and we are in the middle of writing using decimals to describe the pictures the kids drew.

The kids brought a fractions quiz home this week...if your child scored a C or below and you would like your child to have an opportunity to take this quiz again, please sign the quiz and return it. Then work with your child on those particular problems...if they need my help, ask them to talk to me about the specific area they need review. I will give a make up test on Friday of next week for those kids who would like to improve their grade.

Important dates to remember:
Friday, May 7 - Wetlands Celebration (there are TWO documents coming home today about this that you need to see...one asks if you'd like to join us and the other lets you indicate if you'd like your child to stay until 3:30 that day since its an all day affair...so please read carefully and return the appropriate forms.)

Tuesday, May 11 - field trip permission slips went home yesterday...please return these as soon as you can...this field trip is free thanks to the generous grant we receive from the PTA!!

Saturday's Post...

Hello to my favorite families...sorry about the day delay...I'm ready to give you a full update...because we had a FULL week!

First of all, if you haven't seen the photostories, please visit the previous blog post...they're great! I still have a few to add, so sorry to those families that they're not up yet!

Language Arts
This week in LA we focused on Reading Functional Documents. The kids read and analyzed brochures, recipes, menus, craft directions, and a website...and each document served a different purpose. We discussed the text features that made each document easier to read, more "user-friendly" and discussed what text features could have been added to make it even better. Your kids have LOTS of opinions! :-) On Monday they will be using a functional document to make a craft. Before they construct the craft they will have to decide which set of directions they are given is better and why...our work from last week should enable them to do this with ease. On Tuesday the kids will be planning their own functional document...I'm looking forward to their creations!

In Writing this week we finished our math stories and poems and published them in the computer lab. These pieces are hanging on the walls of the hallway near the media center...we had some wonderful pieces!

Math
We did a lot more work with fractions this week...I was running two to three different groups at a time in order to meet the needs of the kids...we had everyone working on converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa, we were adding and subtracting mixed numbers with unlike denominators...other kids had mastered these indicators already and they were working on extension activities...and others were still working to master simplifying fractions...a quiz was given Friday and we now move into DECIMALS...

Science
We set up an experiment with the daphnia...each triad put 3-5 daphnia in a vial and will be observing the daphnia every other day and counting them...daphnia produce 10-20 eggs every other day (although often our data does not support this fact!) We have discussed that the biotic potential for daphnia is greater when they are in their natural environment, not a small vial...the kids seem to understand that this variable can affect the outcome.

We spent most of Thursday celebrating Earth Day...this also happened to be "Take Your Child to Work" day, so we had only 14 kids in class...but if you ask one of the 14 what their favorite activity was that day, my guess is they'd tell you the time we spent in the UES Wetlands. We spent our entire afternoon there...we first got our pencils and Learning Logs, walked to the Wetlands, and found a quiet place to observe...the kids were allowed to make lists, pictures, write sentences, or poems as they sat and observed...the idea was that it would be a quiet time...well, let me tell you...right after the first of MANY toads was spotted, the quiet was gone...but the kids were having so much fun looking for predators, prey, counting organisms, hunting toads that noise was totally appropriate...we then went over to the Fossil Wall and sat on the rocks and took time to record our facts/findings/thoughts. Once we had some true quiet writing time, we went over and sat at the science tables and shared what we had written...it was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being right smack in the middle of nature!

Social Studies
We head into a new social studies unit this week...ECONOMY...I love this unit and am looking forward to working with your children as they learn about making choices, opportunity cost, using resources to make a product, etc...stay tuned for more about this unit!

I hope you all are having a great weekend...it was nice the rain kind of held off today...wonder what's in store tomorrow? Whatever you do, enjoy your families!

Our "How to" Essays come to life in Photostory!

Phoung's Photostory

Nicholas' Photostory

Farzad's Photostory

Viktor's Photostory

Allie's Photostory

Kevin's Photostory

Quinton's Photostory

Clifton's Photostory

Zach's Photostory

Dylan's Photostory

Johnny's Photostory

Logan's Photostory

Jacob's Photostory

Olivia's Photostory

John's Photostory

Neelam's Photostory

Happy Friday!

Hello, everyone...we had a great week...read on to find out what we've been up to...

Language Arts
We have finished King of the Wind...and I am enjoying reading the kids' letters to next year's third graders...what an insight! Our next unit is reading functional documents...we will spend a few days looking at recipes, advertisements, brochures, websites, and menus...all in preparation for the creation of our own functional document...should prove to be a creative adventure!

I am in the process of scoring their "How To" essays...and 1/2 the class is finished with their PhotoStories...can't wait to get them on the blog for you to view...be patient...I'm hoping by Wednesday.

Today we visited the computer lab to pick out our favorite pieces for the UES Quill...our school's literary publication...I am so proud of these kids...they had so many writing pieces to choose from...diamante poems, color poems, biographies, persuasive essays, informative essays, our Dinorella stories, etc...I can't wait to see the 2009-2010 Young Hawks Quill!!

Math
In math this week we dove back into fractions (tougher indicators)...we are using the GCF (greatest common factor) and the LCM (least common multiple) to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators...this is a tough concept...some will master, others will just benefit from exposure...we will continue fraction work next week. We have also been working on problem solving...we have "warm ups" each lesson and the kids are given problems to solve. I LOOOOVE to try to stump these kids...and they CAN'T STAND being stumped! :-)

Many of the kids have completed their math writings...stories, poems....they are very creative and the kids are proud of their work! I'll send them home by the end of next week (did I just put that in writing?!?!)

Science
Have your kids talked much about science lately? I'm sure by now you've heard all about our green, sometimes brown friends: "angel", "david", "color changing pickles", "fatbobbuddyluigi", "chris", "chameleo", "billybobjoe" and "shelvin mack"...these names were actually agreed upon by small groups! We feed the anoles every other day...crickets are part of their diet...this feeding inspires great conversations about food chains. The kids watched a Magic Schoolbus video entitled Gets Eaten and then they illustrated a food chain of their own.

We received another living organism this week...daphnia...the kids will meet them next week and we will be learning first hand about "biotic potential"...we will visit the wetlands next week to observe food chains "in the wild"...this is a very fun unit for the kids!

Report Cards go home Monday. Also in the envelope will be a transportation form that needs to be filled out...this form will designate how your child will travel to and from school next year in our magnet program. I am BEGGING you (can you picture me?) to return this form in the signed envelope on Tuesday...I need to turn these forms into the GT office ASAP. Thank you.

Important Dates:
April 19 - Report Cards
April 20 - Signed envelopes and magnet transportation forms due
April 22 - Math Night - will be a lot of fun...please join us!
May 11 - Field Trip....check last week's blog

Have a great weekend...if you're near the Walmart on Rt. 26 this Saturday between 3:00 and 4:30, stop by and purchase some chocolate...my kids and I will be selling chocolate for the UES PTA!

Happy Electronic Friday!!

So...you're either thinking it was a great idea...or you're mad at me :-) for suggesting the kids bring their electronic devices, but either way...they are LOVIN' it! Today we hit FOUR HUNDRED "Soaring With Pride" stickers...and they work their little tails off every day in this room...so it was a very deserved celebration!! Take a look....

Let me tell you about the rest of our week...

Language Arts...

I have so much to share...before break we began "how to" essays...these essays are now in final draft form, and the students are almost finished creating PhotoStory movies as a visual for their essays...wait until you see them! I'm hoping to post them by next Friday!

We have also been plugging along with the novel unit. We worked in Literature Circles this week...each day a different student was the leader of their small group...each student had a particular job (Connection Maker, Vocabulary Finder, Marker, and Picture Painter)...there are rules to follow during Literature Circles, and the entire class has done a great job! We have been focusing on participating in the discussion...not just offering their particular information, but engaging in discussion about other people's information...I have been very impressed!

Next week we will integrate Math and Language Arts as we write "math stories"...in honor of April being Math Month! The students will be using their creativity to weave numbers and math concepts into our writing...can't wait to see the results!

Math

This week I have done a lot of assessing...the kids took their Quarter 3 post test...and all I can say is, "WOW." On Monday, ask your child about their pretest/post test scores!! (I'll hand them back then!) They also took their Quarter 4 pretest...I need that information to plan for the last quarter...can you believe we're entering the last quarter?!?!?! Next week the students will be conducting an investigation using estimation, computation, measurement, and problem solving...should be a lot of fun and a wonderful learning experience!

Science

All in one week we wrapped up "Rocks, Soil, and Fossils"...and began the Populations unit...this was not exactly how we had planned it, but with the time we lost due to snow...it was upon us before we knew it...we can't make the anoles and crickets wait on our schedule!! Don't know what an anole is? Ask your smart third grader...and then sit back to listen!!

Today we were visited by a grandfather of a UES third grader....Mr. Harrell is a "falconer" and he came to share his falcon and his knowledge of many of the concepts in the Populations unit...he was wonderful and the kids were very enthralled!

Important Events:

April 22 - Math Night (information and RSVP came home today)

May 11 - last field trip of the year! We will be going to the Frederick News Post for a tour, stopping off at Mount Olivet Cemetery to listen to some historical facts about Frederick, and ending up at the Frederick Keys Stadium for a tour and lunch! Mark your calendars...chaperones are welcome!

As always...I hope you and your families enjoy the weekend...its going to be glorious weather...most of the weekend I'll be on a ball field somewhere...kate has her first baseball game EVER...and the boys have a tournament...at least 6 games between the two boys...mama mia!! Enjoy!!

Happy Spring Break!

I will post a full update next Friday, but am taking this week off!

(hopefully with your blessing!!)

Enjoy your families and this beautiful weather!

My oldest son and his wife are here from Tennessee for the Easter weekend,

so I am enjoying having all of my family together.

Tell your kids I'll see them Tuesday!

new pictures, not so new lesson

Ok...so this lesson was done LAST week...but I have yet to meet a parent who doesn't like to see pictures of their kids...so better late than never, right?! I only wish I had one of everybody...but I took them the same day as the "Mr. Esko virtual field trip" so I knew I had covered everyone there...anyway...enjoy!