Ms. B. in Class

Hi there!

Last week, we ended the week with a football style community work station celebration.  The students enjoyed the group work and the quarter and halftime breaks.  In science, students were able to hold crayfish and start to study how they live and function.  We also worked on area and perimeter, opinion writing, and gaining a better understanding of stories.

This week, we will work on understanding how individuals contribute to our communities.  We will also work on understanding perspectives when reading literature while we gain a better understanding of area and perimeter.  Additionally, we will start to bring our unit on opinion to a close.

We will thoroughly examine those who made contributions to our country and world through Black History Month activities.  Your students will be assigned a different person in history each week.  They will be tasked with finding similarities between themselves and their person, and identifying how their assigned person contributed to society and changed lives.

Upcoming Events:

Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day

We will have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day on Valentine’s Day, February 14.  I’ll be sending home forms for contributions this week.

Nevada Reading Week – 2/25/19 – 3/1/19

We will have some great guest readers for Nevada Reading Week! If you would like to come in and read to our class as well, please let me know what time works best for you by filling out this form:  https://goo.gl/forms/CA9N21p1y3oR3JEZ2

Weekly homework is here:  2019-02-04 Homework

Do you have action figures (anything will work, in fact the more variety, the better) that you have in a box for a charity?  Are you considering cleaning out a toy box?  If so, our class would love your action figures.  We are going to do a STEM activity and it requires action figures.  If you any action figures that you aren’t using, please send them in with your student.

Our crayfish arrived this afternoon.  We will be exploring their behavior, habitat, and structure over the next couple of weeks.

On Friday, we will work a STEM activity that will tie into the Superbowl.  If your student would like to bring in a snack, they are welcome to.  Also, if you would like to send in snacks for the class, I’m sure they would love them.  Pretzels and chips are great ideas. (No nuts, please.  We have allergies to nuts and pineapple).

We worked on Cheez-It area problems today, and after solving questions using square Cheez-Its, they ate the fruit (or cheese) of their labor.  This is a great strategy for helping students understand area at home as well.

Next week we will begin working to gain a better understanding of Black History month.  Much of the work we do will be centered around the contributions African Americans have made to our country and to our world throughout history.  Make sure to ask your students about what they’ve learned!

We expected delivery of our crayfish last week, but it did not happen.  We’ve been informed that we will get them on Tuesday.  I am looking forward to the experience as much as they are.

This week we will build our vocabulary and knowledge of stories and poems as we continue to read our class novel, Stone Fox.  This all reinforces students ability to refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

In writing, we will continue to draft opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. Your students have learned the acronym OREREO and ate OREOs while writing.

In math, we will start a unit on area and perimeter.  We will learn multiple strategies so students will be able to recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement, and solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons.

I’ve attached the following to your student’s homework packet.  Please take the time to read.

As we continue around the corner of our 3rd grade year, I wanted to take a moment to make sure students understand homework expectations.

Students can complete digital homework. Math will be aligned to our standards upon which we are working for the week. Students can work on ST Math, Socrates, or Prodigy for 20 minutes per night instead of completing the paper packet.

Xtramath.org:

I’ve had some parents reach out to me and state that their students are struggling with Xtramath. This is because students are not yet fluent with their addition and subtraction facts. Doing one session of Xtramath per night can change how your student feels about math computation. Please encourage them to do it.

Reading and Writing:
Students are required to start sentences with a capital letter and a period from now until the end of time (that’s what I tell them). All homework should have complete sentences for answers. All paragraphs for writing should be indented. All sentences should be reread to make sure they make sense. Students can and should self edit.

Comprehension question responses should restate the question and the response should contain a portion of the text as an answer. Example of a 3rd grade response to this week’s comprehension question:

Q. Why was Dental Health Month created?
A. Dental Health Month was created to increase awareness of the importance of good dental care and hygiene.

Homework Options:

• Students can complete digital math or the paper packet as detailed above.
• Students can complete paper comprehension questions or complete the assigned
  Readworks.org article on the computer. The questions must be answered as indicated above.
• Students must complete paper fluency each week.
• If there is a specific writing assignment, students can complete the draft on paper and the final on Google Docs.
• Students must read each night and log what they read.

Thanks for helping me prepare your students for the transition to 4th grade. Have a great week!

Ms. Boelter

This week’s homework:  2019-01-28 homework

This week, we will start a unit on poetry.  We will learn that poems are made of stanzas and work to understand how each stanza builds and creates the poem’s story.  We will refer to the term “stanza” when speaking or writing about poetry.

In Social Studies, we will get to know Dr. King Jr. a little bit better.  We will also begin a unit on communities where we explore the different types communities and how they compare and contrast to our community.  This will tie directly into our reading of Stone Fox.

Last week in science, we started our life and animal survival unit.  This week, we should be get our class crayfish.  We will have four to eight crayfish in class.  Through close observation, students can learn interesting details about animal structures while developing sensitivity to the needs of living organisms.

 

In math, we will bring our three digit addition and subtraction unit to a close.  If your student is struggling with this classwork or homework, xtramath.org really helps give students confidence as they perform more advanced mathematical computations.

Students should continue to work on their book challenge nightly, reading for 20 minutes.  This can be any type of reading, as long as a record is kept of how many pages were read.  Students can complete digital homework.  Freckle, ST Math, Socrates, and Prodigy are aligned with what we are currently learning.

Our homework for the week:  2019-01-21 homework

Things you should know:

Order Your Yearbook!

Girls on the Run is taking applications now!

Moms and Muffins is Friday January 25!

Your students may have talked to you this week about Flipgrid.  We started using it this week to record our goals and will use it to respond to questions and demonstrate knowledge through the remainder of the year.  They are pretty excited about it.  You can learn more here:  Flipgrid

This week students will start reading their new novel.  We will read Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.  Before we start reading the novel, we will learn all about the Iditarod including some interactive lessons where students can choose their own course as they learn about the race.  Additionally, we are hoping to have a couple of video phone calls from some people who live in Alaska and who have watched the race.  While reading the book and learning about the race, students will work on referring to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

In math, we worked on addition strategies last week.  This week, we will work on subtraction strategies.  I have a PDF that really aids in the understanding of some of the strategies we are using.  Additionally, the Khan Academy videos are really helpful.  We are working toward being able to fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Finally, we are working on drafting opinions in writing.  If students come home talking about Oreos, you can blame me.

In 3rd grade, our pace really picks up in this second semester.  Students will be required to complete work more efficiently.

Report cards went home on Friday.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.  I’m happy to make time so we can discuss any of your concerns.  We planned on sending home some field trip information this week, but we are unable to until after the government shutdown is resolved.  As soon as we know dates, you will receive the information.

Students can complete digital homework again this week.  In fact, they have been assigned a Readworks article for the week.  They can complete this by logging in with their google account on http://www.readworks.org.

Paper homework is available here:  2019-01-13 homework

I hope you enjoyed winter break with your students. I enjoyed the time off, but I did miss their smiling faces. I was listening to the stereo with a friend over break and Imagine Dragons’ Thunder came on. The kids chose this as our classroom song. When it played, I realized how much I missed them!

This week, we will review some of the things covered in the last month of 2018. We will also work on classroom community and behavior expectations. We will revisit our chrome book classroom policy as well our student created classroom rules and expectations.

All students will complete paper homework this week. It will help students get back into the routine of recording nightly homework and being responsible for returning it daily. Next week, digital homework will be an option.

Students will have fluency each night. They should read the passage aloud for 1 minute. Review unknown words and record correct words per minute and errors on the bottom of the page. They should do this each night for one minute. They see their growth each night and over the course of the week.

I’ve also included a writing task (one paragraph to be completed by the end of the week). We will create a similar paragraph in class. Monday night is brainstorming. Tuesday students write a draft topic sentence, and then a beginning, middle, and end sentence before writing a concluding sentence. Some parents/students like to add the first couple of sentences to Monday night’s work. I understand that preference. On Wednesday, they use their sentences to write a first draft. On Thursday they make corrections and write a final draft. It is important they do some of the writing each night. If they don’t, Thursday night homework can become painful. I’ve also included a writing rubric, a writing checklist, and a list of transition words for reference while writing.

In math, we will review elapsed time and rounding each day before working on addition strategies.

In reading, we will revisit 3rd grade standards for point of view and comparing and contrasting. Next week, we will start our next class novel.

Report cards will come home on Friday. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

This week’s homework: 2019-01-07-homework.pdf

Please join our classmate Zaden on Sunday for some skating fun.  A portion of the proceeds from the event will go directly to Zaden.  🙂

 

Students and Parents,

I hope you are all enjoying your winter holiday break.  Thank you again for being great additions to our classroom and community!

I told students on Friday that I would reward them with gold if they were able to go on Lexia or ST Math six times for 20 minutes over break.  Also, if they will be rewarded with additional incentives if they meet their individual ST Math goals.  I understand you may be away from home for some of this time, so I did my best to make the time spent keeping those skills fresh to six days of work for 40 minutes a day.

If you have any questions or if your student did not bring home their Lexia password, please feel free to email me.  Enjoy your time with your kids!

Ms. B

Lexia and ST Math login through:  http://stuckeyelementary.wixsite.com/stuckey/resources

Thanks to all of you who were able to make it to Spider-Man this morning.  We had a good time!  My son had a great time meeting the rest of my boys and girls.  Thanks for all that you do.  You are the best parents a classroom could have.  The Browns ducked out of this picture somehow….

Many thanks to Ms. Lisa for always going above and beyond in many ways and making such a huge contribution to our classroom, including on the first day of her break.  You are appreciated!

 

Tomorrow our students will travel to and from each of the 3rd grade classrooms to learn about how holidays are celebrated in five different countries.

I have 30 tickets for the movie on Saturday.  The times changed (like last week) to 10:30 a.m.  If this new time presents a problem, let me know.  I am excited about seeing the movie again!

Don’t forget we have a fun cookie decorating party on Friday.  Send in your cookies with your students.

Thanks for all of your help and all that you do!