Maybe a full week ahead!?!?!?!

Do you think it's possible?  I can only hope we are in school for five full days!!

There is so much going on...so here is the latest update for all of you...and I definitely owe you a post of pictures...we'll see if that happens tonight!  I have to share the computer at our house!

SCIENCE FAIR
So...I have set up all of these Science Fair due dates just to help the kids stay on track...tomorrow the data collection/graphs/etc are due...however, if your child hasn't conducted the research yet, then obviously he/she can't bring it in.  That's OK...again, these due dates are for time management so that you are not left doing the entire project the last weekend!  ;-)  I shared some graphing websites with the kids and they are bookmarked on the blog, so feel free to visit them to organize their data.

Our Science Fair is set for Wednesday, March 18th...and that is why the kids' projects are due the Monday before...that way the kids can present their projects to the class prior to being set up in the cafeteria.  Please have your child practice telling us about their project so that they are not reading off their boards.  Any questions...email me or ask your child...we will talk about this in class, too!

BYOD
As you all know by now, this Wednesday I am holding a BYOD meeting in my classroom from 5-5:30 pm.  You are welcome to bring your child and/or their device to the meeting. This is just an information meeting where I will share some of the things we'll be doing with the devices and answer any questions you have.  If you are unable to come, I will send the powerpoint to the entire email list after the meeting.  Feel free to email me with questions.

PARCC
We are starting Day 3 of testing tomorrow.  Please ensure that the next three evenings your kids get an especially good night's sleep and eat a good breakfast each morning.  They did a great job the first two days and I'm very proud of them.  There will not be any homework (other than the Science Fair) this week until testing is over.  They are using their brains at 150% for 75 minutes straight each day and they need to play and rest once they leave here.  A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Petrolle for supplying the kids with yummy snacks each day of testing.  The kids are thoroughly enjoying them!

Silent Auction Basket
Speaking of thanking parents, our other room parent, Mrs. Foster, is organizing our Silent Auction class basket.  The donations are already due, however if you meant to donate and forgot, please send it in soon so that Mrs. Foster can complete the task.  Thank you Mrs. Foster for your hard work!  And thank you to everyone who was able to donate!

LIFE AFTER TESTING....because there IS such a thing!
We will be finishing our novel unit and then move into reading for information/research with a focus on biographies of people who have made an impact on our country.  More to come about this!

In math we will be working with mass, liquid capacity, and volume.  We will do some conceptual work and then move into one of the Mcubed units written especially for gifted kids!

We are finishing all lower case cursive letters and will hightail it into capital letters.  I will slowly ask for some activities to be completed in cursive...

And in writing our focus continues to be opinion writing.  The kids are indentifying a topic they feel strongly about and will work to write an opinion essay using new ideas and strategies they glean from Lucy Calkins mini lessons.

I will begin working on the picture post, however my oldest just told me he has to write a paper, so if I don't get it posted tonight, I will tomorrow.  I hope you enjoyed your four day weekend!  I'm so ready to get back into a routine and STAY THERE!

ENTREPRENEURS, SCIENCE FAIR, AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

So...true to my word...here is our Entrepreneur unit...in pictures...click on the link below and enjoy!!

ENTREPRENEURS 2015

Now that I have that up...let me share some more of the fun things we have been doing while we're learning!

Right now we are the beginning of our Chemical Tests unit.  We started off the unit talking about different ways to observe objects...their physical characteristics...using our five (but in the classroom four) senses!  We did an activity where each group had to sort and categorize the objects and then we walked around the room to see if we could figure out which physical characteristic each group had used...talk about higher level thinking...wow!  Some kids really thought OUTSIDE THE BOX.

Once we had that all figured out...we moved onto the mystery chemical of the day...a white household powder.  We observed the physical properties of the powder and then mixed it with water to see if the physical properties changed...many observations were made...the kids had a lot of schema with this particular powder so our discussion was very eye opening. 

And now the real tests begin...the kids have been given FIVE mystery white powders and they will conduct many different tests on these powders to draw some conclusions.  They will continue to look at physical properties while learning about mixtures, solutions, suspensions...they will learn about how to test for starch, how to test for acidity, and with the testing and reading that the students will do, they will be able to make valid predictions as to the types of powder.  This is the kind of unit that when the kids come in to the classroom in the morning and see "Science" on the schedule, they cheer!

Let's talk SCIENCE FAIR...

Every third grade magnet student is required to do a Science Fair project.  This final project is due Thursday, March 19th...however, your child brought home a packet that divides up this project into very "doable" pieces, so that you and your child are not left scrambling the weekend prior!  The first part of the project is actually due TOMORROW...your child is supposed to have a filled out Science Fair form (it is yellow/orange) and they are to have written the title of their experiment and the question they will be answering.  All of this recording can be done in the packet or on the computer.  They can just print it out to show me, or if they use Google Drive, they can share the document with me.

I am happy to answer any and all questions, so do not hesitate to email me!

Last, but never least...we were fortunate to have a wonderful Multi-Cultural Fair at our school last week.  Thank you to the families that participated...we loved learning about so many different cultures!

I hope you are staying warm...they say a TWO HOUR delay tomorrow...but will reevaluate in the morning...we shall see!!

Happy Sunday!!

Well...I guess I blew the whole "maybe I will post every two weeks" idea...just know that when I'm absent on here, it's because I am working on other things for the classroom.  FOR INSTANCE...I have JURY DUTY tomorrow (and yes, my group # got called!!) so I worked for TWO hours on sub plans.  I like to leave detailed, well written plans because our days are already too short...I can't lose one just because I'm not there!!  Hopefully I will not be chosen for a jury and will return Tuesday...but that remains to be seen.

I hope all is well with your kids and your families...we are SUPER busy at my house, but all good.

Let me catch you up on what's been going on in our classroom!

So since the last time I blogged we received THIRTY Soaring with Pride stickers...and celebrated with Electronics Day...they LOVED it!!

Our class has had the GOLDEN DUSTPAN for awhile now...that is because our class does such a good job cleaning up after themselves...they're so responsible!!

I recently introduced the kids to the game DABBLE...its a game of words.  They loved it...which is awesome because they think they're just playing a game, and I KNOW they're using their brains!! (I'm embarassed to say these pictures are really old...I think this is a couple days before Winter Break and a lot of kids had already left for vacation...I am also happy to report the heat is working much better now so kids don't wear their coats all day!!)

And now we get to the biggest picture event of the year...(one of a few)...our ENTREPRENEUR UNIT.  I had planned to make a video on Animoto, but my subscription ran out and I can't renew it right now...so you'll have to settle for scrolling through a zillion pictures.  This unit was a ton of fun...they collaborated, they specialized, they learned the power of interdependence...and also learned a lot about supply, demand, and production.

MEANWHILE...I JUST WAITED AN HOUR FOR ALL THE PICTURES TO UPLOAD ONLY TO HAVE IT NOT WORK...so those pictures will come this week...I PROMISE...plus I have pictures of our science unit, Chemical Tests, in action.

We are also working on a novel right now and focusing on the concept of change...this book is fascinating, both in storyline and in author's craft...our discussions are amazing!!

In math we are everything fractions...on number lines, of a group, equivalency, etc...I am running three groups in order to differentiate for all of our different levels, but we are all immersed in fractions.

I am reading and grading lots of assignments on Google Classroom...so make sure you are checking that out every once in a while because those are grades that do not come home in a folder.

Make sure to send me a note if you have any questions...more pix to come later this week, but I MUST go to bed now!!

Goodnight.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe we've already had two snow days in 2015...well, I've been very busy on my snow days...and I realized, as I was working on Google Classroom, that I should fill you in on what/how YOU may want to participate in the classroom, too!

Your child has a username and password that allows them access to our Google Classroom.  You have probably helped them log on once or twice, but by now its second hand nature to them.  Each week I am asking the kids to complete their word study sort and sentences at home in the Google Classroom.  However, they also have a Google Classroom assignment in a different subject about once a week.  Word study assignments are not graded as they are done at home, but I do make comments on these documents.  All of the other assignments are graded.  They have a plethora of grades in the Google Classroom...and that's where you come in.  I know that you often review the work that comes home in the Take Home folder with your child.  I'm hoping you all look at it together; see what successes your child is having and pay attention to the areas they need to continue to work on.  You can use Google Classroom the same way...you just have to be at a computer at the same time.  Your review and discussion of these assignments and comments will help your child be a student who is reflective on his/her work and celebrates work completed well and learns from areas that need improvement.  If you have any questions about all of this, feel free to email me.

What else is going on?  Read on....

MATH...we are finishing up our UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF THE MOLI STONE unit...the M3 unit written especially for YOUR kind of kids.  M3 stands for Mentoring Mathematical Minds and if you'd like to learn more about it, click here... http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/projectm3/  As of late we have been studying Egyptian symbols and comparing their ancient number system to ours.  Just Friday the kids made discoveries about the Chinese number system, and this week we will be putting all of this information together to solve the mystery.  This unit has been of high interest, and the higher level thinking and discussions that go on are amazing.  While teaching this unit I have also been instructing on other standards that must be covered...elapsed time being one of them.  Over the next week we will figure out the mystery and then move into fractions...everything fractions!

WRITING...we are continuing our unit on informative writing.  The kids are making edits in their books daily and those books are really shaping up.  I'm so impressed by their writing.  Something different I did this year...based on a suggestion from a few of you at conferences...after our mid-quarter On Demand Writing assessment, I scored each writing piece (that's not different), went over the rubric with the whole class, and THEN met separately with each student to discuss their writing and review their own rubric.  It was very powerful...thanks for the suggestion. ;-)

READING...we have been doing a lot of comprehension work with printed text, website text, and short video clips.  We look for information in all text...captions, maps, charts, pictures...anywhere clues can be obtained to help improve our comprehension.  We discussed the concept of change this week...using our Scholastic Storyworks magazine, the students found evidence to prove that the character changed during the story.  We will continue with this idea of change as we venture into a novel later this month.

SOCIAL STUDIES...have you heard your child is an employee of a company?  Do you know that his/her company is creating a product that they will "sell" to classmates?  They are specializing and learning that interdependence is a real thing.  They will soon learn the effects of supply and demand (or lack thereof).  We are heading into advertisement this week as the production continues.  Stay tuned for updates.

SCIENCE...we will also be jumping into a new science unit soon...CHEMICAL TESTS.  The kids are gonna LOVE IT!!

So, hopefully you will forgive me for no photos...I promise some in my next post.  For now, stay warm and think melting thoughts...I NEED to see your kids!

A disclaimer and a WHOLE LOT of pictures!!

Disclaimer - I think its safe to say that you should set your expectations to a blog post every other week...my intentions are much better than that, but reality is...I'm just trying to keep my head above water.  When the blog suffers, just know that its because of the time I devote IN the classroom and planning FOR the classroom...

That being said, I'm going to post with lots of pictures and few words...we are having a BALL learning A LOT!  Take a look....

So...if you're wondering how this whole catapult thing happened...our school participated in a STEM unit on force and motion...and we did it all through the theme of Pumpkin Chunking...if you don't know what that is...ask an expert...YOUR KID!

Mrs. Hollenbeck started off the whole exciting unit by reading a story to the entire school...the book was appropriately titled, Chunkin' Punkins.  

We then watched a Discovery Education video all about the different types of catapults that are built for this annual competition...this got the kids really excited about the idea!

Then...believe it or not, one of our very own staff members, Gemma Pack, has a husband who is part of a Punkin' Chunkin' team...and he brought their compressed air pumpkin shooter for us to check out!!

Now that everyone was pumped and ready to build...I made them do research.  They completed a Google Classroom activity where they had to read and watch videos about force and motion, levers and catapults, and take notes as they read.  At this point they were salivating at the thought of building their own.

So, I told them they would be working with two or three other people and that they would have 10 popsicle sticks and 5 rubberbands to work with.  I had them use the engineering process of planning and discussing before creating.  They planned independently, discussed as a group, and then put a plan together that they could all agree on!  Once I saw a plan (labeled drawing and explanation) I said, "Give it a go!"  They were so very motivated.  But guess what they found out...PLAN A DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK!!  So continuing to follow the engineering process, they revised their plans and made adjustments.  Take a look....

After "a few" adjustments they had decided their catapults were ready and each group did some trial runs...they measured and recorded how far their marshmallows traveled.  After everyone had some practice, it was time to watch each group, hear how they created their machines, and see how far their marshmallow traveled.  We turned the room into a "Marshmallow Chunkin'" venue and watched them fly!  Take a look....

And just like with every science experiment...now they had EVEN MORE questions...most of all they wanted to know...if we could use different materials, could we make the marshmallow go further?  So....I told them that I would supply the marshmallows, rubberbands, and popsicle sticks...they had to bring whatever else they needed.  They could decide to work independently or in a group, but they had to ask a question, and make a plan to answer that question.  You would have thought I told them they won the lottery...they were SOOOO pumped up to try this!  And the day we planned to create our catapults, crazy things came into the classroom...tool bags, suitcases full of items, glue guns, balloons, etc...take a look!

The FINISHED PRODUCTS...

"Launch Day" is tomorrow!  I have reserved the cafeteria for launching...we will run three trials and the best trial will be their recorded trial.  They are very excited to try them out...and there was SOOOO much learning that went on with this project.  It's been a ton of fun!

But...its not the only thing we've been doing!!  Right now the FCPS math curriculum has third grade focusing on addition and subtraction strategies...but most of our class has mastered all of those standards, so I'm fitting in an M Cubed unit written especially for gifted children.  This is a math unit that focuses on patterns, symbols, problem solving, and the base 10 and base 3 number systems.  It is so intriguing and the kids are working through different lessons to find the Mystery of the Moli Stone.  There is a lot of math, a lot of verbal discourse, a lot of critical thinking, and A TON of problem solving...

We got to hang out with our buddies this week, too!  We read a story about why evergreens get to keep their leaves...we discussed that the author's message was all about acts of kindness.  At our school we collect hats and mittens for the needy and that is our school's act of kindness.  Then we talked about different acts of kindness we could all participate in...and they drew/wrote their ideas on mittens for our Acts of Kindness Mitten Tree that will be displayed in the front hallway.

In Writing we are working on our information books...they have chosen their topics and have written all they know about them...this past week we went to the computer lab to do more research and take notes on the topic...and now are adding that information as we focus on elaboration.

Speaking of the computer lab...something ELSE really cool we did this week...YOUR KIDS WROTE LINES OF CODE!  We participated in #HourOfCode...you can google it.  Anyway...the push for more computer science to be taught is out there, and this week I introduced them to the world of coding.  Unfortunately, it doesn't really fit into our curriculum, so other than wet their appetite, there won't be a ton more, but it was mind blowing what some of these kids could do.  Take a look...and if you think they look engaged...you couldn't be more correct.  You could have heard a pin drop for the full 45 minutes!!

I hope you are being able to take time to enjoy your family and friends...I am.  I love this time of year, but constantly have to remind myself to slow down a bit.  Time is flying and I'm trying to enjoy every minute of the ride.  Your kids are part of my ride and teaching them is a blessing.  I doubt I'll get another blog post in BEFORE the winter break...Happy Holidays to you all.  Enjoy the time off with your families.