I hope you all are staying warm and healthy during these winter months. I finally have all my friends back in the classroom, and I’m so excited! I plan to send a progress report home on Friday, as trimester two ends on February 25.
Map testing starts this week. We take one this week and two next week. Although there is snow on the ground, we still go out for recess. We are permitted outside if the weather is 20 degrees or above. For the most part, my friends tend to have their things. Please remind them to bring those every day. If they do not need their snow gear at home, they can leave it in their lockers. The memory verse due February 8 is Genesis 8:22 → “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer, and winter, day and night shall not cease. “ Reading: This week in reading, we are continuing our work with main idea and details. Challenge them at home to identify the main idea in the different stories they are reading :) We will also work with root words, suffixes, and prefixes. We will close out our current math and science units on Thursday and Friday. Their math test will be Thursday. Their science test will be Friday.
0 Comments
I hope you guys are staying healthy and warm during these colder days that we are having!
Map testing begins on Jan 31. We will take one test next week and two the following week. Grace is hosting an open house on Sunday from 1-2:30 pm, so if you know of any parents looking to change schools, encourage them to stop by. Math: We started our unit on multiplying multiples of 10. We learned four different ways or tricks to solve equations. Our favorite one is the "invisible 0" trick. We will spend about a week covering the material. Depending on how things go, our test will be next Wednesday or Thursday Reading: We are back in our daily 4 rotations. I meet with each group and work on the different skills for the week. When I work with them, we focus on the genre and comprehension skills. This week those skills are expository text, main idea & details, and summarization. All of our stories this week will be about Earth and its neighbors. Science: We are wrapping up our second science chapter. We will begin the review process on Friday. They have really enjoyed this unit as we've used balloons to create static electricity and turned paperclips into magnets. Their science test is set for Tuesday, but I will push it back if we need to review more. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things. January is flying by fast! Their Tuesday folders will come home on Thursday as I am out on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday & Friday, they will bring home information about their Black History Month Project. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. The memory verse due January 25 is Genesis 1:28 → God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea, and over the birds in the sky. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ (International Children’s Bible version ICB) Math: We are wrapping up our division chapter. We will take our test on Friday. Our next chapter will focus on multiplying multiples of 10. The chapter isn’t long, about three chapters, so we will spend roughly about a week on it. After that, we will begin to look at patterns and multiplication tables. Reading: We started a new read-aloud, How to Eat Fried Worms. They really seem to enjoy hearing about someone eating worms with different toppings. This week in reading, we’re covering future-tense verbs and idioms. We’re reviewing historical fiction, prefixes, and cause & effect. Since we are reading historical fiction stories, we will read about interactions with famous people such as Jackie Robinson and Abraham Lincoln. Important Dates:
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break! We are taking time this week to relearn some routines, such as what we do in the morning, turning things in, how our papers should look, and some daily 4 things.
Just a few reminders, the homework will go up every Monday night or early Tuesday morning on the class Weebly. They will bring home their memory verse slips in their Tuesday folders, and if they happen to lose it, you can find the verse on the class Weebly as well. The memory verse due January 18 is Genesis 1:27 → So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (NRSV) Religion: We are starting a new unit that focuses on the beginning and the fall into sin. As we navigate through those stories, we will learn about the days of creation, the first sin between Adam and Eve, and how God felt about their choice. We will also learn about Cain and Abel and how Cain’s actions lead us to Noah and his Ark. The last lesson in the unit that we will cover talks about the tower of Bable. Math: We picked back up where we left off in topic 4. We reviewed fact families, and how we can use multiplication to help us divide. I taught them to ask “what times this number will give me that number?” A quick example is, what times 8 will give me 16? The answer is 2, so 16 divided by 8 equals 2. We will continue to work on connecting multiplication and division. Please continue to have them practice their math facts at home. If need be, have them create fact families at home, as that will help them remember their facts. Our math test is set for next Friday, January 21. Reading: We are taking a break from our daily 4 rotations, as we are missing a few friends this week. However, we are reviewing what they should do during the rotations without actually rotating. This week in reading, we are covering past-tense verbs and contractions. We are reviewing folktales and synonyms. Since folktales use animals to help teach the lessons, we talked about the differences of different animals and how those differences make them unique. Science: We are starting our electricity and magnetism chapter this week. We did a gallery walk that involved them answering some questions about topics we will cover in this chapter. They will watch some Generation Genius videos, some Bill Nye youtube episodes, and an episode of Magic School Bus. The plan is also for them to do some hands-on projects with magnets and static electricity using balloons. Important dates:
We are almost at the close of the first half of the school year! :( We still have some things to finish before the fun really begins! This year 3rd grade will be doing secret Santa. They will be drawing names tomorrow, and the gift should come to school with them on Wednesday, December 22. They will exchange them during the Christmas party. The gift should be no more than $10. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
The memory verse due December 21 is Luke 2: 6-7 (paragraph 3 on their word sheet) Math: We started talking about division this week. We are learning how to you our multiplication skills to help us divide. We will pick up on this topic when we return from winter break. Social Studies: I moved some things around, and we will be able to take our test on Friday, December 17. I will set aside time the following week if we should need to retake the test. We’ve already gone through the practice test in the book, and we will take one that will mimic their actual test. I will provide them with a review sheet and, we will play a jeopardy review game. Important Dates:
Their Tuesday Folders will be on the lighter side of things due to me injuring my right hand. Next week they will have more, along with their progress reports.
In social studies, we are learning about economic choices. The project that the book called for is a lemonade stand, but due to it being cold outside, we're going to do hot chocolate as well. I could use two volunteers to help run the tables. So, if you are free Friday, December 17, from 12:00-1:00, please let me know. The memory verse due December 14 is Luke 2: 3-5 (paragraph 2 on their word sheet) Math: They will have a math test on Friday to close out topic 3. We will then move into topic 4, which focuses heavily on division. However, we will use our multiplication background to help us. We will also learn about fact families and how they can help us remember our products. Please be continue to have them practice their math facts! Social studies: We are almost done with our second social studies chapter. We will finish all of the lessons this week. However, due to the Christmas Eve rehearsal schedule, our test will be on December 21. If that date changes, I will be sure to communicate that. I will provide them with a review sheet, and we will also play a review game. Important dates:
November has flown by so fast. It seems like it was just yesterday when we were remote learning.
The memory verse due December 7 is Luke 2:1-2 (paragraph 1 on their word sheet) Religion: In our Christmas unit, we are talking more about God and how he chose ordinary people, such as Moses, Mary, Samuel, and Ruth, to do extraordinary things. These ordinary people will eventually create the foundation for the birth of Jesus. As we learn about these ordinary people, we discuss what God wanted them to do and how they responded. The result will be several videos that the students record that I will post in GroupMe. Math: We spent a lot of time working on the distributive property of multiplication, so we are cruising through the follow-up lessons. However, we will soon learn about the associative property. If all goes to plan, we will have our topic 3 test next Thursday or Friday. Reading: Most of our skill focuses for the week are a repeat of two weeks (author’s pov and expository text). They do amazing with explaining the POV of an author is about what they think or feel about a topic. They're also doing great with identifying the POV from different stories. We introduced suffixes this week and, we talked about some of the common ones that we see every day. So, now that they know what prefixes and suffixes are, they like to announce them anytime they see them in other classes such as math and social studies. Important dates:
I am so glad to have all of my friends back in the classroom! Friday was the last day for trimester 1, so their report cards are in their Tuesday folder. Trimester 2 started Monday, and I know they are all going to do amazing things just as they did in trimester 1.
Next Tuesday, November 23, is our Thanksgiving Potluck! I am looking forward to gathering and giving thanks together with my friends. Our potluck will be from 12-1. The memory verse due November 23 is Matthew 5:3-5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” Religion: We are moving through our chapel unit, which focuses on hunger and how God feels about those in need. We’ve talked about those in need and what we can do to help those in need. As we move forward, we will look closer at what God wants us to do. Our chapel service will be on November 23. If you can attend, please join us. Chapel begins at 8:25. Math: We will take our math test to close out topic two tomorrow. On Thursday, we will move into topic 3. Reading: This week, we are learning about the author’s point of view, prefixes, silent letters, and combining sentences. We are reviewing expository text by reading different pieces of informational text. Our essential question this week is how do people make the government work, so the stories that we read in class will be related to voting. We will also have a chance to practice voting, which they are pretty excited about. We made it through our remote weeks! We are due back together in the classroom this Friday, November 12. If any of my friends will continue to be remote that day, please let me know. I will be sure to put things on Google Classroom for them to complete.
Religion: Every year, each class leads a chapel service. Our original date was November 17. Due to us being remote, we will now lead the service before Thanksgiving. So, if you are free from around 8:25-9:00 on November 23, please join us! Math: We are cruising through our multiplication topics. They are doing amazing with solving equations and word problems using the strategies that we’ve learned. We will complete the last lesson on Friday. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, we will complete a practice test and play a review game. On Wednesday, November 17, we will take our test. In topic 3, we will learn more multiplication properties such as the associative and distributive properties. Social Studies: We finished our first science chapter today, so we will begin our new social studies chapter tomorrow. This chapter is a very fun one as we will put together a lemonade or hot chocolate stand. In this chapter, they will learn about goods, services, needs, wants, producers, consumers, imports, and exports. They will also learn about the three types of resources such as capital, natural and human. Important Dates:
Please know that all of you are in my thoughts and prayers as we navigate through these challenging weeks ahead. Due to us being remote, the progress reports never made it home. The trimester is over on the 12th and report cards will be sent home on the 16th. So, we will see progress reports another time.
My Wiz Kids are adjusting fairly well to being remote, which gives me the hope that we will only have to overcome technology setbacks. Please do not hesitate to ask questions as we are in this together and, I will do my best to answer every question and solve every problem. As per the email from Mr. Koehne, there are no classes tomorrow. Reading: We are reviewing the topics from last week so that we can take the reading test from Friday. We've reviewed making predictions and finding the theme. In grammar, we talked about nouns, with the focus being singular and plural nouns. We are taking a break on our paragraph writing projects as we were in the middle of peer and teacher review. When we all return to the classroom, we will restart those. Math: We will close out topic one when we resume school, which will hopefully be Thursday. Their test will be online via Savvas. They will stay on zoom during that time, and I will place them each in their own breakout room to ensure that they can work without distractions but can ask me questions like they would in the classroom. Science: It just seems like we won’t get to have our outdoor experience, so it will, unfortunately, have to move to another day. It could be a fun end-of-the-year activity so, I will keep it in my back pocket. We will start reviewing for our first science test towards the end of this week. I anticipate the test being Thursday, November 11. We will play some review games and complete two practice tests before we take the actual test. Important dates:
Thank you to all of the parents/family members that came and helped us celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on both days! We truly appreciate it! We look forward to doing it again! This Friday, I will be sending home progress reports. As of right now, none of my friends have any missing work, which is a great thing. If that changes, I will send the work home on Friday with a due date. If you have any questions before or after Friday, please let me know. The memory verse due November 2 is Ephesians 4:32 → “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Reading: Our Daily 4 rotations are off to a good start. This week we introduced work on writing, which was deemed early on the best center. In this center, they can enjoy some free writing time. There are a lot of different things for them to do. They can roll dice to create stories or use task cards to answer some creative questions. Math: Topic 1 is slowly coming to a close. Topic 1 gave them foundational skills for multiplication and division, such as drawing bar diagrams, using number lines, and repeated addition/subtraction. When there is time left in the class period, we’ve enjoyed playing a round of Kaboom, which involves them drawing a stick from a cup and answering the equation on the stick. If they get the question correct, they keep the stick. If they’re incorrect, the stick goes back in the cup, and they have to wait for their turn again. If they get a KABOOM, then ALL of their sticks go back into the cup. It’s a very fun game, and they love it, so you could incorporate it at home as they review their math facts. With the end of this topic approaching, I anticipate the test being Wednesday, November 3. Science: We are slowly finishing up our first science chapter. We learned about motion and how to predict future patterns. We also learned about friction and will learn how force plays a big part in all of it. On Monday, weather permitting, we will conduct our outdoor learning extravaganza. I will include information about that in the email later today. Important Dates:
We are having a blast in 3rd grade! We are having part 2 of our Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration this Friday. You should have received an email yesterday, and another one will come out on Thursday with the final details and location. Please let me know by Thursday at noon if you'll be joining us. The memory verse due October 26 is Ephesians 4:29 → “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. Reading: We are phasing into a Daily 5 teaching method, so things are a little abnormal. We now have reading groups, and each group's name is after the houses in Harry Potter. Each week we will add a new center rotation until all of them are functioning. This week we introduced word work, which gives them more time to practice their spelling and vocabulary words in class. Math: We moved into a new topic on Friday, multiplication, and division. In this topic, we started with connecting what we already know, adding and subtracting, to what we are trying to learn, multiplying and dividing. Please continue to have them use their flashcards at home. Science: We are having a great time learning about motion and forces. I have an outdoor exploration activity that I am putting together to give them some hands-on experience with what we are learning and would like some parent volunteers, about 3-5, to help with that. So, be on the lookout for an email on Friday with some details. If you are not free, no worries at all! Important Dates:
I enjoyed chatting with all of you last week! If you have any more questions or concerns, please let me know. We have another week of no memory work. This Friday, we will wrap up our Hispanic Heritage Month unit that we’ve been working on with the 4th graders. I will be sure to take a lot of pictures!
Religion: We are working on our new unit focusing on the book of Ephesians. In this unit, we will learn about God and what he wants from us. We will talk about walking in the footsteps of Jesus and obeying God. We will also discuss the armor of God and how it’s not physically something that we wear, but it’s something that we carry with us to protect us in our day-to-day lives. Math: We will be wrapping up topic 9 this Thursday. We will then begin working on multiplication and division, which will span about five topics. We will learn the relationship between multiplication and division first. We will demonstrate our foundation knowledge of repeated addition to solve multiplication equations. We will also learn some properties, such as the commutative property of multiplication. Please encourage them to practice their math facts (flashcards) at home to build their fluency. Reading: We are back in our reading books this week. We will continue our lessons on biographies and cause & effect. We will read about Mary Anderson and Elijah McCoy and the things that they invented. We will also learn about Judy Baca. We will have some Halloween fun and practice our similes and metaphors. In writing, we are working on writing paragraphs. At the end of the unit, we will all have a paragraph about our favorite restaurant. Science: We started our first chapter this week. It covers motion and forces. We will watch some videos, conduct some experiments, play some games, and hopefully take a field trip tied to this topic. Same as our first chapter test for social studies, we will take our first test together. Important Dates:
Thank you all for an awesome walk-a-thon! It was probably the most successful and entertaining walk I’ve had thus far.
Religion: Our first unit was about learning to understand God’s word. I always start by telling them that they are becoming Bible Explorers. We learned several things in this first unit. We know the different parts of the Bible, such as a Bible concordance. We practiced and will continue to practice how to dissect verses. We've also practice praying and how to spend time alone with God. This unit sets the tone for our future and brings them closer to God in their journeys. Math: We will close out the topic next week. We are working through the remainder of lessons working on adding and subtracting using strategies. Please encourage them to use some of those strategies at home so that they can lock them in. The math test is next Thursday, October 14. Reading: We are taking another break from our reading books. We are learning about the skills that we will be focusing on next week. This week we will read some biographies, such as The Crayon Man, and practice pulling out information about that person. We will also practice sequencing the events of their lives. We will also practice cause and effect and how it can help order the events. We will read some newer picture books, but also some classics, such as Alexander and the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day. Social Studies: These guys have been busy in class! Along with our Hispanic Heritage Month unit with 4th grade, we’ve also been cruising through chapter 1 in social studies. We learned about so many wonderful things! We've learned about the seas, lakes, and oceans. We've learned about the seven continents and five regions. We've learned about renewable and nonrenewable resources such as soil, oil, and trees. Even with all those things we're learning, they still found time to research National Parks around the US. I’m so proud of what they’re doing! We started reviewing for our test on Monday and will take it together on Thursday. Important dates:
We are rockstars in 3rd grade! They are collecting so much bonus money that I’ve had to print out more.
Walk-a-thon is this Friday. Please be sure to have them wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. We will walk about 3 miles that day. Dismissal will be at 11:30 that day. We have two map tests this week, one tomorrow on Wednesday and the other on Thursday. The memory verse due October 5 is Psalm 119:11-12 → “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes.” Math: We are cruising through topic 9, which is still focusing on addition and subtraction. Most of my friends have deemed everything easy, and I am happy that they feel that way. We should wrap up this unit in a couple of weeks and then move into multiplication and division. So, please start having this use their multiplication and division flashcards at home. Social Studies: We are having so much fun working with our 4th-grade friends! Mrs. Brucato and I are thinking of more projects that we can do together. If you have a Hispanic background and would like to come in on October 15, please let me know! The kiddos would be so proud and would love to hear from you! We will wrap up lesson four in the next couple of days, which will ultimately mean the end of chapter 1. I anticipate our first social studies test being Thursday, October 7th. Important Dates:
|
Author
Archives
May 2022
Categories |