Your Kids Are Awesome!

So...let me start off with a quick apology...I am fully aware that I am about two weeks late in my "twice a month" postings...HOWEVER...I've chosen to make sure your kids' papers are returned in a timely manner and I continue to put my energy into instructional planning for the different needs of my 29 kids...hence the delayed post...I hope you'll forgive me!

That being said...let me catch you up.  I don't just say this about any ole class...YOUR KIDS ARE AWESOME.  I've always loved my job, but this group...WOW.  Look at the things we've been doing...

Two weeks ago we attended the Scientific Circus at the Weinburg Center in Frederick.  It was a great show where science concepts and comedy were fused together to keep the kids laughing, making connections, and gazing in awe the whole time.  We had a lot of fun!

On the Friday of that same week, UES held it's first annual FUN RUN...what a concept!  The kids participated in a heart healthy way AND raised money at the same time!  It was a lot of fun and great job by the UES PTA...the kids raised over $25,000!!

A few times a week our class has a "Number Talk"...where a problem is put on the Promethean board and the kids have to see how many strategies they can come up with to solve a problem.  They are not allowed to use paper, it is a mental math challenge.  I've incorporated the mantra "I love to struggle" this year...I want them to struggle...research says that kids are getting into tough high school classes or all the way to college and haven't truly learned what to do when they "hit a roadblock"...they need to experience and figure out HOW to work around and through struggle...so we're facing it HEAD ON...I pose a question and then they struggle (sometimes)...the emphasis is on listening to others' strategies in order to build their own toolbox of strategies.  Well...I invited our own Mr. Watkins in to conduct a Number Talk in our classroom...it was a lot of fun!

We recently finished up a research project in our classroom...different groups of students were studying the different regions of the United States, focusing on the vegetation, climate, landforms and landmarks, and the natural resources of that region.  Each group had the choice to make a travel brochure about that region OR create a commercial.  After the projects were complete we got to watch and learn from each commercial, and then we took a gallery walk around our classroom to learn from and enjoy the travel brochures. (The files of the commercials to are too big, so I have to figure out how to post clips...I will work on that!)

Social Studies unit? Check. Science unit....here we go! We have just started a science unit entitled, "Chemical Tests."  This unit focuses on the science processes...just this past week the kids learned/experienced that the physical properties of two separate materials can change once those two materials are mixed together. Needless to say, science and messy are two things these kids LOVE!  They were true scientists...using tools, recording data, making observations, analyzing their data, and drawing conclusions...it was a complete success!

I don't have any pictures of math lessons or language arts lessons because I run three groups and am always instructing...however...here is a quick recap of what's going on...

In Math we have been continuing the unit "How Big is Big?"  However, we hit a roadblock of sorts when I got to the part that required use of the multiplication algorithm...so we broke away from it for awhile and I ran groups to teach, reteach, and extend that skill...we will revisit the end of this unit later this year as it asks for serious struggle and we're all not quite ready for that yet!

We will continue with multiplication, but veer off a bit to work on data collection...we will look at bar graphs, picture graphs, line plots...which will tie directly to some of our science lessons as well!

And in Language Arts we are all reading novels on NOOKS!  Its amazing how an electronic book motivates students!!  Each of the three groups is reading a story that incorporates the concept of change...a concept we will discuss throughout the novel...and they all involve animals, too!  We will work on the 3rd grade Reading for Literature standards while discussing rich, rigorous text.  

And all of your kids are getting ready to write the final drafts of their personal narratives...I'm really excited to see how they were able to incorporate all of the lessons taught about narrative structure and about being a good storyteller into their writing!

Last, and certainly not least (in the eyes of your child)...this week we met our Buddy Class.  This is the first year that they have a buddy YOUNGER than themselves...and it is so fun to see them take on the more mature role! Your kids interviewed the kindergarteners, in order to get to know them better, and the kinders read their books to the third graders...it was loads of fun!  We will see them again this Thursday for our Walk for the Homeless!

FINALLY...this Thursday is going to be tons of fun!  We will participate in the Walk for the Homeless from 9:15-10...then we will have pumpkin math from 10-11:15.  Thanks so much to all of the volunteers and pumpkin donations...we are all set!  THEN...that afternoon from 1:30-2:15 we will have our Fall Festival party...please remember that you need to be a trained volunteer to come into the classroom to assist with parties...so if you haven't gotten that training yet, PLEASE DO!!

I think that's it...email me with questions or concerns as usual...hope you had a great weekend!  I sure did!

Well, hello there!

There is so much cool stuff going on in our classroom...finally finding time to post about it all...grab a snack and a drink and enjoy!!

Language Arts
We have been working on reading non-fiction over the past couple weeks.  I am using the resource titled, "Jacob's Ladder"...a reading comprehension program out of the College of William and Mary that targets high ability learners...and man, oh man, is it rigorous!!  Last week the first ladder came home...three questions that raise in difficulty as they go up the rungs of the ladder. That ladder was modeled by me and worked on as a group.  This past week the kids worked on a new ladder...they brainstormed ideas independently, discussed ideas and thoughts in groups, met with me to discuss the top rung, and then wrote their independent answers.  I have graded these papers and they will come home tomorrow or Friday.  I was so impressed with your kids' critical thinking skills and their discussions of text and finding and using evidence to support their thinking!  Good stuff, I tell ya.

Writing
We are continuing our narrative writing unit.  I am having such fun reading their small moments and watching as they take each mini lesson and apply the skills taught to their writing.  This past week we looked at the narrative writing rubric and decided on goals as writers.  This second half of the quarter we will be picking the story that we like the most and turning that piece into our best piece of narrative writing.  I'm excited to see where this leads us!

Math
Talk about cool stuff...we are working on a math unit written for highly able learners...this unit is called "How Big is Big?"  We have been investigating what REALLY big numbers look like.  Take a look at this set of pictures...we first built the number 10,000 with hundreds blocks.  Before all the kids had really thought about how many were in that square, I posed the question..."About how much do you think this square represents?"  More than one student said, "About a MILLION."  So we then talked about the amount represented.  They wondered how big 100,000 would be...so we used the kids as an outline for how big 100,000 would be (since one third grader was approximately the length of that square)...then talked about the fact that it would take TEN squares that size to show ONE MILLION...again, trying to help them see how big that really is.  Take a look...

Just yesterday we worked on a new investigation...the kids were given a string, sticky notes, and rulers and told to create a number line that represents 0-10,000.  They had to mark every 500 accurately. The critical thinking and conversations between the kids was AMAZING!!  We will use these number lines tomorrow and Friday as we find places all over the United States that we would like to visit...we will be finding distances using websites and then marking how far away they are on our number lines.  This is another great way for the kids to see how big these numbers truly are!!

 

Social Studies
Out unit is all about geography...starting with comparing and contrasting maps and globes, learning the importance of map and globe features, and now we are moving into learning about the different regions of the United States.  I integrate a lot of reading about Social Studies into our Language Arts block in order to best maximize our time...but we will be working on an in-class project that will be a culmination of this social studies unit and our reading of non-fiction.

EXTRA INFO:  Field trip permission slips came home yesterday.  We are going to the Weinberg Center to see the Super Scientific Circus (one of my favs!)  I can only take two chaperones, so I will see who wants to come and then pull names from a hat...I will do this early next week and let the parents know who was chosen...at that point you may send in your six dollars.  Thanks!

I am constantly amazed with your kids...they are hard working...and they WANT to learn...I'm a very lucky teacher.