I will be away on Thursday and Friday at a conference in Texas. Mrs. Portis will be in the class all day on both days.
The kids took home a sheet concerning the 3rd Grade Readathon which will take place on Thursday (the 20th) and Friday (the 21st). In the last two years, my classes have been able to collect over $1,000 for the families in need. It is such a wonderful deed, and the kids will be able to practice economics skills when we go to Target to get the best deals on presents for the families.
An Update on The Writer
As a grade-level, we have decided to alter the expectations for the students' progress on the writer. The students will now be expected to finish only Level 1 (116 lessons) by the end of May, which will easily prepare them for succeeding in the laptop program in 4th grade. We will spend more time giving the kids plenty of practice in cursive writing to help them gain confidence in this area.
Edge-of-your-seat Celebrations Dates
December 5th, 1:30-1:50: Charlie, Christina, Emily, Noah, and Townshend
December 8th, 10:40-11: Harrison, Holden, Ashley, Isabel, and Kayla
December 9th, 12:30-1: Grant, Jaden, Leighton, Mia, Ryan, and Mimi
December 10th 10:40-11: Sabrina, Ehsan, Gabi, Marilyn, William, and Will
We're going CRAZY over CURSIVE in our CLASSROOM! The kids have been getting direct instruction with cursive writing and analogy work as well as problem-of-the-day strategies as part of our morning work.
1. In math...
We've begun Unit 4 on multiplication and arrays.The kids finished 4.4 in the unit.
We have been practicing the multiplication chant for 7s. That makes the fourth multiplication chant this year; they also know the 3s, 4s, and 6s chants/songs.The songs are really making a difference with the multiplication problems we're encountering in this unit and I'm thrilled. Without stress and rote memorization, the kids are having fun learning their times tbles and that is my goal as a teacher.
The kids took home a new Math Challenge problem-solving sheet Tuesday.
Half of the kids have moved on from -3 and -4 to -5 and -6 in subtraction speed, aiming for a goal of 42+ in 2 minutes. That is great!
2. In Reading...
The kids began their final rotation in mystery books. They set a goal with their partner and have to track their determining importance thoughts on sticky notes or other paper. I have given them permission to do this at the Readathon tomorrow.
As I've been reading aloud Bunnicula, I have also had the kids record the strategies that I use to engage myself in understanding the fun mystery.This has been a great learning tool that I'm expecting the kids to inherit.
I also talked to the kids about their reading stamina.We decided as a class that reading 15-20 pages of a chapter book in 20 minutes is the expected goal. Of course that also depends on the size of the print and whether there are pictures. Nevertheless, the expectation is now that they read 15-20 pages and that they log that number in their reading logs.
3. In Writing...
This week we've been exploring theories behind why authors weave action between dialogue. The kids are expected to take this on in their writing.
We have been talking about paragraphing as well and will continue to remind kids as they finish their edge-of-your-seat stories.
The kids also began a week-long letter writing activity. They will be writing 4 letters this week to loved ones as a Thanksgiving/cursive project and we will mail them from school.
4. In Grammar and Language...
Today we talked about making the plural of words that end with f or fe (like knife into knives and shelf into shelves).
We've also continued to talk about adjectives and verbs (present tense and past tense).
The kids will continue to practice dictionary skills: using guide words to locate a page with a certain word, learning rules for dividing syllables, discovering the roots for certain words, and deciding which definition is appropriate for the context. This is accomplished through Make-a-word weekly activities and then reinforced when we discuss reading and writing.
5. In Social Studies...
We continued the topic of the ice age today with a Thinkquest activity in the computer lab. They also received a magazine all about the ice age which the kids and I will read together. The kids were just fascinated with all the interesting facts and disspeliing misconceptions.
6. Reminders:
Lower School dismissal begins at 2:45 p.m. Please DO NOT arrive on campus before 2:30 p.m. Kindergarten dismissal is at 2:00 p.m. These parents need to be able to easily re-enter the Lower School circle if they have 1st-5th grade students to pick up. Currently, they have to proceed to the front entrance area to the end of the carpool queue because of the number of LS cars already lined up. We do our best to move the carpool line as quickly as possible. Making a conscientious effort to arrive between 2:30 and 3:10 p.m. would help us with this.
As we continue to look at protecting our environment, please turn off your engine if the carpool line has not begun to move.
