These happy faces say it all...

By all, I mean the reason I am SOOOO late in posting...my oldest son, my daughter-in-law, and my grandson visited this past week...and so when I wasn't running after my little guy, I was thoroughly enjoying spending time with my entire family...

But I still apologize for not blogging sooner!  This blog will cover last week and our very short week this week!

What have we been up to?  What HAVEN'T we been up to!?!?

In Language Arts right now we are concentrating on reading ANCILLARY texts...encyclopedias, websites, magazines, posters, etc.  We are using the Scholastic Storybooks magazine a lot for this unit...with comprehension as the focus.  One of the components of the Common Core Curriculum is text complexity and this magazine provides plenty of it! We often read independently, but this past week, we used the laptops and listened to the audio recording of the article about Mt. Vesuvius.  Then the kids enjoyed a video of behind the scenes of the writing of the article.  It is so fun being able to tap into technology as often as we do!!

Speaking of text complexity and technology...the article the kids had to read about Martin Luther King, Jr was very rigorous!  They used different ancillary texts to gather lots of information about MLK, Jr.  They used a time line, the website article, a picture book, and a Brain Pop video on the laptops.

In the next week, each student will choose an important person to research, and each student will be writing a biography about that famous person.  They will write it as if they are that person...from the first person perspective.  More to come on this project...but it will be an in school assignment.

A writing assignment came home last week...an informative paragraph about immigration.  I continue to be impressed with the kids' ability to write...but also, their ability to edit and revise!

Speaking of immigration...our focus in Social Studies right now is immigration and government.  It was so rewarding hearing about how your families came to America.  We are such a diverse class and we have first generation Americans as well as sixth generation Americans!!  Tomorrow the kids will be reading/performing a Readers Theater about Ellis Island.  I'm excited to see their personalities come out as we continue to gather more information about immigrants' experiences. 

As you are now aware, we switch classes for Math, so I will not be doing a lot of math talk on this blog since the two classes work on different things at different times...however, let me say that there can NEVER be enough fact practice.  In your report card this quarter a note will come home with your child's updated fact assessment information.  If your child is still under 80% automaticity and 90% accuracy...they should be practicing facts at least three times a week.  Both classes will continue to have a heavy emphasis on problem solving...please continue to give your child opportunities for problem solving at home or when you are out...this is so very helpful!

VALENTINE'S DAY is coming...and so are the parties!  Our Valentine's Day party is on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15th from 1:15-2:15pm.  A letter went home today in the Take Home folder with all of the pertinent information...please take time to read it...I want to thank our room parents ahead of time for all of their hard work to make the parties enjoyable for all of the kids!

I think that's about it...feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns...and STAY WARM!!

Short, but sweet...

In my house we are all reading the book, One Word that Will Change Your Life...and we've each chosen a word to make our focus for the year 2013.  Mine is BALANCE...something I struggle with on a daily basis.  Why am I sharing this?  Because my weekends are JAM packed and I am trying to balance school work with family time...so tonight's blog is short...but sweet!

Wait until you see your child's poem coming home this week...they are all soooo good.  As we close down the poetry unit, the kids will present their memorized poems tomorrow.  They have a checklist in their Take Home folders to remind them what will be scored...I anticipate great presentations!  We will be moving into a Reading Ancillary Texts unit...back to non-fiction...and we're going to start with a rather rigorous article about Mt. Vesuvius.  More to come on that...

As you know...we started switching for math.  I kept about half my class and inherited 1/2 of Ms. Maenner's class.  I have a GREAT group!!  We will continue to work on third grade core curriculum, extending and enriching.  Both classes are "above grade level".  If you have a question at any point, do not hesitate to ask.  I took some fun pictures of my math class this week as we experimented with sponges, measuring the water each sponge would hold using mL and L...they are below...

We finished our economy unit this week discussing advertising, false advertising, and global trade.  We are headed into another social studies unit about immigration...I really love this unit! The kids will be coming home to discuss your family's heritage...it is always such a rewarding unit!

I have to give all students a QRI leveled reading test this coming week, so they'll be working independently quite a bit as I listen to your lovelies read!

Normal schedule this coming week, but CRAZY schedule next week...

Monday, January 21 - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 22 - NO SCHOOL (for students)
Wednesday, January 23 - NO SCHOOL (for students)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend with your family...I sure did.

Entrepreneurs 2012

Click on the words below and enjoy!!

Entrepreneurs 2012

Happy New Year!!

This post is sooo long overdue...but I am happy to report that I am well rested and ready to rock and roll in 2013!

I promise to get back on a more regular blogging schedule...and I hope you understand the need for a break...it was a wonderful time with family, friends, and the flu...(yuck is right...but better during break than when I have to miss time with your kids!!)

I want to journey back to the days before Winter Break... 

As I'm sure you've heard by now, we had two Market Days the week before we left for break. This was the culmination of our economics unit. About three to four weeks ago, we began the ENTREPRENEURS unit...we had four companies in our classroom. Each company perused the materials they were allowed to use and then made up some proposals for different goods they could produce. Each company chose one product and then was given a loan. Using the money from their loan, they had to decide how many goods to produce, and what type of advertising they would use. Once that data was collected, they had to figure out at what price to sell their good so that they could cover their costs AND make a profit. Once those plans were approved, production began. The children had to specialize and cooperate...when you have a classroom FULL of leaders, this can be a challenge! They each had jobs that were important, so they got to see interdependence in action! Once all production was complete, Mrs. Maenner's class and our class got together to see any commercials that had planned...and then each student was given a $5 debit card as their salary for working in their companies. The companies split up and 1/2 were consumers on the first Market Day...the others were sellers. The consumers got to shop in both classrooms and spend their money on the goods produced. Some companies sold out...others did not. That afternoon after shopping the companies got together to see what their sales had been and to make a plan if they felt sales needed to be increased. They had to decide how many more goods they would produce, what it would cost, and whether any advertising needed to change. I was SOOOO impressed with the conversations. Tuesday and Wednesday the companies spent in production. And then on Thursday the kids had their second Market Day. The consumers became sellers and the sellers, consumers. Overall...EVERY company in our classroom profited enough to pay back their loan and come out on top!  We had a great discussion about the differences in profits and the reasons that such differences occur.

I thought the best way to share all of this information was in a video of pictures...their hard work and committment to creating a marketable product can be viewed by checking out the post right above this post by clicking on the words

"ENTREPRENEURS 2012"...

ENJOY!!

We began our poetry unit before Winter Break and are just wrapping it up...the kids wrote BEAUTIFUL Color Poems...they are just finishing the illustrations...

We started by reading the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones where the poet takes different colors and writes a poem about each one.  The students brainstormed different colors they liked and words that create images related to those colors.  They then chose the color they wanted to write their own poem about.  WORD CHOICE was our next focus...creating "juicy" phrases about each item...turning blue into "smushed blueberries on a table" or green into a "twisted pipe cleaner"...each student was aware of their "poetic license" and composed their poem...paying special attention to purposeful punctuation, rhyme, or lack of rhyme, patterns, and WORD CHOICE/IMAGERY.  The outcome is unbelievable!!  I can't wait for you to read them! 

As I'm sure you know by now, next Monday, your child has an assignment due.  He/she is responsible for memorizing a poem and presenting it to the class.  The presentation will be scored on expression, volume, pacing, clarity, and eye contact WITH THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE.  If you have any questions about this assignment, please send me an email.

We ended a math unit right before Winter Break centered around multiplication and time...a test was given last week and I will have that back to your kids sometime this week.  I'm sure you've seen the letter that came home on Friday...please refer to it if you have not.  It explains that starting this week the kids will/may have either Ms. Maenner or myself for math.  We will be regrouping regularly as we switch units, so where your child goes this week could change in a month.  We got the kids together today to explain the changes...we will begin regrouping Wednesday.  Again, if you have any questions, please email me.

Last week the kids took the mid-year Global Scholar test in Math.  They will take the Language Arts portion next week.  This test is given three times a year to record student progress. 

We continue to utilize the COW in our classroom.  Just this week we published the color poems on the laptops.  The week before winter break, I introduced the kids to "Lemonade Stand", a game where they can use their entrepreneurial skills to make money at a lemonade stand. They have so many variables to consider when making decisions including the temperature and predicted precipitation!! This link is on the blog and is a wonderful activity for the kids that involves economics and math!

OK...I know this post is all over the place...but I just remembered a few other things we did before break...we had a very fun movie/PJ/blanket and pillow day...AND we had a great time with our kindergarten buddies...they had been studying reindeer and we got to join them for a reindeer party of sorts.  The kids made reindeer cookies together, made reindeer food, and watched a very small part of Rudolf together...it was a great end to the week!  Take a look... 

Well, I've rambled plenty for this update....I will write again this coming weekend.  Until then, feel free to email me with any questions or concerns...I am continually impressed by your kids and LOVE coming to work every day.  They make my job fun.

And check out the next post for the ENTREPRENEURS VIDEO!!  You will love it!

Hugging is good...

Hello, third grade families...I hope you are enjoying your weekend and hugging your kids a little more than usual.  I sure am.  How blessed we all are for the health and safety of our little ones. 

Here is a brief update of our past week...we have accomplished so much!

In Language Arts we are working on poetry.  We have discussed figurative language, specifically similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc...we have found examples in poetry and discussed the meaning.  This past week we focused on haiku and diamonte poems...we read them and we wrote them...and what I have to say is....WOW.  Your children write beautiful poetry.  We also read and analyzed Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening...I loved hearing what the kids thought Frost meant by his words.  Then I attempted to share The Road Not Taken...yeah, that might have been pushing it a bit!  This week the students will be introduced to color poems and they will be writing their own.  We will also read and analyze Langston Hughes' poem Mother to Son, which may be one of my very favorite poems ever...I'll let you know about that discussion!

In Math we have been working on elapsed time...and those kids that already had that skill attempted some word problems using different time zones...they were tough!  One of the strategies that I used to teach elapsed time was using a number line.  And boy...those kids that were having a hard time...it was like a light bulb went off!!  This is a skill that you can continue to reinforce at home by having the kids record start times, end times, and find the time that has passed during the day.  The hardest problems are when the kids know the ending time and how much time passed, but have to find the start time!  This week we will be focusing on measurement...capacity and weight...and we will continue that the short week we return in January.

In Word Study we have changed the routine a bit!  For the next few months we will be working on prefixes, suffixes, and roots (greek and latin root words)...and for these units there will be packets for homework instead of the meaningful sentences.  The kids will be responsible for the spelling of the fifteen words in the packet...they will be responsible for knowing the meaning of the prefix itself, and also the meaning of at least one word for each prefix...so five words total.  If this does not make sense, I'm happy to try again....so please email me.  I have used these packets for the past couple years and they are a great tool to help the kids learn the meaning of the word parts...which is going to help them so much as they encounter words they haven't seen before...

In Social Studies we have begun our ENTREPRENEURS project!  We have four companies that have formed in our classroom....The Creators, Kra-Z-Kids, Puppet Masters, and C.E.J.J.  Here they are below...I just can't remember which company is which! ;-)

They have been given a $10 loan and have made many different economic decisions during the questioning and imagining phases...they have found they have limited resources...sometimes money, sometimes supplies, and often they have a scarcity of compromising ;-)!!

Now they are in the creating phase...not as many compromises have to be made at this phase...they are experiencing specialization and interdepence first hand as they split up the jobs and work towards our goal of Market Day on Tuesday.  Some students are working on the actual product, others are writing commercials, some are making fliers...and all are working towards making a big profit!  Pictures will be forthcoming!

This coming week, please help your children come to school each day ready to learn...there are so many wonderful distractions this time of year...but we will work right up until the 21st, so I aim to keep them focused...your help is greatly appreciated!

Hug your kids for me this weekend...hugging is good.

Better late than never?

 
I do hope you'll forgive me...I'm sorry I've been absent from the blogging scene...as I'm sure it is in your home, December is nutty in the Wills' house. That being said, you may be thinking, "Then why on Earth did you assign a project?"  I have been helping the kids manage their time on this project, so that hopefully, it will not be more than an extra 15 minutes each evening.  Each evening their agendas have a new step to work on.  So if they can keep up with the nightly steps, they will be more than ready come December 17th!

That being said...we have been incredibly busy and productive lately.  Where to begin?

Language Arts
We finished up our "Reading Social Studies textbooks" unit and have moved into POETRY...one of my very favorite units.  In our initial lesson I asked the kids, "Is poetry important?" and "Are you good at writing poetry?"  Most kids argued that poetry is NOT important and that they are not good at it.  I told them I would change their mindset on both!  I explained that poetry is a wonderful way to communicate thoughts, feelings, and stories...plus I let them know they'll be analyzing it for the next TWELVE years or so...and then I let them know that not only will they be writing poetry, but they will write a poem they are amazed came out of them!  Stay tuned for that!

The kids continue to publish stories in Writer's Workshop...there are quite a few hanging in the classroom and many others awaiting a Teacher Conference...we work on many different writing skills during the mini-lessons and the Teacher Conferences.

ALL lowercase cursive letters have been taught and we begin cursive capital letters this week...they have at least one homework assignment a week (usually word study) to do in cursive and we will continue to add more as the quarter progresses.

Math
My gosh they are amazing mathematicians!  We have been working on multiple strategies to show explain multiplication, we have been working on "fantastic" responses when asked to solve word problems...we have been working on the multiplication algorithm.  Everyone in the class was ready for three digits times one digit and has successfully mastered that!!  Many kids were then taught to multiply two digits times two digits...that was just an extension, but one that many were ready for.  The problem these days with the algorithm is that many people think that if the child can do that well, then they are better mathematicians.  But this couldn't be further from the truth.  It is INCREDIBLY important that the kids understand WHY they are regrouping a ten to the next column and what exactly it stands for...the strong their concepts at this age, the more successful they will be when faced with PRE-CALCULUS as a SOPHOMORE...that's right...you heard me...we are preparing them to be successful in high school and beyond.  This is why when the kids are asked to answer a question they are asked to show TWO strategies...because after the algorithm, the next strategy needs to be one that shows their conceptual understanding...such as using the distributive property when solving for area or a larger multiplication problem.

STEM
Have your kids been talking about a marble ramp?! OMG...what an amazing project we just completed...the amount of problem solving, engineering, and physics that went into it was UNBELIEVABLE!!  Let me break it down...we are having quarterly STEM challenges at UES...as a class we were given a toilet paper tube and a clothespin and told that we were to create a marble ramp/candy dispenser using any "school" materials, recyclable materials, and the clothespin and toilet paper tube.  We discussed the STEM process, started a journal, and recorded our initial ideas. The second day we polished our ideas making sure the sketches had labels.  We got into triads and shared our ideas.  Then the group had to decide which of the three was the best model...they were able to take parts of each others and create a different one so that they all had a part in it...this was a very difficult step because they each thought their model was best...but they really did a great job compromising.  We talked about the fact that if we worked for a company and we wanted to make the most money, even if we loved our own idea, we'd be open to an even better one in order to create the BEST product...many kids could roll with this idea...others, not so much...but we still came up with SIX great models.  We were planning to vote on just one, but we realized that we really couldn't vote until we saw the results...just because a model looks great on paper, does not mean it's going to work...plus, I couldn't figure out how 18 kids were going to build ONE model!! ;-)  Soooo we started the fun part...the triads built six marble ramps...it was soo fun to watch them work.  They argued constructively, revised their plans, edited their models, and worked their tails off!  In the end we had four working models and two others that were great plans, but ended up not working.  Each group presented their model (working or not) and then we voted on the one that would represent our class.  It was a REALLY close vote...BECAUSE ALL OF THEM WERE AWESOME!!

See what I mean?  In the end, the class voted on the one we called "LONG"...it has the Fruit by the Foot box.  Once each group was finished, the kids completed a STEM reflection...a written piece that will receive a grade.  This project received two grades...the cooperative work/building/creating piece and the written piece.  I'm pretty sure every kid will tell you they loved this project....they were so engaged!  Our school will display all classes' marble ramp/candy dispensers the week before Winter Break.  I can't wait to see what other classes came up with!

SOCIAL STUDIES
We are working on an Economics unit...and this coming week we will begin an in class project titled "ENTREPRENEURS" where the kids will use the economic concepts we've been studying, in a real world situation.  They will develop companies, create products, advertise, and attempt to make a profit.  Pictures to come!

REMINDERS
- Early Dismissal this Wednesday, December 12th...two hours early....magnet dismisses at 12:30
- Cultural Project due Monday, December 17th
- please send recyclables...especially paper towel/toilet paper tubes, egg cartons, and cardboard...nothing with food stains, please...
- I know the weather is unpredictable, but please help your child remember hats, gloves, and COATS on the really cold days. 

As always...send an email if you have a question or concern.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!