Third Grade, Room 204

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope all you mom’s had a happy Mother’sDay. We, deserve it!  The weather was beautiful and it felt like spring had sprung.

On Friday I sent home a field trip handout for the upcoming Chicago Trolley Tour of Chicago. The trip is scheduled for May 29, 2010. The cost of the trip is $14.00 per student. Please return the permission slip with the fee as soon as possible. We must pay for the trip in advance of the scheduled date. Your child will need a lunch as we will picnic in Grant Park.  Thank you in advance.

Walking Field Trip:

We are scheduled to take the last walking field trip to Kenwood High School for a musical performance this week. Please arrange to send a lunch for your child on the scheduled day. I will update you on the exact date tomorrow morning as I am not 100% sure at the time of this blog.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

We will take the comprehension test on “Angel Child, Dragon Child.” This realistic fiction story focused on a family who immigrated to the U.S. from Viet Nam.

We will continue to learn our parts for the Chicago Play. All children have been given a speaking part unless they stated they didn’t want to speak individually. Please support  your child in learning their part. The Chicago Play will take place on June 6, 2010.

Writing:

We will write the letter to a special friend that explains three things that one experiences when being immersed in another culture.

Cursive:

We will continue to learn how to form letters in cursive. Homework is assigned in the cursive books as well as on notebook paper.

Math:

This week we will  begin Unit Seven in Everyday Math. This unit’s focus is on multiplication and division. We will focus on algorithms to solve real life multiplication and division problems.

Homework: Home Link 7.1-7.4, Math Boxes as assigned

Social Studies:

We will complete the Chicago books this week. This nonfiction book provides a look into Chicago’s history as well as Chicago’s beautiful architecture and extraordinary places of interest to visit.

Have          A                Great          Week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

 I wanted to share these photos with you. In honor of Science Week, Mr. Darling, Isaacs’s dad, came in last week to share an exciting science lesson with us. Mr. Darling explained the important use of solar energy to our environment. He had some really cool items to help us to understand how solar energy can be captured today via solar panels. He also helped us to understand how these panels convert energy from the suns colorful rays, into energy we use to heat our homes as well as fuel different machinery and enhance technology. Thank you Mr. Darling for sharing you expertise. We really learned a lot!

This week we will continue work on our parts for the Chicago Play. It’s a slow process,  as getting twenty something children to memorize lines and act out their parts can be challenging. Please remind your child how important it is for them to cooperate and memorize their lines. I have edited the first copy of the play to give the children fewer lines to remember. There will be changes made from day to day as we go forward rehearsing the play, so if your child comes home and says something was changed, they’re probably right. I have asked the children to practice saying their lines with someone at home as well as to practice in the mirror. The play is June 6th, so hopefully by this time, we’ll have it together.

In need of:

 Our room could use some tissue as the children go through many boxes every week. Please donate one or two boxes. This should take us through the rest of the year.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

To help us prepare for the  play as well as to build background knowledge about Chicago, we will be reading selected stories from an OpenCourt reading text. Last week we read the play, Damion and Pythias,to familiarize us with how plays are written and performed.  We will use this story to discuss the importance of stage directions and the need to really sound convincing as the character you are playing.We will take a comprehension test on the story this week.

 We will also read another story in OpenCourt called,”Angel Child, Dragon Child.” This realistic fiction story deals with two little girls who have immigrated from China to America with their father. They have to await their mother’s arrival at a later date.

The Play; the Play; the Play:

We will continue to practice our parts for the Chicago Play. I will be giving the children a test on words found and  used in the Immigration song we will perform in the play. Hopefully this will also help the children to remember the words to the song as everyone must sing and have a better understanding of immigration and migration. The words are: mystery;future; opportunity; persecution; immigration; diverse; migration; discrimination; oppression; culture; economic;frustration;strife. We looked up and discussed the meaning to these words today.

Writing:

This week we will begin to write a three paragraph paper explaining to a friend in another country what it is like for the “ pretend immigrants”, (the students), to immigrate to Chicago. The focus will be on writing in detail what new experiences they have had,  i.e. the culture, including places to visit, things to eat, language etc. This writing will eventually written in cursive.

 Math: We will continue with Unit Six this week.  This week we will learn more about how to measure angles using a protractor or angle measurer,  as well as symmetrical and congruent figures. We will also take a multiplication speed test on our seven, eight and nine times tables.

Homework: Link Box 6.7-6.11. Math boxes as assigned, geometry terms

Social Studies:

We will continue to learn more about Chicago in our Chicago books. We will be working with an artist from the Hyde Park Art Center on a project in which we will make books depicting different scenes in Chicago.  This is an excellent opportunity for our students and there will something wonderful to share with you.

Ms. Tye continues to choreograph for the play. We need the children to be cooperative, and engaged in the process.

HAVE               A                 GREAT              WEEK!

   Thanks Mr. Darling!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we will  work on some new things as well as start or finish things that were planned for last week but we weren’t able to get to. We have started working with Ms. August Tye, a choreographer. Ms. Tye will choreograph the third grade Chicago Play scheduled for June 6, 2012.

Report Card Pick Up: Wednesday, April 18,2012- 12:00p.m-6:00 p.m.

Wednesday is Report Card Pick-Up Day. I will send home a schedule on Monday for you to write down the time you would like to pick up your child’s report card. Obviously, other’s might select the same time as you do, so please know that I will have to readjust the times accordingly. Please return the form on Tuesday and hopefully I will have the schedule made out by Tuesday evening. I will give the children the schedule on Tuesday. Please rearrange your time as best you can according to the responses I receive on Tuesday morning.

Young Author’s Celebration:

On Tuesday, June 17, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. -4:30p.m., we will congratulate the winners of the Young Author’s competition. This year as in previous years, Young Author’s isn’t being hosted by CPS, therefore Ray School has decided to continue the tradition and provide the venue for two winners from each classroom to participate in a thank you for their award entry.

I do want all the children who have submitted their book to be celebrated,  therefore I have asked the children, (with your permission), to create an edible treat that is symbolic of the character in their book. For example, if a student wrote a nonfiction story about a mouse as their main character, they might prepare a simple cupcake treat with gumdrops as ears, nose and mouth. These treats will be shared on Friday, April 20th. There are 30 people in our classroom community and the children like to be able to include everyone, including the teaching assistants),  in their offerings. It is perfectly ok if the treat is an ready made  “Jewel’s” treat, or again, one of the student’s favorite cookie recipe. It’s really up to you. I just thought it would be nice for our classroom community to share their books with a treat and sharing of their books. Thanking you in advance.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

We didn’t get to read our Journey’s selection, The Kalambashi Man last week, but we will this week. Again, this selection is based on the essential question, “How does a need inspire inventions?” We will be working on a skit for our part in the third grade play as well. Lot’s of things to do during the last quarter of this year, (can you believe it)?

Third Grade Play:

Hopefully there will no reason for you to see the contract the third grade team has drawn up  with the purpose of  reminding the children how important it is for them to work cooperatively with Ms. Tye during rehearsals. We are asking that if your child receives one, you encourage them to remember, performers need to work in the best interest of the performance. We have a three strikes and ……….policy, so hopefully everyone will hit a homerun and not receive one contract for you to sign.

Math:

We continue exploring Geometry. This week we will learn more about various polygons,i.e. triangles, quadrangles. We will complete Lessons 6.5-6.9.

Homework: Home Link 6.5-6.9

Social Studies:

We will begin reading about Chicago’s great past in our Chicago books. This will help us to understand our great city as well as prepare for the Chicago play.

Have A Great Week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back! I hope your Spring Break was fun. I’ve heard about the many great trips the students took.  I only have one question to ask, Why wasn’t I invited? (:)

We are starting this week off with lots of new things. On Thursday, April 12, 2012, Ray School will host it’s annual festival. The festival will include games, treats, art creations and other fun activities. Classrooms host their own activity. I normally participate with my classroom, however this year I don’t know if this will be possible. I had plans on having our classroom conduct an activity in the gym, but unfortunately a family responsiblity has been placed upon me that I must attend. Please come out and support Ray’s many ways of including the whole family and helping Ray to raise monies for classroom needs and wants. Thank you for your support.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

Young Author’s Books:

Over Spring break the children were given a handout that would help them to complete a book for Young Author’s. As mentioned in my last blog, this book could be in the genre the young author prefers.  The books are due on Thursday, April 12, 2012. I have already received some and they are wonderful. Please refer to the handout so your child includes in their book a cover page, copyright,dedication page, comments and about the author page in the back of the book.

We will read The Kamishibai Man in our Journey’s readers. This realistic fiction story ask the studen’ts to think about the essential question, “How can a new invention cause people’s lives to change?”  This theme will fit in nicely with our part in this year’s third grade Chicago play. We will be writing a skit based on this question. The third grade will begin working with Ms. August Tye. Ms. Tye is a choreographer who has choregraphed the Chicago play for the past two years. She is a professional and requires the children remain focused and cooperative during rehearsals. Our room will practice on Tuesdays. The Chicago play integrates Language Arts and Social Studies. For the past……..years, I have been a part of this much loved and anticipated performance. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Math:

We will be learning more about geometry in math. This week we will review lines, line segments and other geometric shapes and figures. We will explore intersecting and parallel lines, as well as angles and turns. We still need work in improving our multiplication skills.

Homework: Home Link 6.1, 6.4, Math Boxes when assigned

Social Studies:

We will begin learning about Chicago’s past and present in our Chicago books. This book allows us to experience Chicago’s historical buildings as well as individuals who have made Chicago the great city it is.

Science:

To celebrate Science Week,  Isaac’s dad, Mr. Darling, will be our host scientiest next week. Mr. Darling will get us really “geeked” about a science I know everything about  (:)…. Astrophysics! (I think). We haven’t finalized the details but I will keep you posted as to this great opportunity. Thank you Mr. Darling.

The children will develop their Science test this week. In groups, the children will use their resources, i.e. Earth notebooks as well as notes copied in class, to generate discussion and a student generated assessment of the earth materials we have studied so far.

HAVE                      A                       GREAT                  WEEK!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Forgive my late blog. I guess I think I’m already on Spring Break! This week we have several events I should remind you.

Pictures: Spring pictures will be taken on March 29th. Please make sure your child has the correct form completed for the picture package you wish to purchase. These forms were sent home earlier this month. If you didn’t receive the packet, your child will still be able to take a picture on that day, however you will have to make arrangements to receive the picture taken on March 29th, or take a retake if the company offers retakes at a later date.

Book Fair: Our classroom is scheduled to attend the annual Book Fair hosted by the PTA on March 29th at 10:00 a.m. Please send your child with enough money to purchase the books they think they want based on the book form that was sent home last week. You should give your child at least $1.00 over the cost of the book or item they want to purchase for taxes.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts: 

CC.3.R.I.3 Key Ideas and Details: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

We will take the comprehension test on Harvest Birds, a selection in our Journey’s readers. We will also be reading books appropriate for different reading levels in literature circles.

We will begin to think about the upcoming and much anticipated performance in Ray’s tradition, the third grade Chicago play. For as long as I’ve been a teacher at Ray School, the third grade Chicago play has entertained the Ray School community every Spring. Room 204′s part in the play will focus on current Chicago. Students will be taught choreography by Ms. August Tye, a professional dance instructor we have had the pleasure of working with for the past two years. Ms. Tye will teach our students dance routines to accompany skits each third grade classroom will perform based on Chicago’s history and present day Chicago. This performance lends itself to all areas of our Language Arts curriculum as it includes performance, writing and social studies to help students understand the story of our great city, Chicago. 

It is imperative that students are cooperative and practice “professional” performance behavior with Ms. Tye as well as when practicing their parts on stage. Unprofessional behavior can lead to students being removed from practice and thus the performance. Please remind your child of how important it is for them to do their best, stay focused and cooperative. Practice for the play will begin after spring break.

Writing:

CC.3.W.7 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

Last week I sent home the assignment outline for the research report for Woman’s History Month. This outline was based on what we covered in class. We learned how to narrow our focus about a topic by using a diagram chart so we could focus on exactly what we were  most interested in knowing and sharing about that topic, in this case a famous woman.  As I stressed to the children, a research paper in third grade should focus on what story the writer really wants their reader to know about their selected person as opposed to a lot of facts about their entire life.

Please ask your child to share with your the outline for the research paper as well as the rubric for scoring the important elements that should be included in each paper. The reports will be due on Friday, March 30,2012.

Math:

CC.3.NF.2 Develop understanding of fractions as numbers. Understand a fraction as a number on the number line; represent fractions on a number line diagram. (Grade 3 expectations in this domain are limited to fractions with denominators 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8.)

We will begin Unit Six this week. Unit Six will focus on geometry. We will continue to learn how to multiply two-three digit numbers by one through two digit multipliers. We will also learn some basic division routines.  Please check your child’s agenda for assigned homework.

Homework:

Review concepts in Unit Five, Home Link 6.1, 6.2.

Science:1.A.2c  Construct charts and visualizations to display data.

Which minerals are hard, which ones are soft? Just like geologist, we will identify which minerals such as quartz, calcite, gypsum, or fluorite are the harder than others based on their ability to be scratched in our case by a fingernail, a penny or a paper clip.

Social Studies:

We will continue to learn about our earth and how to find locations using longitude and latitude.

I hope you and your family will have a safe and wonderful spring break.

Ms. Jack

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Today is the last official day of winter. Is this when the ground hog shows his face? I hope you are enjoying this fabulous weather. Isn’t it wonderful! What’s to come? Oh well, let me put on my optimistic hat; it’s going to be a great summer!:)

Field Trip on March 19, 2012:

On  Tuesday, March 20, 2012, we will go on another walking field trip to Kenwood High School to listen to yet  another musical experience. If your child has turned in the year long field trip permission slip, they will be able to attend. Today I called out the names of students who had turned in their permission slips at the beginning of the year. Hopefully, barring rain,snow,sleet,etc., we will leave Ray at 10:45-11:00a.m. and return approximately at 12:30 p.m. Please provide your child with a lunch for this day as we will be returning too late to eat the school lunch.

Book Fair:

The annual Ray School Book Fair hosted by the Ray School PTA, will be held during March 26- March 29th. A handout was sent home last week with all the particulars. Please make sure your child has the correct amount of money for the books or other items being sold during these days. The general rule is if a book cost $10.00, they should have $11.00 for the item. Each room also has a book collection box. The classroom that raises the most book money, will receive a free pizza party. The money collected in the room collection box will be used to buy books for the classroom. Go Room 204!

Women’s History Month:

The month of March is Women’s History Month. The third grade students will select a famous woman in history or in the present to research. Then the students will write a short research paper about their selected woman of interest, and then write a fictional narrative in which they will take on the role of the famous women in her particular situation or setting. For example, if the student selected Harriet Tubman as their woman of interest, they might create a situation in which they would take on Harriet’s persona. They might find themselves writing a short story in which Harriet would be leading a group of slaves to freedom.   The student might find themselves in a dialogue exchange that includes Harriet saying something like, “There’s no turning back. We must go forward.” I will provide the children with instruction on how to narrow their topic to the specific details they want to focus on when researching their woman of interest. This project will be due at the end of the  month.

Young Author’s Competition:

This year CPS will not host the annual city-wide Young Author’s Competition. Ray School however will ask the children to participate in Ray’s Young Author’s Competition. Each child will be asked to write a fictional, nonfiction, or collection of original poetry to be judged and selected to be the winners of Ray’s Young Author’s contest. There will be a Young Author’s winner’s celebration to be held on April 17, 2012 after school.The children will be working on their story or poetry collection for homework. I will review the elements  that go into writing each genre. We have written each genre during the year.  I will be sending home the guidelines for the Young Author’s entries by next week. In the past years, I have seen some of the most wonderful and creative stories and poems submitted to the Young Author’s competition. Look at what the poetry slam poet’s produced this year.  Updates to come.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

CC.3.R.L.2 Key Ideas and Details: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

CC.3.R.F.3 Phonics and Word Recognition: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

This week in reading we will read a fictional selection in our Journey’s books. Harvest Birds tells the story of a Mexican farmer who finds the answer through the determination of raising his crop under unusual circumstances. Mexican culture is shared through this story and drawing conclusions about what the author means in a story without really saying it, as well as making inferences and predictions based on conclusions is the skill we will focus on in this selection

Spelling Words: Silent consonant blends: “Kn”, “Wr” and other unusual consonant silent blends.

itch, wreck, knee,patch, wrap, knot, watch, knife, stretch, write, knew, knock, match, wrong, know, catch, wrinkle, knuckle.

Grammar:

We will learn when to insert commas in a series.

Math:

CC.3.OA.4 Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division. Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makestheequationtrueineachoftheequations8×?=48, 5=__÷3, 6×6=?.

This week we will complete Unit Five, Multiplication and Division in math. We will also learn how to compare decimals to the hundreds place. Decimals isn’t an easy concept for third graders to comprehend, but I try to help them understand what decimals look like in the real world.

Homework: Includes: Home Link 5.8-5.10, Multiplication practice of needed multiplication basic facts, (especially 6-9′s).

Science: 11.A.2d  Use data to produce reasonable explanations.

This week we will continue  to observe minerals and identify their properties. Minerals, unlike rocks, are identified by how soft or hard they are. Our exploration of minerals will tell us which minerals are softer or harder than another.

Social Studies:

We will continue to learn about geographic landforms as well as human landforms that affect how we live in our communities.

We will also be writing to students in other states in what is known as the Great Mail Race. This is a community pen-pal like writing venture that encourages students to share their communities throughout the U.S.   The children will write letters to students in selected states for homework during the coming months. What a great way to learn about and communicate with others outside of our immediate communities.

Have         A         Great       And         Warm         Week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we happily completed the ISAT testing. I am confident we did our best! The children were wonderful, chewing gum and thinking at the same time!:) We literally broke the rule and chewed gum as we pondered the best answers. Learning is fun, challenging and rewarding!

Things to look forward to:

Though the Young Author’s Competition normally hosted by CPS has been cancelled this year,  Ray School will still ask our children to participate in this tradition. Every teacher will ask their students to write in a genre they are most comfortable with and then select two winners from their classroom to participate in a celebration after school on Tuesday, April 17th. Writing genres include informational books, narrative or fictional stories, or a collection of a few poems created by the children. The children will work on their writing projects for homework. I will keep you informed on deadline dates.

Ray School Book Fair:

March 26th-March 29th the Ray School Book Fair will be held in the teachers lounge. Students, parents, grandparents, teachers  and anybody involved with Ray School will be able to purchase books for their children or students. Their will be notices sent home to remind you of this fun and fund -raising event in which a portion of all Book Fair sales benefit Ray School. Each classroom has a Book Fair Box in which children can contribute their pennies, nickels, dimes, dollars. The room collecting the most money will win a pizza party at the end of the Book Fair. The money collected in the Book Fair collection box will go toward books for the classroom.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

CC.3.W.4 Production and Distribution of Writing: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

We will take the comprehension test on Jump, the biography about Michael Jordan. We will also begin to think about the different types of writing or genres of writing for our Young Author’s books. The children can write a short book of poetry, a narrative or fictional story, or an informational book based on a topic the student is interested in. We will explore the important elements of each type of writing. We have really written each type of writing in class during the year, so I think the children should have a fun time creating their book complete with a creative book cover, title page, dedication page and about the author page.

Cursive Writing:

We will begin practice writing cursive in our cursive workbooks. There will be cursive practice assigned for homework. The idea of learning cursive writing is for the children to learn this style of writing to the best of their ability, Obviously some children are able to grasp this form of writing quickly while others progress more slowly. It’s ok. ”Practice makes perfect, or “your best!”

Math:

CC.3.NBT.2 Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic. Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, prop

CC.3.NBT.1 Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic. Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

We will complete Unit 5 this week. This unit’s focus is on multiplication/division, large numbers and decimals through the hundredth place-value. On Tuesday we will have a test on the 6 and 7 times tables.The goal is to have the children leave third grade knowing by heart their multiplication tables through the tens and hopefully through the twelves. Please continue to test your child on the tables.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day we will design a maze, complete with a leprechaun at the end of the maze holding his pot of gold. Students will work in groups to create a maze on grid paper that incorporates the use of perimeter and area to follow the path that leads to the leprechaun.

Homework: Home Link 5.6-5.10, Addition/subtraction computation and word problem worksheets, multiplication practice as assigned and as needed for each student..

Science:11.A.2b  Collect data for investigations using scientific process skills including observing, estimating and measuring.

This week we will perform a scratch test on minerals to observe properties associated with specific minerals. We will look at examples of some minerals in our environment.

Social Studies:

This week we will begin Unit 3 in Harcourt Brace Social Studies Community books. We will learn about the natural environment, i.e. water, hills, forests, as well as the human geography, i.e. bridges, roads, building, etc.  that influences how we live in our communities and the communities that inhabit our world.. We will explore finding locations based on longitude and latitude, and the definitions of natural features that include land, water, climate and plant life. We will be completing specific workbook pages in our workbooks.

HAVE                    A                 GREAT                WEEK!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we will begin taking the ISAT Test. I have all the confidence in our children and know they will do their best. To ensure they are capable of doing their best please make certain your child gets eight or more hours of sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, gets to school on time, comes prepared with 2 sharpened number 2 pencils, follows the rules for good test taking, (listen to directions and stay focused), and above all knows what is expected of them is that they do their best! Testing will go on through this week.

Snacks:

It would be helpful if  healthy snacks are provided during this time. Snacks help to fuel the children and give them something to look forward to after the test is over for the day. Juice boxes are really nice too. If you’re not sure what to send, tell your child to ask me what we have to avoid having too much of the same thing. Thank you in advance.

This week we will be doing the following:

This week due to testing we will not follow a regular schedule. We will stick to our normal routine as much as possible, having our core subjects right after testing or in the afternoon. Please ask your child if they have a book to read as when they have finished testing, they should read silently.

Language Arts:

We will review the biography Jump, a story about Michael Jordan. The skill for this text is identifying fact from fiction.

Math:

We will continue with our math curriculum in Everyday Math. We will be working on decimals to the thousandth place as well as continuing practicing multiplication. Homework will be given as assigned. Please check your child’s agenda or homework.

Science:

We observed salt crystals last week in our earth investigation. This week we will helpfully learn about and observe different kinds of minerals and rocks.

Social Studies:

For the next five weeks will continue in Harcourt, Social Studies, Communities text. We will explore communities and their geography. We will find locations on a map and globe using longitude an latitude as well as learn about the different types of landforms that make up the earth’s geography.

Again, thank you for all your support!

HAVE              A              GREAT          WEEK!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Forgive me for not updating my blog last week. I got so involved in pulling together the children’s beautiful poetry collection for the Black History Month Culminating Experience, I forgot to complete the blog. Last week we continued to hone our reading and math skills to prepare for the ISAT  assessment to be given next week. I have no doubt the children will do fine. I think the key is for the children to get a good nights rest and eat a good breakfast before the test. I don’t want the children to stress about the test. I just want them to do their very best. I am certain they will.

Thank You!

On Thursday, February 23, 2012, many of you attended the Black History Celebration at Ray. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you there with our children. The poems the children wrote were so heart felt and touching. Every time I read one, I cried with joy! Thank you for supporting your child in this activity and joining in what was one of the most memorable experiences in all my years at Ray. The children were thrilled to share their creative works with you and the entire Ray community. I also want to thank anyone who shared a delicious African-American food with us.  It does take a village!  Thank you again.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts: CCSS:

CC.3.R.I.8 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence)

CC.3.W.3 Text Types and Purposes: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

We will complete reading a biography about Michael Jordan in our Journey’s readers. Identifying fact and opinion is the skill focused on in this selection. We will also continue to work in our ISAT Reading workbooks. We will cover most of the material in the book, and review the answers together in class. Please refer to your child’s agenda books for the specific pages assigned for homework. I do skip around.

We have been practicing writing extended responses for the ISAT. I don’t like to think of writing good answers to prompts or questions based on a reading selection as writing that is suited only for ISAT. I’d rather think of it as the ability to write complete, well organized, thoughtful responses for all times. We have written extended responses together. One was a response to a selection called Rosa Gone Fishing in which the children were asked to compare and contrast the characters experience with one of their own. Last week we wrote an extended response based on a selection, “The Man and the Coconuts.” We followed a format that included writing an opening sentence or main idea sentence that tells what the writer will be writing about, supporting details that help the reader to understand what the writer is referring to based on the text, making connections to the writer’s personal experiences that reminded them of what the character in the story experienced, and finally a good conclusion that summarizes what the writer wrote about and left the reader with  for example, something to think about. I will be sending home the example we created in class.

Math:

CC.3.OA.2 Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division. Interpret whole-number quotients of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 56 ÷ 8 as the number of objects in each share when 56 objects are partitioned equally into 8 shares, or as a number of shares when 56 objects are partitioned into equal shares of 8 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a number of shares or a number of groups can be expressed as 56 ÷ 8.

We will continue to work in the ISAT Math Practice books. We will continue to work on our regular Everyday Math curriculum as well. We are still learning our basic multiplication facts. Most of the children know their 2-5 tables. They start wavering with their 6-9 facts. Please continue to help your child in learning this very critical skill. All math beyond third grade is based on having a firm grasp on the basic math facts which includes multiplication facts. I will assign homework this week as I think is needed in specific areas.

Educational Websites:

Please continue to encourage your child to work on the programs to be found on Ms. Zivko’s, Ms. Garcia’s, or my blog in math as well as reading. These sites are excellent in supporting skills the children know as well as skills they could benefit from more practice. ISAT Math, ISAT Reading, Education City, Rainforest and other sites are excellent ways to engage children beyond the in class text.

Science:11.A.1f  Compare observations of individual and group results.

We have missed Science scheduled for several Monday’s because we have had several Monday’s off. This week we will resume our Science investiagation of earth materials. We will separate the gravel ingredient from the rest of the materials that went into making our “mock” rocks. What could be left? Something crystallized maybe? Salt maybe?

Social Studies:

We identified our “Sheroes and Heroes” for Social Studies. We then looked for information about these role models and identified the character traits these individuals needed in order for them to become the success they became. Next we asked ourselves what character traits we personally needed in order to become the individuals we want to become. When we created maps reflecting the character traits our role models possessed along with the traits we need to fulfill our dreams, we were then able to write the thoughtful and beautiful poems we displayed outside our classroom for everyone to see. This project involved not only social studies, but language arts as well. This project is a significant part of the grade for Social Studies for the first five weeks of  this quarter.

Reminders:

Please send in pencils for our classroom or your child. If you send pencils for your child, please write their names on the box. Some children have been bringing in mechanical pencils, but I will tell you they are causing many problems. To alleviate problems, please send only the wooded pencils or make sure you write your child’s name on the mechanical pencils.   Thank You

Healthy Snacks: Please feel free to send in healthy snacks for the children. Thank You

Have               A               Great             Week!  

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is Tuesday, February 14, 2012 and guess what, I’m was absent today. I wasn’t feeling good today, and therefore was absent. We had a field trip scheduled, a walking field trip to Kenwood High School to hear a choir performance. As of his posting, I don’t know if the children were able to attend in my absence. If not, I apologize. In eighteen years of teaching, I have never been absent on a field trip day.  I’m sure I’ll have an opportunity to make it up to the children before the end of the year.

Thank You’s:

Thank you to those who sent in contributions to support our classroom supplies, especially pencils, tissue and hand-wipes and healthy snacks. Please feel free to continue to send your contribution. They are very much needed.

This week we will be working on the following: Common Core Standard to be addressed: (These standards are what CPS are now using to ensure students are receiving the standards or learning experiences appropriate for their grade level).

Language Arts: CCSS: CC.3.R.I.1 Key Ideas and Details: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

I hope the children have completed or nearly completed their poems about their African-American role models. I sent the guidelines home on Friday. There will be five children selected to read their original poems on Thursday, Feburary, 23, 2012 at 6:30 p.m in Ray School’s Black history month culminating experience. The  African-American in Motion” poetry slam will feature students who have written poems based on their heroes and who serve as an inspiration to helping them to achieve their dream. The poems must be in by February 16, 2012. I hope you will be able to attend this event that will begin with a walk-through of classroom projects, a pot-luck of African-American cuisine, and the poetry slam. If you’d like to contribute one of your favorite “soul” stirring dishes to the pot -luck, please let me know.

This week we will continue to work in our ISAT Practice books to hone our test taking skills. I assign the pages to be completed for homework and we review the answers. The practice pages include the standards required for the third grade curriculum. We have been learning these skills all year and the ISAT Practice book merely focus on these skills.

I will be giving practice appropriate third grade level reading test to determine if the children are able/better able to comprehend text at the third grade reading level.

Writing: CC.3.W.3 Text Types and Purposes: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

We will be working on writing good responses to prompts or questions based on reading material in the ISAT Practice Books or other sources. I model for the children an example of answering questions based on their reading material and then ask the children to write their responses to a extended response question. Last week I wrote about my experience of learning how to dive from a diving board, well actually, I never did learn how to dive. This experience focused on the skill of compare and contrast.

As I have written in previous blogs, it is important that children are learning to convey their feelings in a cohesive composition. In this case, the story we read was about a girl named Rosa who couldn’t fish until her father taught her how. She experienced a few failures at first as she caught everything on her reel but a fish, until finally after a while she caught a fish. The prompt ask the children to think about a time they experienced a situation similar to Rosa’s. They might have experienced things that were alike or different from Rosa’s experience.  Does the writer write clearly and make their writing interesting to the reader? Does the writer include examples from the story and compare/(alike); contrast; (different), to a similar experience they had? Does the writer write a good conclusion, one that makes the reader laugh or leaves the reader with something to think about? Not easy for third graders, but writing is always a work in progress!

Homework: Assigned ISAT Practice pages and extended response wrtiting

I will be asking the children to complete more extended responses in the ISAT Practice books. Please support your child by having them to read their writing aloud to you and offering constructive criticism, i.e. ” I didn’t quite understand that sentence,” “You didn’t spell this word correctly,” etc.

Math: CC.3.OA.7 Multiply and divide within 100. Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of one-digit numbers.

We will also work in the ISAT Practice Books. I assign pages each  night for homework, however I do tell the children they can work ahead if they’d like. We do review the work.

Homework: Assigned pages. Children can work ahead if they want to,

Everyday Math:

We will continue to work on Unit 5. We are learning more about multiplication and division patterns. By now the children should be learning their 6 times table.

Homework: Home Link 5.4-5.8 including extended response writing to explain how an answer was achieved

Science: CCSS: 11.A.1e  Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.

We will be learning about the “crystals,” (salt), left behind after we observe the earth materials that make up rocks.

Have                A                Great                 Week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to this week in Room 204. This week we will be working on a lot of things, including ISAT practice.

A few things we definitely could use in the classroom:

Pencils, tissue, hand wipes, pencils, healthy snacks and pencils! Oh, yes, did I mention  pencils?  Thank you for your contributions.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

We will be writing extended response answers in both reading and math. Again, these are answers to text in reading and to problems in math. The main goal is for the children to be able to write well organized paragraphs including details from the story in to support their reasons, to make personal connections to the story if there any,  and to write a conclusion that recaps the paragraph.

Please check the assignment book for homework pages.

We will begin to work on writing poetry. On February 23, 2012, Ray School will end Black History Month with a “walk through” of  Black History projects,  a pot-luck featuring African-American dishes and a poetry slam in which selected participants will recite original poems.

The focus of the poems will be African-American role models that have inspired the writer. These role models could be a famous African-American or someone in their family they look up to. Students should memorize their poems. Participants will be selected based on their overall presentation.  There will be five students selected from each room to recite their poems on February 23, 2012. In class, we will be talking about famous African-Americans and hopefully the children will come up ideas for their poems.

We will be reading a short biography about the famous educator, Mary McLeod Bethune. Through hard work and determination, Ms. Bethune along with the help of her community, built an elementary school and then went on to start a college for African-American students. We will complete activity sheets based on the story.

We will take various reading test to practice the skills necessary to become better readers.

Math:

We will begin Unit 5. The focus of this unit includes identifying place-value with large numbers, comparing larger numbers and fractions. We will also review and cover new material in the ISAT book.

Please continue to help you child to learn their basic multiplication tables, 2-11.Division is impossible without knowing multiplication facts. We can’t always use calculators.

Homework: Home Link 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, Assigned Math Boxes and ISAT pages

Science:

This week we will observe the results of rock material collected and put into vials of water. Does sand drop to the bottom of the vials? Who knows? We will draw what we observe as well as write what we observe in an Earth Materials booklet.

Have                  A               Great              Week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably mild weather. Remember last year this time? I DO! We got a couple of snowdays.

This week marks the beginning of Black History Month and Ray School has activities scheduled throughout the month. I will keep you updated on the events.

The third grade has received the ISAT Practice books and we are completing lessons as assigned. We will be honing our test taking skills as we continue to work on our curriculum.

This week we will be working on the following:

Language Arts:

We will work in the ISAT Practice books. Lessons will be assigned for homework. These books are to be used as ways to help support what the children have been learning all year as well as to provide test taking “thinking” strategies. We do review the lessons in class to check our thinking.

Writing:

We will be working on extended responses. Extended responses are written responses to prompts asked after reading a selected passage. For example: After reading a selection about a little boy feeling left out when a new baby brother is on the way and he is asked to think of a name for his brother, the prompt might be, “How would you feel if you were Ted?” “Use details from the story to support your answer.”  Writing the main idea in the beginning of a paragraph, writing supporting details to support your answer, making connections to the text, i.e. tell about anything that you  have experienced similar to the experience, and writing a conclusion that recaps the response, is what we will be practicing in class. You remember, just writing a well developed paragraph/s to a question!

Accelerated Reading:

Most of the children are taking AR test in the classroom after reading a “just right” book for them. These test are mainly used to support comprehension of books that are in the child’s reading comfort zone and interest. Test can be taken in the morning or  during the day when the children have completed their work.

We will be learning about the famous African-American teacher, Mary McLeod Bethune. We will complete activity sheets that accompany the book and reinforce reading skills we have worked on during the year. We will also begin to learn more about poetry as we prepare to write poems based on the theme, Famous African-American Heroes/Sheroes. At the end of the month, Ray School will have a culminating experience which will include a poetry slam. Participants will be selected to recite their original poems on February 23, 2012. Details for the event will be provided as we continue through the month.

Math:

We will take the Unit Four test this week. Please continue to help your child to learn their multiplication tables. I have asked the children to write the set of tables they don’t know five times each each night until they have learned them by heart. For example, if a child doesn’t know their 3′s tables, they should write them every night at least 5x’s each until they have mastered that table. They should not go on to the 4′s until complete mastery of the three time tables. Please use any method you’d  like to quiz your child on their times tables. The computer programs listed on my blog, Ms. Zivko’s blog or Ms. Garcia’s, provide creative ways to learn multiplication as well as other math skills.

We will work in our ISAT Practice books and homework will be assigned. I am allowing the children to continue to work in their books after they have completed the assigned homework. I only require they read the information in the beginning of each lesson that explains the concept in that lesson. I also tell them not to skip around in the book. They should work from lesson to lesson starting from the beginning. We will review the work. The children seem to really enjoy working in these books.

Science:

We will continue to learn about earth materials and what earth materials are found in rocks. We are writing what we observe in our Earth Materials books. Focus, participation and cooperation are very important in these hands on lessons.

Social Studies:

We will continue to learn about communities as well as to use the weekly magazine Time For Kids to support reading or nonfiction text.

HAVE                A            GREAT            WEEK!