Weekly Update: April 29th-May 3rd

Hi Parents,

I shared some recent pictures of my three silly boys with the students. Here is one of them above. The students always love to hear stories about my boys.

I hope you were able to enjoy the weather today (Sunday), we were able to get outside and play some baseball and shoot some hoops. I am looking forward to our field trip to Kent Park and hoping this great weather continues for us. Reminder: Make sure your child brings a sack lunch!

I also wanted to let you know that I will be teaching 3rd grade again next year! Miss Schuers, Mrs. Dane, and Miss Shapleigh will be the 4th grade teachers for next year.

Reading: We finished out last lesson from our Houghton Mifflin book, in which we read, "Saving Buster". Students read about a character named  Donavan that wanted to help raise money to help pay for an operation for Buster, a service dog. We focused on the comprehension skills of drawing conclusions, inferring, and asking questions (before,during, and after) reading.

Spelling: Students took their last spelling test, which focused on words beginning with "a" or "be" such as "below" and "above". I will continue to meet with my Words Their Way group.

Mathematics: Students took their Unit 9 Progress Check on Wednesday. I will return those to students this week. Please sign and return it after you have reviewed it with your child. The rest of week we spent some time playing math games on the Everyday Mathematics website. We have a new lab top cart that allows us to have 30 computers in our classroom at a time, it is great!!!! The next few days, we will be reviewing previous skills/concepts and then we will move onto Unit 10:Measurement and Data.

Science: We have started our new science unit, Lifting Heavy Things. Students have already experienced that there are tools that make our work easier. We have focused on learning about levers; using the vocabulary fulcrum, load, and force. We focused on the importance of safety as we performed three different investigations:

• What happened when you used (your hands, a hammer, a crowbar, scissors, a spoon) to pull a nail out of a piece of wood? Which one was the best tool for the job? Tell why you think so.
• What happened when you used (your hands, a screwdriver, a quarter, a craft stick) to pry off a lid on a empty paint can? Which one was the best tool for the job? Why do you think so?
• What happened when you used (your hands, a meter stick, a board, a hockey stick, a craft stick) to lift the heavy object? Which one was the best tool for the job? Why do you think so?

Below are some pics from our investigations.

Weekly Update: April 15th-19th

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

I hope all enjoying your weekend, with the sun peeking through the clouds a little more. We now have a 6 year old in our house as we celebrated Carson's birthday on the 15th. We also ventured to Planet X with Carson and five of his friends (and little brother,Mason), they were a whirlwind and made me exhausted just watching them:)

Field Trip News:

We are excited to share news with you that the 3rd grade will be taking a field trip to Kent Park on Wednesday, May 8th! In preparation for the field trip, we are asking for interest in being a parent volunteer. The time commitment would be from 9:00am to 2:30pm. We are looking for 2-3 adults who would be willing to supervise a fishing rotation as part of the field trip. These volunteers would stay at the pond for the entire day. Participants would need to know how to fish, teach students to cast and reel, and also be willing to put worms on hooks and take fish off the hook if they catch something!These people do not need to bring any materials, they just need to enjoy fishing! Our supervisor at the site will give them instructions on how and what to teach the kids. Thank you in advance and please contact us if you have any questions or concerns!

Reading: Students read about Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb to the top of Mount Everest. Students used this text and others to determine the difference between fact and opinion. Students looked for signal words such as feel, think, believe to identify opinions. We also learned that authors do not always use these signal words when writing opinions so we also focused on this question:Is this someone's thought, belief, or feeling?

I will be continuing to complete my reading assessments this week.

Spelling: The spelling pattern for this week focused on words with ough like in the words; rough and brought. They also had the pattern augh like in the words; laugh and daughter.

Math: Students learned how to solve multiplication problems using the lattice method. Here is example below:

Use this Everyday Mathematics online link to take you through the steps. You may have to use you child's login and password.

https://media.everydaymathonline.com/em/student/algorithms_in_everyday_mathematics/3/multiplication/lattice_multiplication/online_resources/2-Digit_times_2-Digit_Example_1/M4_C01_P019_F2.swf

Social Studies: Below are the pictures from our monuments. Students did a great job explaining the importance of each individual and the positive impact they had on our world.

This monument was in honor of Lois Marie Gibbs who fought to keep the environment clean and people safe from pollution.

This monument was dedicated to Ruby Bridges who was the first African American to attend an all white school.

 This monument was dedicated to Judy Heumann who fought for the rights of individuals with disabilities.

 This monument was dedicated to Cedar Chavez who fought to protect farm laborers.



Weekly Update: April 8th-12th

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. We had a great week at school, the students especially enjoyed Wednesday with their "Read and Feed" and a visit to Mrs. Wilson's classroom to play math games with the

Kindergarteners. I enjoyed watching their interactions, being helpful and setting a positive example for them. We even got to be a little silly as we danced with them before we went back to our classroom.

Reading:I have begun my reading assessments with the students and will continue these into the next week or so. This week students read about the many uses of magnets. Students read The Power of Magnets and focused on finding examples of cause and effect relationships. During small groups, students got a chance to explore magnets that their classmates had brought in to share.



Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week focused on two syllable words with double consonants. We noticed that the words could be split between the double consonants. Students also sorted the words into the following categories: words with double l, words with double t, words with double r, and words with other double consonants.

Math: This week in math we reviewed the partial products method, practiced multiplying decimals, and identified factors of given numbers. We noticed that some whole numbers only have two factors (one and itself), while others have many. Students should be practicing their fact triangles daily at home.

Social Studies: Students have been working in small groups to learn about the following individuals: Cesar Chavez, Ruby Bridges, Judy Huemann, Lois Marie. Students are creating their own human monuments to display the positive impact they had on our community. Students will present their human monuments on Monday. I will post pics next week.

 

Donations:

Thanks so much for the boxes of Kleenex and pencil sharpeners, they were greatly appreciated. We are still in need of some pencils to get us through the rest of the year if you could spare some. Thanks so much for your continued support, I appreciate it!

Weekly Update: April 1st-5th

Lemme

Leopards

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying this weather as much as I am. I was able to enjoy a run outside which was long overdue. The boys and I also played basketball outside and went for a bike ride. I am hoping this great weather continues.

***This Wednesday, we are going to have a read and feed. Students may bring a snack and drink of their choice.

Reading: Unit 6 focused on a variety of texts including, The Foot Race Across America, Paca and the Beetle, and other short texts. The students made the connection across texts that it takes hard work to reach a goal. Students also practiced identifying the main idea and details within texts.  

Spelling: The spelling words for the next five weeks are review from past weeks. Our spelling pattern this past week had the VCCV pattern (vowel, consonant, consonant, vowel). Students practiced dividing the spelling words between the syllables which they noticed was between the two consonants. We also sorted them into two categories; vowel + r sounds in the first syllable and short vowel sound in the 1st syllable.



Math: In Unit 9, students will focus on three different algorithms to solve multiplication problems. Students will learn standard (traditional), partial products, and the lattice method. Students will practice each of the algorithms, but ultimately choose the one that works the best for them.We have practiced the partial products method so far, here is an example how to use the algorithm.

Ex.            57               Estimate: 60 x 5=300
              x  5
50 x 5=    250
5 x 5=   +_35
               285

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We would love if you could donate any pencils sharpeners to our classroom. We are also down to a couple boxes of Kleenex if you have any to spare. Thanks in advance:)

Weekly Update: March 25th-29th

Lemme

Leopards

Dear Parents,

Our first week back from break went well, the students did a great job jumping back into our daily routines. I hope everyone was able to enjoy their Spring Break. I enjoyed some quality time with our boys. We celebrated Cooper's 2nd birthday, made some forts with blankets, baked some Easter cookies, took a trip to the Children's Museum, and many other inside activities due to the weather. Like everyone else, we have taken full advantage of the nice weather last week and are looking forward to some sunshine!

Reading:

This past week students read the nonfiction story, Mountains: Surviving Mount Everest about the difficult and daring journey by climbers. Students practiced the comprehension strategy of using text and graphic features to help them better understand the text.

Examples of Text Features: bold faced words, headings, captions, labels, titles, fun facts, etc.

Examples of Graphic Features: pictures, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, cut aways, etc. 

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern this week focused on base words plus the suffixes "less" and "ness." Students focused on identifying the base word and how the suffixes change the meaning of the word. "Less" meaning without and "ness" meaning the state of being.

Sadness: the state of being sad

Hopeless: without hope

Writing:

Students have been working hard to complete their fiction pieces including sensory language, at least two similes, and dialogue between characters. This week, students will be going through editing and proofreading stages, completing a final draft by the end of the week.

Math:

Students should have brought home their Unit 8 Progress Check. Please take time to review the assessment with your child. This past week students did not have homework. This week we thought it was important to take some time to review some skills/concepts that students needed more practice and explicit instruction. We spent some time reviewing equivalent fractions, measuring to the nearest 1/2 inch, and finding the median, range, and mode. I also had extension activities to challenge students such as having students find the mean/average of a data set. We will start Unit 9: Multiplication and Division on Monday. Unit 9 has four main areas of focus:

• To multiply and divide with multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000
• To use mental math to multiply
• To share money
• To find product of 2-digit numbers

Social Studies:

We began our unit on Chapter 5 of Social Studies Alive! on Cultural Diversity. This past week we discussed what it means to be a part of a culture, we reviewed different foods, sports, holidays, and traditions of from cultures across the world. I even attempted a song with them about cultures, Mrs. Berry would be so proud of me!

Reminders:

• The book fair will be open on:

             Tuesday 8:00-8:30a.m. and 3:00-3:30p.m.

             Wednesday 8:00-8:30a.m. and 3:00-3:30p.m.

             Thursday  8:00-8:30a.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. during science night

• March reading logs are due Monday, April 1st
• We would love if you could donate any pencils sharpeners to our classroom. We are also down to a couple boxes of Kleenex if you have any to spare. Thanks in advance:)

Weekly Update: March 4th-8th

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

Well, we have one full week before Spring Break! I can honestly say, I am sure ready for Spring weather. I will take the rain over the snow. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I enjoyed meeting with each one of you to discuss your child's progress. I appreciate your continued to support at home.

Language Arts:

This past week students read the fantasy story, The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison. Students practiced the comprehension skill of sequencing events to help them better understand the text. We discussed time order words that authors use to help readers. We also practiced sequencing by using a variety of picture books from the library. 

Students have been focusing on descriptive writing, using their senses to add more details to their writing. We also discussed the use of similes. Similes compare two different things using the words, "like" or "as".

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern this week focused on words that contained the suffixes; ful, ly, er. We practiced identifying the base word and the spelling changes that were or were not necessary before adding the appropriate suffix.

Math

We have been continuing our fraction unit and will wrap up in the next couple of days. We will take our Unit 8 assessment this week, I will send out an email with a date as we wrap up the last lesson. On Friday, we spent the day on the Everyday Mathematics website, playing the games that involve multiplication and fractions.

http://em-ccss.everydaymathonline.com/g_login.html

Science:

We have continued our Structures of Life science unit focusing on our crayfish (a.k.a crawdads, crawfish). Students have been working to identify the crayfish structures and behaviors, as well as comparing the crayfish to our Bess Beatles. This week students will take the assessment for this unit. You should expect your child to bring home a study guide on Monday.

Since this unit is concluding, I need to find homes for our 13 crayfish. I know your child may have already mentioned this to you. Know that I completely understand and support whatever decision you make. In order for your child to have a crayfish, I will need the attached letter in the email completed. I will also send home a copy on Monday so don't feel that you have to print this out. If I have more that 13 students that return their permission slip signed, I will have a random drawing. Students should will receive their crayfish on Thursday, March 14th.

Below are some pictures of the students working with the crayfish.