Embedded Files
News to Know
Literacy:
Our essential question for Unit 1 Week 5 was "How do landmarks help us understand our country's story?" People often visit landmarks and monuments to learn about important people, places, or symbols in our country's history. We read argumentative texts and built knowledge about American landmarks. Our vocabulary study focused on the words carved, clues, grand, landmark, massive, monument, national, and traces. The texts we read included "America's Landmarks and Memorials", "Preserve and Protect", "Protecting Our Parks", and "5 Questions for George McDonald". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, text features: captions, maps, and sidebars, and learning to identify the central idea and relevant details. Our phonics skill taught us that the long sound of "o" can be made in different ways such as o, ow, o_e, oa, and oe. Our grammar lessons taught us how to combine simple sentences to add variety to writing by using a comma and the coordinating conjunctions and, or, or but. We are continuing to work on writing our personal narratives.
Math:
We used multiplication properties and division rules as strategies to multiply and divide with 1 and 0. The students were introduced to the Associative Property of Multiplication and reviewed the Commutative Property of Addition and Multiplication, the Associative Property of Addition, the Identity Property of Addition and Multiplication, and the Zero Property of Multiplication. We solved word problems involving multiplication and division and built fluency with 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 9s, and 10s. We will be completing Unit 1 and testing next week before the MEA break from school. Please encourage your child to continue to practice facts on a daily basis and bring his/her study sheet in to get tested on them.
Social Studies:
We reviewed our map skills, locations of continents and oceans, and completed the assessment pieces on these skills. We will create our own maps, and then start learning about landforms next week.
Future World Changer:
Our featured student this week was Callan Forster! If they made a stamp with Callan on it, it would be a picture of him. A person from history he would like to meet is his Grandpa. In social studies Callan would like to learn about what kinds of weapons they used in WWII. A place he would like to visit is Chad, because that's his dad's name. He shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, his sister being born, and different birthdays he celebrated. He shared pictures of himself at a cabin, jumping off a pontoon, with his sisters, mom, and dad, with his uncle's dog, a picture of himself as a baby, and himself making a snowman. His favorite things are his TV and his X-Box. Some of his other favorites include: color - pink, food - spaghetti, animal - axolotl, subject - P.E., sport - football, season - winter, holiday - Christmas, and games - Roblox and Fortnite. If Callan could have a super power he would want to be able to fly so he could fly to school. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Thank you to everyone who signed up for a slot to help with a treat or supply for our upcoming Halloween party on Friday, October 31st. We are still in need of 6 large rolls of toilet paper to have enough for our "wrap the mummy" game if anyone is able to contribute that supply.
We celebrated two birthdays this week - Tate Sanquist and Desi Terres!
Fall has arrived and the weather is getting cooler, so please be sure to send a jacket to school with your child for outdoor recess.
Next week is a short week with early dismissal on Wednesday and no school on Thursday or Friday.
Literacy:
Our essential question for Unit 1 Weeks 3 and 4 was "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" Traditions such as food, clothing, music, and dance can teach us more about a culture. Our vocabulary study focused on the words: celebrate, courage, disappointment, precious, pride, remind, symbols, and tradition. The texts we read included "Ready for Aloha!", "The Dream Catcher", "Yoon and the Jade Bracelet", and "Family Traditions". We practiced finding text evidence, visualizing parts of stories to strengthen our comprehension, and learning about character perspective and character development. We also learned about antonyms, how to use context clues to determine the meanings of words we are not familiar with, and made dream catchers using paper plates, yarn, feathers, and beads. Our phonics skills included learning that silent e at the end of a word makes the vowel long, and that the long sound of "a" can be made in different ways such as ai, ay, a_e, eigh, and ey. Our grammar lessons taught us to identify the subject and predicate of sentences. We also worked on proofreading sentences to find and fix errors. Many children are coming to school without an A.R. book, saying they forgot it at home. Thank you in advance for helping your child to remember to put his/her book in his/her backpack on a daily basis along with the purple folder and three ring binder. We use these items in school every day.
We started Walk To Read this week. Each child was placed in a class to best meet his/her needs and help him/her grow as a reader.
Math:
We learned to identify and use patterns to multiply and divide with 9, 3, and 4. We learned a special trick for multiplying and dividing by nine using our fingers as tools. Ask your child to show you how this works for 9s. We also learned the 5s shortcut when multiplying other numbers. The students practiced building fluency with their multiplication and division facts involving 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 9s, and 10s, solved word problems, used variables to represent numbers, and learned to make fast array drawings for equations. We also learned how to use the area model for multiplication and practiced using the Distributive Property of Multiplication to solve area problems. We learned how to use strategy cards to practice our multiplication and division facts. The children brought a paper set of these home. You can use them at home to help your child practice facts. They do not need to be returned to school. Some children are bringing their Study Sheets in to be tested on their facts, while many haven't started testing on their facts yet. Having a strong foundation of multiplication and division facts is important going forward in our math curriculum. Thank you in advance for helping your child practice facts on a daily basis and reminding him/her to give me the study sheet when he/she is ready to be tested on a set of facts.
During our math rotation time the students have learned the strategy games Gobblet and Tic Tac Chec. They have also learned how to play Multiplication Towers, how to work on centers, and use technology to strengthen the math skills we are working on in class.
Social Studies:
We learned about road maps, political maps, and physical maps. We also used a map key/legend to read and identify information on maps. We learned to use a map grid to locate places on a map, and a map scale to determine distance on a map. We practiced using a compass rose to navigate and locate places on a map of the United States. We also reviewed the location of the continents and oceans. The children will receive a blank map early next week where they will need to show that they know the locations of the continents and oceans. They have had a map in their purple folders to practice with since last week and brought a larger one home this week. We read stories about the geography in different parts of the world, and how where people live often times affects how they live, the jobs they have, foods they eat, and how they travel. We also have SEL lessons during our Social Studies time block. This month we are focusing on the Character Strong trait of RESPECT. An informational family letter on respect was emailed to you earlier this week.
Future World Changer:
Last week our featured student was Drake Blonigen! If they made a stamp for Drake it would have his picture on it. He would like to visit Europe or Alaska because there is fun stuff to do there. In social studies Drake would like to learn about different countries. A person from history he would like to meet is Michael Jordan because he is the best basketball player. Drake shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, building their family cabin, getting a dog, flying to Maine and his first time on a plane, going to a Timberwolves game, and going to Florida. Drake has one brother and one sister. He shared pictures of the bass he caught. He also fishes for sunfish and northerns. Drake likes baseball, basketball, football, and Huskie games. He likes to play Fortnight, jump on the trampoline, ride his electric scooter, play pickleball, and play chess. Some of his favorites include: sport - basketball, food - tacos, animal - lion, season - summer, subject - math, color - blue, and holiday - Christmas. Drake brought a shark tooth he got in Florida to share with the class. If he could have a super power, he would choose to be able to fly so he could go anywhere he wanted to go with no traffic. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
This week our featured student was Nova Peternell! If they made a stamp with Nova on it, he would be wearing a spinning hat. Nova would like to visit Egypt because they have temples and good singers. In social studies he would like to learn how people fought in WWII. A person from history he would like to meet is Albert Einstein because of his inventions. Nova shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, his first Halloween costume, going to Amazing Farm Yard, going to Sea Life, his 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, his army birthday party at Camp Ripley, and going to a parade and riding on a big tractor. He shared pictures of him sleeping, his first Halloween, with his sister and grandpa at a zoo, at Chuck E. Cheese for his party, at Sea Life, riding a tractor, his lost tooth, and with his mom and family. He has one sister, one dog, and two cats. Some of Nova's favorites include: color - red, food - orange chicken, season - winter, sport - soccer, and animal - red panda,. Nova brought in a small Christmas tree with his preschool picture ornament because Christmas is his favorite holiday. If he could have a super power, Nova would choose to be able to go back in time. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Next week we will be having dress up days to celebrate Homecoming:
We started the L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) program with Deputy Chad Meemken. Please read the information to inform you about this program. Deputy Chad will come to school to teach us L.E.A.D. once each week for 15 weeks.
The students filled their Gem Jar and voted to have Electronics Time on Friday afternoon. The Gem Jar is an incentive for making positive choices as a class and receiving a reward when it gets filled. Each time the jar gets filled the students will vote for a different activity as a reward.
Literacy:
Our essential question for Unit 1 Weeks 1 and 2 was "How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?" We discussed many ways that people can share their culture with a community including food, clothing, music, art, language, dance, traditions, and talents. The texts we read included "Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art", "Room to Grow", "Gary the Dreamer", and "Sharing Cultures". Our vocabulary study focused on the words: admires, classmate, community, contribute, practicing, pronounce, scared, and tumbled. We also learned about and worked with synonyms, compound words, and pronouns. We worked on reading skills and strategies including asking and answering questions, text features: headings and maps, and text structure: chronology. Our phonics skill focused on CVC, CCVC, CVCC, and CCVCC words. The children learned that when a vowel is "sandwiched" between two consonants it usually makes the short vowel sound. Our grammar lesson taught us about statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. Several of the texts we read were personal narratives. We learned that a personal narrative is a kind of narrative nonfiction. It tells about a true part of a person's life in time order, shares the writer's feelings about an experience, and has a beginning, middle, and end. The students brainstormed ideas and are in the process of starting to write their own personal narratives. We also started to learn our test taking skills, by applying what we learned to two new reading stories. Please help your child remember to bring his/her A.R. book back to school on a daily basis. Each child has a reading record and a goal sheet in their 3-ring binder. Please let me know if you have any questions about that.
Math:
We learned to identify and use patterns to multiply with 5, 2, and 10. We also learned to use multiplication and drawings to represent equal groups and equal shares situations, to use arrays and the Commutative Property in multiplication, to relate division to multiplication with an unknown factor, to divide to find the number of groups, to identify even and odd numbers, to build fluency with our multiplication and division facts, and to use variables to represent numbers. The math vocabulary we have learned so far include the terms: equation, multiplication, factor, product, equal groups, function table, array, column, row, commutative property of multiplication, division, dividend, divisor, quotient, even number, odd number, pictograph, and variable. Thank you for helping your child build fact fluency with his/her multiplication and division facts. It would be best to master them in the order we are learning them in class, so start with the 5's multiplications, then 5's divisions, moving on to the 2's and then the 10's. More facts will be coming next week. I don't know if your child is ready to test on a set of facts unless he/she gives me his/her study sheet, so please remind him/her to give that to me when he/she is ready to test on a set of facts.
Social Studies:
We are currently learning about geography. We learned the difference between a map and a globe and how they can help us navigate our world. We learned where to find a map key and what the symbols represent. We learned the cardinal and intermediate directions on a compass rose and practiced using them to read and follow directions on maps. We also learned the locations of the continents and oceans on a world map and practiced identifying them with an interactive learning game.
News to Note:
Next Wednesday, September 24th is our Walk-a-Thon day at Albany Elementary. Please return your envelopes at your earliest convenience. This is also an early dismissal day.
Next Thursday, September 25th is picture day. You can send your child's picture envelope anytime and I will keep it in a safe place in our classroom.
Enjoy the weekend!
First Week of School 25-26:
We had a very fun and busy first week of school! Here are some of the highlights:
We did some activities to help us get to know each other better including our "Who Am I?" guessing game and asking questions to fill out a name bingo card, and then playing name bingo.
We attended our Pawsitive Pride rotation stations to learn how to be safe, strong, and well in the lunchroom, hallways, bathroom, and on the playground and bus.
We read stories about how to treat others and how to be the best we can be including Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, The Golden Rule, The Curvy Tree, What If Everybody Did That?, Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun, and My Mouth is a Volcano. We have many more stories to read during the month of September which will teach us important lessons as well.
We read a short novel called Muggie Maggie about a third grade girl who was reluctant to write in cursive. We will be starting to learn cursive in our classroom in the near future.
We learned how to log into and use Google Classroom. We listened to the story Chrysanthemum and then completed a "Name Art" activity to hang in our classroom. We also designed "Hand Art" to fill our tree branches on our "Together We Are A Masterpiece" bulletin board.
We completed writing activities to help our teacher get to know us better and to tell others about our super powers and unique characteristics.
We created our "Math About Me" projects. These will hang in the hallway for a short time before being sent home.
We did some "Team Building" activites such as Saving Fred, Cup Stacking, and Shape Puzzles. Here is a slideshow of some of our fun!
News to Note:
We will be starting our regular reading, math, and social studies curriculums next week. There will not be spelling words as there have been in the past. We will be starting a new word study program in the near future. There will be more information to come on this.
Please check and initial your child's planner and empty his/her purple folder on a daily basis. This helps you stay informed on happenings at school.
Just a reminder that only water should come to school in your child's water bottle.
Have a wonderful weekend!!
The month of May was a whirlwind of activities and very busy bustling days! We finished up our Fast Bridge testing, completed all our math standards, read some awesome stories, learned about plant and animal life cycles and adaptations, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and so much more! We also said goodbye and best wishes to Lucas Goebel, who has been helping in our classroom for two quarters as he heads off to college to prepare for his own teaching career. Here are the slideshows of some of our highlights of May.
Little Falls Field Trip:
Hatching Chicks:
Greek Column STEM Activity:
Ninja Course:
Petting Zoo:
Rockets:
End of Year Fun:
We have had an incredible year of learning and growth in so many ways!! Thank you for sharing your child with me this school year, as well as all of the support you provided! Enjoy your summer making memories with your child / children!!
Literacy:
Our essential question started last week and continued through this week. It was "What are different kinds of energy?" We learned that energy comes from many different sources. Energy from water, the wind, and the Sun are renewable. They can be used again and again. Energy from fossil fuels cannot be renewed. The texts we read included "Using Power", "Here Comes Solar Power", "It's All in the Wind", and "Power for All". We watched some short videos to teach us more about how solar, wind, and water power are created and help us in our everyday lives. We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: homophones. We also worked on prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
Math:
We practiced drawing parallelograms, rectangles, squares, and rhombuses and quadrilaterals that are not rectangles, squares or rhombuses. We also learned to describe, sort, and draw quadrilaterals according to their attributes. We completed and went through the math MCA item samplers and reviewed the math concepts we have learned this year to help us prepare for our math MCA tests which we completed on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Science:
We are working on a unit titled "Circle of Life". We learned about animal life cycles and that although the lives of animals can be very different, they all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death. We investigated mosquito life cycles and habitats and discovered the role of mosquitoes in carrying diseases. The students completed an activity called Bug Off! in which they evaluated different solutions for getting rid of mosquitoes at various locations in a town. In another lesson, students learned how and why flowers are pollinated. In our activity, Make a Flower, students made flower models out of paper and bee models out of pipe cleaners. Students flew their bees from flower to flower to observe what happens to the flower's pollen during this process. In our final lesson this week the students learned about why plants grow fruit. In the activity, Science Fruit or Vegetable, students examined common grocery produce and predicted if each item was a science fruit or a science vegetable. Then they took a closer look at slices of the produce to search for seeds. We have one more lesson in this unit to complete next week.
Future World Changer:
Mason Soenneker was our final featured student this year! If they made a stamp with Mason on it, he would use his school picture. In social studies Mason would like to learn about wars. A person from history he would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. Mason would like to visit Australia to see kangaroos. He shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, learning to walk, his first airplane ride to Florida, his golden birthday, going to Mount Rushmore, entering different grades in school, learning to ride a dirt bike, his first time deer hunting, and getting a new cat. He shared pictures of making maple syrup in his back yard, being with his cat, his First Communion, Mount Rushmore, his new 4-wheeler, and riding his new dirt bike. He also shared his Mount Rushmore sculpture and his First Communion compass. Some of Mason's favorites include: color - green, food - pickles, subject - reading, season - fall, sport - soccer, holiday - Christmas, and animal - fox. He likes to ride his dirt bike and play video games in his free time. If Mason could have a super power, he would choose invisibility so that he could sneak up on his sister. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We have completed both our reading and math MCA tests! Yay!
Tuesday, April 22nd was Earth Day. We met our 6th grade buddies on the high school track and did some trash clean up around the track, football field, and bleachers.
Our eggs are in the incubator! The chicks should be hatching in a little less than 3 weeks!
The students shared their completed animal research papers with their classmates and brought their paper mache animals home. I will add their written paper to their writing portfolio which will be sent home at the end of the school year.
Literacy:
We learned how to use the online tools to take our MCA tests. We also read and discussed stories, found text evidence, and answered questions related to different text types to help us prepare for our reading MCA test. We took our official MCA reading test on Thursday and Friday.
Math:
We learned about parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines and line segments. We also learned about rays and types of angles they can form. Two line segments or two rays that meet at an endpoint form an angle. The point is called the vertex. An angle that forms a square corner is called a right angle. We learned about triangles, and that triangles can be described by the types of angles they have. We can also describe triangles by the number of sides of equal lenth they have. We learned about polygons which are flat closed figures made up of line segments that do not cross each other, and that they are named according to how many sides and vertices they have. We learned the difference between concave and convex figures. We also learned to describe parallelograms which are figures in which both pairs of opposite sides are parallel, as well as rectangles, squares, and rhombuses.
Science:
We learned more about the workings of the eye, explored the function of the iris and pupil, added a smaller pupil to the eye model we created to observe how changing the size of the pupil controls how much light enters the eye. These experiments also helped us understand why nocturnal animals can see in the dark.
Another lesson in our "Human Machine" unit helped us explore the brain's role in receiving information from the senses, processing that information, and controlling the muscles to enable movement. We did a "Think Fast" activity where the students tested their reflexes with two very quick experiments and one more involved activity. They learned about how we process information in our brains and then respond to that information in different ways.
Future World Changer:
Our featured student this week was Everett Johnson! If they made a stamp with Everett on it he would be at a Twins game wearing his cool shades! In social studies he would like to learn where stuff is made. People from history he would like to meet are his great grandparents and John F. Kennedy. Everett would like to visit Italy because his ancestors are from there. He shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, getting baptized, saying his 1st words, taking his 1st steps, his 1st time hunting, going to Florida, playing for St. Martin baseball, going to Arizona, his 1st football team, going to Canada and winning the 3rd grade state basketball tournament. He shared pictures of his family, being in Florida, at a Twins game with his cousins, at a Luke Combs concert, with his trophy from state basketball, his 7 on 7 team, with Harrison Phillips at Vikings training camp, his St. Martin baseball team, fishing with his dad in Canada, and walking to and sitting in the deer stand when he was 2 years old. He also shared his autographed basketball from when the Albany boys team won state, a medal from when his team won state, and a football signed by some of the Vikings when he got to go on the field during training camp. Some of his favorites include: colors - pink and teal, food - his grandpa's pasta, animal - cape buffalo, holiday - Thanksgiving, subject - math, sport - basketball, and season - winter. He likes to ride his electric scooter in his free time. If he could have a super power he would choose to be able to pause time for taking tests. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Here are the photos from the Gem Jar reward at the BECC last Friday with our third grade friends from the other classes!
The first Rox / Magnify Financial reading sheet is due next Monday if your child chooses to participate in the program.
With next week being a short week of school, and math MCA testing the following week, we will start a new reading unit with spelling and vocabulary words next week - but won't test on them until the end of the following week (Friday, April 25th). Your child will write this information in his/her planner, but please let me know if you have any questions.
A parent of a former student of mine has generously offered to bring an incubator and eggs into our classroom to allow the students the opportunity to watch chicks hatch. This is something the kids look forward to every year! The eggs will be set in the incubator the first day the kids come back from the Easter break.
Arabella Dick was the first student to solve a very challenging puzzle squares puzzle! The students enjoy trying to solve these puzzles during our short morning time before we go to specials.
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How do teams work together?" There are many different kinds of teams. Team members must trust each other and communicate well to get important jobs done. Some teams also work toward disaster prevention to help save lives. The texts we read included "Firefighters: Teamwork Counts", "Rescue Dogs Save the Day", "Wildfires", and "Windy Gale and the Great Hurricane". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: sentence clues. We also worked on identifying roots in related words, and spelling words with closed syllables.
Our essential question this week was "What do good citizens do?" Being a good citizen means helping other people. It means following the rules and being respectful of others. Good citizenship helps keep communities safe. The texts we read included "Jimmy Carter: A Good Citizen", "Dolores Huerta: Growing Up Strong", "Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote", and "Susan B. Anthony Takes Action!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes and suffixes. We also worked on inflectional endings y to i and the suffixes -ful, -ness, and -less.
Math:
We learned how to write equations to find perimeters of rectangles and to find unknown side lengths of a rectangle. We used fraction concepts to solve real world problems involving fractions and fractions of a set and fractions of a dollar. We also learned to "count on" to make change up to one dollar, and role-played with money by taking turns being the customer and the shopkeeper to practice counting back change. We reviewed the concepts we learned in Unit 5 and took an assessment on them. We will come back to finish this unit after we have learned all of the math concepts we need for our upcoming MCA test.
Science:
We learned about how well light goes through transparent, translucent, and opaque objects as well as why objects in the dark can only be seen when they are illuminated and ways that our eyes receive light. We started learning about the "Human Machine". We learned how our muscles are attached to our bones by tendons which help our joints move. We also discovered the basics of how our eyes work and what causes some vision problems. We used a magnifying lens as a model of the cornea to explore how the structure of this lens is related to the function of our eyes.
We also painted our paper mache animals and are finishing up the final copies of our research papers. Thank you for your help at home with your child's basic animal sculpture! They are awesome!! The students will share these with their classmates, then put them on display for others to see next week before bringing them home. The final copy of your child's animal research paper will be added to his/her writing portfolio which will be sent home at the end of the school year.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Raelynn DeMorrett! If they made a stamp with Raelynn on it she would be laying in flowers and ferns. In social studies she would like to learn history. A person from history she would like to meet is George Washington Carver because he was a plant doctor and she likes plants. Raelynn shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, starting to walk, going to different grades at school, moving into her new house, finding out she was going to be a big sister, learning to ride a bike, losing her first tooth, her family trip to Branson, her first stitches, losing a dog and getting a puppy, and celebrating her birthday. She shared pictures of her family, getting her dog, her vacation, fishing with her dad and doing arts and crafts with her mom, with her friends, and with a butterfly on her arm. Raelynn likes to explore nature and enjoys spending free time playing with her little brother. Some of her favorites include: color - purple, food - pizza, subject - reading, sport - gymnastics, season - summer, animal - butterfly, and holiday - Easter. If she could have a super power, she would want to be able to make a portal so she could go anywhere she wants to. Raelynn told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Brooklyn Kollmann! If they made a stamp with Brooklyn on it she would be in the grass with stuff around her. In social studies she would like to learn about wars. She would like to visit Brazil because she's never been there. She doesn't have a person from history that she would like to meet. Brooklyn shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, learning to walk, going to Florida, getting a cat, and the first time she rode her bike. If she had pictures to share she would have brought a picture of when she went to the zoo and when she got her stuffed polar bear. She has one brother, one sister, a cat named Simon, and two dogs named Sunny and Penny. In her free time Brooklyn likes to play with her brother and sister. Some of her favorites include: color - pink, foods - steak and turkey, subject - math, sport - soccer, season - winter (she likes the beautiful frost on the trees), animal - polar bear or cat, and holiday - Thanksgiving. If Brooklyn could have a super power, she would choose teleportation so she could teleport herself to school. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We will be working through some item samplers in reading to help us prepare for our MCA reading tests at the end of next week so there will NOT be a spelling or vocabulary list or test next week.
The students filled their Gem Jar and voted for some fun time at the BECC! We invited the other third grade classes to join us on Friday afternoon.....pictures to follow!
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How do we get what we need?" People meet their needs in different ways. We can use money to buy the things we need. We can also try to barter or trade to get the things we need. The texts we read included "Wei and the Golden Goose", "Juanita and the Beanstalk", "Clever Jack Takes the Cake", and "When Corn Was Ca$h". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: fairy tale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words.
Our essential question this week was "How can we reuse what we already have?" Almost everything we use can be recycled. Reusing things helps keep our Earth clean. It is important to practice conservation, or care of our natural resources, so we should reduce, reuse, and recycle what we can. The texts we read included "The School Garden", "The New Hoop", "Bravo, Tavo!", and "Trash into Art". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: homographs.
Math:
We continued to work on reading and creating pictographs as well as horizontal and vertical bar graphs. We learned how to analyze data involving multidigit numbers to create horizontal and vertical bar graphs. We also learned how to construct and analyze frequency tables, line plots, pictographs, and bar graphs, solve word problems using data in line plots and scaled bar graphs, and focused on problem solving by solving a variety of real world problems. We took our end of Unit 4 math test and started Unit 5. Our first lesson in Unit 5 taught us about finding the perimeter of a shape on a dot grid.
Science:
We are in the process of researching an animal of our choice, and writing a research paper on that animal. When our papers have been completed the students will be making a paper mache sculpture of their animal. In order to make this process go more smoothly and take less time, I am asking that you help your child put together the basic sculpture of his/her animal at home. This can be done by using recycled materials such as plastic containers, newspaper, paper tubes, crumpled aluminum foil, styrofoam, etc. and taping it all together as solid as possible in the shape of your child's animal. Once the basic shape has been put together, it can be sent to school where we will apply paper mache, let it dry, then paint the finished animal. I am attaching some photos as examples of how to put together a basic sculpture.
Future World Changer:
Our featured student last week was Arabella Dick! If they made a stamp with Arabella on it, she would use her school picture. A place she would like to visit is New Zealand because her mom and dad are going there. In social studies she would like to learn about wars. People from history she would like to meet are the Wright Brothers because they made the first airplane. Arabella shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, her sister being born, moving to different homes, getting her cats, going to school, losing her first tooth, her first fair ride, her First Communion, her first time on an airplane, and her trip to Florida. She shared pictures of being in Florida, with her softball team, getting a Christmas tree, her First Communion, holding her cats, and other fun events! She also shared her snow globe, and some sea shells. Some of Arabella's favorites include: color - blue, food - pizza, animal - cat, subject - math, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, and sport - softball. If she could have a super power, she would choose invisibility so nobody could find her when she's playing hide-and-seek. Arabella has one sister and pet cats. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our featured student this week was Cooper Kotzer! If they made a stamp with Cooper on it, he would use his school picture. He would like to visit New Zealand because it's beautiful there. In social studies Cooper would like to learn about Wars and what happened in the olden days. A person from history he would like to meet is Jerry Rice because he's a famous football player. Cooper shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, learning to walk, trips to his cabin, Duluth, Florida, and the Black Hills, starting school, his dogs, his baseball and football teams, working at Pioneer Days, going deer hunting, and making his First Communion. He shared pictures of being a baby, with his dog, being in Florida, with both sets of grandparents at his First Communion, sports he enjoys, working at Pioneer Days with his dad, with his family, at the zoo, with his dad spear fishing, and different animals he likes to hunt. He also shared two special necklaces he got, his golf medal, his spearing decoy, a rock from Florida, a golf ball, and a comic that he made for his friend. Some of Cooper's favorites include: color - blue, food - pizza, animal - dolphin, subject - reading / A.R., season - summer, holiday - 4th of July, and sport - football. If Cooper could have a super power, he would choose invisibility so that he could hide from his sisters. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Friday, March 21st is the end of our third quarter of school. Your child will have a new A.R. goal in his/her 3-ring binder next week.
Your child brought home information regarding our upcoming field trip in May. This was printed on purple paper and had an envelope attached. Please return the slip and money to school at your earliest convenience, but no later than Friday, April 4th so that chaperones can be selected and notified. Chaperones can send their $7.00 after names have been drawn. Please email me if you have any questions regarding this field trip.
Please send your child's basic animal sculpture to school as soon as possible next week, but no later than Thursday, so that we can start to do the paper mache here at school. Here is a short video with ideas on how to put together your child's paper mache animal: This project ties in nicely with our essential question in reading this week where we are reading about reusing and recycling materials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OpNVya31p4
In addition to your child's sculpture we will need LOTS of old newspaper sent to school. The newspaper will be cut into strips and used to paper mache our sculptures. We will also need flour to make the paste if anyone has some to spare.
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How are people able to fly?" Flight has been the dream of humans for ages. Building a machine that could stay in the air while in motion was difficult. It took inventors many tries before they did it successfully. People can cross the country in planes, passenger jets, or colorful hot air balloons. Helicopters take small groups from here to there. Some adventurers fly high above the Earth. The texts we read included "Fly Like a Bird", "Firsts in Flight", and "Hot Air Balloons". We also learned about the Wright brothers, and how airplanes and hot air balloons fly. We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple-meaning words.
Our essential question this week was "How can others inspire us?" People who are courageous and helpful inspire us. When we feel inspired, we want to help others too! The texts we read this week were poems including "My Grandpa", "Ginger's Fingers", "The Giant", "Captain's Log", "The Winningest Woman of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race", "The Brave Ones", and "Narcissa". We worked on the genre: poetry, including narrative and free verse poems, the comprehension skill: theme, the literary elements: repetition and rhyme, and the vocabulary strategy: metaphor. We started working on writing an "opinion" paper.
Math:
We learned how to compare fractions using fraction circles and by cross multiplying. We learned how to measure length in inches, half inches, and quarter inches with rulers, as well as drawing line segments of varying lengths. We learned to tell and write time to the minute, quarter hour, half hour, and hour, as well as telling and writing the time before and after the hour to the nearest minute in different ways. We learned how to find elapsed time in hours and minutes, and how to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes. We learned how to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of intervals of time, time as fractions of an hour, and relationships among units of time. We also learned how to represent data and solve comparison problems on pictographs and bar graphs.
Social Studies:
We are learning about Ancient China. We learned about what life was like in Ancient China, the importance of the two major rivers in China, what a dynasty was, and who Confucius is and what he taught. We also learned about the Great Wall of China, the Silk Road, the Forbidden City, and the Chinese language.
Future World Changer:
Kaylee Schaefer was our featured student this week! If they made a stamp with Kaylee on it she would use her school picture. A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth. Kaylee would like to visit Costa Rica because it is hot there, and they have interesting animals. In social studies, she would like to learn more about wars. Kaylee shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, learning to walk, her brothers being born, going to preschool, moving to a farm, getting her cats and dogs, being in a rodeo, and her First Communion. She also shared pictures of herself with her cats and dogs, when she was a little kid, picking flowers, playing on the beach, being in a rodeo, and being with her cousins. She shared a turtle from Jamaica, a shell from Mexico, and her shell collection too! Some of Kaylee's favorites include: color - teal, food - pizza, subject - reading, season - fall, holiday - Christmas, sport - gymnastics, and animal - tiger. If Kaylee could have a super power, she would choose invisibility so that she could hide from her brothers. She has two brothers, lots of cats, but two of them are her pets, and two dogs. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We celebrated "I Love to Read" Month with a fun and suspenseful game of all school Clue, and concluded with disguising ourselves in hats and glasses! A great month of celebrating the importance of reading!
We got together with our sixth grade buddies and played some fun card games!
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "How can you use what you know to help others?" Everyone has a talent or skill that they can share with others. When we share our talents, we can help others, and it can be fun and make us feel good about ourselves. The texts we read included "Dancing LaRaspa", "The Impossible Pet Show", "The Talented Clementine", and "Clementine and the Family Meeting". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes.
Math:
This week we started learning about fractions. We worked on developing an understanding of unit fractions as equal parts of a whole, and how they are used to build other fractions. We learned that the denominator is the number of equal parts in the whole, and the numerator is the number of equal parts in the fraction. We used fraction bars and number lines to represent fractions. We also used number lines to represent fractions greater than 1, used unit fractions to locate fractions less than 1 and greater than 1 on the number line, and used fraction bars and number lines to compare and order unit fractions.
Science:
We learned that star patterns in the sky are called constellations. The constellations we see in the sky change with the seasons. The North Star always remains in the same place and can help guide people to find a location. Stars are always in the sky, but we can't see them during the day because the Sun is too bright. We can see stars better at night in the darkness of the country rather than the bright lights of the city. We took an assessment on what we learned about the patterns of the moon and the stars. These have been corrected and sent home.
Future World Changer:
Kelli Malley was our featured student this week! If they made a stamp with Kelli on it, she would use her school picture. A place Kelli would like to visit is Hawaii because it is hot there. A person from history she would like to meet is George Washington. In social studies Kelli would like to learn more about wars. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, learning to walk, going to school, starting gymnastics, her First Communion, getting a puppy, and doing a front handspring for the first time. She shared pictures of her First Communion, with her brother and sister at school, and with her sister and cake from her First Communion. Kelli has 2 brothers, 2 sisters, 2 cats, 1 dog, and lots of cows. If she could have a super power she would choose invisibility so she could scare her brothers and sisters. Some of her favorites include: color - pink, food - pasta, animal - cow, subject - reading, sport - gymnastics, season - summer, and holiday - Easter. Kelli told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Karla Welle will be the substitute teacher in my classroom until I return on Monday, February 24th. If you need to get a message to her or your child, please reach out to Deanna Kulzer in the school office. dkulzer@district745.org
Wednesday, February 12th is the 100th day of school. We will celebrate with some fun activities as well as have our Valentine's Day party. If you signed up to bring an item for this party, you can send it anytime on or before the 12th. This is also an early dismissal day.
A new "Future World Changer" will be chosen when I return to school.
It was nice to visit with you during our recent parent / teacher conferences! Thank you for being a partner in your child's education!
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How is each event in history unique?" History is made up of many unique events. Remembering and reliving historical events can teach us much about the past as well as provide us lessons to guide us in the future. The texts we read included "The California Gold Rush", "The Long Road to Oregon", "Riding the Rails West!", and "Discovering Life Long Ago". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
Our essential question this week was "What choices are good for us?" We make a variety of decisions every day. Making smart choices helps us live healthy lives. The texts we read included "Three Wishes", "Nail Soup", "The Real Story of Stone Soup", and "Healthful Food Choices". We also read two different versions of the story "Stone Soup". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words.
Math:
We continue to practice using strategies to add and subtract multi digit numbers. We also learned to use place value to read and write numbers through hundred thousands and to compare, order, and estimate with greater numbers. We learned and practiced writing large numbers in standard form, expanded form, and word form. We learned to represent and relate area models to multiply 1-digit by 2-digit numbers, and 1-digit by 3-digit numbers. This is a work in progress! Please continue to encourage your child to practice the multiplication facts at home for 5-10 minutes each day if they don't know them all yet as this will help them be more successful with this new multiplication concept. We also learned to complete an input-output table when given the rule and to write the rule for an input-output table when given the values.
Science:
We have been learning about the moon and the phases that repeat about once every month. The word "month" comes from the word "moon". The moon is the brightest object we see in the night sky. It can sometimes be seen during the day. It has deep craters and mountains on its surface. The moon orbits around the Earth. It looks as if it changes shape, however, it does not really change shape. It's shape, as we see it, changes based on it's position in the sky. The moon does not make its own light. It reflects light from the Sun. We learned about the phases: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent. We practiced putting pictures of these phases in the correct order around the Earth.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Carson Fish! If they made a stamp with Carson on it, he would choose his school picture. He would like to visit Canada and Italy. A person from history Carson would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because he was a good man. In social studies he would like to learn about wars. Carson shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, getting his first tooth, starting school, his first road trip, losing his first tooth, getting a dog, and getting a dirt bike. He shared pictures of himself with his dog, his first road trip, his First Communion, with his cousins at a volleyball tournament, his aunt's wedding, driving a snowmobile, his first fish, driving a boat with his cousin, at his camper, his first and second bikes, and his Lego Porsche! Carson has one sister and one dog. Some of his favorites include: color - red, food - pizza, animal - dog, subject - science, season - winter, holiday - Christmas, and sport - baseball. His favorite hobby is playing video games. If Carson could have a super power, he would choose super speed so he could get touchdowns in football. Carson told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Claire Cartier! If they made a stamp with Claire on it, she would choose her school picture. Claire would like to visit France to see the Eiffel Tower. A person from history she would like to meet is Gracie Abrams because she is a good singer. Claire would like to learn more about animals in social studies. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, learning to walk, going ice fishing, riding a bike without training wheels, getting a dog, being a flower girl, going to Switzerland, going to gymnastics camp, and attending a MN Gopher's game. She shared pictures of herself as a baby, at the mall in St. Cloud with flower wings, with her dogs, with her sister on the first day of school, at the St. Cloud Quarry Park, with her family in Switzerland, on rollerblades, and at Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud. She also shard some seashells from Florida, a shell from Jamaica, and a cool rock she found in her aunt's garden. Some of her favorites include: color - pink, food- spaghetti, animal - white fox or a dog, subject - reading, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, and sport - volleyball. If Claire could have a super power, she would choose invisibility so she could hide from her sister. She told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
I will not be in school from February 10-12 or from February 18-21. If you need to get a message to my substitute, Karla Welle, or to your child on one of these days, please call or email Deanna Kulzer in the office. dkulzer@district745.org
Wednesday, February 12th is an early dismissal day. It is also the 100th day of school and the day we will be having our Valentine's Day party. If you signed up to provide a treat or supply for this party, you can send it to school anytime before the 12th. Thank you for your support of the students!
For those of you who signed up for a conference on Monday, February 3rd or Tuesday, February 4th, the main door to the school will be open until 3:45 p.m. If your conference is after 3:45 p.m. you will need to come into school through the Kids Company door (Door 5).
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "What do we know about Earth and its neighbors?" Astronomy is the study of outer space. Astronomers study the planets as well as the objects far beyond our solar system. They use special tools such as telescopes, satellites, and spaceships to study the universe. They make new discoveries every day about Earth and our solar system. The texts we read included "Our Home in the Solar System", "Earth and Its Neighbors", "Earth", and "Coyote and the Jar of Stars". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
Our essential question this week was "What ideas can we get from nature?" Scientists observe nature and come up with new ideas. Sometimes scientists imitate what they see in nature. These ideas help people in many different ways. The texts we read included "Ideas from Nature", "Bats Did It First", "Big Ideas from Nature", and "Perdix Invents the Saw". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. We also watched two short videos on inventions inspired by nature that help people every day!
Math:
We worked on regrouping in addition, identifying and explaining errors in addition problems, and using addition and multiplication to solve word problems. We explored methods for subtracting multidigit numbers, learned to subtract across zeros, practiced subtraction methods, and related grouping in addition and ungrouping in subtraction. We spent a lot of time discussing and practicing addition and subtraction methods and using strategies to solve multistep word problems, including real world problems, with up to 4-digit numbers.
Science:
We learned about the Sun and shadows. Shadows are made when an object blocks the path of light. Shadows change in shape and size during the day depending upon the location of the Sun in the sky. They are longest in the morning and late afternoon, and shortest at midday. We used flashlights, paper gnomes, and shadow patterns to experiment with shadows. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It appears to move across the sky as the Earth rotates on its axis. We also made a sunrise / sunset graph and learned that we have more hours of daylight in the summer and less in the winter.
Future World Changer:
Breckyn Luethmers was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Breckyn on it, it would be her school picture. In social studies Breckyn would like to learn about wars. A person from history she would like to meet is Amelia Earhart because she was the first woman to fly an airplane. Breckyn would like to visit Mexico. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, her first parade, learning to walk, being a flower girl, getting her first pool, her baby cousin being born, moving to a new house, going to school, getting her first snowmobile, going camping with her family, and told us that she will be going to Mexico. She shared pictures of herself in a pool with her brother, with her dog, in a bouncer seat, and with her brother in a crib. She has one brother, three donkeys, one cat, and five guinea hens. Some of her favorites include: colors - blue and green, subject - reading, season - summer, sport - football, animal - dog, food - pizza, and holiday - Christmas. If Breckyn could have a super power, she would choose teleportation so she could get to places faster. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Avlie Douvier! If they made a stamp with Avlie on it, it would be her school picture. In social studies Avlie would like to learn about different countries, landforms, and climates. A person from history she would like to meet is Ruth Handler because she invented Barbie Dolls. Avlie would like to visit Australia to see the animals there. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, starting to walk, riding a horse, being a flowergirl in her mom and dad's wedding, becoming a big sister, going to Wisconsin, going to school, riding a bike without training wheels, learning to cook without help, and playing soccer. She shared pictures of her mom and dad's wedding where she was a flowergirl, being a big sister, her family, and with her cousin Kyra. She also shared a large shell her mom and dad brought home from Jamaica. Avlie has one brother, one sister, and no pets. Some of her favorites include: color - blue, subject - P.E., season - summer, sport - soccer, holiday - Christmas, animal - dog, food - pizza, and hobby - reading. If she could have a super power, she would choose invisibility so she could hide from her family. Avlie told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News To Note:
We have completed the second quarter of school. Your child will be bringing home a new A.R. goal next week. Report cards will be published online and you will be notified when they are ready to view. We can discuss any questions you may have during our upcoming conferences.
Regarding conferences..... I will be adjusting two of my conference dates due to a trip I will be taking. The dates I will be available for conferences are Monday, February 3rd, Tuesday, February 4th, and Thursday, February 6th. Please note these date changes when the Sign Up Genius is sent out to you. If it would work for you to meet during the school day, please email me and we will try to find a good time to meet.
There have been many children absent from school due to illness in the past several weeks. Due to limited time and resources (extra adult help), I will be sending your child's missed schoolwork home with him/her in the purple folder unless it is a test. Please do your best to help your child complete the missed work and return it to school at your earliest convenience. If there is something you aren't sure how to do or need clarification on, please let me know.
We will be having our final official school holiday party on February 12th for Valentine's Day. We are planning to have ice cream sundaes with toppings as a special treat for this party. I will be creating a Sign Up Genius with links to items we will need for our party. Thank you in advance for considering to help with treats / supplies. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Literacy:
Our most recent essential question was "How can one person change the way you think?" Brave people lead the way for others. They stand up for what they believe in. Strong leaders make a difference. The texts we read included "Meeting the Pride of Puerto Rico", "Jane's Discovery", "Finding Lincoln", and "A Great American Teacher". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: idioms.
We spent the week before Christmas vacation catching up on some literacy skills such as using a thesaurus, reviewing prefixes and finding words that have them, reviewing alliteration, cause and effect, and figurative language such as similes and metaphors. We also spent time making our holiday family gifts.
Math:
We are currently working in Unit 3 which will teach us multidigit addition, subtraction, and multiplication. We learned to make and interpret place value drawings for thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. We modeled place value with secret code cards and built 2- and 3- digit numbers with secret code cards. We used our understanding of place value to group and ungroup mulitdigit numbers and solve word problems. We learned to identify numbers from scrambled place value names and solve word problems, and how to round numbers to the nearest hundred and nearest ten to estimate sums and differences. We discussed and applied multidigit addition methods and related addition to some subtraction methods including regrouping.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was JD Miller! If they made a stamp with JD on it, he would choose it to have his school picture. He would like to visit Mexico because it's always warm. A person from history JD would like to meet is his Grandpa. In social studies he would like to learn about past wars, especiall WWI. JD shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, taking a plane to Arizona, his trip to Virginia, going camping and to a water park, starting to play soccer, getting his dog, going to Nickelodeon Universe, a MN Wild Game, and Sioux Falls. He shared pictures of Nickelodeon Universe, when he was a baby, at the Wild game, ice fishing, his dogs and grandpa, at a SCSU game and at a water park. JD has 1 brother, cats, dogs, sheep, and cows. Some of his favorites include: color - pink, food - pizza, subject - reading, holiday - Christmas, animal - dog, hobby - playing video games, season - summer, and book - Dog Man. If JD could have super power, he would choose teleportation so he could go where he wants to. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Griffin Shimmins! If they made a stamp with Griffin on it, he would be 1,000 feet in the air! A place he would like to visit is Libya to see the safari animals. In social studies he would like to learn more about landscapes. A person from history Griffin would like to meet is Neil Armstrong because he likes space. Griffin shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, getting his dog, starting school, starting basketball, and his first airplane ride. He brought pictures of his dogs to share with us also. He showed us his rarest Pokemon Cards. In his free time Griffin likes to play video games. Some of his favorites include: color - blue, season - spring, holiday - Easter (because he likes egg hunting), food - spaghetti, subject - walk to read, animal - dog, and cartoon character - Snoopy. If Griffin could have a super power, he would choose to be a psychic so he could do things with his mind. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We had a very successful holiday concert and a fun party at school! Thank you to everyone who contributed a treat or supply for our party! We played Blooket, did an Elf on the Shelf drawing, and watched the Polar Express in 3D!
Have a wonderful holiday break making memories with your families!
Literacy:
Our first essential question was "How can people help animals survive?" People can help threatened animals survive by protecting their habitats and keeping them clean. We can also join special groups that respect and help animals. The texts we read included "The Bald Eagle: A Success Story", "Kids to the Rescue", "Whooping Cranes in Danger", and "Help the Manatees!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
Our second essential question was "How do people figure things out?" There are many ways to figure things out, including asking lots of questions. Inventors also have to figure out things. They ask many questions about their idea and answer the questions to make it work. They can imagine solutions to problems. We can all be like them! This week our texts were poems including "New Bike, Old Bike", "Empanada Day", "Cold Feet", "Our Washing Machine", "Bugged", "The Inventor Thinks Up Helicopters", "Ornithopter", and "Montgolfier Brothers' Hot Air Balloon". We worked on the genre: poetry (Limerick and Free Verse), the comprehension skill: point of view, literary elements: alliteration and rhyme, and the vocabulary strategy: similes. We read alliteration and simile stories too! The children also wrote a free verse poem and a limerick which will be added to their writing portfolio.
On our short two days before Thanksgiving we listened to the story "Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade". We also watched a short video about how the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade are made. The kids were amazed at how big those balloons really are in comparison to the size of an adult! Then we designed our own balloons over broadway on aluminum foil, laminated them, and blew them up. The third grade artists brought their balloons home on Tuesday.
Social Studies:
We shared our salt dough landform creations and brought them home.
Math:
We continued to work on developing strategies for solving two-step word problems and using order of operations as well as variables as we solved problems that required us to stretch our brains! We learned to multiply with multiples of 10, solved "What's My Rule?" problems with input / output boxes, built fluency with 0s - 10s, solved real world problems involving multiplication and division, worked through a review on Unit 2, and took our final assessment on the concepts taught and learned in Unit 2. These will be graded over the Thanksgiving break and sent home the week the students come back to school.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Kyra Mielke! If they made a stamp with Kyra on it, she would be out to eat on her birthday. Kyra would like to visit Brazil and Hawaii. In social studies she would like to learn about laws. A person from history she would like to meet is Taylor Swift. Kyra shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, taking her first steps, learning to ride a bike, getting her first pair of glasses, going to the Como Zoo, seeing a waterfall, going to Camp Dells, and entering different grades at school. She brought and shared pictures of herself as a baby, at a baby shower, visiting a pumpkin patch, on Mother's Day, at t-ball, at her aunt's wedding, school pictures, at a soccer game, Christmas time, and at the zoo. Some of Kyra's favorites include: color - pink, subject - math, food - salad, season - summer, holiday - 4th of July, and movie - Tall Girl. If she could have a super power, Kyra would choose invisibility so she could hide when she wants to. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Iolla Curtis! If they made a stamp with Iolla on it she would be in the garden at her cabin. She would like to visit Italy to see the art and try the pizza. Iolla would like to learn more about WWI and WWII in social studies. A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth. Iolla shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, having a tooth knocked out, kayaking, her First Communion, her family trip to Florida, ballet, duck hunting and coming to school. She shared pictures of some of those special events as well as a fun neighborhood event, playing softball, kayaking and being silly with her sisters, getting ready for a parade,, swimming in a pool, and things she likes such as squishmallows, books, art supplies, flowers, salad, watermelon, and popcorn. She also brought in shells from her cabin, a lego creation, and a picture of her swimming with dolphins in Florida. Some of Iolla's favorites include: color - orange, food - salad, season - summer, subject - reading, holiday - Thanksgiving, animal - cow, and sport - softball. If she could have a super power, Iolla would choose to be able to fly. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
As a reward for filling the Huskie House and meeting our school goal for the Walk-a-Thon, the students participated in a couple fun activites. We went to the BECC with our friends in the other third grade classes for some exercise and play time! We also got to watch a movie at the BEAT!
It was nice to visit with you during our recent conference. Thank you for being a partner in your child's education!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with quality family time!
I apologize for not posting the pictures from our Halloween party sooner! Here they are! Thank you to everyone who provided a treat or supply for our party! The kids had great fun!
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "Why do people immigrate to new places?" Many immigrants dreamed of new jobs and land, and felt there were better opportunities and chances for a better life in the United States. People still immigrate to the United States today for many reasons. The texts we read included "Our Story Cloth", "Sailing to America", "The Castle on Hester Street", and "Next Stop, America!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: similes. We enjoyed sharing our Speak-Up activity on immigration as well!
This week our essential question was "How do people make government work?" Voting is a right we have as citizens of the United States. Voting gives people the power to make decisions or choices. It lets people know what we think. The texts we read included "All About Elections", "Every Vote Counts!", "Vote!", and "A Plan for the People". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes.
Math:
We finished learning strategies for multiplication and division with our 7s facts. We explored patterns with 7s, drew fast arrays to find unknown numbers, learned to identify and describe square numbers, looked for patterns on the multiplication table, and practiced our 6s, 7s, and 8s through games and by solving real world problems. We also learned ways to build fluency with 0s-10s and completed a multiplication table. We learned to represent and solve word problems using the four operations. We also learned strategies for solving two-step problems by using the "Order of Operations".
Social Studies:
We completed our landforms unit by learning about mountains, valleys, volcanoes, canyons, deltas, peninsulas, hills, and plateaus. The students will be able to use their resources to demonstrate their knowledge of these landforms on a short quiz next week. We will also use salt dough to create landforms. These will be baked, painted, shared, and then brought home.
Future World Changer:
Braxton Schiffler was our featured student this week! If they made a stamp with Braxton on it, it would be his smiling face on a school picture. A place he would like to visit is Australia to see the animals and other fun stuff. In social studies Braxton would like to learn about American History. A person from history he would like to meet is Jackie Robinson. Braxton shared his timeline with us and told us about important events such as being born, getting his hearing aids, becoming a big brother, going to school, getting his first trophy in wrestling, his 7 on 7 football team, going down the tallest slide in America, and making his First Communion. He shared pictures of his dog, friends and family, his Wisconsin Dells trip, going on a Duck Boat, his 7 on 7 team, basketball team, baseball team, and football team. Some of Braxton's favorites include: food - pizza, color - pink, subject - math, sport - football, season - summer, holidays - 4th of July and Christmas, and animal - turtle. If Braxton could have a super power, he would choose to be really good at sports. He also shared his First Communion banner, his Rox jersey, and a baseball signed by Joe Mauer. Braxton told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We have finished our personal narrative papers. I will be saving all the children's writing pieces this year to combine in individual writing portfolios at the end of the school year, so these will not be coming home. Please let me know if you would like to read your child's paper during our upcoming conference.
There will be no school for students on Monday, November 11th.
If students wear shorts to school, they need to have long pants to put over their shorts when they go outside for recess. A warm jacket, hat, and gloves are also important to have in school as the weather is getting cooler.
Please take papers out of your child's purple folder on a regular basis. Some folders are very full of old papers and schoolwork. Thank you!
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "Why is working together a good way to solve a problem?" People in a community may work together to solve a problem to improve the way they live. When two or more people work together, solving. a problem is easier. Two or more people can share their ideas about how to solve a problem. This helps people choose the best solution. The texts we read included "A Field Full of Stones", "Anansi Learns a Lesson", "Roadrunner's Dance", and "Deltona Is Going Batty". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: antonyms. We are continuing to work hard on finishing our personal narratives! The children should reach their first quarter goal for A.R. by October 31st. A new goal will be placed in your child's 3 ring binder for the second quarter of school at the end of next week.
Math:
We started Unit 2 this week where we will continue to develop our multiplication and division concepts and skills. Students learned strategies for multiplying and dividing with 6 and with 8. They were challenged with solving unknown number puzzles which helped with their understanding of math mountains (fact families). They also practiced writing and solving multiplication and division word problems using all the facts they have learned so far. Thank you in advance for encouraging your child to continue practicing multiplication and division facts at home on a daily basis.
The Third Grade Teachers decided to keep the Unit 1 math tests at school to share them with parents during our upcoming conferences so that we can explain how our standards based grading works with you.
Social Studies:
We started learning about landforms and important facts about them. This week we learned about plains, deserts, islands, and coasts.
News to Note:
Picture retakes will be next Tuesday, October 29th. If you plan to have your child's picture retaken, you will need to return the first set of pictures back to Ludwig Photography.
We will be having our Halloween party next Thursday, October 31st. We will have a normal morning and will have our party in the afternoon. Please send your child's costume to school in a bag for him/her to put on after lunch before our party. If you signed up to bring a treat for the party, you can send it to school anytime next week. Thank you for your support of our classroom!
Literacy:
Our essential question last week and into this week was "How do landmarks help us understand our country's story?" People visit monuments to learn about important people and events in history. Landmarks and monuments help us remember and understand history. The texts we read included "America's Landmarks and Memorials", "A Natural Beauty", "A Mountain of History", and "A Landmark Street". We learned specifically about The Statue of Liberty, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Lincoln Memorial, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, The Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore. We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple-meaning words. We are continuing to work on writing our personal narrative papers.
Math:
The students learned to look for patterns and practice strategies for solving problems involving 4s. They developed and used multiplication and division strategies to solve word problems, built fluency with 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 9s, and 10s multiplications and divisions, used multiplication properties and division rules and strategies to multiply and divide with 1 and 0, practiced identifying the commutative, associative, identity, and zero properties of multiplication, identified, solved and created multiplication and division word problems, completed a review of all concepts taught in Unit 1, and took our end of unit math test. These will be sent home next week after everyone has completed the test. Please continue to encourage your child to practice facts on a daily basis.
Social Studies:
We learned about Indigenous Peoples Day. We discussed how the Native Americans were living here first, and how they were closely connected to nature. We read a story called Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back; A Native American Year of Moons, identified the name of each moon, which tribe it was associated with, things we saw in the illustration that helped us identify the season the moon took place, and designed a picture of the moon we liked best (or created our own moon).
We continue to work on map skills as well.
Future World Changer:
Jack Kirby was our featured student last week. If they made a stamp with Jack on it he would be in a glass bubble with chameleons at the Minnesota Zoo. Jack would like to visit Mexico so he can learn Spanish. In social studies he would like to learn more about Spanish in Mexico. A person from history Jack would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because he ended slavery. Jack shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, moving to North Carolina, going to school, moving to Minnesota, starting hockey, and joining Boy Scouts. He shared pictures of himself at Hemker's Zoo and the Minnesota Zoo, being a hockey goalie, with his stuffed animal snake, participating in the Boy Scouts Pinewood Derby, his house, and his papa's bridge. Some of Jack's favorites include: color - blue, food - noodles, animal - T. Rex, subject - gym, sport - hockey, season - winter, and holiday - Christmas. Jack has one sister. If he could have a super power, he would choose invisibility so nobody could see him. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our featured student this week was Alexis Garcia. If they made a stamp with Alexis on it, he would be in Mexico holding chips. Alexis would like to visit Hawaii so he could swim in the water. In social studies he would like to learn about moon landings. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington. Alexis shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, his first Christmas, New Year, 4th of July, Halloween, birthday, and his first trip to Mexico. He also told us about his baptism, learning to walk, moving to Albany, going to school, and his little sister being born. He shared pictures of himself and his family in Mexico, with a police officer, his 1st birthday, the first fish that he caught, his birthday party, and his family. Some of Alexis's favorites include: color - red, food - alfredo, animal - turtle, subject - science, sport - soccer, season - winter, and holiday - Halloween. Alexis has one sister and no pets. If he could have a super power, he would choose teleportation so he could take his family to Mexico. Alexis told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"! (Because this was a short week of school, Alexis will leave his things up until next week and a new World Changer will be selected next Wednesday.)
News to Note:
School pictures were sent home today. If your child was absent or you would like to have their picture retaken, retakes will be done on October 29th. If your child plans to exchange pictures with friends at school, please have the pictures cut apart and placed in a baggie in your child's purple folder.
Thank you to those who signed up to bring an item for our Halloween party on October 31st. Items can be sent in any day the week of the party.
As the weather is unpredictable and has been chilly many days, please make sure your child has a coat, hat, and gloves in school on a daily basis for recess.
Have a wonderful long weekend with your children!
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?" There are many different ways to share culture with a community. Some ways are sharing food, types of music and dance, and stories. When people in a community share their culture, they contribute to the community. Sharing culture helps people learn from each other. The texts we read included "Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art", "Room to Grow", "Gary the Dreamer", and "Sharing Polkas and Pitas". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: narrative nonfiction, and the vocabulary strategy: compound words.
Our essential question this week was "How can problem solving lead to new ideas?" Almost every new invention starts with a problem and a new idea to solve it. Inventions can make our lives better. Some inventions help us learn, while others entertain us. The texts we read included "Chester Greenwood and His Cold Ears", "Mary Anderson's Great Invention", "All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine", and "Lighting the World". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: metaphors.
The children received their first Speak-Up assignment this week to connect with our essential question in reading. They are to think of a problem they have, then create an invention to help solve that problem. They should name their invention, tell the problems that inspired them to invent it, tell what it does and how it would be helpful, create a drawing or model of their invention, and be prepared to tell us about it as a speaking experience (try not to read off the paper). A purple instruction sheet was sent home with the students last Monday. Please let me know if you have any questions.
The third grade team met early this week to place the students in Walk to Read groups. We will be starting Walk to Read next Monday.
Many children have still not taken an A.R. test. Please encourage your child to read at home on a daily basis. If he/she needs help taking at test, please let me know and I will be sure to help!
We also started our first formal writing project this week. The children will be writing a personal narrative. We worked hard on learning how to organize our ideas before putting them together in our paper. These are currently a work in progress, but please ask your child to tell you what he/she chose to write about!
Math:
The students learned to identify patterns and learned strategies for multiplying and dividing with 9s. We also worked to build fluency with 2s, 5s, 9s, and 10s multiplications and divisions, solved word problems, made fast array drawings, and learned to look for patterns to multiply and divide with 3s as well as to use the 5s shortcut when multiplying. The students learned how to use the area model for multiplication, and practiced modeling the distributive property of multiplication. We practiced a variety of strategies for multiplication facts including equal groups, repeated addition, skip counting, arrays, and using a number line. Each child was given a set of paper "flashcards" from the Math Expressions curriculum. The commutative property of multiplication for each fact can be found on the front of the cards, the divisions, count by's, and fast arrays can be found on the back of the cards. These can be cut apart and used at home to practice facts along with the study sheet. Please encourage your child to practice facts on a daily basis to ensure fact fluency moving forward with our math concepts.
Social Studies:
We are currently working on map skills. We learned what a map is, how to use a map key/legend, how to use a compass rose to identify the cardinal and intermediate directions and locate places on a map, and how to use a map grid to locate places on a map. We will be creating our own maps including a key and compass rose in the near future.
Future World Changer:
Our featured student last week was Camryn Frericks! If they made a stamp with Camryn on it she would be standing next to the Lincoln Memorial. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. In social studies, Camryn would like to learn about places she likes to visit such as Florida. Another place she would like to visit is Mexico. Camryn shared her timeline and told us about important events in her life such as being born, getting her dog and cat, going camping and ice fishing, going to school, being in a wedding, going to Florida, and trips to watch her brother in the World Series. She shared pictures of herself at a Twins game, being in Florida with her cousins, her pets, being on the trampoline, her family and her First Communion, and her basketball team. She brought a baseball signed by the players and a silver baseball to share with the class. Some of Camryn's favorites include: color - blue, animals - dogs and cats, sports - basketball and baseball, season - winter, holiday - Christmas, and subject - math. She couldn't think of a super power she'd like to have. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Owen Hemmesch! If they made a stamp with Owen on it, he would have a big smile! In social studies Owen would like to learn more about the states in the United States. A person from history he would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. He would like to visit Australia and Mexico because he's never been on a plane. Owen shared his timeline and told us about important events in his life such as being born, getting his first tooth, learning to walk and talk, riding in and driving a tractor, going to school, his baby brother being born, and buying a camper. He showed pictures of himself and things he likes such as cows, DQ, tacos, pizza, burgers, himself as a baby, his family, and his dog. Some of Owen's favorites include: color - green, animal - cow, sport - football, season - winter, holiday - Christmas, subject - reading, and foods - tacos, pizza, and burgers. If Owen could have a super power he would choose to be able to grow crops faster to make more money. He also shared his favorite toy tractors with the class. Owen told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We have started cursive handwriting!
The children filled their "Gem Jar" for the first time and voted to have Electronics Day on Friday. The next time they fill the jar they will need to vote for a different reward activity as we don't repeat them. That way everyone's favorite activity should end up being a reward at least once during the school year.
We will be having a Halloween party on Thursday, October 31st. There will be more information to come.
Just a reminder that the district policy does not allow students to ride the bus home with a friend. They can be picked up by a friend's parent as long as the school office is notified in advance.
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" Culture is the way a group of people live. Traditions are things that are passed down within a culture from one generation to the next. Traditions help us learn about our culture and customs and they make us proud! The texts we read included "Ready for Aloha!", "The Dream Catcher", "Yoon and the Jade Bracelet", and "Family Traditions". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: context clues. Our grammar lessons included learning about complete sentences versus fragments, and writing declarative (statements) and interrogative (questions) sentences.
The children have all been given an A.R. goal as well as a tracking sheet for the books they read and the tests they take. This should stay in their 3 ring binder so they have it with them every day. Your child's A.R. goal was determined by their Fastbridge reading score and calculated for eight weeks. The goal is simply an incentive for the children to keep reading and can be adjusted if needed. I want the kids to read for the love of stories, not just for points. If your child hasn't taken any tests yet, or only tested on "Muggie Maggie" which I read to them the first week of school, I would encourage you to set aside 15-20 minutes most evenings to be dedicated to reading. Your child should also be reading books at a "Good Fit" reading level in order to grow as a reader. This is highlighted on your child's goal sheet. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Math:
The students learned to relate division to multiplication with an unknown factor. We wrote equations to divide to find the number of groups and the group size in word problems. We identified patterns in 2s count-bys and multiplications and related multiplication and division with 2s as well as 5s. We worked on building fluency with 2s and 5s multiplications and divisions. We also explored patterns in 10s count-bys, multiplications, and divisions and solved problems relating to 10s. We learned to use variables in equations as well.
Please encourage your child to practice his/her multiplication and division facts for 5 minutes each evening. This will help him/her master them so there isn't frustration as time goes on. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
Future World Changer:
Ben Fruechte was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Ben on it he would be smiling! Ben would like to visit New York because his aunt lives there. In social studies he would like to learn about the presidents. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington. Ben shared his timeline with us and told us about going on a train ride, camping trips, moving to different towns, going on a riverboat and houseboat, going to BIR, being in a wedding, going to Arizona, and participating in gymnastics. He shared pictures of him at Halloween, Horseshoe Bend, riding his 4 wheeler, being in a wedding, and his first airplane ride. Some of his favorites include: color - green, season - winter, subject - reading, sport - gymnastics, animal - penguin, food - corndogs, and holiday - Thanksgiving. If Ben could have a super power, he would choose invisibility so he could hide from his friends. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Next Wednesday, September 25th will be our annual Walk-a-Thon as well as an early dismissal day. Please return your child's Walk-a-Thon envelope to school by this day if possible.
Next Thursday, September 26th is picture day. Pictures can be ordered online or the envelope can be returned to school on or before this day.
On Friday, September 20th we celebrated Kaylee Schaefers's 9th birthday!
The Albany Jaycees are proud to host the Punt, Pass and Kick event on October 7th. This event is free of charge and is open to boys and girls ages 6-14.
What: Punt, Pass and Kick
Where: Albany High School Football Field
When: October 7th, 2024
-Registration starts at 6:00 pm
-The event starts at 6:30
Who: All boys and girls ages 6-14 are welcome.
Reminder: The NFL is not involved with Punt, Pass and Kick anymore. The Albany Jaycees will be handing out T-Shirts, footballs and kicking tees as prizes. If you have any questions feel free to email Grant Johnson at gjohnson@district745.org. We hope to see you there!
Back to School!
We spent the first week of school reading stories to build character and participating in activities to help us get to know each other better as well as to practice teamwork! We did a back to school bingo game, and worked together to "Save Fred" and to do a cup stacking activity without using our hands! Some of the stories we read included Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, The Golden Rule, and What if Everybody Did That? along with other great stories with positive messages. We read Muggie Maggie, a story about a girl who is reluctant to learn cursive handwriting. We will be starting to learn the letters of the cursive alphabet next week. We did a "Math About Me" activity, and shared numbers that related to us. We learned how to do "work on writing", "word work", "centers", and "technology" which will be used in our differentiated reading and math rotations. We are also learning to navigate Google Classroom! The students are learning our classroom routines and practicing their collaboration skills as well!
Literacy:
Our essential question in Reading Wonders this week was "What can stories teach you?" Reading stories can inspire us to learn about others, discover different places, and learn new skills as well as to expand our vocabulary. The texts we read included "Three Pigs, a Wolf, and a Book", "Bruno's New Home", "Wolf!", and "Jennie and the Wolf". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: character, the genre: fantasy, and the vocabulary strategy: synonyms.
At the beginning of each week your child will bring home an overview of what we will be doing during our Language Arts time in the classroom as well as the new spelling and vocabulary words for the week. Unless otherwise noted in your child's planner, we will have a spelling and vocabulary test at the end of the week. There will be activities for your child to work on focus skills in the classroom as well as to practice at home.
Please encourage your child to read his / her A.R. book 15-20 minutes each evening. Each child has a Chromebook to use in school this year, and I have shown them how to take an A.R. test when they finish. If your child mentions that they are reluctant to take an A.R. test, please let me know and I will help them until they are comfortable.
Math:
We learned to identify and use patterns to multiply with 5, how to use multiplication and drawings to represent equal groups situations, and how to use arrays and the Commutative Property in multiplication. The key math vocabulary the children learned this week include equation, multiplication, factor, product, equal groups, function table, array, row, column, and commutative property of multiplication.
The children were given "Study Sheet A" in a sheet protector which should stay in their 3 ring binder. They should start by learning the times 5 facts in mixed up order, and when they are ready to be "tested" on them, turn the Study Sheet in so I know they are ready. They should learn each set of facts one at a time, practicing for about 5 minutes each evening so they don't fall behind.
We started taking the IXL placement test in math to help individualize each student's math technology learning time.
News to Note:
We will start our "Future World Changer" bulletin board next week. One child's name will be drawn each week to be featured the following week. Your child will let you know when his/ her name was drawn and will bring materials and a letter home explaining what to do and return to school.
Your child may have a water bottle in school, but I recommend bringing it home on a regular basis to be washed.
Our Walk-a-Thon will take place on Wednesday, September 25th. (More information to come...)
Picture Day will be on Thursday, September 26th.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. We are off to a GREAT start to our school year!!
Future World Changer: Presenting our final two featured students!.....
Garrett DeGier.... If they made a stamp with Garrett on it, he would be smiling! Garrett had a long list of places he'd like to visit! He'd like to travel the world! A person from history Garrett would like to meet is Jesus because he is the Son of God. In social studies he would like to learn how people are chosen to be president. Garrett shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, being baptized, starting to walk, breaking his arm, getting a dog, his sister being born, some fun trips he's been on, fishing, playing t-ball, riding his bicycle, and riding in a helicopter. He shared pictures of his family, bike, dogs, the ocean, and his dad's helicopter. Some of Garrett's favorites include: food - ramen, sport - soccer, subject - reading, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, animal - dog, and book - Wild Robots. If he could have a super power, he would choose teleportation so he could get to places fast and would never need a plane ticket. If he could have three wishes they would be that none of his family gets hurt, his house never burns down, and that he could upgrade everything in his house. Garrett told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Avid Felix-Padilla..... If they made a stamp with Avid on it, he would be smiling! Avid would like to visit Mexico to see his family and to visit Australia. A person from history he would like to meet is Albert Einstein because he was the smartest person on Earth. In social studies Avid would like to learn how World War I started. He shared his timeline with us and told us about important events such as being born, living in Wyoming before moving to Minnesota, and starting school and being in different grades. Some of his favorites include: color - red, food - cheeseburgers, subject - math, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, animal - dog, and sports - football and basketball. Avid has one sister, one brother, and no pets. His hobby is playing catch with his dad. He likes to play Mexican lottery with his family and would like two more brothers. If Avid could have a super power, he owuld choose to be invisible so when his mom told him he couldn't have more candy - he would sneak it anyway. If he could have three wishes they would be for his Grandpa to still be on Earth, that he could have a Supra MK4 car, and that he could have a billion dollars. Avid told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We have been very busy this month finishing up spring testing, completing our end of year math power standards, making and launching rockets, writing poems to add to our writing portfolios, raising chicks, working on yearbooks, memory books, and year end projects, and getting our supplies organized - and our classroom cleaned up and ready for summer. We have had an awesome year of learning and growth! Your child will be bringing home his/her writing portfolio and "Remember Me" book today and his/her memory book and report card on the last day of school. Thank you for sharing your child with me this school year and being a partner in education! Have a wonderful summer filled with family time and memory making experiences! Off to 4th grade these awesome kiddos go!!
Literacy:
Our first essential question was "How do teams work together?" There are many different kinds of teams. Team members must trust each other and communicate well. Teamwork gets the job done! The texts we read included "Firefighters: Teamwork Counts", "Rescue Dogs Save the Day", and "Wildfires". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: sentence clues. We also worked on identifying roots in related words, and started writing our "How To" papers.
Our second essential question was "What are different kinds of energy?" Energy comes from many different sources. Energy from water, the wind, and the Sun are renewable. They can be used again and again. The texts we read included "Using Power", "Here Comes Solar Power", "It's All in the Wind", and "Power for All". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: homophones. We are also continuing to work on our "How To" writing papers.
Our field trip to the Hydroelectric Dam in St. Cloud was a real-life experience for the children on using water to generate electricity! This was a very educational experience filled with loads of learning! A special thanks to Daryl Stang and his team for providing this opportunity to us!
Math:
We learned to recognize, model, and solve comparison word problems, represent and solve comparison problems with misleading language, learned to recognize and solve word problems with extra, hidden, or not enough information, and learned to solve two-step problems using four operations. We also took our math MCA test and started reviewing and retesting on our power standards from this school year.
We used some of our afternoon time to make our rockets! A note was sent home regarding rocket launching which will take place on Friday, May 10th starting around 1:15 p.m.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Cora Welle! If they made a stamp featuring Cora, she would be riding a horse in Montana. A person from history she would like to meet is Walt Disney. Cora would like to visit Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and Bear Island. In social studies she would like to learn what it was like to be an immigrant. Cora shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, going to school, her cats, her trip to Montana, meeting her friend Lizzy, moving to Albany, getting her dog and hamster, and future trips to Disney World and The Black Hills. Some of the pictures she shared included the first and only fish she's ever caught, riding a horse, her trips to Montana, and her cats. She also shared a special Harry Potter book, a toy horse, and some fool's gold. Some of Cora's favorites include: color - light green, food - mac and cheese (mom's homemade), subjects - art and reading, sport - soccer, season - summer, holiday - Thanksgiving, and animal - panda. If Cora could have a super power she would choose to be able to read people's minds. If she could have three wishes, she would wish for a million dollars, to be invisible, and to be able to fly. Cora told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Cole Grabmeier! If they made a stamp featuring Cole, he would be standing with his family. Cole would like to visit Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. A person from history he would like to meet is the captain of the Titanic. In social studies he would like to learn about landmarks and special places around the world. Cole shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, learning to walk, going to different grades in school, going on cruises, and moving to Albany. He shared pictures of his family and his trip to South Dakota. In his free time Cole likes to play with his family and friends. Some of Cole's favorites include: food - steak, color - pink, subject - math, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, sport - football, and animal - monkey. If Cole could have a super power, he would choose flight so he could move around fast and never have to get stuck in traffic. If he could have three wishes he would wish to bring back his Godfather, bring back his old dog, and move back to his old house. Cole told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We had fun learning about "Cosmic Colors", the stars, and other components of outer space on our field trip to the Planetarium at St. Cloud State University! Thank you to the chaperones who joined us for this event!
We have completed our MCA tests and will be finishing up with our Fastbridge Reading and Math tests next week.
Our L.E.A.D. ceremony and rocket launching will take place next Friday, May 10th. An informational letter was sent home with information regarding these events.
Please watch your child's purple folder for upcoming end of the school year events which are still in the planning stages.
Literacy:
Our first essential question was "How do we get what we need?" People give and take things to get what they need. Money is one kind of payment, but people can barter or trade too. The texts we read included "Wei and the Golden Goose", "Juanita and the Beanstalk", "Clever Jack Takes the Cake", and "When Corn Was Ca$h". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: fairy tale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. We have also spent some time doing reading practice pieces for our upcoming MCA tests.
Our second essential question was "How can we reuse what we already have?" Almost everythig we use can be reused or recycled. Reusing and recycling help keep our Earth clean. Conservation is when we take care of our natural resources. The texts we read included "The School Garden", "The New Hoop", "Bravo Tavo!", and "Trash into Art". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: homographs.
Math:
We learned that the prefix of a polygon tells us how many sides and vertices it has. We identified shapes as triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons, nonagons, and decagons. We learned that a parallelogram is a quadrilateral in which both pairs of opposite sides are parallel. A rectangle is a parallelogram with four right angles. A square is a rectangle in which all four sides are the same length. A rhombus is a parallelogram in which all four sides are the same length. We practiced drawing various quadrilaterals. We also learned to describe and sort quadrilaterals according to their attributes. We analyzed quadrilaterals, trapezoids, parallelograms, rhombuses, rectangles, and squares. We took an assessment on the standards we learned in Unit 7, then moved back to Unit 6. We went through the assessment together, and then it was sent home. Unit 7 was taught prior to Unit 6 to make sure the students learned the geometry standards before the MCA math tests. So far in Unit 6 we used math mountains to solve addition and subtraction problems and reviewed the vocabulary words addend, sum, and total as well as math language such as add to, take from, put together, and take apart. We learned to represent and solve word problems with unknown addends and unknown factors. We also learned to solve word problems with unknown starts and to write situation and solution equations.
Future World Changer:
Luke Rodenwald was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Luke on it he would be throwing a football. Luke would like to visit Florida because it's warm there. In social studies he would like to learn about the presidents and what they did. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington because he was the first president. Luke shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, going to school, moving to his new house, trips to Seattle and South Dakota, going to a Viking's game and the biggest candy store in MN, getting his tonsils out, and buying a cabin. Some of Luke's favorites include: color - red, food: spaghetti, subjects: P.E. and math, sport - basketball, holiday - Christmas, season - summer, and animal - tiger. He also shared pictures of his family and his mini car. If he could have a super power he would choose to be able to fly so he wouldn't be late for anything. If he had 3 wishes he would choose lots of money, to have a mansion, and to have a Lamborghini. Luke told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Shani Tuorila! If they made a stamp with Shani on it she would be standing with a blue Husky. Shani would like to visit India because she was born there. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because he ended slavery. In social studies Shani would like to learn about how slavery started. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as being born, living in an orphanage, being adopted and coming to the USA, starting school, trips to Texas and Wyoming, going camping, meeting the Tarpons, becoming an aunt, and swimming with dolphins. Shani shared pictures of her family, getting third place in dance, and holding a crocodile. Some of her favorites include: food - pizza, color - baby blue, animal - dog, subject - math, season - fall, holiday - Christmas, and sport - basketball. If Shani could have a super power she would choose to be invisible so she could sneak up on people. If she could have 3 wishes she would choose more wishes, to have another dog, and to get a car. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
It was fun to get out in the woods at St. John's Outdoor University, enjoy nature, and learn about how maple trees are tapped and the sap is turned into syrup. We also learned about the history of syrup making and how to identify maple trees. We also got to taste fresh maple syrup in the Sugar Shack! Yum! Thanks to our PTO for sponsoring this educational opportunity and to the chaperones who joined us!
Eighth grade students from Ms. Brinkman's class came to our classroom on Friday afternoon to read with us and color creative pictures! It was fun to see the older kids mentoring the younger kids!
News to Note:
We will be taking our Reading MCA tests next week on Monday and Tuesday. A note was sent home to remind you of things you can do to help your child be prepared and feel his/her best on test days.
Literacy/Integrated Science:
Our first essential question was "How is each event in history unique?" Remembering and reliving historical events can teach us much about the past as well as provide us lessons to guide us in the future. The texts we read included "The California Gold Rush", "The Long Road to Oregon", "Riding the Rails West", and "Discovering Life Long Ago". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
Our second essential question was 'What choices are good for us?" We make many decisions every day. Smart choices help us lead healthy lives. The texts we read included "Three Wishes", "Nail Soup", "The Real Story of Stone Soup", and "Healthful Food Choices" as well as several other versions of the story Stone Soup. We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words.
We completed our science unit on plants, reviewed how the different parts of a plant help it survive, learned how plants make their own food through photosynthesis, and that they need sunlight to do this. We discussed the results of our radish experiment and will continue to watch them grow to see if the plants that didn't get sunlight can bounce back or not. We also made paper flowers with plant facts.
Math:
We did more work with fractions of sets, including word problems. We learned how to use a number line to make change up to one dollar - solving story problems. Students learned to read thermometers using both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales and to estimate temperatures based on different types of weather. We took the assessment on the standards we learned in Unit 5 and moved into Unit 7 to secure our geometry skills before our spring MCA testing. Unit 5 tests will be sent home as soon as we go over them in class. In Unit 7 we learned about parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines as well as rays, angles, vertices, and right angles. The students learned to classify triangles according to their angle sizes and side lengths and to name various polygons based on their number of sides and angles. They also learned about the relationships among different types of quadrilaterals including rectangles, squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids.
Future World Changer:
Damien Doll was our first featured student! If they made a stamp featuring Damien he would be playing video games on it. A person from history he would like to meet is the FGTeeV Family because they are famous YouTubers. In social studies Damien would like to learn how video games are made and to play them in different places. He would like to visit Arizona again because it was fun there. Damien shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as learning to walk, his sister being born, going to school, staying at a cabin, getting his dogs, getting his camper, his golden birthday, and his trip to Arizona. He shared some pictures of his trip to Arizona and the Cheep Cheep stuffie he got at Fat Cats. Some of Damien's favorites include: food - pizza, animal - penguin, season - winter, subject - P.E., color - orange, and holiday - Easter. If Damien could have a super power he would want to be invisible so he could win at hide and seek. If he had three wishes, he would wish for robux, money, and more wishes. Damien told us about his mom, dad, sister, and dogs and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Emmett Altendahl was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Emmett on it, he would be standing outside. A person from history Emmett would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. In social studies he would like to learn how slavery started. Emmett would like to visit Italy for the food! He shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, celebrating his golden birthday, going to Timberwolves and Vikings games, moving to his new home, his sister being born, going to the Mall of America, breaking his foot, and going to Florida. Emmett shared pictures of his family, the farm he lives on, hunting, sports he likes, and fun events he has done. Some of his favorites include: animal - monkey, color - green, subject - P.E., holiday - Christmas, season - summer, sport - football, and food - tomato hot dish. If he could have a super power, Emmett would choose teleportation so that he could go to Florida again. If he could have three wishes he would choose infinite money, good friends, and he wasn't sure about the third wish. He told us about his mom, dad, 2 brothers, and 1 sister. He also told us about his pet cats and farm animals. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
The weather forecast for this weekend into Monday may interfere with our planned field trip on Monday. If there is school, we will be going on the field trip and the children will need warm outerwear, boots, tennis shoes, and a lunch. If there is not school on Monday, I will start working to reschedule our field trip for another day. I will keep you all updated.
Next week we will be starting the Magnifi Financial Rox Reading Program. You will be receiving a letter explaining the program as well as a record sheet to write down the minutes your child reads each week for four weeks. If you have any questions after receiving the information please contact me.
Literacy / Integrated Science:
Two of our recent essential questions were "How are people able to fly?" and "Why are goals important?" People have wanted to fly for hundreds of years. Thanks to many inventors, there are lots of ways they can! The texts we read for the first essential question were "Fly Like a Bird", "First in Flight", and "Hot Air Balloons". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple meaning words.
Goals are important. They help us focus and learn new things. Achieving our goals makes us feel good about ourselves. The texts we read for the second essential question included "Mae Jemison, Astronaut", "Rocketing Into Space", and "Out of this World!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: problem and solution, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: Greek and Latin roots.
We integrated our science units on day and night patterns into our reading lessons. Our Mystery Science Lessons included "Could a shadow move? and How can the Sun help you if you're lost?" where we learned about the daily patterns of the Sun in the sky. Our lessons also included "When can you see the full moon?, Why do stars come out at night?, and Why do the stars change with the seasons?" where we learned about patterns in the night sky. The children designed a constellation of their own and are looking forward to our upcoming field trip to the St. Cloud State University Planetarium to learn more about the stars.
Our next essential question was "What ideas can we get from nature?" Scientists look to nature for new ideas. These ideas help people in many different ways. The texts we read included "Ideas from Nature", "Bats Did It First", "Big Ideas from Nature", and "Perdix Invents the Saw". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. We also watched a cool video on nature inspired inventions!
We started our science unit on plants. Our Mystery Science lessons included "How could you make the biggest fruit in the world?" which taught us about plant selection, "Why do plants grow flowers?" where we learned about the importance of bees in pollinating flowers which will make the seeds for the plant, and "Could a plant survive without light?" where we started and experiment using radish seeds - some will receive sunlight and others will not. We will complete our science unit on plants next week.
Junior Achievement:
We completed our J.A. program this week. A special thanks to our volunteer, Jill Molitor, from Stearns Bank for her time teaching these lessons to our class. The students learned about earning, saving, spending, and donating money. They also learned about visible and invisible money which is spent on goods and services, what an entrepreneur is and how to become one, how money choices make the city go round, and they had the opportunity to build a city using cardboard buildings.
Math:
We continued working in Unit 4 where we learned how to represent data and solve comparison problems on pictographs and bar graphs, how to analyze data involving multi digit numbers to create horizontal and vertical bar graphs, how to construct and analyze frequency tables, line plots, pictographs, and bar graphs, how to solve word problems using data in line plots and scaled bar graphs, and how to solve a variety of real world problems. We took our end of Unit 4 assessment. We will go over these together in class when everyone has finished, and then they will be sent home with the students.
We started Unit 5 which focuses on measurement and fractions. We learned to recognize and find the perimeter and area of figures. Perimeter problems were stressed as perimeter is a third grade standard, while the children were exposed to area as area is not a third grade standard. We practiced finding missing side lengths of rectangles, solved perimeter and area word problems, and used fraction concepts to solve real world problems and fractions of sets.
Future World Changer:
Abel Sand was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Abel on it, he would be sitting down playing games. In social studies he would like to learn about how slavery started. A person from history Abel would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because he was a famous president. Abel would like to visit Hawaii because it is warm there, and he would like to see dolphins. He shared his timeline with us and told us about special events in his life such as being born, his sister being born, getting his dog, playing catch with his dad, doing jumps with his 4 wheeler, and shooting a turkey. He also shared a stuffed animal that he got from his brother. Some of Abel's favorites include: color - black, food - pizza, subject - math, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, animal - snake, and sport - football. If he could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could sneak up behind people and scare them. If Abel could have 3 wishes he would wish to be rich, have a lot of money, and have infinite wishes. Abel told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Emeri Douvier! If they made a stamp with Emeri on it, she would be smiling! Emeri would like to learn about China in social studies, especially how long the Great Wall of China is. A person from history she would like to meet is Albert Einstein so she could learn about what he did. Emeri would like to visit Florida to see dolphins, sharks, and sea shells. She shared her timeline with us and told us about special events in her life such as learning to walk, her sister and brother being born, sledding, going to school, catching her first fish, deer hunting, and camping. She shared pictures of her family at the pumpkin patch. Some of Emeri's favorites include: subject - math, animal - dragon, season - fall, holiday - Easter, color - purple, food - steak, and sport - soccer. Everyone agrees that Emeri is very artistic! If Emeri could have a super power she would want to be able to turn into different animals so she could run fast and fly. If she could have 3 wishes she would choose to go to Florida, to get superpowers, and to get $100. Emeri told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer!"
News to Note:
We have all officially finished our animal research papers and paper mache animals! Yay!! We displayed our animals near the art room for other students to admire, then we shared our research papers with our classmates. The animals have been sent home with the students, however the research papers will be saved to be included in each child's writing portfolio for his / her third grade school year.
Here is the information on the upcoming school dance:
Field Trip:
Many students have been coming to school without a coat. They go outside for recess on a daily basis and it is still quite cold outside. Your child will be required to wear a coat on our field trip to St. John's Outdoor University as we will be outside for approximately an hour and a half. It will likely be muddy in the woods, so please be sure that your child has boots in school on this day as well. A reminder will be sent as the date of our trip approaches.
Literacy / Integrated Science:
One of our essential questions was "How can one person change the way you think?" Brave people lead the way for others. They stand up for what they believe in. Strong leaders make a difference! The texts we read included "Meeting the Pride of Puerto Rico", "Jane's Discovery", "Finding Lincoln", and "A Great American Teacher". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: idioms.
Our second essential question was "What do we know about Earth and its neighbors?" Astronomers first learned about earth and its neighbors by looking up. Today scientists use telescopes, satellites, and manned spaceships to study the universe. They make new discoveries every day about Earth and our solar system. The texts we read included "Our Home in the Solar System", "Earth and Its Neighbors", "Earth", and "Coyote and the Jar of Stars". We worked on the comprehension stratgy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
We finished our Mystery Science lessons on animal life cycles, natural selection, and can animals really predict the weather ( a mini lesson for Groundhog's Day). We are almost finished with our animal research papers and have made our paper mache animals. Thank you for sending the supplies to help with this project! When our paper mache animals are finished we will display them for a short period of time before sending them home. Our next science unit will teach us about day and night sky patterns.
Math:
We are working in Unit 4 which will teach us about various aspects of fractions. We learned how to develop a conceptual understanding of unit fractions and how they are used to build other fractions, how to use fraction bars and number lines to represent fractions, how to locate fractions on the number line, how to compare and order fractions, how to measure length in inches, half inches, and quarter inches with rulers, how to tell and write time to the minute, quarter hour, half hour, and hour, how to tell and write the time before and after the hour to the nearest minute in different ways, how to find elapsed time in hours and minutes, and how to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Carter Bueckers! If they made a stamp with Carter on it, he would be smiling. A person from history he would like to meet is Justin Jefferson because he wants to learn how to play football. Carter would like to visit Florida because it's warm there, and Brazil because it looks cool. In social studies Carter would like to learn how airplanes are made. He shared his timeline with us and told us about going to Paul Bunyan Land, school, camping, a waterpark, and getting his new dog. Carter has two brothers and two step sisters. He likes playing darts. Some of his favorites include: food - alfredo pizza, sport - football, subject -P.E., season - winter, holiday - Christmas, colors - red and blue, and animal - dog. If Carter could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could play hide and seek without being found. If he could have three wishes he would wish for Kit Kats, his phone never to be dead, and to be able to play football. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Emmah Pundsack! If they made a stamp with Emmah on it she would be smiling with her fox. Emmah would like to learn everything she can in social studies because she loves learning! A person from history she would like to meet is Eminem because she was named after him. Emmah would like to visit Hawaii to see the volcanoes. She shared her timeline with us and told us about her birthdays, her trips to Duluth, The Children's Museum, The Largest Candy Store, Taylors Falls, and South Dakota. Emmah has one sister, two brothers, and a dog. She shared her stuffed fox, her Doorables, gel pencils, and a squishy. Emmah likes to play Barbies, watch TV, and play Roblox. Some of her favorites include: food - tacos, color - purple, season - summer, subject - art, holiday - her birthday and Christmas, animal - fox and panda, and sport - ballet. If Emmah could have a super power she would choose to be able to fly so she could get places faster. If she had three wishes she would wish for infinite Roblox, the Earth to be clean, and to have a lot of Squishmallows. Emmah told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
The kids filled their "Gem Jar" and voted to play dodgeball with another third grade class. We invited Mrs. Spohn's class to join us and had a great time with some healthy competition!
Thursday, February 8th was our 100th day of school! We completed a hundred day writing activity and worked on some 100 grid number puzzles. Here are the images we used for our writing activity (Photo credit to AgingBooth).....
We had our Valentine's Day party on Wednesday, February 14th. We opened our Valentines, ate snacks, and played Valentine bingo! Thank you to all families who sent Valentines and / or treats for this party!
If your child is participating in Jump Rope for Heart, please return your envelopes to school as soon as possible.
It was so nice to visit with you all during our recent conferences!
There will be no spelling test next week.
Enjoy your long weekend with your families!!
Literacy / Integrated Science:
We have been learning about animals. Our first essential question was "How can people help animals survive?" We can protect their habitats, we can keep their habitats clean, and we can join special groups that respect and help animals. The texts we read included "The Bald Eagle: A Success Story", "Kids to the Rescue", "Whooping Cranes in Danger", and "Help the Manatees!" We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes.
Our next essential question was "How do animals adapt to challenges in their habitat?" Animals adapt to challenges in their environment such as the weather, type of land, and plants that grow there. The texts we read included "African Lions", "Gray Wolf! Red Fox!", and "Amazing Wildlife of the Mojave". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: compare and contrast, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: sentence clues.
Our third essential question was "How can learning about animals help you respect them?" Learning about animals helps us respect them. The more we know about animals, the more we can do to help them. The texts we read included "Respect for the Florida Panther", "Butterflies Big and Small", and "Alligators and Crocodiles". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: compare and contrast, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: context clues.
All of our literacy stories helped integrate our science standards where we learned about animal life cycles, natural selection, heredity, and survival. We watched lessons from Mystery Science and worked with partners and small groups to explore and learn about how animals grow and survive.
All of the children have selected an animal to research and write a research paper on. We are currently in the research process using books from the media center as well as online websites. Once our research is complete, we will be writing our papers, drawing a picture of the animal in its natural environment, and creating a paper mache model of the animal. We will need your help to gather supplies for our paper mache animals. I am hoping that you can find recyclable materials for your child to use for his / her animal as well as sending extras you may have for children who may not have materials to use. We are collecting things such as cylinder shaped tubes or containers, small boxes, small plastic containers, foam that can be cut into shapes, aluminum foil, etc. These items will be put together in the shapes of the animals we researched. We will also need LOTS of newspaper, some flour for paste, and several boxes of aluminum foil to share with everyone in the classroom. We cannot do this project without your help as I do not have enough of these supplies for every student. You can send things in a bag for your own child to use, and another bag to share with others if you have extra supplies. These can be sent anytime next week - the earlier the better so that we know if we have enough supplies to do this project. Thank you in advance for your help and support.
Math:
We continue to strengthen our multi digit addition and subtraction methods by solving problems of various complexity, including word problems and real life story problems. We learned and practiced identifying place value through the hundred thousands digit, identifying numbers that are 10,000, 1,000, 100, and 10 more or less than a given number, comparing numbers to see which is greater or less or if they are equal, and estimating with larger numbers. We learned to multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers and well as 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers using area models and the partial products algorithm. We also learned to complete input-output tables when given the rule, and to write the rule for an input-output table when given the values. We are now taking the assessment pieces for Unit 3 to gather data and to add to your child's report card. All your child's formal math assessments will be sent home after report cards go out. Thank you for your patience as teachers work together to make the new standards based grading successful and an accurate representation of your child's math skills.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Leo Olmscheid! If they made a stamp with Leo on it, he would be wearing his jersey with a smile on his face! People from history he would like to meet are Barry Sanders and Randy Moss because they are famous football players. Leo would like to visit Kansas to see where the Chief's play. In social studies he would like to learn about who the first people in the United States were. Leo shared his timeline with us and told us about his trips to South Dakota, Wisconsin Dells, Florida, and Mexico as well as fun times waterskiing, dirt biking, and deer hunting. He also shared his wrestling award and the trophy he won. Leo has one sister and pet chickens. Some of his favorites include: animal - dog, sport - football, season - summer, subject - math, holiday - Christmas, food - chicken alfredo, and color - blue. If Leo could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could get wide open when he's playing football. If he could have one wish, he would wish to be in the NFL. Leo told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Brett Selix! If they made a stamp with Brett on it, he would use his school picture. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington so he could find out how he became the first president. Brett would like to learn about how money is made in social studies. A place he would like to visit is Hawaii because it is warm there. Brett shared his timeline with us and told us about important events in his life such as being born, baptized, going to preschool, losing teeth, as well as about his trips camping, going to Duluth, Mount Rushmore, Disney World, and being on TV at the Minnesota State Fair. He also showed us a framed picture of him petting a dolphin, a crocodile head, and a snow globe he got for Christmas. Brett has two sisters, one brother, and a pet dog. Some of his favorites include: food - mac and cheese, hobby - watching TV, season - summer, subject - gym, animal - bear, holiday - his birthday, and color - battery blue. If Brett could have a super power he would choose flight so he could go anywhere without having traffic. If he could have three wishes he would wish for money, infinite wishes, and more money. Brett told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Literacy:
Our essential question was "What do good citizens do?" Being a good citized means helping other people. It means following the rules and being respectful of others. Good citizens make their communities better. The texts we read included "Jimmy Carter: A Good Citizen", "Dolores Huerta Growing Up Strong", "Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote", and "Susan B. Anthony Takes Action!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes and suffixes. We also started our next formal writing piece which will be an opinion paper.
The end of our first semester is January 19th. Please encourage your child to read as often as possible over the holiday break.
Social Studies:
We learned more about Government. We learned who can vote, why we vote, who can become President, the electoral process, about political parties, and issues that are important to us. We also learned about our rights and responsibilities as citizens as well as the three branches of government. The Executive Branch is made up of the President, Vice President, and the President's Staff. The responsibilities of the Executive Branch include carrying out the laws, approving or vetoing bills, and leading the military. The Executive Branch mainly works out of the White House. The Legislative Branch is made up of Congress, which includes Senators and Representatives. The responsibilities of the Legislative Branch include writing the laws and introducing bills. The Legislative Branch mainly works at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The Judicial Branch is made up of the U.S. Supreme Court and 9 Justices as well as Federal Courts. The responsibilities of the Judicial Branch include deciding if the laws are fair and follow the Constitution. The Judicial Branch mainly works at the Supreme Court Building or Federal Courthouses. We have a national government, state government, and city government.
Math:
We identified and explained errors in addition and solved word problems, explored methods for subtracting multidigit numbers, learned to subtract across zeros, learned to subtract using two different methods, related grouping in addition and ungrouping in subtraction, and did more practice with subtraction methods. Please encourage your child to continue to practice multiplication and division facts at home on a daily basis.
Future World Changer:
Our first featured student was Lincoln Tschida. A person from history that Lincoln would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. He would like to visit Iceland because it looks cool. A person from history Lincoln would like to meet are the Cboys from Youtube because they do wild crazy stuff. If they made a stamp with Lincoln on it, he would be smiling. He shared his timeline with us and told us about when he went to Canada to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, he went to a demo derby, and he went fishing and slept in a fish house. Lincoln has one brother, one sister, and pet chickens. In his freetime he likes to play football. Some of Lincoln's favorites include: colors - red or blue, subject - gym, food - steak, holiday - Christmas, sports - basketball, baseball and football, season - winter, and animal - cheetah. If Lincoln could have a super power he would choose teleportation so he could get places faster. If he had 3 wishes he would wish for more wishes, to go to a Vikings game, and he wasn't sure about the third wish. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Peyton Miller. In social studies, Peyton would like to learn what the world looked like during the Ice Age. A person from history he would like to meet is Ludwig van Beethoven. Peyton would like to visit Brazil because it is a popular place and Australia because there are dangerous animals there. He shared his timeline with us and told us about special events such as his brother and sister being born, going to Montana and South Dakota, getting his dog, starting Kindergarten, and being baptized. Peyton likes to go fishing, snowmobiling, and doing crafts with his Mom. He has one brother, one sister, a dog, and a cat. Some of his favorites include: color - orange, food - lasagna, animal - cheetah, season - fall, subject - math, sport - football, and holiday - Christmas. Peyton would not want to have a super power because he is fine with how he is. If he could have 3 wishes, he would want more wishes, more time with his brother and sister, and fun time with his Grandma. Peyton told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
We had some special fun days this week including Christmas/Festive Clothing Day, Twins Day, Dress Like an Elf Day, Board Game Day, and Pajama Day! We also had fun doing rotations with our friends from the other third grade classrooms as part of our holiday party. These rotations included making outdoor fun, creating an Art Hub holiday drawing, playing minute to win it games, making snowflakes, and playing board games. Thank you to all the families who sent in a treat for the students! Your support is greatly appreciated!
Happy Holidays! Enjoy your family time!! 🎄
Literacy:
One of our essential questions was "Why do people immigrate to new places?" Many immigrants felt there were many new opportunities for better lives, many dreamed about new jobs, more food, land, and freedoms. The texts we read included "Our Story Cloth", "Sailing to America", "The Castle on Hester Street", and "Next Stop, America!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: similes. Most of the students did their Speak Up and shared wonderful information about their family history! Many of them said they learned something they didn't know before. Thank you for helping your child with this Speak Up! It was fun!
Our next essential question was "How do people make government work?" Americans 18 years and older have the right and responsibility to vote. Voting gives people the power to make decisions and lets people know what you think. The texts we read included "All About Elections", "Every Vote Counts", "Vote!", and "A Plan for the People". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes. We also learned about singular and plural possessives.
Math:
We are working in Unit 3 which will teach us about multidigit addition, subtraction, and multiplying larger numbers. We learned how to make and interpret place value drawings, learned to identify the value of a digit and build numbers with secret code cards, used our understanding of place value to group and ungroup multidigit numbers and solve word problems, identified numbers from scrambled place value names and solved place value word problems, learned to round numbers to the nearest hundred and to the nearest ten to estimate sums and differences, discussed and applied multidigit addition methods, discussed multidigit addition methods and related addition to some subtraction methods, discussed when we need to regroup in addition, and used addition and multiplication to solve word problems.
Social Studies:
We are integrating our government unit with our essential questions and stories in reading. So far we have discussed citizenship, voting, rights and responsibilities, the qualifications for and responsibilities of the President and Vice President, and what the U.S. Constitution is. We will continue to learn more about government in the next two weeks.
Future World Changer:
Ruth Lundgren was our featured student this week! Ruth would like to visit Italy and Sicily because her ancestors are from there. She would like to learn more about Italy in social studies. A person from history she would like to meet is Marco Polo because her sister told her about him. Ruth shared her timeline with us and told us about the different states she has lived in which include Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, and Minnesota. She also told us about other important events including getting her dogs. There are six kids and two dogs in Ruth's family. Her family likes to hike, swim, fish, and play soccer. Some of Ruth's favorites include: color - blue, food - burekas, season - fall, sports - soccer and wrestling, subject - math, animal - dragon, and holiday - Christmas. If she could have 3 wishes, Ruth would want to meet an invincible dragon, be a kid forever, and have a bunny. If she could have a super power she would choose shape shifting. Ruth told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Our class will be performing in the holiday concert next Thursday, December 14th at 5:30 p.m. at the B.E.A.T. Mr. Resley sent home a note regarding the specifics of the concert. If your child has a speaking part, he/she brought home his/her lines to practice this week.
Upcoming Special Event Days Chosen by the Student Council include:
Monday, 12/18: Ugly Christmas Sweaters (or other festive wear)
Tuesday, 12/19: Twins Day (match a friend, adult, or the baseball team!)
Wednesday, 12/20: Dress like an elf (the kids would love to see the adults dress as Santa or Mrs. Claus ;-)
Thursday, 12/21: Board Game Day
Friday, 12/22: Pajama Day!
From the Office:
Please remind your students (as well as please add to your parent communication) students should not be dropped off/getting to school until 7:45 in the morning (exception T TH 100 mile club kiddos)
We are in need of quart size baggies for our classroom if anyone is able to help.
Literacy:
Our essential question was "How do landmarks help us understand our country's story?" People visit monuments to learn about important people and events in history. Landmarks and monuments help us remember and understand history. Natural landmarks make our country special and unique. The texts we read included "America's Landmarks and Memorials", "A Natural Beauty", "A Mountain of History", and "A Landmark Street". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple meaning words. We are continuing to work on our personal narrative writing stories.
Math:
We learned strategies for multiplying and dividing with 7. We have now learned all of the basic facts. The children should be practicing facts at home on a daily basis to build their fact fluency. We also learned to identify and describe square numbers, practiced our 6s, 7s, and 8s multiplications, built fluency with 0s-10s multiplications and divisions, represented and solved word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and learned strategies for solving two-step word problems.
Social Studies:
We are integrating our geography unit with our literacy block where we have been learning about landmarks. We started geography by learning about twenty landforms. The children have these in a tab book inside their green notebook. We played an "I Have, Who Has?" game to practice these landforms. We will also use salt dough to create landforms next week, and then there will be a quiz on those twenty landforms. We learned that geography is the study of the Earth and its physical features. Geography looks at the water, air, animals, and land of the planet. Geographers are scientists who study the Earth's physical features. They study where things are and how things got there. Geographers also study how people use the Earth's resources. Exploration and the discovery of new places is an important part of geography.
Future World Changer:
Madison Molver was our featured student this week! Madi would like to visit California because she thinks it would be a nice place to visit. In social studies she would like to learn more about different countries in our world. A person from history she would like to meet is Nicki Minaj because she looks nice. Madison shared her timeline with us and told us about moving to Albany from the state of Washington. She has one sister and two dogs. Some of her favorites include: color - white, food - fruits and vegetables, subject - math, season - spring, holiday - Christmas, sports - gymnastics and basketball, and animal - giraffe. If she could have a super power, she would choose to be able to fly. If she had three wishes, she would want to see her friends from Washington, her teachers from other schools, and to have a pet penguin. She also shared her jewelry box that her dad gave her, and a necklace her grandma gave her. Madi told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
News to Note:
Your child was given two new items in sheet protectors to put in their three ring binder. These are instructions and menu choices in the event we have bad weather and an eLearning day is announced. The directions are on one side, the classroom menu is on the other side, and the specialist menu is in a different sheet protector. Please leave these in your child's three ring binder so they don't accidentally get misplaced. In the event of an eLearning day, your child should already have his/her binder at home. Please let me know if you have any questions.
If you haven't already done so, please return the bright pink form regarding lunch on our field trip day to school no later than next Tuesday.
I will be away from school for five days starting next Wednesday. I have a former Albany Elementary School teacher, Vicki Pfeffer, subbing for me. She is awesome and the kids will love her! If you have important information that needs to get to the classroom for your child, or to the substitute, please contact the office so they can get the information where it is needed. I will not be able to respond to emails until I am back.
When supplies were brought in at the beginning of the school year we received an abundant supply of gallon size ziplock baggies, however only a couple boxes of quart size baggies. We are in need of quart size baggies if anyone is willing and able to donate a box to the classroom. It would be greatly appreciated!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving making memories with your family!
Hannah Stephens was our first "Future World Changer"! A place Hannah would like to visit is Russia because she thinks it would be fun! In social studies, Hannah would like to learn about other countries and the holidays they celebrate. A person from history she would like to meet is the gymnast Aly Raisman. Hannah shared her timeline with us and told us about her trip to South Dakota, going to a rodeo, going to Camp Lebanon, and getting her own bedroom. She also shared a cool blue rock she got in South Dakota. Some of Hannah's favorites include: color: teal, food: spaghetti, subjects: reading and math, animals: dogs and cats, sports: gymnastics, basketball, and soccer, holidays: Halloween and Christmas, and season: summer. In her free time she likes to do gymnastics and make things with her clay beads. If she could have a super power, she would choose teleportation so she wouldn't have to walk everywhere. Hannah lives with her mom, dad, two sisters, and her dog, Max. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
We celebrated with a Halloween party on Tuesday afternoon by playing games, going on a costume parade through school, drawing haunted houses with Art Hub, and eating lots of delicious treats! Thank you all for your support of our classroom! The kids had a GREAT time!
News to Note:
We went to the B.E.A.T. to watch "How to Train Your Dragon" on Thursday afternoon as a reward for meeting our Walk-a-Thon goal.
The children filled their "Gem Jar" and voted to have some electronics time on Friday.
Your child will be bringing home a sheet with a few questions for you to fill out to help prepare for our upcoming conferences. Please complete this sheet and return it to school before your child's scheduled conference. In addition, if you are coming for your child's conference after 4:00 next Tuesday or Thursday, please see my email regarding which door to come to. Please contact me if you have any questions.
I will be sending out an academic update at the end of next week. Please continue to encourage your child to read and practice math facts at home on a daily basis. Thank you!
Social Studies:
We learned about Ancient Egypt. Egypt is located in northern Africa. The people of Ancient Egypt needed the Nile River in order to survive because the desert was a difficult place to live and grow crops. The main crop of Egypt was wheat, and it was used to make bread. Egyptians also fished everyday. Egyptians traveled by boat on the Nile River or over land by camel. The pharaoh was at the head of the government and had absolute power. Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death so they made mummies, and buried them in pyramids with their important belongings. The Ancient Egyptians were one of the greatest civilizations of all time!
Literacy:
Our essential question was "How can problem solving lead to new ideas?" Almost every new invention starts with a problem and a new idea. Inventions can make our lives better. Some inventions help us learn, keep us healthy, or make our work easier. Other inventions can entertain us. The texts we read included "Chester Greenwood and His Cold Ears", "Mary Anderson's Great Invention", "All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine", and "Lighting the World". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: metaphors. In grammar we learned to identify the subject and predicate of a sentence.
The children also created their own invention for our first Speak Up, and answered the following questions:
What is the name of your invention?
What problem made you think of inventing this?
What does it do?
How would it make our lives easier or more enjoyable?
How would it help us in our world?
The children were given opportunities to share their inventions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There were many very creative inventions, and they were excited to share them with their classmates!
We are working hard on our personal narrative papers! The writing process can be tricky, but we are making great progress!
Math:
Students learned to identify, solve, and create multiplication and division word problems. They applied the skills they have learned to build fluency in multiplications and divisions, and to solve real world problems involving multiplication and division. We reviewed the concepts in Unit 1 and took the end of unit assessment. These are being saved to share with you during our upcoming conferences. We are now working in Unit 2 which will teach us to multiply and divide with 6s, 7s, and 8s as well as to multiply with multiples of 10. We started the unit with learning strategies for multiplying and dividing with 6. We practiced solving number puzzles with unknown numbers. We also found the area of rectangles and solved area word problems to help us practice our multiplication and division facts. We learned strategies for multiplying and dividing with 8, reviewed fast array drawings, and wrote and solved more multiplication and division word problems. Thank you for helping your child practice his/her multiplication and division facts at home. These basic facts are the building blocks for upcoming math concepts, so it's very important that the children learn them to have a solid foundation of math mountains (fact families). Please encourage your child to bring in the current study sheet he/she is working on to be tested on individual sets of facts as soon as he/she has practiced.
News to Note:
We are continuing to participate in the L.E.A.D. program on Tuesday mornings. A letter is sent home after each lesson to inform you of what your child learned. The "homework" does not need to be returned to school.
R.E.A.D. with Freddie at the Library: Information was sent home on Wednesday if you are interested in having your child participate in this event.
Please note the conference dates that I will be available for fall conferences will be Tuesday, November 7th, Thursday, November 9th, and Tuesday, November 14th. Two of these dates are different than the regularly scheduled conference dates. I not be in school on those two dates as I will be attending my daughter's wedding in Mexico.
We will be having our Halloween Party next Tuesday, October 31st. Thank you to those who have signed up to send a treat for the students as well as those who have signed up to send a roll of toilet paper for our "wrap the mummy" game. At this time we only have 4 rolls signed up for. We will need 10 rolls in order to play the game, so if anyone else is able to send a roll of t.p. please send it to school with your child at your earliest convenience. Just a reminder that your child can bring a costume to school in a bag, and we will put them on for our party in the afternoon. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Winter weather is upon us. Many children are coming to school without a coat to wear outside. They do go outside for recess on a daily basis. Thank you in advance for making sure your child has warm clothing to wear outside.
Greetings families! I meant to send an update out last Friday, however an illness prevented me from being in school. Here is what we have been learning and working on since the last classroom update:
Literacy:
One of our essential questions was "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" Traditions tell us about where our families came from and how they lived in the past. Traditions help us learn about our culture, and customs and are passed down in families. The texts we read included "Ready for Aloha!", " The Dream Catcher", "Yoon and the Jade Bracelet", and "Family Traditions". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: context clues. We also read a story about dream catchers and made our own dream catchers using paper plates, yarn, beads, and feathers. Our grammar lessons taught us about four different types of quality sentences.
Our next essential question was "How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?" There are many different ways to share culture with a community. Some ways are sharing food, types of music and dance, and stories. When people in a community share their culture, they contribute to the community. Sharing culture helps people learn from each other. The texts we read included "Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art", "Room to Grow", "Gary the Dreamer", and "Sharing Polkas and Pitas". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: narrative nonfiction, and the vocabulary strategy: compound words. We started our first formal writing project in the form of a personal narrative. Our grammar lessons taught us about the subject/s of a sentence.
We will not be having a spelling or vocabulary test next week.
We started Walk to Read this past Wednesday. The children work with a teacher for 30 minutes each day on specific skills to help them grow as a reader. Reading at home will also help the children grow as readers. Please check your child's purple folder to find a report on the A.R. tests he/she has taken this year. If your child hasn't taken any A.R. tests, please continue to encourage reading at home on a daily basis. If your child needs help taking a test, please send me a note or an email and we will provide help as needed.
Social Studies:
We spent some time learning about Ancient Greece and how Greece influenced American culture. We learned about the geography of Greece, Greek foods, Democracy, The Olympics, Greek columns, Greek gods and goddesses, and Greek theatre. We also designed a building in Washington D.C. that was influenced by Greek columns. ( The Capitol Building, The Lincoln Memorial, The Jefferson Memorial, The Supreme Court, and The White House) Thank you for sending in the tissue and paper tubes for this project.
Math:
Our lessons have progressed in this order: We learned to multiply and divide with 2, worked on building fluency with 2s and 5s, learned to multiply and divide with 10, learned to use variables in equations, learned to multiply and divide with 9 (including the 9s fingers trick), practiced building fluency with 2s, 5s, 9s, and 10s, learned how to make and solve fast arrays, learned to multiply and divide with 3, and to use the 5s shortcut to solve multiplication problems, learned how to use the area model for multiplication problems, learned to multiply and divide with 4 (also using the 5s shortcut when needed), learned how to use the multiplication and division strategy cards to solve problems, practiced building fluency with 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 9s, and 10s, wrote many equations to solve word problems, and learned to multiply and divide with 1 and 0.
It is very important that the children are practicing their multiplication and division facts at home on a daily basis. These facts are the foundational skills for upcoming math lessons. Please encourage your child to bring his/her study sheet in to the classroom when he/he is ready to test on a set of facts. Thank you in advance for your help at home.
News to Note:
Picture Retake Day: Scheduled for Tuesday Oct 17th @ 8:15
If you would like to order a yearbook for your child, please click on the link below:
We are working on the character trait "Responsibility" in Character Strong.
We are continuing to learn our lowercase cursive letters in handwriting.
I have received some emails with questions on upcoming dates at school. This is just a reminder that the calendar packet you received at entrance conferences has all the important dates which are already set listed. I will attach a copy to this email in case your copy was misplaced. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding these dates. I do want to let you know in advance that our first conference times are scheduled for November 14, 16, and 20. I will not be available on November 16 or 20 as my daughter is having a destination wedding the weekend before Thanksgiving. I will be available on the 14th and will schedule two additional evenings before the 14th. Debbie will make note of the three days I will be available for conferences when she sends the Sign Up Genius schedule out.
Happy fall and have a wonderful weekend with your families!!
Welcome Back!!
We spent the first week of school doing some activities to help us get to know each other better, as well as some team building activities! We learned our classroom routines, schedule, and the schoolwide expectations: Be Kind, Be Strong, and Be Well. We learned how to be Huskie Heroes in the classroom, hallway, bathroom, cafeteria, and on the playground and the bus. We read many stories that taught us lessons on how to treat others the way we would like to be treated..... "The Golden Rule". We also read a short story called "Muggie Maggie" to introduce us to cursive handwriting. Those days went by quickly!
This week we started our regular academic curriculum and settled into our daily schedule. Here are some highlights from this week:
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What can stories teach you?" We read stories for many different reasons. They can make us laugh, teach us new words, teach us how to do new things, take us on adventures, and inspire us to learn about other people! The texts we read include "Three Pigs, a Wolf, and a Book", "Bruno's New Home", "Wolf!", and "Jennie and the Wolf". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: character, the genre: fantasy, and the vocabulary strategy: synonyms. Our spelling words contained the short vowels a, and i. A new spelling list and a new weekly vocabulary list will be coming home with your child every Monday. There will be a spelling test and a vocabulary test every Friday. If we will not be having a spelling or vocabulary test due to a shortened week or extended lesson plan, your child will make note of that in his/her planner. Our grammar lessons this week taught us about complete sentences and sentence fragments.
Please help your child to remember to have an A.R. book in school every day. It should come back and forth to school just like the 3 ring binder and purple folder. We encourage 20 minutes of A.R. reading at home on a daily basis whenever possible, and will do our best to provide approximately 15 minutes in school whenever possible. Your child will bring a goal sheet home to share with you next week. This goal is based on your child's score on the Fast Bridge reading test. It can be monitored and adjusted as needed.
Math:
We started Unit 1 which will teach multiplication and division with 0-5, 9, and 10. Multiplication is taught through understanding of equal groups, arrays, and repeated addition. This week the students learned to identify and use patterns to multiply with 5, to use multiplication and drawings to represent equal group situations, to use arrays and the Commutative Property in multiplication, and to relate division to multiplication with an unknown factor. We learned the mathematical vocabulary: equation, multiplication, factor, product, equal groups, function table, is greater than symbol, is less than symbol, Commutative Property of Multiplication, division, dividend, divisor, and quotient.
Your child has "Study Sheet A" in a sheet protector in his/her 3 ring binder. Please help him/her study facts for 5 minutes each evening. When he/she has mastered the fives (multiplication only at this time) in mixed up order, return the study sheet to school to get tested on. Once 5's are passed, your child can move on to the next set of facts on the study sheet. Our goal is for the children to build fact fluency by learning the multiplication facts in a timely manner as this skill is a building block for upcoming mathematical concepts. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Handwriting:
We started cursive handwriting this week by learning and practicing the basic strokes which will be used to make the lower and uppercase cursive letters.
News to Note:
We celebrated Cole's birthday on Friday, September 8th!
We currently have 11 of 20 families signed up for the Remind app. At this time I will continue to use email as the main form of communication to reach as many families as possible.
Please check your child's purple folder and remove papers on a daily basis whenever possible to avoid missing important information and to prevent the folder from becoming overloaded with papers.
School pictures will be next Wednesday, September 20th.
As a result of someone spitting gum on our classroom carpeting, gum will only be allowed in our classroom for special circumstances.... not on a daily basis.
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you for being a partner in your child's education!
Future World Changer:
Sophie Schmitz was our final featured student! If they made a stamp featuring Sophie she would be riding a horse. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because he was nice and freed the slaves. Sophie would like to learn about the Amazon Rainforest in social studies because there are cool plants and animals there. She would like to visit Hawaii because it is warm and she has never been to the ocean before. Sophie shared her timeline and told us about some important events in her life including being baptized, learning to walk, her sisters being born, a new home, lost teeth, a visit to the emergency room, First Communion, going to school, and a vacation to Camp Dells. She also shared pictures of her family and other special people and events as well as her stuffed rabbit and her Squishmallow named Sophie. Some of her favorites include: color - purple, food - she likes a lot of foods, animal - horse, subjects - reading and P.E., season - summer, and holiday - Christmas so she can spend time with her family. Sophie likes to go to The Great Wolf Lodge with her family. She has 3 sisters, and no pets. If she could have a super power she would choose the ability to invent things so she could have every super power. Sophie told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Here are some highlights from the last week of school:
Fun at the Green Park!
The Robotics Team:
L.E.A.D. Awards: (Plus tractor day on the walk back...)
Dairy Queen:
Buggy For Books celebration with Texas Roadhouse:
Thank you for sharing your children with me this year!! Have a wonderful summer making memories with your families!!
A couple notes for the last week of school:
On Monday, May 22nd we will be walking to the "Green Park" off Countryside Lane to play with our friends in the other third grade classes and to sign yearbooks. Please make sure your child has tennis shoes, a water bottle, and sunscreen (if needed) on Monday. He/She can also bring his/her yearbook for friends to sign. I will have copies of the third grade pages for students who do not have a yearbook.
On Tuesday, May 23rd we will be walking to the library to learn about the summer reading program as well as to the Dairy Queen to get a treat. Please make sure your child has tennis shoes in school on this day as well.
On Wednesday, May 24th the children will be doing Pawsitive Pride rotations in the afternoon. They signed up for activities they were interested in and will participate in two rotations.
On Thursday, May 25th we will be biking on the Wobegon Trail in the morning. Texas Roadhouse is tentatively planning on coming in the afternoon to celebrate with the students who made it to the "100 Club" or beyond in Buggy for Books. (We are waiting for them to confirm.)
On Friday, May 26th we will have our year end awards ceremony at the BEAT in the morning, and an early release at 12:10 p.m.
I will send one final update at the end of next week. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Future World Changers:
We got a bit behind with our Future World Changers this winter due to so many snow days and trying to give each student a whole week to be featured on our bulletin board. We featured two students the past two weeks and here they are.....
Valery Felix-Padilla was born in Wyoming and now lives in Albany! If they made a stamp with Valery on it she would be in front of a rainbow. She would like to visit Hawaii, Mexico, and Paris. A person from history Valery would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth because she was a queen. She would like to learn more about Ancient Egypt in social studies. Valery shared her timeline and told us about some important events in her life including learning to walk, birthdays, her brothers being born, and trips to Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, and Colorado. She also shared her Teddy bear, baby blanket, monkey, baseball glove, and glow stick. Some of Valery's favorites include: color - purple, animal - rabbit, foods - spaghetti and tacos, subject - reading, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, and sports - gymnastics and volleyball. If Valery could have a super power she would choose to be able to fly so she could travel anywhere without spending a lot of money. She would like to go to Mexico with her family, and she wishes she had a dog. Valery told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
If they made a stamp with Jackson Thull on it he would be with his dirt bike and his four-wheeler! Jackson would like to visit Alaska to go hunting there. He would like to learn more about Ancient Egypt in social studies. A person from history Jackson would like to meet is Justin Jefferson. He shared his timeline with us and told us about some important events in his life including being born, baptized, getting a dog, going on a horse ride, getting a four-wheeler and a dirt bike, and going on a four-wheeler trip. Some of Jackson's favorites include: color - blue, animal - dog, subject - reading, food - spaghetti, season - summer, and sport - football. If Jackson could have a super power he would chose invisibility so he could sneak out of school. He has one brother and one dog. He likes to ride dirt bike and four-wheelers with his family. Jackson told us about his family and pet and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
If they made a stamp with Norah Hennen on it she would be pictured with her family! a person from history Norah would like to meet is Amelia Earhart because she flew planes and Norah's uncle also flew planes. She would like to visit Australia to pet a kangaroo, and also Hawaii and Mexico. Norah would like to learn more about pirates and why people became pirates in social studies. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as walking, moving to Albany, her brother being born, going to school, her first camper, her eye surgery, and her trip to Florida. Some of Norah's favorites include: color - army green, animal - turtle, subject - reading, season - summer, sport - volleyball, and food - ribs. If Norah could have a super power she would choose super speed so that she could win marathons. She has 2 sisters, 1 brother, and a pet lizard. She wishes she had a dog. Norah likes to go to her grandma's house and camping with her family. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
If they made a stamp featuring Aubrey Notch she would be on it with her twin sister, Lila! A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth because she heard that she was nice. Aubrey would like to visit Mexico and Hawaii. She would like to learn more about Ancient China in social studies. Aubrey shared her timeline with us and told us about important events such as being baptized, moving to Alabama and back to Minnesota, getting her dog, Sparky, building her house, going on her first long bike ride, and her trips to Disney World and Mount Rushmore. Some of her favorites include: color - pink, food - mac and cheese, sport - gymnastics, subject - reading, season - summer, and animal - cheetah. If Aubrey could have a super power she would choose invisibility so that she could walk out of school. She has one brother, one sister, and one dog. She likes to go camping with her family and play on her iPad. Aubrey told us about her family and pet and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
We went bowling last Friday and great fun was had by all!!
We also launched rockets last Friday..... another FUN event!!
After three weeks of waiting and watching, our chicks hatched!! We loved them up and sent them on to their new home in the country. A special thanks to Kenny Roerick for providing this opportunity for the kids!
Future World Changers:
Our first featured student this week was Adelinne Gaebel! If they made a stamp with Adelinne on it, she would have a smiling face! She would like to visit Hawaii because her teacher went there. In social studies she would like to learn about mummies. A person from history Adelinne would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth because she heard she was nice. Adelinne shared her timeline with the class and told us about important events such as building her house, going on camping trips as well as trips to Mexico, Florida, South Dakota, and Jamaica, and being a flower girl. Some of her favorites include: food - steak and meatloaf, color - purple, sport - volleyball, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, subject - math, and animals - horses, dogs, and cats. If Adelinne could have a super power, she would choose flying so she could fly with the birds. She likes to watch movies with her family. Adelinne told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Colton Ramler was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Colton on it, he would be smiling! He would like to visit Alaska to go salmon fishing and Hawaii because he heard it's a good island. Colton would like to learn more about the pyramids in Ancient Egypt in social studies. Two people from history he would like to meet are Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook. Colton shared his timeline with the class and told us about important events such as learning to walk, bike, breaking his foot, First Communion, getting a new house, and trips to Wisconsin Dells and Canada. Some of his favorites include: animal - mountain lion, food - spaghetti, colors - blue, green, and purple, subject - math, sports - volleyball, baseball, and football, and season - winter. If Colton could have a super power he would choose flying because he's not afraid of heights and wouldn't worry about falling. Colton likes to go fishing and camping with his family. Colton told us about his family and pets, and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
We celebrated our last two birthdays in April. Here are the links to the birthday videos their classmates made for them:
Landon: https://flip.com/71191666
Aubrey: https://flip.com/647c1759
Literacy
Our essential question this week was "What are different kinds of energy?" Energy comes from many different sources. Sources such as coal, oil, and gas are nonrenewable. Sources such as wind and Sun are renewable, and can be used again and again. The texts we read include "Using Power", "Here Comes Solar Power", "It's All in the Wind", and "Power for All". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: homophones. We also worked on open syllable spelling words.
Math:
We learned that parallelograms are polygons with two pair of opposite parallel sides, rectangles have adjacent sides that are perpendicular to create four right angles, squares are rectangles with sides that are all the same length, rhombuses have two pairs of opposite parallel sides, trapezoids have one pair of opposite parallel sides. We also spent time doing our math item samplers and reviewing math concepts in preparation for the math MCA test.
A Few Other Items:
We have also completed our Fastbridge reading and math assessments. This has been a busy time preparing for and completing all our end of the year tests and assessments. The last few weeks will be spent on some project based learning activities as well as participating in some special end of the year events.
We are finishing up the LEAD: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program with Deputy Chad. This program has focused on helping kids make safe, healthy, and positive choices. The students have been completing activities in a workbook as well as interactive activities in the classroom. When the workbook comes home, I would encourage you to talk to your child about what he/she learned from the LEAD program.
Some of our upcoming events include:
May 12th: Bowling in the morning, and rocket launching in the afternoon starting at 1:00.
May 19th: Climb Theater
May 22nd: Tentatively planning to walk to the "green park" off Countryside Lane to play with our friends from all the third grade classes as well as to sign friends' yearbooks.
May 23rd: Library and Dairy Queen visits (Please return forms and money as soon as possible.)
May 24th: PBIS Rotations - Students choose the activities they want to participate in.
May 25th: Tentatively celebrating Buggy for Books with Texas Roadhouse in the afternoon.
Please contact me if you have any questions regarding these events.
Future World Changer:
Charlotte Eggert was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Charlotte on it, she would be doing a dance pose. A person from history she would like to meet is Thomas Jefferson. Charlotte would like to learn more about Egypt because of mummies and pyramids. She would like to visit Hawaii, Germany, Australia, and Florida. Charlotte shared her timeline with us and told us about special events in her life such as her involvement with Just for Kix, learning to ride a bike, sleep overs, and lost teeth. She also shared some dance pictures and her stuffed prayer lamb. Charlotte's favorites include: color - blue, animal - sloth, seasons - summer and fall, holiday - St. Patrick's Day, sports - dance and soccer, and food - spaghetti. She has two sisters and two dogs. She likes to jump on the trampoline, shoot bow and arrow, and ride bike with her family. If she could have a super power, she would choose super speed so her sister couldn't catch her. Charlotte told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Logan Luethmers was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Logan on it, he would be with his dog. Logan would like to visit Florida because it's warm there. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington because he was the first president. Logan would like to learn more about the pyramids in Ancient Egypt. He shared his timeline with the class and told us about the fun he had camping, four-wheeling, hunting, riding tractor, fishing, biking, going to a water park, driving snowmobile, and his trip to Wisconsin. He also shared some pictures, sports cards, and cool rocks! Some of Logan's favorites include: color - black, sport - football, subject - P.E., holiday - Christmas, season - summer, animal - cheetah, and food - steak. If he could have a super power, he would choose to be able to fly so he could go anywhere he wants to go. Logan told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Literacy:
Our first essential question was "How do we get what we need?" People meet their needs in different ways. We can use money to buy the things we need. We can also try to barter to get the things we need. The texts we read included "Wei and the Golden Goose", "Juanita and the Beanstalk", "Clever Jack Takes the Cake", and "When Corn was Ca$h". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: fairy tale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. Our grammar lessons taught us about singular and plural pronouns, and our spelling taught us about compound words.
Our second essential question was "How can we reuse what we already have?" Almost everything we use can be recycled. Reusing things helps keep our Earth clean. Conservation is taking care of our natural resources. The texts we read included "The School Garden", "The New Hoop", "Brave, Tavo!", and "Trash into Art". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: homographs. We worked with the suffixes -ful, -less, and -able as well as inflectional endings -ed, -ing, and -s.
We also spent time working through reading item samplers in preparation for our reading MCA tests which we will be taking next week on Monday and Tuesday.
Math:
We used our understanding of fraction concepts to solve real world problems which compared fractional amounts. We used fractions to represent parts of sets. We solved problems involving money and making change using a combination of coins and bills. We drew timelines and placed our coins and bills on them to "count on" and calculate change. We also role-played with money using a store poster and taking turns being the customer and the shopkeeper. We estimated and measured temperature in degrees Farenheit and in degrees Celsius. We learned about lines, line segments, and rays and how they can be parallel, intersecting, or perpendicular. We learned about types and parts of angles. We also learned to describe triangles by the number of sides of equal length and by the types of angles they have. We learned about polygons such as quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, and decagons including their sids, angles, and vertices.
Science:
We started making our rockets, which we tentatively plan to launch on May 12th. We will continue to work on these as time allows. More information on launching will be coming as the time gets closer.
We celebrated Henry's birthday at the end of March! Here is the link to his birthday video from his classmates:
Future World Changer:
Aleena Gerads was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Aleena on it, she would be smiling. A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth. She would like to visit Hawaii because it is warm there. Aleena would like to learn more about what they eat in China in social studies class. She shared her timeline with the class, and told us about moving to the farm and other important events in her life. Aleena likes to spend time at the lake with her family. Some of her favorites include: food - steak, subject - math, season - summer, animal - horse, colors - pink, black, and blue, instrument - drums, and book - Land of Stories. She is talented at doing the splits! If she could have a super power, she would choose teleportation so she could go to Hawaii. Aleena told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Chloey Soenneker was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Chloey on it she would be smiling. A person from history she would like to meet is Moses because he freed slaves and gave us the 10 Commandments. In social studies Chloey would like to learn more about the pyramids in Egypt. She would like to visit Hawaii to try new foods. Chloey shared her timeline with the class and told us about important events in her life such as as her camping trip, kneeboarding, and taking an airplane to Florida. She also shared her special blanket that she got from her dad. Some of her favorites include: color - pink, subject - reading, season - summer, sport - basketball, animal - chickens, and holiday - Christmas. If Chloe could have a super power she would choose the ability to fly so she could see birds and touch the clouds. If Chloey could have one wish, she would wish for a cabin that she could go to anytime she wants. She enjoys game nights with her family. Chloey told us about her family and pets, and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
I am seeking your help at home with a problem we are having at school. The students earn "tickets" for positive choices, which they are able to use to "buy" fun things including desk pets, award certificates, etc. Unfortunately we have had quite a bit of stealing going on, which as you can imagine makes the child who's things have gone missing very sad. I have asked the children to secretly return these items, or we will need to stop receiving tickets in our classroom. If you could have a conversation with your child about treating others they way he/she wants to be treated it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your support of our students at home.
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What choices are good for us?" We make a variety of decisions every day. Making smart choices thakes a lot of practice. Smart choices help us lead healthy lives. The texts we read included "Three Wishes", "Nail Soup", "The Real Story of Stone Soup", and "Healthful Food Choices". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. We continued to work on our opinion papers, and are almost finished with them.
Science:
We have been learning about plants. We learned about superblooms, how seeds travel, why plants need light, why trees grow so tall, why plants have flowers, why plants give us fruits, and why apples are different colors and have different levels of sweetness. (selection and varitey) We also learned that the leaves of plants make their own food through a process called photosynthesis. We did an experiment with radish seeds to show what happens when plants don't get sunlight. We also did an experiment making a "grass head". This experiment was not as successful as Mystery Science predicted it would be, therefore we will be planting our grass in a cup of soil next week and try to grow it again.
Math:
We did more work solving word problems involving time and calculating elapsed time. We also related fractions of an hour to time and learned about relationships among units of time. We read and created pictographs, horizontal and vertical bar graphs, and line plots. We created bar graphs with multidigit numbers. We transferred information from a tally chart to a frequency table, to a line plot and answered questions related to the data. We also used graphs to solve time and measurement word problems, and took our Unit 4 test. These will be sent home after everyone has finished and we have gone over them together in class.
Future World Changer:
Mason Boundy was our first recently featured student! If they made a stamp with Mason on it, he would be sitting on his dad's snowmobile. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington because his picture is on some of our money. In social studies, Mason would like to learn more about World War II and how they did stuff. He would like to visit Hawaii because it is warm there. Mason shared his timeline and told us about shooting his bow, fishing trips, Monster Jam, camping, hunting, and more! Some of his favorites include: color - orange, food - spaghetti, season - winter, subject - math, sport - football, and animal - deer. If he could have a super power, he would choose invisibility so he could sneak out of school. He told us about his family and his pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Rozalynn Eggert was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Rozalynn on it she would be standing outside because she likes the outdoors. In social studies she would like to learn more about geography. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. Rozalynn would like to visit Germany because her ancestors are from there, and Mexico and Hawaii because it is warm in those places. She shared her timeline and told us about important events in her life. She also shared some notes from special people, baby pictures and a picture of her family, a windchime she made, and her stuffed Husky dog. Some of Rozalynn's favorites include: colors - blue, pink, teal, and purple, food - dirty rice hotdish, animal - dog, subject - reading, season - summer, sport - soccer, and holiday - Christmas. If she could have a super power, Rozalynn would choose invisibility so she could sneak out of class. Rozalynn told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What ideas can we get from nature?" Scientists observe nature and come up with new ideas. Sometimes scientists imitate what they see in nature. These ideas help people in many different ways! We learned how nature inspired things such as Velcro, glue that holds even when wet, flippers, parachutes, a cane for blind people, airplanes, streamlined cars, tunnels under rivers, bandages, and many more! The texts we read included "Ideas from Nature", "Bats did it First", "Big Ideas from Nature", and "Perdix Invents the Saw". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. We are currently in the process of writing an opinion paper.
Science:
We learned about day and night patterns in the sky. We learned that the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Sun doesn't actually move, the Earth does. This causes shadows to change during the day. The pattern repeats itself every day. We also learned about moon phases and why the moon looks different in the sky at different times during the month. The moon phases are a pattern that repeat every month. Constellations are star patterns in the sky. The pattern of constellations repeats itself during different seasons of the year. The North Star can help us find directions in the night sky.
We also shared our animal research papers and our paper mache animal projects. The projects were sent home, but the research papers will be added to each student's individual writing portfolio and will be sent home at the end of the school year.
Math:
We are working in Unit 4 which started with understanding fractions. The students learned what a unit fraction is and how they are used to build other fractions. They learned how to use fraction bars and number lines to represent fractions, how to locate fractions on the number line, and how to use fraction bars and number lines to compare and order unit fractions. We learned how to measure in inches, half inches, and quarter inches with a ruler (measuring to the 1/4 inch was tricky for many students - so practice at home would be helpful). We also learned to tell and write time to the minute, quarter hour, half hour, and hour. We practiced telling and writing the time before and after the hour to the nearest minute in different ways. We learned how to calculate elapsed time and to use elapsed time to find the start or end time. We also learned how to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes.
Only three students have passed all their multiplication and division facts. Please encourage your child to practice one set of facts at a time and bring the study sheet in to get tested. Knowing these basic facts is important for upcoming math units as well as for the MCA tests we will be taking this spring.
Junior Achievement:
The Junior Achievement prepares young people to build thriving communities. It addresses many aspects of the communities we live in. We are fortunate to have Avery Klemmer's mom, Sarah, and her coworker, Kelly, from Magnifi Financial here one day each week for five weeks to teach this program to our students. Your child received a postcard and magnet from Junior Achievement. They will bring their junior journals home when the program has been completed.
We will be collecting fruit snacks for the food shelf until March 17th. March 17th will also be hat day as an all school reward for filling the Huskie House.
Future World Changer:
Katie Mizeur was our featured student this week! If they made a stamp featuring Katie, she would have a big smile on her face! She would like to visit Scotland, Iceland, Hawaii, and Florida. In science she would like to learn about clouds and the Earth. A person from history she would like to meet is Helen Keller. Katie shared her timeline and told us about special events with her family. She also shared a flag of America and Scotland, her gymnastics leotard, personalized chocolates, some special stuffed animals, and a story written is Scottish (She even read a page to us in Scottish!). Some of Katie's favorites include: colors - purple and teal, sport - gymnastics, subject - reading, food - chicken strips, season - summer, and books - Beverly Cleary. If she could have a super power she would choose mind control so she could control her sister. Katie told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Here are the links to the February birthday videos and the August 1/2 birthday videos:
https://flip.com/+i7agq4ej (Logan)
https://flip.com/+cmj0gapj (Mason)
https://flip.com/+vwqtzctk (Jackson)
https://flip.com/+9kzsvnje (Norah)
https://flip.com/+suzmn05y (Sophie)
Future World Changer:
We recently celebrated two students on our "Future World Changer" board! The first was Olivia Planting! If they made a stamp with Olivia on it, she would be smiling! Olivia would like to learn more about Greece in social studies. A person from history she would like to meet is George Washington. Olivia would like to visit Hawaii because it's hot there. She shared her timeline with us and told us about some special events like her baptism, cheerleading, moving, and her pet guinea pig. Some of Olivia's favorites include: color - blue, food - Ramen noodles, subjects - spelling and reading, animal - dog, seasons - autumn and spring, holidays - Halloween and Christmas, and sport - gymnastics. If Olivia could choose a super power, she would choose a variety of them. She likes to go to her friend's house and play board games with her family. Olivia told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our second featured student was Anna Sanoski! Anna would like to visit Europe and Greenland. A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth. Anna would like to learn about Asian Animals. She shared her timeline with us and told us about important events in her life such as her baptism, trip to Disney World, birthday parties, dance, 4-wheeling, and going to the circus. If they made a stamp with Anna on it she would be with her niece. Some of Anna's favorites include: colors - blue, purple, and teal, activities - swimming, camping, drawing, and sledding, food- buttered noodles, seasons - summer, fall, and spring, subject - math, and animal - red panda. Anna also shared her adoption baby, squishy, and some photo albums. If she could have a super power she would choose invisibility so she could sneak out of school. Anna told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Literacy:
With so many weather related missed school days, we have been working very hard to catch up on missed time! We have combined our literacy block with our social studies and science units, so we have been learning about animals! Our essential questions included "How can people help animals survive?", "How do animals adapt to challenges in their habitat?", "How can learning about animals help you respect them?", and "What makes different animals unique?" The texts we read included "The Bald Eagle: A Success Story", "Kids to the Rescue", "Whooping Cranes in Danger", "Help the Manatees!", "African Lions", "Gray Wolf! Red Fox!", and "Alligators and Crocodiles". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skills: author's point of view and compare and contrast, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategies: suffixes, sentence clues, and context clues. We have also been working very hard to finish our animal research papers!
Science:
We learned about animal life cycles, animal adaptations and habitats, and ways we can help protect animals. We compared and contrasted alligators and crocodiles using a venn diagram. We also made and painted our paper mache animals. Thank you for sending in so many helpful supplies for this project! We will put these on display in the showcase in the school's lobby for awhile before sending them home with the students.
Math:
We have continued working in Unit 2 to strengthen our knowledge and application of multiplication and division facts. We solved area word problems, unknown number puzzles,, multiplication and division problems involving 7's and 8's, wrote word problems and equations, learned about square numbers, learned about and practiced solving expressions using the order of operations in multi-step problems, learned to multiply with multiples of 10, and solved "what's my rule?" function tables involving multiplication and division. Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her facts on a daily basis and to bring the study sheet in when he/she is ready to get tested on a set of facts.
Future World Changer:
Gabby Burg was our first featured student! If they made a stamp with Gabby on it, she would be smiling! A person from history she would like to meet is her Great Grandma Jo. In social studies, Gabby would like to learn more about the Titanic because she thinks it's cool! She would like to visit Australia to see the koala bears there. Gabby shared her timeline and told us about being a flower girl, a broken bone, playing piano, her cat, and her charm bracelet. Some of her favorites include: food - dumplings, season - summer, color - teal, candy - Snickers, sport - football, subject - P.E., holiday - Christmas, and animal - cat. If she could have a super power, Gabby would choose "shape shift" so she could turn her body into any shape she wanted to. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. Gabby is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Jillian Ostendorf was our second featured student! If they made a stamp with Jillian on it she would have blue hair and be wearing her flowered dress. A person from history she would like to meet is Queen Elizabeth because she was a nice and fair queen. In social studies, Jillian would like to learn more about Ancient Egypt. She would like to visit Hawaii so she could see a whale. She shared her timeline and told us about her trip to Montana, dancing, biking, waterskiing, fishing, and getting her dog. She also showed us her squishmallow. Some of Jillian's favorites include: season - summer, subject - P.E., holiday - Easter, sport - gymnastics, animals - giraffe and dolphin, food - pizza, and colors - blue, green, teal, and mint green. Jillian likes to make fires and have smores with her family. She couldn't decide on a super power she would like to have. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. Jillian is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Here are the birthday videos for the children who had birthdays in January and half birthdays in July!
https://flip.com/+41ibz5ds (Jillian)
https://flip.com/+3gz9oeha (Charlotte)
https://flip.com/406846fd (Katie)
https://flip.com/+0iebvo3m (Chloey S.)
https://flip.com/a5d42eaf (Chloe Kay)
Literacy:
One of our recent essential questions was "How do people make government work?" Government is a group of people who run a country, state, or city. Adults have the right and responsibility to vote. Voting lets people know what we think. Voting gives people the power to help make decisions. The texts we read included "All About Elections", "Every Vote Counts", "Vote!", and "A Plan for the People". We worked on the comprehension strategy : reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes. Our grammar lessons taught us about regular plural nouns.
The other recent essential question was "What do good citizens do?" Being a good citizen means helping other people. Good citizens participate in their community. Being a good citizen means following rules and laws and being respectful of others. Good citizenship makes a community safe. The texts we read included "Jimmy Carter: A Good Citizen", "Dolores Huerta: Growing Up Strong", "Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote", and "Susan B. Anthony Takes Action!" We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes and suffixes. Our grammar lessons taught us about irregular plural nouns.
Social Studies:
We started and are continuing to learn about Government. Government is a group of people who work to protect the rights of citizens. The Constitution is our most important law. It protects our rights and balances power between three branches, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The Executive Branch includes the president, vice president, and the president's staff. These people work out of the White House. Their responsibilities include carrying out the laws, approving or vetoing bills, and leading the military. The Legislative Branch includes the Congress (Senate and House of Representatives). These people work out of the U.S. Capitol Building. Their responsibilities include introducing bills and writing laws. The Judicial Branch includes the U.S. Supreme Court Justices and Federal Courts. They work out of the Supreme Court and other Federal Courthouses. Their responsibilities include deciding if the laws are fair and follow the Constitution.
Math:
We completed and tested on Unit 1 and have moved into Unit 2. Unit 2 will teach more about multiplication and division facts and how they are related. We will move into learning the 6's, 7's, and 8's. We recently learned to multiply and divide with 6, so these facts should be added to your child's daily study routine. We also worked on solving number puzzles with unknown factors and products. It is very important for the children to master their basic facts. Your child can bring his/her study sheet to school to get tested on division facts for each number as well as multiplication facts whenever he/she is ready.
Future World Changer:
Landon Alvord was our featured student! If they made a stamp with Landon on it, he would be playing hockey. In social studies Landon would like to learn about WWII. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington because he was our first president. Landon would like to visit Australia to see the kangaroos. He shared his timeline with us and told us about his trip to Disney World. Landon shows rabbits, chickens, and cows at the Stearns County Fair. Some of his favorites include: color - blue, sport - baseball, holiday - Christmas, season - winter, food - spaghetti, subject - math, and restaurant - Texas Road House. If Landon could have a super power he would choose to have laser eyes so he wouldn't have to use his hands to open boxes. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
As a result of all the eLearning days and snow days, we celebrated our holiday party after Christmas break. We had fun exploring new stations in the GEAR room, playing games in our classroom, and enjoying our treats! Thank you to all families who sent a treat for this party!
Here are the birthday videos for the children who had birthdays in December and half birthdays in June!
flip.com/+qvf5ay0u (Carter)
flip.com/+4hk2udh9 (Gabby)
flip.com/+0d0oshsd (Aleena)
flip.com/9440adc2 (Jillian)
Literacy:
We have recently completed two reading units. Our first essential question was "Why is working together a good way to solve a problem?" Working together is a good way to solve a problem. Cooperation makes the job easier. The texts we read include "A Field Full of Stones", "Anansi Learns a Lesson", "Roadrunner's Dance", and "Deltona is Going Batty". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: antonyms. Our grammar lessons taught us the difference between common nouns and proper nouns.
Our second essential question was "Why do people immigrate to new places?" Many immigrants were looking for opportunities which would make their lives better, such as good jobs, more food, religious freedom, leaving war zones, and for their safety. The texts we read include "Our Story Cloth", "Sailing to America", "The Castle on Hester Street", and "Next Stop, America!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: similes. Our grammar lessons taught us about concrete and abstract nouns. The children brought home a bright pink sheet with the information about our next Speak-Up. They do NOT have to answer all of the questions, just the ones they are able to answer. Also, opportunities will be provided to share next week as well as the following week for students who need more time. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Social Studies:
We learned about many components of Geography including the locations of and facts about the continents and oceans, how to find and use directions on a compass rose, advantages and disadvantages of maps and globes, parts of a map, types of maps, and various landforms. The children made landforms out of salt dough, painted them, shared them with their classmates, and brought them home to share with their families.
Math:
We have now learned how to multiply by 5, 2, 10, 9, 3, 4, 1, and 0. We have learned about the commutative, distributive, and associative properties of multiplication as well as the identity and zero property of multiplication. We have worked with arrays, equal groups, and math mountains to find missing numbers. We are working on building fluency with our multiplication and division facts, so please encourage your child to continue to practice facts at home on a daily basis. We learned how to use variables in equations, and how to find the value of the variables in word problems. We also learned about the 5s shortcut when multiplying larger numbers. We will be finishing and testing on Unit 1 later next week.
Future World Changer:
Avery Klemmer was our featured student! If they would make a stamp of Avery she would be on it with her three sisters. In social studies, Avery would like to learn about World War II and the Vietnam War because her grandpa was in it. She would like to travel to Hawaii to see the sunsets there. A person from history Avery would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. She shared her timeline with us and told us about her trips to a waterpark, Duluth, and Valley Fair. She also told us about starting gymnastics and her First Communion. Some of Avery's favorites include: color - purple, subject - art, season - fall, holiday - Thanksgiving, sport - gymnastics, animal - monkey, and food - Mandarin orange chicken. If Avery could have a super power she would choose super speed so she could run faster than everybody else. When she grows up, she would like to be a daycare lady. Avery told us about her family and pet dog, and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
A couple things to note:
Our class will be performing in the Albany Elementary Christmas program at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 15th in the B.E.A.T.
We had a generous donation of classroom snacks for students who may be in need of one during the day. This was the reason I sent out the survey regarding snack, so they would be going to those who need them or are unable to bring one. If something changes in regard to your response about snack, please send me an email to let me know.
We are in need of quart size baggies in our classroom if anyone happens to have an extra box to share. The kits many families ordered came with gallon size baggies, therefore our supply of quart size is very limited and we use this size most often.
As we all know, winter is here, so please help your child to remember warm clothing to wear outside for recess on a daily basis, as well as regular shoes to wear in the school building and phy ed class.
Thank you for being a partner in your child's education, and please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Enjoy the weekend!
Literacy:
Last week our essential question was "How can problem solving lead to new ideas?" Problem solving can lead to new ideas, and the solution, or answer to the problem, might be an invention. Almost every new invention started with a problem and a new idea. Inventions can make our lives better. Some inventions help us learn. Other inventions entertain us. The texts we read included "Chester Greenwood and His Cold Ears", "Mary Anderson's Great Invention", "All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine", and "Lighting the World". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: Metaphors.
This week and next week our essential question is "How do landmarks help us understand our country's story?" ( Just a reminder that we have integrated our social studies and science units into our literacy units, so we will not have a spelling and vocabulary test every week. Please watch your child's planner for test dates and what we are learning in class.) People visit monuments to learn about important people and events in history. Landmarks such as buildings and structures demonstrate teh technology and innovation of previous generations. Natural landmarks make our country special and unique. The texts we read/ will read include "America's Landmarks and Memorials", "A Natural Beauty", "A Mountain of History", and "A Landmark Street". We are working on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple-meaning words. Our grammar lessons are teaching us about multiple- meaning words as well. We are in the process of finishing our personal narrative writing project.
Social Studies:
We learned about Ancient Egypt. We learned where Egypt is located on a world map, and that it is a desert. We learned about the Nile River, Pyramids, Pharaohs, Mummies, and Hieroglyphics. The children brought home their folder, assessment, and paper pyramid.
We are starting a unit on Geography. We learned that geography is the study of the Earth and its physical features. Geography looks at the water, air, animals, and land of the planet. Geographers are scientists who study the Earth's physical features. They study where things are and how things got there. We learned about the seven continents and five oceans. We will continue to learn more about geography over the next two weeks.
I am attaching pictures of our final Greek influenced building projects. The children had fun with this! They played Rock, Paper, Scissors as a fair way to determine who got to bring the project home.
Math:
We started learning about Multiplication. We learned to identify and use patterns to multiply with 5 and 2. We practiced using charts, equal groups and equal shares, arrays, count by's, fingers, and a multiplication table. We wrote equations and solved real world word problems involving multiplication. We learned about the commutative property of multiplication, therefore 5 x 6 = 6 x 5. We used math mountains to show the relationship between multiplication and division and also solved real world word problems involving division. We learned the mathematical terms equation, factor, product, dividend, divisor, quotient, even number, and odd number. The children have a study sheet in their 3 ring binder. They should be practicing their facts on a daily basis in the order we are learning them, and bringing their sheets back to school to be tested on. It is important for them to build fact fluency in the early stages of multiplication for success in future lessons.
Future World Changer:
Henry Eveslage was our featured student last week! If they made a stamp featuring Henry, he would be on it with his dog. In social studies he would like to learn more about Greece and how people lived. A person from history he would like to meet is Teddy Roosevelt to learn more about what he did. Henry would like to visit Germany because his grandpa's dad was born there. He shared his timeline with us and told us about his trips to Yellowstone and Arizona. In his freetime Henry likes to play football. Some of his favorites include: food - pizza, colors - red and black, subject - math, season - winter, animal - snow leopard, sport - football, and holiday - Halloween. If Henry could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could walk out of school. He told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Carter Frieler was our featured student this week! In social studies, Carter would like to learn about WW II. A person from history he would like to meet is Davy Crockett because he was a big hunter. Carter would like to visit Brazil because there is cool stuff there. He shared his timeline with us and told us about his fishing trips with his dad, the 24 inch walleye he caught, and the big bass he had mounted. He also told us about his trip to Paul Bunyan Land. Some of Carter's favorites include: sport - football, season - winter, holiday - Christmas, color - blue, food - steak, and subject - math. If Carter could have a super power he would choose laser eyes so he could burn stuff. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
We had a lot of fun on Halloween. The children were divided into four groups and did different rotations with some of their friends in the other third grade classrooms. We also had time in our own classroom to eat our snacks and visit with our friends. Thank you to everyone who sent a snack for the class! Our next classroom party will be before the Christmas holiday break.
We celebrated Anna's birthday and Olivia's birthday in October. Here are the special messages their classmates recorded for them.
Classroom Update - October 14, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question was "How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?" There are many different ways to share culture with a community. Some ways are sharing food, types of music and dance, and stories. When people in a community share their culture, they contribute to the community. Sharing culture helps people learn from each other. The texts we read included "Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art", "Room to Grow", "Gary the Dreamer", and "Sharing Polkas and Pitas". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: narrative nonfiction, and the vocabulary strategy: compound words. Our grammar lessons taught us about the subject and predicate of a sentence.
Social Studies:
We learned about the foods the Ancient Greek people ate, that they created a democracy which means "rule by the people", about their theater and religion, the Olympic games, and the columns in Greek architecture. The children used boxes, paper tubes, and paper to create buildings in Washington, D.C. that are designed as a result of Greek influence. The pictures above are works in progress. I will take pictures when these are completely finished and share them with you as well. Thank you for sending in the supplies so we could make these! It was a fun project!
Math:
We were subtraction detectives and did more work on ungrouping and regrouping before solving subtraction problems. We learned about "math mountains" and the related addition and subtraction facts that create equations in them. We practiced solving real world problems where we had to decide which operation to use to get the correct answer. Some of the problems required us to do multistep math problems in order to get the answer. We worked through addition and subtraction problems which were mixed together - reminding the children to look closely at the problem before solving it. These problems included word problems as well as basic addition and subtraction problems. Please encourage your child to continue to work on the basic addition and subtractions facts, either with at home flashcards, or on the online website "Mobymax" where they can log in and work on fact fluency. Next week we will be starting a new math unit where we will begin learning our multiplication facts, so having mastery of the addition and subtraction facts would be very helpful.
Future World Changer:
Chloe Kay Luitjens was the first featured student on our "Future World Changer" board! In social studies Chloe would like to learn more about Greece. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln. Chloe would like to visit Brazil because she heard it is very pretty there and they have foods she would like to try. She shared her timeline with us and told us about her trips to Mexico and Yellowstone. Chloe has one brother, a pet cat, and a bearded dragon. Some of her favorites include: food - steak, sports - basketball and soccer, season - fall, subjects - reading and math, animal - lion, colors - pink and black, and book series - Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If Chloe could have a superpower, she would choose to be able to fly so she could go anywhere she wants to go. She likes to go biking and play outside. When she grows up she would like to be a musician.
Misc.
A few reminders.....
Please remind your child to return his/her A.R. book and 3 ring binder with the purple folder to school on a daily basis. We use these items every day, so it is difficult when children forget them at home.
The weather is only getting colder. It is important for the children to have a warm coat, mittens or gloves, and a hat to wear outside. A lightweight sweatshirt or long sleeve top will likely not be enough to keep them warm.
We will be having a Halloween Party on the afternoon of Monday, October 31st. If any of you would be willing to send a treat for the class, please email me and let me know. All treats sent to school must be store or bakery purchased and in the original packaging. There are 23 students in our class this year.
The children should bring their costumes to school in a bag or in their backpack rather than wearing them to school. We will have classes as normal in the morning, then put on our costumes for the party in the afternoon.
Classroom Update - October 4, 2022
Literacy / Social Studies:
For the past two weeks we integrated our literacy and social studies blocks of time. Our essential question was "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" Culture is the way a group of people live. Traditions are things that are passed down within a culture from one generation to the next. The texts we read include "Ready for Aloha!", "The Dream Catcher", "Yoon and the Jade Bracelet", and "Family Traditions". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: context clues. We also read the story of the Dream Catcher and made our own dream catchers. Our grammar lessons helped us review the four types of sentences, and our spelling words contained the short vowel sounds of e, o, and u.
We integrated Ancient Greek culture during this time as well. We learned about the geography of Ancient Greece and how it affected the way people lived. We learned about the boats, called triremes, they used to get around, responsibilities of men and women in Ancient Greece, as well as about their homes and clothing. Thank you for sending in cardboard, boxes, and paper tubes! We hope to design our Greek inspired buildings in the next few days!
Math:
We learned how to round to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100 using multi digit numbers. Many students still need extra practice with this skill, therefore the math work being sent home for the Learning from Home Day will be to work on rounding numbers. If your child would like more math practice he/she can write some 3 digit addition and subtraction problems on a piece of paper to solve. We practiced word problems where we had to round to make an estimate to answer the questions. We explored multi digit addition and learned to solve problems by using the "all totals", "new groups above", and "new groups below" methods as well as by making proof drawings to solve the problems. We also explored methods for subtracting multi digit numbers including proof drawings, ungrouping from left to right, and ungrouping from right to left as well as subtracting across zeros.
If you have addition and subtraction flashcards at home, I encourage your child to practice the basic facts. There are also math websites on this Google Site page where your child can play games to help reinforce learning the facts and developing fact fluency. We will be starting to learn multiplication in the near future, so mastery of addition and subtraction facts first is important so they aren't overwhelmed with all the facts they need to learn as time goes on.
Misc.
We will not have a spelling test every week this year. Because we integrated our science and social studies units with our literacy units, we may need more than one week to finish our learning. Please watch your child's planner for information on when tests will be taken.
Please help your child to remember to bring his/her A.R. book and 3 ring binder to school every day. Many students are coming to school telling me they forgot these items at home.
We are currently learning our lowercase cursive letters in handwriting.
If your child will only miss one day of school, we will be happy to help catch him/her up on what was missed the next day. If your child is going to be absent for multiple days, I will do my best to put work together for him/her.
As per school policy, nonfood birthday treats are allowed, however food treats are no longer allowed to be sent in for birthdays.
Our Walk-a-Thon will take place this Thursday, October 6th from 12:30-2:30. If your child has a donation envelope that you plan to return to school, please try to do so by this date. Additionally, please make sure your child has comfortable shoes and a sweatshirt or jacket to wear outside for this event. A water bottle may be helpful too.
Congratulations to Katie Mizeur and Norah Hennen, who were elected to the Albany Elementary Student Council this school year!
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
It took awhile for everyone to get these finished, and we are still learning how to get our volume loud enough for everyone to hear, so not all videos are perfect, but we're learning. Here are the links for our September birthday videos:
Classroom Update - September 16, 2022
Literacy:
We spent the first week of school reading and discussing stories to help remind us of positive social skills, how to treat others the way we want to be treated, and being respectful of the diversity in our classroom, school, and world. We read "Muggie Maggie", a short story about a girl who was a reluctant cursive writer. Eventually Maggie wanted to learn to read and write cursive. We started practicing our basic cursive strokes this week and will move on to letters next week. We also learned about our 'Pawsitive Pride" expectations: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe.
This week we started our Reading Wonders curriculum. Our essential question was "What can stories teach you?" Reading can inspire us to learn about new things, other people, and different places. The texts we read included "Three Pigs, a Wolf, and a Book", "Bruno's New Home", "Wolf!", and "Jennie and the Wolf". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: character, the genre: fantasy, and the vocabulary skill: synonyms. Our grammar lessons taught us about complete sentences versus sentence fragments.
Your child will receive a list of spelling and vocabulary words for each new week. These will be kept in a sheet protector in their three ring binder. A test will be given on these words at the end of the week. If there will be no spelling test or vocabulary test on a given week, your child will note that in his/her planner.
We took our Fastbridge reading test to gather data on where each child is with his/her reading skills. A "good fit" reading level and A.R. goal were set for the the first nine weeks of school based on your child's reading zone. You will find this information as well as a reading record sheet in your child's three ring binder. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Math:
We started our "Math About Me" project last week and are hoping to finish it soon. We also took the Fastbridge math test to gather data where each child is with his/her math skills. The third grade teachers and other team members will use the information from the Fastbridge testing to help us determine intervention groups and differentiate for students' learning needs.
We started our Math Expressions curriculum this week and are learning the routines of math class. We reviewed place value of the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands places. We practiced making place value drawings of numbers using ones dots, tens sticks, hundreds boxes, and thousands bars. We also practiced writing numbers in expanded form with numbers and words. We used secret code cards to build numbers and make drawings for them.
Misc.
September 15th was "Dot Day". We watched the story "The Dot" on Bookflix, then each child used their imagination to created their own dot picture. We will hang these in the hallway with pictures from friends in all the third grade classrooms.
We had fun doing some team building activities the first week of school. We saved Fred, stacked cups, connected dots, and put together puzzle pieces to create squares. Please ask your child which activity he/she thought was most fun!
We celebrated Avery, Rozalynn, and Valery's birthdays this week. All three of them had a birthday just before school started, so they wanted to celebrate as close to their birthdays as possible. As soon as their classmates have finished their birthday message videos, I will try to add the links to this update for you to view.
We've had a great first two weeks of school..... getting to know each other, learning our routines, and becoming a classroom family! Please remember to check your child's purple folder on a daily basis and remove papers that can be left at home. Also, please remember to look at and initial your child's planner on a daily basis. One more request: Please help your child to be responsible in remembering to bring his/her A.R. book back to school every day. Many children are telling me they forgot their A.R. book at home. It is important that it is here on a daily basis. Thank you in advance for your help.
Final Classroom Update - June 3, 2022
The past couple of weeks have been super busy and filled with many activities! Here are some of our highlights:
We took a field trip to Hemker's Park and Zoo! The kids had a fun time learning about the animals, playing on the equipment, chatting over lunch, and just spending time with each other and their friends from other classrooms. It was their first field trip in over two years, so they were very excited! Thanks to Angie Burg and Lindsy Sand for chaperoning and sharing the pictures of their groups! We also went on a field trip to the planetarium at SCSU to learn about the stars and planets in outer space! This was an awesome educational experience!
We made and launched our rockets! 3 - 2 - 1 - BLAST OFF!! The kids had a blast with this activity! A special thanks to Ben Kalthoff for helping with the launching! Thanks also to the parents who came out to share in our excitement!
We went to the Albany Public Library to learn about the summer reading program. I encourage your child to participate in this if possible. Reading during the summer will benefit your child in many ways!
We also went to the Dairy Queen and the community park off of Countryside Lane with our friends from the other third grade classes. A fun time was had by all!
Future World Changer:
Zoey Spaeth was our final featured student this year! If they made a stamp featuring Zoey it would be a picture of her with her dog Bella. In social studies Zoey would like to learn about animals whose fur changes color in the winter. A person from history she would like to meet is Dr. Martin Luther King because he was a Civil Rights leader. Zoey would like to visit many places including France, McDonald Islands, South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia. She shared her timeline and told us about her trips to North Dakota, Texas, and Florida. Some of Zoey's favorites include: subject - math, season - fall, holiday - Easter, color - black, food - sushi, animal - sloth, sport - gymnastics, and book - Wish. If she could have a super power, she would choose invisibility so she could hide. Zoey has 2 dogs and 1 cat. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
The Texas Road House staff came out to celebrate the students who made it to the "100 Club" or beyond in "Buggy For Books"! This was another fun experience to celebrate reading success!
Yesterday your child brought home a large envelope containing important information and some very special memories and keepsakes from his/her year in third grade. Please fill your child with praise for his/her hard work, accomplishments, and growth this year! I am so very proud of each and every one of them, and I will miss them all dearly next year! Thank you for sharing your child with me, and for being a partner in his/her education! Have a wonderful summer making memories with your family!!!
Classroom Update - May 13, 2022
Literacy:
Last week our essential question was "What are different kinds of energy?" Energy comes from many different sources. Energy from the wind and the Sun are renewable. They can be used again and again. The texts we read included "Using Power", "Here Comes Solar Power", "It's All in the Wind", and "Power for All". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: homophones. Our grammar lessons taught us about multiple meaning words.
This week our essential question was "How can weather affect us?" (Fitting for the weather this week!). Weather affects how we dress and what we do. Sometimes severe weather affects the way we live. The texts we read included "Joshua's Odd Neighbor", "The Big Blizzard", "Nora's Ark", and "The Wind and the Sun". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: idioms. We also worked hard on our alphabet alliteration poems.
Math:
We completed our math MCA tests last week and our FAST reading and math tests this week. We did more work with parallelograms, rectangles, squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids. We drew and identified characteristics of various quadrilaterals, and also classified them according to their attributes. We also solved real world problems related to geometry. We learned to solve addition and subtraction word problems using "math mountains" and strengthened our understanding of the math vocabulary words: addend, total, sum, difference, factors, product, equal and not equal. We learned to represent and solve word problems with unknown addends and unknown factors.
Science:
We are currently learning about ENERGY. Energy is the ability to do work or to cause change. The Sun is our main source of energy on Earth. Potential energy is stored energy, while kinetic energy is energy of motion. We also learned about chemical, mechanical, electrical, light, and thermal energy - and that energy can change from one form to another. Energy travels from one place to another as waves.
We also worked on making our rockets to launch at the end of May. I will let you all know the date once it has been scheduled if you'd like to join us for rocket launching.
Future World Changer:
Bryce Sand was our featured student last week! In social studies, Bryce would like to learn about history because he thinks history is cool! A person from history he would like to meet is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because he wanted all people to be treated fairly. Bryce would like to visit Mexico because it's nice and warm there. He shared his timeline and told us about his trip to Washington State. If Bryce could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could hide from his sister. Some of his favorites include: subject - reading, animal - dog, color - orange, season - summer, holiday - Christmas, food - steak, and sport - soccer. He has two sisters and a pet dog named Milo. He likes reading "I Survived" books. When he grows up Bryce would like to be a police officer. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Kinsley Paris was our featured student this week! In social studies Kinsley would like to learn about the Vietnam War because her grandpa was in it. A person from history she would like to meet is Benjamin Franklin because he discovered electricity. She would like to visit Figi to see the houses over the really blue water. She shared her timeline and told us about her trips to Texas, California, and Arizona. She also plays hockey and went to a rodeo. Kinsley has her red belt in karate. If she could have a super power she would choose shape shifting so she could turn into animals. Some of her favorites include: season - fall, color - purple, food - Chick-Fil-A sandwich, subject - art, sport - hockey, holiday - 4th of July, and animal - dog. She also brought some fun things to share with the class. Kinsley told us about her pets and family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
A Couple More Things.....
*The children filled their gem jar and voted to play basketball in the gym. A great time was had by all!
*Please return your child's Dairy Queen money and treat choice as soon as possible if you haven't already done so.
*Just a reminder that our field trip to Hemker Park and Zoo will take place next Tuesday. If your child signed up for a school lunch, one will be packed for him/her. If not, please remember to send a cold lunch to school that day.
*We are done with spelling tests for this school year.
Classroom Update - April 29, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How can we reuse what we already have?" It is important to practice conservation, or care of our natural resources. One way we can conserve resources is by recycling. When we recycle something, we put it through a special process so it can be used again. The texts we read included "The School Garden", "The New Hoop", "Bravo, Tavo!", and "Trash into Art". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: homographs. Our grammar lessons taught us about subjects and predicates.
Our essential question this week was "How do teams work together?" Team members must trust each other and communicate well in order to get jobs done. When disasters happen, rescue teams are trained to help. Teams also work toward disaster prevention. Preventing a disaster can save even more lives. The texts we read included "Firefighters: Teamwork Counts", "Rescue Dogs Save the Day", "Wildfires", and "Windy Gale and the Great Hurricane". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: sentence clues. Our grammar lessons taught us about subject / verb agreement.
We also took our reading MCA test this week.
Math:
We have been learning about Geometry concepts. We learned about parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines, line segments, and rays. We learned about acute, obtuse, reflex, straight, and right angles. We learned about equilateral, isosceles, scalene, and right triangles. We learned what a polygon is, and identified the sides, angles, and vertices of polygons as well as identifying them as concave or convex polygons. We learned about the properties of quadrilaterals, parallelograms, rectangles, squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids. We also spent time reviewing concepts for our math MCA test which will take place next week.
Science:
We continued our unit on plants. We learned that the stems hold up the leaves, flowers and fruits of a plant, they move water and minerals from the roots to the leaves, and sometimes they protect the plant. The roots hold the plant in the ground, take in water and minerals from the soil, and store food for the plant. Flowers make the seeds for the plant. They must be pollinated before seeds can be made. Flowers turn into the fruits of the plant. We learned that deciduous trees grow flowers to make seeds and lose their leaves in the fall and grow new leaves in the spring. Coniferous trees grow cones to make seeds, and do not lose all their leaves (needles) in the fall. We learned that seeds can scatter through the wind, water, being carried by animals, or being eaten by animals. We also learned about the life cycle of a plant. We can learn about plants that lived long ago by studying fossils, a mark of a living thing from long ago. Some plants from long ago are extinct, but some are still alive today. We took our plants assessment on Friday. This was a Google Form, so your child was able to see his/her score when he/she finished the assessment. The scores were also released and sent to your child's school email address. There will not be a paper copy of the test coming home.
Future World Changer:
Hector Raya was our featured student this week! In social studies, Hector would like to learn about American history because he wants to learn more about America. He would like to visit Mexico because some of his family members live there. A person from history he would like to meet is Benjamin Franklin because he was one of the forefathers of the Declaration of Independence. Hector shared his timeline with us and told us about his trip to Arizona. He has two sisters, a baby brother, and a pet dog. He likes to go outside to play football, soccer, and tag. His talents are swimming and running. Some of Hector's favorites include: colors - red and blue, sport - football, food - he has many favorites, season - summer because it's warm, subject - math, animal - dog, and season - Christmas because he can celebrate with his family. If Hector could have a super power he would choose invisibility so he could hide from his sisters. Hector told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"
Classroom Update - April 14, 2022
Literacy:
Last week our essential question was "How do we get what we need?" People meet their needs in different ways. We can use money to buy the things we need. We can also try to barter or trade to get the things we need. The texts we read included "Wei and the Golden Goose", "Juanita and the Beanstalk", "Clever Jack Takes the Cake", and "When Corn was Ca$h". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: fairy tale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. Our grammar lessons taught us about comparatives and superlatives.
This week our essential question was "How can we reuse what we already have?" Many things we use can be reused or recycled. Reusing things helps keep our Earth clean. We all should reuse and recycle what we can. It is important to practice conservation, or care of our natural resources. The texts we read included "The School Garden", "The New Hoop", "Bravo, Tavo!", and "Trash into Art". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: homographs. Our grammar lessons taught us about subjects and predicates.
Math:
We learned about the meaning of equivalent fractions and how to find them. We used number lines to find two or more equivalent fractions. We used fraction concepts to solve real world problems, and explored fractions of sets. We learned how to count back change from word problems involving money. We also learned how to read a thermometer and identify hot, warm, cool, and cold temperatures. We are in the process of taking our Unit 5 assessment.
The children reviewed area and perimeter by creating an area / perimeter robot. These were a great way to review these challenging concepts! The robots are on display outside our classroom, and will be sent home in a couple of weeks.
Science:
The students finished their planet posters and shared them with their classmates. They were very proud of their research and final projects! These are also on display in the hallway outside our classroom and will be sent home after the Easter break.
We are currently learning about plants. So far we have learned the main parts of a plant, and what plants need to survive. We learned that plants can make their own food using energy from the sun and nutrients from water and the soil. This happens in the leaves of a plant and is called photosynthesis. We learned about how leaves help plants.
We had our last Junior Achievement class this week, where we learned about zones in a city. We are grateful to our volunteer teachers, Alisha and Lynn, for providing us with this fun and educational experience!
Future World Changer:
Hannah Suchy was our featured student this week! A place Hannah would like to visit is Hawaii because it's warm there, and her parents are going there soon. A person from history she would like to meet is George Washington because he was the first president. In social studies, Hannah would like to learn about the history of the United States. She shared her timeline and told us about her trip to Mount Rushmore and Iowa, where she got to ride a horse. She likes to spend time at her cabin. If Hannah could have a super power she would choose teleportation so that she could go home whenever she wanted to. Some of her favorites include: color - purple, animal - wolf, sport - basketball, subject - reading, season - spring, pet - cat, and holiday - Christmas. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Classroom Update - April 1, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question was "What choices are good for us?" We make a variety of decisions every day. Making smart choices takes a lot of practice. Smart choices help us lead healthy lives. The texts we read included "Three Wishes", "Nail Soup", "The Real Story of Stone Soup", and "Healthful Food Choices". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: point of view, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. Our grammar lessons taught us about conjunctions. We have finished our "How To" papers and they have been added to our writing portfolios.
Math:
We took our Unit 4 test and moved on to Unit 5 which will teach us about measurement and fractions. We learned that perimeter is the distance around the outside of a figure, while area is the space inside a figure. We practiced calculating perimeter and area on a variety of shapes and in a variety of ways. We learned how to write equations to find areas of rectangles and use given perimeters for areas to find unknown sides. We learned that rectangles with the same perimeter can have different areas, and rectangles with the same area can have different perimeters. We learned to find areas of rectilinear figures by decomposing them into two or more rectangles and finding the sum of the parts. We completed story problems to find area and perimeter. Finally we started using tangram shapes to find the areas of different figures. Thank you for encouraging your child to practice his/her math facts at home on a daily basis. Some children have mastered their facts, while others still have quite a few to learn. These facts are the foundation for many upcoming math concepts.
Science:
We have been learning about our solar system, what it consists of, and interesting facts about the eight planets in our solar system. Each child worked with a partner to research one of the planets in our solar system, and they are now working on a poster to present what they learned with their classmates.
Future World Changer:
Kiley Kalthoff was our featured student this week! Kiley would like to visit Florida because it's warm and her aunt went there. In social studies/science she would like to learn more about the stars in constellations. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln because she'd like to learn how he stopped slavery. Kiley shared her timeline and told us about her trips to Duluth, South Dakota, and Iowa. She is the oldest child in her family and has 2 brothers and 2 sisters as well as 2 dogs and some kittens. If she had a super power, Kiley would choose invisibility so she could hide from people. Some of her favorites include: color-green, food-tacos, season-fall, animal-kitten, sport-gymnastics, holiday-Easter, subjects - reading, social studies, science, and art. Kiley told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Classroom Update - March 18, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "How is each event in history unique?" History is made up of many unique events. Remembering historical events can teach us much about the past as well as provide us lessons to guide us in the future. The texts we read include "The California Gold Rush", "The Long Road to Oregon", "Riding the Rails West", and "Discovering Life Long Ago". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes. We spent time completing the outline for our "How To" paper, writing our rough drafts, and moving on to our final copies. We plan to finish these by next week.
Math:
This week we learned how to represent data and solve comparison problems on pictographs and bar graphs. We interpreted data on these types of graphs, then we used given data to create these types of graphs. We also learned how to analyze data involving multi digit numbers to create horizontal and vertical bar graphs. Additionally we learned how to construct and analyze frequency tables, line plots, pictographs, and bar graphs.
Science:
We practiced putting the phases of the moon in the correct order, read some stories to learn more about the constellations in the sky, played a game of Kahoot to review our unit on Patterns in the Sky, and took our end of unit test. These were corrected and sent home on Friday.
Future World Changer:
Lauren Jonas was our featured student this week! In social studies, Lauren would like to learn about the past of our country and of her family. A person from history she would like to meet is Abraham Lincoln, because he was a good president. She would like to visit Hawaii because it is hot there. She shared her timeline, which included being a flower girl in her aunt's wedding and taking a trip to Idaho. Lauren likes to do arts and crafts, read, ride horses, and travel. She lives on a hobby farm and has one brother and one sister. Lauren would like to be a teacher when she grows up. If she could have a super power, she would choose camouflage so she could hide from her brother and sister. Some of her favorites include: food - tacos, animal - cat, color - teal, season - spring, holiday - Easter, subject - art, and sport - basketball. She told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Junior Achievement:
Hannah's mom, Alisha and her coworker, Lynn volunteered to teach Junior Achievement to our class this year! We are excited to have this opportunity!
Classroom Update - March 10, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question was "What ideas can we get from nature?" Scientists observe nature and look for new ideas. Sometimes scientists imitate what they see in nature. These ideas help people in many different ways. The texts we read include "Ideas from Nature", "Bats did it First", "Big Ideas from Nature", and "Perdix Invents the Saw". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: root words. Our grammar lessons taught us about linking verbs. We also started writing a "How To" paper this week.
Math:
We are working in Unit 4. So far we learned about what a fraction is and what it represents, how to use fraction bars and number lines to represent fractions, how to locate fractions on the number line, how to compare and order fractions, how to measure length in inches, half inches, and quarter inches with rulers, how to tell and write time to the minute, quarter hour, half hour, and hour, how to tell and write the time before and after the hour to the nearest minute in different ways, how to find elapsed time in hours and minutes, and how to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes.
Science:
We have been learning about "Patterns in the Sky". The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. This causes day and night. It also causes shadows to change based on the position of the Sun in the sky. Earth revolves around the Sun on a path called an orbit. This revolution takes 365 days and causes the seasons. We learned that the moon revolves around the Earth and that we see different amounts of its lit surface during the month. These are called moon phases. We also learned about constellations, patterns of stars, in the sky. These change location during the seasons. The children will be bringing home their science notebooks to study for our test on "Patterns in the Sky" which will be next Tuesday. They will also be bringing their moon phase cards to practice the order of moon phases, which they will also need to know for the test next week.
Future World Changer:
Chance Rogers was our featured student this week! Chance would like to visit Canada. In social studies, he would like to learn more about the USA. A person from history he would like to meet is Theodore Roosevelt because he would like to know how and why he became a president. If Chance could have a super power, he would choose super speed so he could get around faster. Some of Chance's favorites include: food - ice cream, dinner - meatloaf, animal - cat, season - summer because he likes to go biking, sport - soccer, color - blue, subject - gym, and movie - Encanto. Chance likes to play Roblox in his free time. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
A couple other things...
Tomorrow is an At Home Learning Day. The Third Grade Teachers put together a packet of activities for the students to work on. They will not be bringing a Chromebook home. Tomorrow is a Day 2 for our class, so they would have Phy Ed. Mr. Johnson's activity has an online video. If your child does not have online access at home, please have him/her do their best to do the exercises listed on Mr. Johnson's letter. The work on the checklist inside the packet should be returned to school next Monday.
Our classroom is in need of quart-sized baggies if anyone has a box they would be willing to share.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and have a wonderful weekend!
Classroom Update - February 11, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question last week was "How can one person change the way you think?" People can inspire us, lead the way for us, teach us how to stand up for what we believe in, and use their leadership skills to make a difference. The texts we read included "Meeting the Pride of Puerto Rico", "Jane's Discovery", "Finding Lincoln", and "A Great American Teacher". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: idioms. Our grammar lessons taught us about concrete and abstract nouns.
Our essential question this week was "What do we know about Earth and its neighbors?" Astronomy is the study of outer space. Astronomers study the planets as well as the objects far beyond our solar system. They use special tools such as telescopes, satellites, and spaceships to study the universe. They make new discoveries every day about Earth and our solar system. The texts we read included "Our Home in the Solar System", "Earth and Its Neighbors", "Earth", and "Coyote and the Jar of Stars". We worked on the comprehension strategy: summarize, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes. Our grammar lessons taught us how to write possessive nouns.
Math:
We continued to practice our addition and subtraction skills in isolation as well as in word problems. We learned how addition and subtraction problems are related to each other including grouping and ungrouping . We learned to use place value to read and write numbers through hundred thousands and to compare, order, and estimate with greater numbers. We also learned how to multiply 2 and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. This is more challenging for the children who don't have their basic facts mastered, so please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her multiplication and division facts. We learned to complete and input-output table when given the rule and to write the rule for an input-output table when given the values. The children took the end of Unit 3 test on Friday. These will be sent home when I get back to school.
Social Studies:
The children finished their paper mache animal creations, shared them along with their research papers, and put them on display in the lobby. The research papers will be kept at school to add to the writing portfolio, however the paper mache animals will be sent home on Friday.
We also spent some time learning about the Chinese New Year. The Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important festival in China. It is celebrated at the beginning of spring and the start of the new zodiac year. It starts on the first day of a new moon and ends on the 15th day which is a full moon and the lantern festival. People celebrate by cleaning their houses, buying new clothes, lighting fireworks and lanterns, and decorating their houses in colors such as red and gold which mean good luck. Family and friends give money to children in red envelopes.
Future World Changer:
Blake Shay was our featured student last week! In social studies Blake would like to learn about Native Americans and how they hunted. A person from history he would like to meet is his Grandpa Frank who died before he was born. Blake would like to visit Hawaii because he'd like to go on an airplane and swim in the water there. Blake shared his timeline and told us about his trips to Yellowstone, South Dakota, and Duluth. He also told us he went on a fishing trip. If Blake could have a super power he would like to be really quick so he could get places fast. He lives on a farm and likes to drive tractors. Some of Blake's favorites include: animal - cat, color - orange, food - tomato soup with grilled cheese, subject - gym, season - fall, and sport - football. Blake likes to collect sea shells. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
A couple things to note:
I will not be in school through February 25th, and my computer will be left at school for my substitute. If you need anything related to school, please contact the office and they will help you. My substitute will not be responding to my emails. I will be back in school on Monday, February 28th.
Our Valentine's Day party will be on Monday, February 14th. Two families have volunteered to bring treats for the students, so we would still welcome a couple more people to bring a treat if it works for you. The children have decorated bags for their valentines, and games and activities have been planned.
Classroom Update - January 28, 2022
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What makes different animals unique?" All animals have qualities that are unique. Animals use their special features to get what they need, protect themselves, and communicate. The texts we read include "Bear, Beaver, and Bee", "Inchworm's Tale", "Martina the Beautiful Cockroach", and "Get a Backbone!" We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: problem and solution, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: synonyms. Our grammar lessons taught us about common and proper nouns. We worked very hard to finish our animal research papers this week. This was a BIG job, and the children can be very proud of their hard work!
Math:
We used our understanding of place value to group and ungroup multi digit numbers to solve word problems. We learned to identify numbers from scrambled place value names and solved word problems. We learned to round to the nearest 100 and the nearest 10 to estimate sums and differences. We discussed and applied four different addition methods including the show all totals method, the new groups below method, the new groups above method, and proof drawings. Students learned when they need to regroup in addition and used addition and multiplication to solve word problems. We also explored methods for subtracting multi digit numbers including ungrouping first with numerical problems and making proof drawings for subtraction. The students learned to subtract across zero as well. They identified errors in addition and subtraction problems to apply the strategies they learned for accuracy. Three children have passed all their multiplication and division facts. Please continue to encourage your child to practice facts on a daily basis and come to school ready to test on them. These basic facts are the foundation for more complex problems in future math lessons.
Science:
We took our test on animals last week. This was done on Google Classroom and the scores have been released to the children. We spent time this week creating the basic body shape of the animals we researched, then covering them with paper mache newspaper strips. This was a bit messy, but very fun! We will paint our animals, and then the children will read their animal research papers to the class and share their paper mache animal creation. We hope to put these on display to share with our school community as well! Thank you for sending in all the supplies we needed and used for this fun project!
A Couple Things to Note:
The conference sign up was posted today. For those of you who sign up for February 2nd or 3rd, the main door to the school will be open until 4:00. If you sign up for a conference after 4:00 you will need to come into the building through Door 5, which is at the north end of the building. (The door Kid's Company uses). February 10th the main door will be open for all conference times. I am sending a "Parent Survey" home with your child today. Please complete this and return it to school at your earliest convenience before your child's conference. Thank you in advance!
Mr. Johnson, our P.E. teacher, has informed me that our class will be going sledding on Wednesday, February 2nd. They must have snow pants, a coat, boots, gloves, and hats in order to go sledding. Please help your child to be prepared for this fun opportunity next Wednesday. Sleds will not be allowed from home as the school has enough sleds here for each student to use one.
We did not have a Future World Changer this week or last week due to the large number of students who were out of school. We will have a new Future World Changer next week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for being a partner in your child's education!
Classroom Update - January 14, 2022
Literacy:
Last week our essential question was "How can people help animals survive?" We can protect their habitats, keep their habitats clean, and join special groups that respect and help animals. The texts we read included "The Bald Eagle: A Success Story", "Kids to the Rescue", "Whooping Cranes in Danger", and "Help the Manatees!". We learned about how oil spills happen and the damage they cause, how to prevent them, and how people try to clean them up. We also learned about endangered animals and how people can make efforts to help and protect them. We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: suffixes. We also started working on our animal research papers.
This week our essential question was "How do animals adapt to challenges in their habitat?" Animals adapt to the natural features of where they live, such as the weather, type of land, and plants that grow there. Often the color of their bodies blend in with their environment. The texts we read included "African Lions", "Gray Wolf! Red Fox!", and "Amazing Wildlife of the Mojave". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: compare and contrast, (We used a venn diagram to compare and contrast foxes and wolves.) the genre: expository test, and the vocabulary strategy: sentence clues. We continued to work on our animal research papers this week.
Math:
We practiced identifying important information in a pictograph and reading a pictograph to solve math problems. We took the end of Unit 2 test. A few children have not finished this yet due to many absences. I will go over this test with the class as soon as everyone has finished, and then it will be sent home. Thank you to those who are encouraging your children to practice and master their multiplication and division facts. It is very helpful as we move forward in our math units. We started Unit 3 which focuses on multidigit addition, subtraction, and multiplication. We reviewed place value for the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands digits. We practiced putting numbers together with secret code cards, drawing them with pictures, taking them apart, and writing them in extended notation.
Science:
For the past two weeks we have been integrating our science unit on animals with our literacy units on animals. We learned that all animals need food, water, oxygen, and shelter. We learned about different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates, and that there are many more invertebrates than vertebrates. Most kinds of invertebrates are insects. We also learned about animal traits, life cycles, adaptations, and instincts. Some traits and adaptations are inherited from animal parents while others need to be learned. Some animals migrate, and some hibernate when the weather changes. We learned that animals protect themselves by camouflage, armor, mimicry, and/or poison. We learned that fossils are a sign of life from the past. Fossils can tell us how animals have changed over time.
The children will be bringing their green notebooks home to study for our test on animals which will take place this Friday, January 21st. We will play a Kahoot! game to review this unit before taking the test.
Next Monday we will start making paper mache animals to share with our animal research reports. If you have any types of recyclable materials that you can share with us, such as plastic bottles, clean empty cans, toilet paper or paper towel tubes, and especially newspaper ( We need LOTS of newspaper!) please sent them to school as soon as possible. We can also use small boxes, styrofoam, aluminum foil, and any other materials which can be used to form the basic shape of an animal to do paper mache over. We also need flour to make our paste. Thank you in advance for your help providing these supplies. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Conferences:
I will be available for conferences on Thursday, February 10th, but I will not be available on the 14th and 15th as I will be on vacation. My sign up Genius will have slots available for you to sign up for your child's conference on February 2, 3, and 10. Please let me know if you are having a difficult time finding a good time and we will work something out.
Future World Changer:
Pascual Pacheco Lopez was our featured student. If they made a stamp with him on it, he would be smiling! In social studies Pascual would like to learn more about the white fox and how it eats and survives. There is nobody from history he would like to meet. Pascual would like to visit Mexico to see how it looks and what the fish there look like. He shared his timeline, and told us about his vacations to Yellowstone and Hawaii. He shared pictures of his vacations too! Some of Pascual's favorites include: food - meat, color - red, subject - math, animal - dog, season - fall, holiday - Christmas, sports - soccer and football, and board game - chess. If he could have a super power he would like to be able to read minds. Pascual told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Classroom Update - December 17, 2021
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What do good citizens do?" Being a good citizen means helping other people, following rules and laws, and being respectful of others. Good citizens participate in their community. Good citizenship makes communities safe. The texts we read include "Jimmy Carter: A Good Citizen", "Delores Huerta: Growing Up Strong", "Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote", and "Susan B. Anthony Takes Action". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes and suffixes.
Just a note about A.R...... If your child is reading at home most days that is AWESOME! Our goal is for the children to grow to love reading and to grow as readers. Please don't focus only on points. The points are just an encouragement to keep reluctant readers focused on reading. With that being said, if your child is reading, the points will come. Taking A.R. tests also helps us see how well the children are understanding what they read, as well as what level they are or should be reading at. A.R. tests can only be taken at school. If your child needs help with an A.R. test, please let me know and I will make arrangements for someone to help him/her.
Math:
This week we practiced our 6s, 7s, and 8s multiplication facts through function machine problems, using strategy cards to play a new game, and answering story problems. We also built fluency with 0s - 10s by completing a multiplication table and identifying the facts individual students still need to work on. We learned strategies to find numbers in scrambled multiplication tables. These were a little tricky, but after some "math talk" from classmates as well as the teacher, the students gained confidence in solving these tables! We solved word problems by writing equations using the four operations. Please encourage your child to continue practicing his/her facts.
Social Studies:
This week we learned about some of the things that happen in Washington, D.C., who can run for the presidential office, and why every vote counts. We also learned that there are three branches of government. The Executive branch includes the president, vice president, cabinet, and the White House staff. The Executive branch enforces or carries out the laws of the United States. The Legislative branch is called Congress and has the power to make laws. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. They work in the Capitol Building. The Judicial branch is made up of the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Judicial branch makes sure that Americans get treated fairly under the law. The Constitution is the written document which guides our government still to this day
Future World Changer:
Yamilet Botello Garcia was our featured student this week! Yamilet would like to visit Mexico. She doesn't have anything in particular that she'd like to learn in social studies. A person from history Yamilet would like to meet is God. She shared her timeline and told us about special events in her life. She shared pictures of her recent trip to Florida with her family. We saw pictures of Disney World, killer whales, jellyfish, dolphins, alligators, and other animals. It looks like she had an awesome vacation! Yamilet likes to paint and her favorite class is art. Some of her other favorites include: color-blue, food-pizza, animal-dog, season-summer, sport-soccer, holiday-Christmas, and game-Roblox. If Yamilet could have a super power she would choose camouflage so she could hide from her sister. She told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
The children did a fabulous job at their holiday concert! A special thanks for your support with this special event! Here is a photo of our dress rehearsal on Tuesday before our evening concert. We will be having our holiday party in school next Wednesday with fun rotations in the morning, and a movie in the afternoon. Thanks in advance for those of you who offered to send treats for the children. The student council planned special dress up days for next week. They are as follows:
Monday: Wear Christmas colors (red, green, gold, silver)
Tuesday: Obnoxious Christmas wear (sweaters, socks, etc.)
Wednesday: Wear pajamas for movie day. Make sure you have regular shoes and boots in school as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a wonderful weekend!
Classroom Update - December 10, 2021
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "How do people make government work?" Voting is a right and a basic function of government. Voting lets people know what you think. It gives people the power to make decisions and have their voices heard. American citizens have the right to vote. The texts we read included "All About Elections", "Every Vote Counts", "Vote!", and "A Plan for the People". We worked on the comprehension strategy: reread, the comprehension skill: author's point of view, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: prefixes. Our grammar lessons reviewed the concepts in Unit 1. We started writing our "opinion" papers this week as well.
Math:
We completed our basic facts this week by learning the 7s multiplication and division equations. We completed many story problems to help us practice all of the facts we've learned. We also completed fast arrays to practice our facts. We learned what square numbers are and how they are a line of symmetry on our multiplication/division chart. Thank you for continuing to encourage your child to practice his/her facts on a daily basis. Our goal is to have all the children know all their facts before the holiday break. Please ask your child where he/she is in testing on these facts.
Social Studies:
We are currently learning about voting and government to integrate our social studies into our literacy concepts. We have learned about elections and voting, who the leaders in our government are, and what they do for the citizens of their cities, states, and country. We learned that taxes are used to pay for things that help all people. The children also shared their salt dough landform projects with their classmates.
Future World Changer:
Wryler Sand was our featured student this week! A place he would like to visit is Canada, because he's interested in how Canada and the United States are split apart. A person from history Wryler would like to meet is the famous MN Vikings football player, Randy Moss. In social studies he would like to learn about WWI and WWII and how they used different machines during the wars. He shared his timeline and the many fun and exciting opportunities he's had. He also told us about his 4H experiences and shared his ribbon and trophies. Some of Wryler's favorites include: subject - math, season - summer, food - hamburger, sport - football, animal - goat, and color - blue. He likes to go ice fishing, camping, and pheasant hunting. Wryler told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
We will be having some pre holiday fun on Wednesday, December 22nd. If you are willing and able to send a treat for the class, please let me know. If you sent a treat for the Halloween Party, you do not need to do so again. Thanks in advance!
Classroom Update - December 3, 2021
Literacy
Our essential question this week was "Why do people immigrate to new places?" To immigrate means to move to a new country. Many immigrants dreamed about new jobs. They felt there were many new opportunities for a better life in America. The texts we read included "Our Story Cloth", "Sailing to America", "The Castle on Hester Street", and "Next Stop, America!". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: historical fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: similes. Our grammar lessons taught us about irregular plural nouns.
Math
We worked on solving word problems involving area. We also spent quite a bit of time learning how to solve multiplication and division number puzzles using our knowledge of the fact families. We introduced the 8s and practiced writing the equations for different fact families. We solved many word problems by determining if we needed to multiply or divide, then writing an equation and drawing a picture or a quick array to help us solve them. The children are continuing to master their multiplication and division facts, and should be practicing these 5-10 minutes at home on a daily basis. We will learn the last group of facts (7s) next week. Ideally the children should know all their facts by the holiday break.
Social Studies
We learned about landforms this week. We matched the pictures to the definitions and put them in a tab book. We played "I Have, Who Has?" to practice our landform terms. We also created landforms from salt dough and will be painting them on Monday after they are all baked. We took our quiz on landforms on Friday. These will be corrected and sent home next week.
Future World Changer
Our featured student this week was Jase Kugler. A place Jase would like to visit is Florida because Disney World is there. A person from history he would like to meet is the famous football player, Chris Carter. In social studies Jase would like to learn about WWI and WWII because he likes war. Jase shared his timeline, told us about his hunting experiences, and told us he likes Pokemon. Some of his favorites include: food-bacon, season-fall, sport-football, color-orange, subject-phy ed, animal-deer, and book-Dog Man. If Jase could have a super power he would choose super speed so he could run fast around the world. He told us about his family and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our class was chosen to jazz up Mrs. Schultz' hair as a reward for our school's successful fundraiser. The kids had fun spiking her hair, drawing on her face, and adding the finishing touch of eyes!
Classroom Update - November 19, 2021
Literacy
Our essential question this week was "Why is working together a good way to solve a problem?" People in a community may work together to solve a problem to improve the way they live. When people work together, problem solving is easier. People can share their ideas about how to solve a problem, and this helps them choose the best solution. The texts we read included "A Field Full of Stones", "Anansi Learns a Lesson", "Roadrunner's Dance", and "Deltona is Going Batty". We worked on the comprehension strategy: make predictions, the comprehension skill: theme, the genre: folktale, and the vocabulary strategy: antonyms. Our grammar lessons taught us about the rules for regular plural nouns.
Math
We did more work with solving and creating word problems to practice multiplication and division. We played a new game called "Multiplication Three-In-A-Row". We worked on our fact fluency, and took our end of Unit 1 test. This was/will be shared with you during your child's conference. We started Unit 2 where we will complete our learning of the basic multiplication facts. We introduced the 6s and practiced writing the equations for different fact families. We also learned 4 different strategies for multiplying with 6. The children have now learned all basic facts except the 7s and 8s which will be introduced in Unit 2. Your child's fact mastery was/will be shared with you during conferences. It is important he/she continues to practice facts in the order they were taught, and come to school ready to be tested on them as these facts will be the foundational skills needed for upcoming math units.
Social Studies
We have been working on our Geography unit. The root Geo means "Earth" and the root Graphy means "A field of study", so the children learned that geography is the study of the Earth and its physical features. We learned about the advantages and disadvantages of using maps and globes, parts of a map, what distortion means on a map, using a compass rose to find directions, how a globe is divided into hemispheres, the names and locations of the continents and oceans, and different types of maps. The children put information into their notebooks as well as a blue folded "lap book". They have a study guide in their notebook which will help them prepare for our geography test next week on Tuesday.
Future World Changer
Our featured student last week was Hudson Traut. Hudson would like to visit Brazil because there are a lot of things to see. A person from history he would like to meet is Dwayne Johnson. In social studies Hudson would like to learn about the history of the USA. Hudson has visited Lake Superior and Mexico. He likes to go horseback riding and kayaking. Some of Hudson's favorites include: color - blue, animal - chicken, food-pizza, sport - baseball, season-fall, subject-math, and book - "Captain Underpants". If he could have a super power he would choose super speed to get places faster. Hudson shared his baseball medal and his Twins baseball, told us about his family, and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Our featured student this week was Grady Glenz. Grady would like to visit Alaska to see the wild animals. A person from history he would like to meet is Randy Moss. In social studies Grady would like to learn about WWI and WWII. He told us about taking 2nd place in punt, pass, and kick, shared his timeline of fun events, got to meet Dude Perfect, and even shared his A & W radio commercial with us! Some of Grady's favorites include: animal - fish, color - blue, sport - football, subject - phy ed, season - winter, and food - pickles. Grady would like to be a football player when he grows up. If he could have a super power, he would choose flying because it sounds fun! Grady told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Classroom Update - November 5, 2021
Literacy
Our essential question this week was "How do landmarks help us understand our country's story?" People visit monuments to learn about important people and events in history. Landmarks such as buildings and structures demonstrate the technology and innovation of previous generations. Natural landmarks make our country special and unique. The texts we read included "America's Landmarks and Memorials", "A Natural Beauty", "A Mountain of History", and "A Landmark Street". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: main idea and key details, the genre: expository text, and the vocabulary strategy: multiple-meaning words. Our grammar lessons taught us about pronouns this week. We will continue learning about landmarks next week and integrate our social studies geography unit into our literacy block. There will not be a spelling or vocabulary test next week.
Math
We worked with related fact equations, fast arrays, built fluency with 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 9s, and 10s, reviewed strategies for multiplying and dividing, explored patterns multiplying and dividing with 1s and 0s, and reviewed the Addition and Multiplication Properties including the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition and multiplication, and the zero property of multiplication. We also solved and created a variety of multiplication and division word problems. Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her facts at home on a daily basis. Thank you!
Future World Changer
Benjamin Fonseca Pennaz was our featured student this week! Ben would like to visit Germany because his grandma is German and he still has family members there. In social studies he would like to learn more about the war that happened in Germany. A person from history he would like to meet is his grandpa on his dad's side of the family. Some of Ben's favorite things include: color-blue, food-goat's milk, snack-cheese and crackers, animal-dog, sport-baseball, season- fall because he likes hunting, and his favorite subject is math. Ben likes to take things apart and go hunting for pheasant, turkeys, ducks, and squirrels. If he could have a super power he would choose to be able to fix snowmobiles. Ben told us about his family and pets and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
The children filled their positive behavior gem jar and voted to play dodgeball with Ms. Otremba's third grade class. We had some good competitive fun in the gym on Wednesday afternoon!
Classroom Update - October 29, 2021
Literacy
Our essential question this week was "How can problem solving lead to new ideas?" Sometimes the solution to a problem is a new invention. Almost every invention starts with a problem and a new idea. Inventions can make our lives better. Some inventions help us learn. Others entertain us. The texts we read included "Chester Greenwood and His Cold Ears", "Mary Anderson's Great Invention", "All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine", "Lighting the World", and our walk to read biography "The Amazing Benjamin Franklin". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: cause and effect, the genre: biography, and the vocabulary strategy: metaphors. We spent more time reviewing adverbs this week as they were challenging for the students. The children received their first Speak-Up assignment this week. It was on a bright pink sheet of paper. The Speak-Up assignment is to create a drawing or model of an invention and be prepared to answer the questions that go with it without reading off a paper if possible. Speak-Up opportunities will be provided next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Math
We continue to work on learning our multiplication and related division facts. This week we introduced patterns and strategies for solving problems involving 4s. We explored patterns, used the 5s shortcut, solved story problems, and helped Puzzled Penguin find mistakes in equations. We also reviewed the other facts we've learned and applied them to more real world story problems, writing equations and using variables. Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her facts and come to school ready to be tested on one group at a time. Thanks in advance for your help at home.
Future World Changer
Ethan Olivo was our featured student this week! A place he would like to visit is Mexico so he could meet more of his family members. If they made a stamp with Ethan on it, he would be with his dad in an arcade. A person from history he would like to meet is George Washington Carver so he could learn how to make peanut butter. In social studies, Ethan would like to learn more about the history of the United States. Some of his favorites include: colors: green and blue, food: pizza, sports: soccer, basketball, football, season: fall, subject: science, and animal: shark. Ethan likes to ride bike, play hacky sack , and collect Pokemon cards. If he could have a super power, he would choose teleportation so he could help people who can't move. Ethan told us about his family and pets, and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Halloween Party
We had our Halloween Party on Friday afternoon! The kids were so excited to have a party this year! Thank you to all of the families who provided delicious treats or sent a roll/s of toilet paper for our "mummy wrap" game! We are very grateful! We played games, ate lots of goodies, and did a costume parade with our friends from other third grade classes through our school building. Below are some photos of our fun afternoon!
Classroom Update - October 20, 2021
Literacy/Social Studies
Our essential question was "How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?" There are many different ways to share culture with a community. Some ways are sharing food, types of music and dance, and stories. Sharing culture helps people learn from each other. The texts we read included "Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art", "Room to Grow", "Gary the Dreamer", and "Sharing Polkas and Pitas". We worked on the comprehension strategy: ask and answer questions, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: narrative nonfiction, and the vocabulary strategy: compound words. Our grammar lessons taught us about adverbs.
We continued our study of Ancient Greece. We learned about the responsibilities of men and women, about the homes they lived in, the foods they ate, the boats they used for travel, and the clothing of Ancient Greece. We also read an informational book called "Meet the Ancient Greeks" by James Davies.
Math
We continue to work on learning the concept of multiplication and our fact fluency. We have practiced writing equations to solve number stories, including using a variable to represent a given number. We have learned the "5s shortcut" to help us solve multiplication problems with a factor greater than 5. We have added 3s to our list of facts to study and master. The children were also introduced to the concept of areas of rectangles, finding the area by multiplying the number of rows by the number of columns, and another way to find area by breaking the rectangle into two parts and using the Distributive Property of Multiplication. Your child should currently be studying the multiplication and division facts for 5s, 2s, 10s, 9s, and 3s. Some children are coming to school ready to test on these facts and are well on their way to mastering them. Others have not tested on any facts. Thank you in advance for helping your child study these facts 5-10 minutes at home each evening.
Future World Changer
Jason Hiltner was our featured student! A place Jason would like to visit is Wyoming because he would like to go hunting for elk there. In social studies he would like to learn about World War I. A person from history Jason would like to meet is Albert Einstein because he's interested in "cool science stuff". Here are some of Jason's favorite things: food - breakfast bowls, color - black put with any color, season - fall, animal - timber wolf, sport - football, and holiday - Christmas. Jason likes to jump on the trampoline with his sister, play in the woods, go 4 wheeling, and shoot his gun. If he could have a super power it would be invisibility so he could scare his sister. Jason told us about his family and pets, and answered questions from his classmates. He is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Halloween Party
Mrs. Schultz has given us permission to have Halloween parties in our classrooms this year. We will have this party next Friday afternoon (Oct. 29th). I normally have the children sign up for being on a treat committee for one classroom party during the year, however with the uncertainty of future parties I did not do that this year. If you would be willing to provide a treat for the classroom Halloween party please contact me via email and let me know. The treats would need to be store or bakery purchased and in the original packaging. We have 18 students in our class this year. The first six people who respond will be gratefully thanked for providing a treat for the party. If more than six people respond, I will let you know when the next party is and you can bring a treat for that one if you'd like to.
The children can bring their costume to school in a bag and we will put them on after lunch for our afternoon party. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I thought I'd share some pictures from our time exploring the GEAR room! The children truly enjoy the experiences this room provides them!
Classroom Update - October 8, 2021
Literacy/Social Studies:
Our essential question for this week and last week was "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" Culture is the way a group of people live. Traditions are things that are passed down within a culture from one generation to the next. The texts we read included "Ready for Aloha", "The Dream Catcher", Yoon and the Jade Bracelet", and "Family Traditions". We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: sequence, the genre: realistic fiction, and the vocabulary strategy: context clues. We learned about verbs and adjectives in our grammar lessons.
We integrated our social studies curriculum with our literacy as we are learning about cultures. We started a unit on Ancient Greece. We have learned about the geography of Greece as well as two early civilizations: the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. The Minoans were an advanced civilization with a strong Navy. Minoans were famous for their well planned cities, beautiful artwork, and huge palaces. The main crops they grew were olives, grapes, and barley. The Minoan civilization built huge palaces. In Greek mythology King Minos ruled over the palace. Under the palace was a giant labyrinth or maze where a minotaur - half man - half bull lived.
The Mycenaeans are known as the first Greeks because they spoke the earliest form of the Greek language. The Mycenaeans were very proud of their strong military. The chariot became a strong weapon for them as they conquered city-states. The Mycenaeans were expert ship builders and traveled around the Mediterranean to trade.
Math:
The students learned how to use arrays and the Commutative Property in multiplication, which means 3 x 5 = 5 x 3. They also applied their knowledge of multiplication to related division equations with unknown factors. We solved word problems and wrote equations to solve multiplication and division number stories. We added the multiply and divide by 2s, 10s, and 9s facts to our study routine.
The students spend 10 minutes at school each day working with a partner to learn their facts. (5 minutes per person) It is very important that they also spend 5-10 minutes at home each evening practicing and learning their facts for fluency and mastery. Please keep the count by, multiply by, and divide by sheets which come home in a handy place for your child to study on a daily basis. Once he/she has mastered a set of facts, he/she will be tested by an adult in the classroom until all facts have been learned.
Handwriting:
We have started working in our cursive handwriting books. We practiced the four basic strokes, and also wrote the lowercase cursive letters i, t, and u.
G.E.A.R (Getzko Educational Activities Room):
We had a great time exploring numerous educational activities including online programs, robots, building materials, and art supplies.
Future World Changers:
Last week Avery Ruprecht was our featured student! In social studies, Avery would like to learn about the Hawaiian culture. She would like to visit Hawaii and Florida because she likes being in the water. A person from history Avery would like to meet is Helen Keller because she couldn't hear or speak. Some of Avery's favorites include: food- sloppy Joes, season- spring, animal - elephant, sport- softball, subject - art, book- Magic Tree House, and color- teal, black and white. If Avery could have a super power she would choose to be able to fly. Avery told us about her family and pets and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
This week Gracelynn Burg was our featured student! In social studies Gracelynn would like to learn how food is made and put in packages. A person from history she would like to meet is Jesus. Gracelynn would like to visit Mexico because she likes to swim. Some of Gracelynn's favorites include: colors- teal, black, and blue, animal- dog or cat, season- summer, food- Ramen, dumplings, and mini wheats, book- Junie B. Jones, and sport- basketball. Gracelynn likes kayaking, hunting, playing piano, and family time. If she could have a super power she would choose creativity so that things she envisioned in her brain would become real. Gracelynn told us about her family and answered questions from her classmates. She is sure to be a "Future World Changer"!
Thank you all for completing your entrance forms. Here are some photos of our team building activities at the beginning of our school year!
Classroom Update - September 24, 2021
Beginning of the school year greetings to you all! We spent the first 7 days of school getting to know each other with numerous team building activities! We also read many stories about having responsible behavior and how to treat others. We agreed to follow "The Golden Rule" in our classroom this year! We read a short novel called "Muggie Maggie" about a third grade girl who was reluctant to learn to write in cursive. We will be learning cursive writing this year, and the children are excited about that! We did some beginning of the year testing to see where the students are at in their learning so that programming can be made to best meet the needs of each child. We are well into understanding the routines of our classroom, as well as how to navigate Google Classroom. I have taken fun photos which I would like to share with families, however I am unable to do that until each of you has filled out your form giving me permission to share pictures with your child in them. If you don't want your child's picture shared, that is totally fine, I just need to know which children can have photos shared on this classroom website. If you haven't already done so, here is the link to fill out the paperwork for this school year: https://sites.google.com/district745.org/alemediacenter/entrance-conference-forms
Here is a summary of what we have worked on in school this week.
Literacy:
Our essential question this week was "What can stories teach you?" Reading can inspire us to learn about others, discover different places, learn about new things, and allow us to go on adventures! The texts we read included "Three Pigs, a Wolf, and a Book", "Bruno's New Home", "Wolf!", "Jennie and the Wolf", as well as our guided reading stories. We worked on the comprehension strategy: visualize, the comprehension skill: character, the genre: fantasy, and the vocabulary strategy: synonyms. Our spelling words this week had the short vowel sounds of a and i, and our grammar lessons focused on learning about nouns.
The children will be bringing their spelling and vocabulary words home at the beginning of each week, and taking a test on them on Friday. You can watch for these lists in your child's three ring binder. We also started our "Buggy For Books" reading incentive program. If your child reads for a minimum of 20 minutes each day/evening, please date and initial one square per day and return the sheet to school when it has been filled up. (Weekends count too!)
Math:
Albany Elementary School adopted a new math curriculum this year called Math Expressions. The scope and sequence of this program may feel different from what has been done in the past. In third grade the students begin the year by learning their basic multiplication and division facts. While the third grade teachers try not to assign too much homework, the best way for the children to learn and retain their facts is through regular practice. As time goes on I will do my best to be mindful of the amount of homework your child has. I welcome your feedback, so please let me know how homework is going for your child.
This week we worked on Unit 1, Lessons 1 and 2. Lesson 1 helped the students learn to identify and use patterns to multiply with 5. Lesson 2 helped the students to learn to use multiplication and drawings to represent equal group situations. The mathematical vocabulary we learned included the meanings of the terms count-by, equation, multiplication, factor, product, multiplier, multiples, equal groups, equal shares, and function table.
Health:
Our first unit this year is called "Things You Might Catch". We are learning about how germs get inside our bodies, and what we can do to stay healthy. We read a book called "Germs make me Sick", watched a couple short videos to show us visualizations as to how germs spread, and read and discussed articles from our health curriculum packet. The children will be bringing a study guide home early next week, and taking a quiz on this health unit at the end of next week.
I am hoping to add photos to this update next week, so please be sure to complete your forms at your earliest convenience. Enjoy your weekend with your families!
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