We had a great week!

Hopefully by now you have seen your child's chocolate commercial...we sure do have a lot of actors and actresses amongst us!! That was a very fun unit...speaking of fun units...we are saying goodbye to all of our aquarium friends as we transition from science back to social studies for awhile. We all had a lot of fun while learning with our snails, fiddler crabs, and newts. Our next social studies unit focuses on economics...and the kids will learn new concepts and apply them while becoming Entrepreneurs...this, too, is a wonderful unit and project!

This past week the kids had a homework assignment about Veteran's Day. They had to determine whether or not the statements were facts or opinions. The following day the kids had to use those facts to write a well-written paragraph. They used a rubric we all developed together. I was very pleased with their writing!! That graded paragraphs came home on Friday.

In math we have been very busy with fractions. The kids have measured equal parts on a number line, explored equivalent fractions, created monsters using parts of a whole, and solved TOUGH word problems! This week they also took the Quarter One post test...this test does not come home, but I'm more than happy to share their scores with you. Send me an email right after Thanksgiving and I will share it with you. Speaking of sharing scores...your child's basic fact test scores will come home with the report card tomorrow. Please review those and let me know if you have any questions.

We had fun this week with "Upside Down Day". This was a theme chosen by the class as a way to celebrate meeting our "Soaring With Pride" goal. The kids worked under their desks, the schedule was upside down on the board, the morning work was upside down on the screen, we had math first (it's usually last)...stuff like that. The kids LOVED laying on the floor and working on the underside of their desks. It was quite funny! There are a few pictures below...enjoy!

As I gather with my family this Thursday, I will be thankful for so many things...and 18 of those things are your children. I am blessed to teach such a great group of eager learners and really cool kids. Thank you for sending them ready to learn each day. Happy Thanksgiving!!

HOORAY...all videos are uploaded!

 WOOHOO!!  

(I'm going to have to find a new way to do that next year!)

More!!

Four more commercials...hope you're in the mood for candy!!

So I emailed ALL of the remaining videos to my home email and only FOUR made it through!  Now I am trying to upload those four from home.  Some of the videos are so big that I guess they won't go through email...AIYAIYAI...the saga continues!  Well, I hope you enjoy these...and don't worry...I won't give up until they're ALL on here!!

WARNING...do not watch if you are craving CHOCOLATE!!

Hungry!? Try Our Chocolate Bars!!

You have NO idea how long it is taking to load these commercials...but I decided it made more sense to go ahead and publish three...and keep you coming back for more!  If I can do three a day...we may have them all up by Thanksgiving!  Unfortuantely, they are saved at school so I can't work on them at home...

I apologize for no blog update this weekend.  I was insanely busy and never got to it.  We had another three day week, but again, got a lot accomplished.

We took a fractions pretest in math and have been working with fractions...of a whole, of a group, on a number line, ordering fractions, etc.  Today we read a book called Picture Pie and then the kids created creatures or designs using parts of a circle.  They will record all of the different fractions they used tomorrow and compare and order the pieces.  Boy, do they LOVE to create!

They have brought quite a few graded papers home recently. The final draft brochure grade sheet, the chocolate unit grade sheet, the science test...to name a few.  Please take time to go through these papers with your child...this helps them improve!  If you ever come up with questions, don't hesitate to contact me!

Today the kids took the facts about Veterans Day from their homework last night and wrote paragraphs.  We made a list of what an A+ paragraph should have and then they went to work.  I am very impressed with the kids writing...and they are going to have more and more of it, so again, discuss the grade sheets when they come home.

Tomorrow is UPSIDE DOWN DAY!  This was voted on...the kids want to work under their desks instead of on top...we will turn the schedule upside down some...and a few more fun surprises thrown in.  They are celebrating 25 more Soaring With Pride stickers!

Thursday the kids can dress up like their future careers in celebration of American Education Week...we will be discussing how education plays a big part in their future plans.  Friday we will meet with our Buddy Class to finish up our American Education Week Celebration!

I will continue to load videos...so check back every few days...and enjoy!!

Fall Fun 2012

Well, Hurricane Sandy sure did make our week crazy...but as usual, we got a TON accomplished! 

Not only did we finish our final drafts of our candy bar commercials, we ALL finished our state brochures, and most of the kids finished publishing their Ella drafts.  We also had a wonderful morning exploring the circumference, diameter, heigh and weight of pumpkins, and all the fun a pumpkin can bring to math!  Thanks to the parents who joined us for that activity!!

We walked to raise money for needy families in our county, too!  We did this with our kindergarten buddy class...it was really very heartwarming to watch the third graders take care of their buddies!  They chatted, told stories, and played hand games as they walked the mile for the homeless. 

And before we had our Fall Festival party, we had one of the best class discussions we've had so far...we prepared for the election on Tuesday.  The kids read two different articles (on a fourth/fifth grade reading level) about Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.  Then we looked for favorable characteristics for each of the two candidates. Regardless of which candidate each student wants to win, they had to search for facts that would make either one of them a good president. This was a very mature way of looking at the candidates and I was very impressed.  Then we had a lesson on the electoral college and discussed popular vote vs. the electoral college vote.  Third grade is a tad young to understand it all, but we put the map up on the screen and worked with the electoral college numbers quite a bit...they seemed to understand why California, Texas, Florida, and New York are such important states for a candidates to win. It was a tough lesson on Fall Festival Party day and the kids were SO into it!  I was thrilled!

Our Fall Festival Party was wonderful!  Our room parents set up three stations where the kids decorated mini pumpkins, played bingo, and ate yummy food!  Then I shared ONE MORE Cinderella tale...a Halloween themed version! Thanks to our fantastic room parents, Mrs. Filburn and Mrs. Canaday, and to all of the parents that were able to send in donations or help at the party!

And now...the kids have ANOTHER four day weekend...and I get them for only three days to get mountains of things done!!  :-(  But on a much happier note...we got the COW back!  WOO HOO!  I can't wait to put it back into play next week!!

And for your viewing pleasure, I put together a slide show of all the pictures I took over the past three days...enjoy the pix...click on the words "Fall Fun 2012" below! 

Have a wonderful LONG weekend.  I'll see your kids on Wednesday!

Fall Fun 2012

Oh, Sandy....

Of course a day off is great fun...but we've got things to do!  So, build a boat, and bring them on in!  Just kidding...but only about the boat thing...we DO have a lot to finish up!

We had a great week and one of the highlights was meeting our Buddy Class...we have been paired with Ms. Kaberle's kindergarteners...we met them and spent some time outside getting to know each other.  It is a really fun year for third graders because they get to be the "big kids."  I was so proud of all of them for the way they interacted with their buddies!  I put together a slide show below...click on the link and enjoy...

Our Buddy Class

In Language Arts this week our focus was fables.  We read fables and discussed the characteristics that define a fable.  We discussed PERSONIFICATION and located examples of it in the fables.  The kids answered comprehension questions about the different fables. I feel very certain that my class has a great handle on fairy tales and fables!  We also worked on descriptive writing this week.  The kids wrote 3-5 sentence commercials advertising their candy bars (more about the candy in the math summary below).  And of course, we were working on our Ella final drafts.  The kids are typing them and need one more computer lab session to finish up...one of the many things I need to do this coming week!!

In Math this week we continued with our candy production...the candy bars are made, ingredients and toppings added, the commercials are set, and then we worked on candy bar wrappers...they had to find the surface area of the candy bar wrapper, remembering that every square unit costs the company more...so the goal was to use as little as possible to create the wrapper.  Now we just need to film our commercials (another reason you must build a boat!)  We will be taking a unit quiz upon our return to school and heading into fractions...

We have been observing the parts of our organisms and discussing the scientific terminology for "the big claw" or the "hole from which the snail breathes"...your kids can probably tell you what the scientific names for those parts are, and how they help the organism survive.  This is one of the things they will have to know for their science quiz next Friday.  They have the drawings and labels in their science composition books.  The rest of the quiz is really designed to see what was learned in the classroom, so there is not a lot to study.

ANOTHER thing we need to finish...about 2/3 of the class is ALMOST finished their state brochures...tomorrow was going to be a big day for COMPLETION...alas, we must wait (or build boats).

This coming week my plan was do to an election mini-unit.  I  have some great articles about both candidates and we were going to explore the world of electoral votes...I guess we'll see how many days we are there this week, etc...but just so you know...I have no intention of making this mini-unit about WHO they should vote for...it will be all about the candidates (the age appropriate versions) and about the election process. 

Your kids continue to amaze me...when we were in the classroom this past week working on the laptops to publish the Ella stories, one student said, "I'm not sure which of these two projects we're working on right now is my favorite?!"  Music to my ears.


Stay dry...
-Mrs. Wills