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.

Weekly Update: February 18th-22nd

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

I hope everyone was able to enjoy their snow day. The boys ventured outside yesterday to play in the snow. They lasted about 20 minutes. Cooper (almost 2) enjoyed eating the snow more than anything else. I have heard mention of more snow, hopefully it will miss us.

Language Arts:

This past week students read the informational text, The Journey: Stories of Migration by Cynthia Rylant. Students practiced the comprehension skill of using compare and contrast to help them understand the text. Students used a Venn Diagram to help them identify the ways a locust's migration compares/contrasts to that of a grey whale's migration. We also focused on visualizing as we were reading, using the details to picture what is happening in the text.

Spelling:

This week was a review of some of our previous spelling patterns:  adding -s, -es, -ed, -ing

Math:

We started Unit 8: Fractions on Tuesday, February 19th. Unit 8 has six main area of focus:

• To explore fractional and spatial relationships
• To introduce the number line for fractions
• To find equivalent fractions
• To compare fractions using region models
• To name quantities greater than 1 with fractions and mixed numbers
• To solve number stories involving fractions

Science:
We have done more hands-on investigations with our friends, the Bess Beetles. We(including myself) also practiced picking up the crayfish. Here are a few more pictures of some of the students with the Bess beetles.

Weekly Update: February 11th-15th

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

      We had a busy and exciting week! We enjoyed Mesa Pizza on Thursday, the kids couldn't believe the size of the slices. Macaroni pizza was a new experience for me and was it DELICIOUS!! The students impress me each day with their positive behavior, I have received many compliments on what a great class we have. I truly enjoy them, I always refer to them as my fabulous 3rd graders!!!

      Our Valentine's party was a success, the students enjoyed fruit kabobs, raspberry sherbet with Sprite, and opening their Valentines from their friends. A BIG thank you to Mrs. Kucera and Mrs. Greving for all of your help with the party. Thank you also to those of parents that donated items for the party. Mrs. Michaeli your hard work was appreciated, the kabobs were great!

     Enjoy the pictures below of our pizza and Valentine's party!

MMMMMMMMMM! Mesa Pizza!

 Valentine's Day Party

Check out Mrs. Martinez' Valentine's Day mailbox. The kids loved going inside and dropping off their Valentines!!

Language Arts:

This past week students read the fantasy text, Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg. Students practiced the comprehension skill of using story structure to help them better understand text.  Students identified the setting, characters, and plot. We focused on clarifying the main problem and solution within our text, identifying main events throughout the story.

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern focused on adding -ed and -ing to base words. We discussed doubling the consonant and dropping silent e before adding -ed or  -ing.

Math: We have been taking some time to review concepts/skills taught previously this school year. We will beginning Unit 8:Fractions on Tuesday, February 19th. Unit 8 has two primary objectives:

• To review the use of fractions and fraction notation
• To help students develop a solid understanding of equivalent fractions, or fractions that have the same value

Science: We are continuing to grow our bean plants and will measure it's growth each week.
We have some new visitors in our classroom as you can tell from the picture below. The students had the chance to touch and observe the Bess beetles and the features they possess. Some students were more excited than others. I will encourage the students to touch/handle the beetles, but they will not be forced. The crayfish also arrived today, I will post more pictures next week. The students have been wanting a class pet, I told them these are our temporary class pets:)

Weekly Update: February 4th-8th

Lemme

Leopards

Important Events

On Monday, February 11th, we will have a new face joining our classroom , Sally Gessner, a practicum student from the University of Iowa. We are excited to have Miss Gessner in our classroom!

Thursday, February 14th: Valentine's Day Party from 1:05-2:00

I attached a class list to a previous email for students to use to help fill out their Valentine's cards. Students will decorate a bag here at school, they are welcome to bring in special items to help them decorate their bag. We will plan to decorate on Wednesday.

Friday, February 15th: The Optimist Good Reader Program is due this Friday! Please check in with your child to see how they are progressing to complete all nine books. I have a checklist within the classroom that Miss Karen is helping me with, feel free to contact me if you would like to know how your child is doing with their summaries and reading.

Friday, February 15th: Indoor Movie Night at Lemme! Enjoy watching the Lorax from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in the Lemme Gym.

Wednesday, February 20th: Lemme Library Fund Night at Short's Burgers. Short's Burgers will donate 15% of the evening meals to the Lemme Library!

No school on the following days:

Monday, February 18th, Monday, February 25th, and Tuesday, February 26th.

Parent Teacher Conferences:

Thursday, February 21st, Tuesday, February 26th, and Thursday, February 28th

I will send home a conference reminder confirming your date/time. Please sign these and return these as soon as possible. I will also send home a Parent survey to gain feedback from you.

Pennies for Patients Drive ends February 22nd. Please continue to bring in your change. The class that raises the most money gets a pizza party!

Box Tops for Education: Student council is collecting Box Tops for education. If we reach our goal of 1,000 or more, Mrs. Martinez will let a student feed her messy foods while she is blind folded:)

Weekly Update: January 28th-February 1st

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

I hope you have been staying warm this last week and were able to enjoy the snow day. It has been a crazy week with me out on Monday and Tuesday, no school on Wednesday, and late starts on Thursday and Friday. The boys and I took time to make Valentine's sugar cookies on our snow day together. There was definitely a lot of sprinkles used, many on the cookie and the plate underneath:) Cooper (my youngest) was our taste tester and they were a success! Now, that is all he is asking for..more cookies!

Language Arts:

This past week students read the fantasy story, Dogzilla by Dav Pikey. Students practiced the comprehension skill of identifying the cause and effect and the comprehension strategy of summarizing.

Spelling:  This past week students focused on spelling the vowel sounds heard in cook and moon.

Math:  The last part of this week we spent some time on extended multiplication facts. These are multiplication facts that involve multiples of 10, 100 and so on.

For example: We know 3x8=24 so:

                                                                       30x8=240

                                                80x3=240

                                                30x80=2,400

                                                800x3=2,400

Science: Thank you so much for your donations of fruits for us to investigate. The students were put into groups of three and were given three different fruits for their group. Each group member estimated how seeds they thought would be inside. The students were surprised to find that many fruits have a ton of seeds. Students compared the properties of seeds of all of the fruits. We investigated the pomegranate together and each student was offered the chance to try a taste test. Most students tried it, and many came back for seconds.

Reminders:

Optimist Reader Program

Students should still be working on their Optimist Good Reader Program reading and summaries, due February 15th. They are working on these in school but can also be working on these at home. The following genres are the ones that students need to be reading:

• Poetry
• Science Fiction/Fantasy
• Non-fiction (2)
• Folktale
• Historical Fiction
• Realistic Fiction
• Biography
• Award Winning

Valentine's Day

Students will be decorating a Valentine's Day bag at school (to hold their Valentine's). We have 23 students in our class, I will send out another email attaching a class list. Students can address each one individually or they can also just sign their name, either way is fine. I reminded students that if they are bringing Valentine's that they bring one for everyone in the class. I also told students if they would like to bring in items to decorate their Valentine's bags they could. Please wait to send these items until it gets closer.

Weekly Update: January 22nd-25th

Lemme

Leopards



Hi Parents,

As you might have heard from your child, the flu bug hit our home this past week, leaving me feeling quite under the weather. Carson, my oldest was sick with me. I am crossing my fingers that the rest of my family stays healthy. While I was gone, I told the subs to sanitize, sanitize, and sanitize some more!! Love those Clorox wipes!

I wanted to let you know that I will also be out this coming week on Monday and Tuesday for some professional development. I have Mrs. Galbreth and Mr. Sanders covering my room these two days. 

Language Arts:

This past week students read the informational text, A Tree is Growing by Arthur Dorros. Students practiced the comprehension skill of using text and graphic features to help them better understand text.  Our Essential Question was: How can pictures and labels give you more information? 

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern focused on words with the /k/ sound spelled with ck, k, and c. We also had words that had the /kw/ sound spelled with the letters qu.

Math:

We started Unit 7:Multiplication and Division this past week. Unit 7 extends the basic multiplication and division skills that we learned in the first half of the year. Unit 7 has four main areas of focus:

• To review multiplication and division patterns
• To extend basic multiplication facts
• To practice making estimates of costs
• To explore ratios and geometric figures

Students have fact triangles that they have cut out at school. They keep these in the zipper pocket of their Leopard Books. Students should be bringing these home to practice each night. Please help your child remember to look for patterns when memorizing facts such as; when your multiply a number by 5, it will always have a 0 or 5 in the ones place. Also, reinforce the turn-around-rule, when your child learns 6x4, then they have also learned 4x6.

Here is the Everyday Mathematics website below, I encourage your child to play Baseball Multiplication. If it seems too difficult at first, have your child use their multiplication table to help them. I will sure to print one off for them to keep at home.

https://emgames.everydaymathonline.com/demosite/demo_chooser_3.html

Science

We are beginning our next science unit this week; Structures of Life. I sent out a previous email asking your help with bringing in fruits/vegetables for our investigation on seeds, thanks so much for your quick response; we seem to have everything covered. Please remember to bring in the item you signed up for by Tuesday, January 29th.

Reminders/Events:

Donations: We would love for all of the students in our class to have a 1" binder to replace their current Leopard Books. These binders hold the planners better; as well as papers and folders. Please let me know if you are willing to donate some binders, we only need five more and then every student will have one.

Optimist Reader Program

Students should still be working on their Optimist Good Reader Program reading and summaries, due February 15th. They are working on these in school but can also be working on these at home. The following genres are the ones that students need to be reading:

• Poetry
• Science Fiction/Fantasy
• Non-fiction (2)
• Folktale
• Historical Fiction
• Realistic Fiction
• Biography
• Award Winning

Reading Logs:
Just a reminder that reading logs are due Friday, February 1st. Students should have read 300 minutes for the month of January.