February 24- 28

Our Last Week of February

This year is really flying by! I am posting early because I will not be at school Monday due to meetings for the new Common Core Standards.   

I pushed the students very hard this week, as we are preparing to take the BIG TEST!  Some of the things that we are focusing on for the state test in English Language Arts are; 1. reading the questions first to find important words or details that we can think about while reading, 2. reading the passage twice- once for flow, and once for content, 3. going back to the text to find answers, 4. restating the questions in our constructed response answers to ensure that we are answering the correct question, and that we are trying our best to use proper grammar.  All of these take significant time.  And for some, it takes longer than others.  This can make for a longer period of focus time.  Hopefully by the test, they will have the confidence they need and will be prepared to ROCK IT!  

In Math, students will learn the problem solving skill of Logical Reasoning.  They will then work on measuring temperature.  We will begin preparing for our chapter test on Wednesday, and will then test on Thursday.  I have added a link under the spelling words to help with measurement.  Third grade is challenging enough, and hits metric units of measurement.  The students have used the site in computers, so they will be familiar with navigating this.    

We will venture back into the world of Social Studies!  I am soooooo excited!  We will begin the unit by discussing about how Missouri becomes a state, and move into Missouri's role in Westward Expansion.  

In Spelling, students will focus in adding suffixes and prefixes, and homophones.  We will test on Friday.  

In Reading, we are going to tackle the tough!  Although sequencing is something most students at this stage are fluent at, sequencing with FLASHBACKS can be more difficult.  We are going to take some time to help students recognize that sometimes, characters think back to an event in their life to help the story develop.  The hard part is being able to sequence all of it together.  Mrs. Kelly and myself have located several picture books to assist in this.  Hopefully, this will be a piece of cake by the end of the week! 

In English Language Arts, students will discuss different genres, and how these can change the way we write.  As readers, they are very familiar with the different reading genres, and what to expect as we read them.  This week, we hope to bridge the gap and help students see that they are able to write in different ways, for different purposes.  We will do something called "Genre Switch".  Students will begin writing in their notebooks about any topic- fiction, or nonfiction.  I will periodically call out a new genre, and they are to continue with the same story, only write as the new genre asks them to.  These can be super fun...and funny...  by the time we are through!

On Friday, our Accelerated Reader program is having a competition to try to have five MILLION AR tests taken in one day.  Any school in the United States that uses the Accelerated Reader program will be working towards this goal.  I will encourage students to wait for quizzes until Friday to see that their test scores will help make the goal (or work towards it!)!  We will have extra computers (hopefully working) to make sure that students have the opportunity to test.  

February 17- 21

Progress Report Week

Good morning!  I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend.  We should have had a longer weekend, but we are using today (President's Day) as a Make-Up day.  

This week in Math, we will start our week off with a test.  The students will use their notebooks for this unit.  The test involves conversions, so hopefully they will feel better about the test with the weight of knowing unit conversions off of their shoulders.  On Tuesday, we will begin our unit on metric units.  We will work with capacity and mass, and their conversions.

In Science, we will get back into the book.  They are ready for the Science Fair (hopefully) which is on Wednesday evening from 6-8.  I would say that arriving just a few minutes early would be plenty.  Everything will be set up for them.  In the book, students will be learning about nonrenewable resources, and how to conserve those resources.  On Wednesday, we will give students a study guide for their test on Friday.  

In Spelling, we will prepare for our test that will be on Tuesday.  Students will receive a new list on Wednesday.  I will update the list after the test on Tuesday.  This unit will focus on /k/ and /s/ sounds, as well as adding suffixes.  

 In Reading, we will focus on MAP-like questions and answers.  We will take advantage of the President's Day holiday and read about several presidents this week.  Our focus will be on eliminating multiple choice options, and answering constructed response questions by restating the question, and answering in complete sentences with details from the text.  This is something that most students are in need of!

In English Language Arts, students will write a movie review using facts that support their opinion about a topic (the movie).  These should be really fun!

Math Test

UPDATE

Our Math test will be Monday.  I will allow them to use their binders, since it involves conversions.  Have a great weekend!

Progress Reports

The date that progress reports go home has changed.  They will now go home on Tuesday, February 18.  Look for them then!

February 10- 14

Repeat!

Since we missed the majority of the week last week the scheduled plans will remain.  The only difference for our week involve our Friendship Party on Thursday at 2:00, and a half day (make-up) on Friday.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I am unsure at this time if progress reports will still go home on Thursday, but I will update the blog if this date changes.  Expect it on Thursday unless otherwise updated here.

Have a great week!

February 3- 7

It's beginning to look a lot like....February?!

From the forecasts for this week, I am not sure how much of this will be done this week.  I hope that the meteorologists are giving us worst -case -scenarios and that we will be here more than a few days this week.  But, as it is, we will plan on a full week until otherwise noted.  If we happen to have a few snow days, whatever we do not get to this week will be carried on to next week.  Unfortunately, that could mean a really busy week next week, and possible homework on Friday.  I hate doing that, but we are at crunch time.

This week in Math, we will continue our unit on measurement.  We will discuss capacity and weight.  We will also begin to convert customary units.  We will spend a couple of days on this since it is a more challenging task.

In Science, we will be preparing for our Science Fair.  On February 19 from 6-8, students will present a group experiment.  We have completed these all in class, and will showcase our knowledge of the scientific process at the Science Fair.  

In Spelling this week, we will begin with a new list of words.  We will work with contractions, r following a vowel, and suffixes.  

In Reading, students will work on fact and opinion.  We will use the newspaper to determine the difference in vocabulary and presentation of each.

In English Language Arts, students will continue working on their Fractured Fairy Tales, and hopefully have their final drafts completed by Friday.