Hi Parents,
Tomorrow we will be doing some of our manufacturing for our Mini-Society. Students should be bringing in their supplies tomorrow unless they are baked goods (in which case bringing them on Monday is fine!). We will be selling the products on Monday and Tuesday from 12:40-1:40. You are more than welcome to pop in and participate in this fun and educational experiences on Monday or Tuesday.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 12th
Hi Parents,
Tomorrow we have our Holiday Musical Presentation. They are performing at 9:30 and then again 1:30. They are welcome to dress in their "nice" clothes.
No spelling this week. The students should be working on their ideas for the Mini-Society which will take place next week. All the supplies and materials should go to school on Friday.
If you have not sent in the Bohart field trip please do as soon as you can.
Tomorrow we have our Holiday Musical Presentation. They are performing at 9:30 and then again 1:30. They are welcome to dress in their "nice" clothes.
No spelling this week. The students should be working on their ideas for the Mini-Society which will take place next week. All the supplies and materials should go to school on Friday.
If you have not sent in the Bohart field trip please do as soon as you can.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, December 6th
Hi Parents!
We are not going to have a spelling test this week or next. Our schedule is a bit off these next two weeks with many different activities.
On Tuesday, December 13th, the school has its Holiday Music Concert. The students will be performing at 9:30 and 1:30. They are the same performances so you do not need to attend both, but you can if you would like.
Our Mini-Society Lessons have gotten started. We focused on the idea of scarcity yesterday and today. Tomorrow we will come up with our countries currency and the name of our country. We will also begin to discuss the difference between a good and a service. The students should not bring any of their products to school until Dec. 16th.
Please send back the permission slips for our filled trip to Bohart. They are due on Friday. The checks should be made out to Hyalite PAC, the total amount will be 25 dollars IF your child is renting equipment from Bohart. If you are in need of a scholarship please let me know via email: katie.porter@bsd7.org, it isn't a problem I just need to know.
We are not going to have a spelling test this week or next. Our schedule is a bit off these next two weeks with many different activities.
On Tuesday, December 13th, the school has its Holiday Music Concert. The students will be performing at 9:30 and 1:30. They are the same performances so you do not need to attend both, but you can if you would like.
Our Mini-Society Lessons have gotten started. We focused on the idea of scarcity yesterday and today. Tomorrow we will come up with our countries currency and the name of our country. We will also begin to discuss the difference between a good and a service. The students should not bring any of their products to school until Dec. 16th.
Please send back the permission slips for our filled trip to Bohart. They are due on Friday. The checks should be made out to Hyalite PAC, the total amount will be 25 dollars IF your child is renting equipment from Bohart. If you are in need of a scholarship please let me know via email: katie.porter@bsd7.org, it isn't a problem I just need to know.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thursday, December 1st
Hi Parents,
I am sure your students will be talking to you tonight about some important forms that came home.
First, the letter that I posted early this week about mini-society is coming home today. If you have questions at anytime please contact me.
Second, there is a letter about our Bohart Cross-Country Skiing Trip. Please fill out the form carefully and return it by Dec. 9th. If you need assistance paying for the field trip please let me know! We don't want any students to miss this and we can help!
I am sure your students will be talking to you tonight about some important forms that came home.
First, the letter that I posted early this week about mini-society is coming home today. If you have questions at anytime please contact me.
Second, there is a letter about our Bohart Cross-Country Skiing Trip. Please fill out the form carefully and return it by Dec. 9th. If you need assistance paying for the field trip please let me know! We don't want any students to miss this and we can help!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 29th
Hi Parents,
I am sorry for not writing yesterday. I had a meeting with the 3rd grade teachers to discuss a big unit on economics we are starting with your students next week. I will send home a hard copy of the letter below on Thursday but if you want a head start here it is:
December 1, 2011
Dear Parents,
We have started our Mini-Society Unit, a program in which your child is involved in a unique educational experience dealing with economics and decision-making. While interacting with other students, the kids are learning economics by experiencing concepts in their own classrooms. They set up and name their own economic system and work with their own monetary standard.
During the time over which their “economy” is operating, your child will learn the economic concepts of scarcity, goods verse services, profit and loss and price determinations. We need your help in the following areas to make this experience exciting and education for your child:
1. Discuss with your child whether they would like to produce a good or a service for Mini-Society. Some examples of services students could provide: designing a game that students pay to play during the selling session, nail painting, hair styling, cleaning services, gift wrapping, etc. Some examples of goods students could provide: paper airplanes, origami, bake goods, ornaments, sketches, popsicle houses, holiday decorations, etc. We want students to be creative and we will be teaching them about an original idea as well as to think about what they would want to buy.
2. Your child will be using money he or she earns (by doing chores for you) to purchase supplies to make a product to sell, OR to develop a service they can offer to others. Meanwhile, students also will be earning class money in 3rd grade, in exchange for specific requirements they must meet in school. Products and services will be exchanged for this currency during our selling sessions.
3. Your child must pay you for any materials or time you provide for the society project. He or she can pay you by doing a task or job for you. To give you an idea of the compensation due to you, you could use the following guideline:
½ hour of time doing chores = $1 U.S. dollar or use of supplies from home
Your child should spend no more that $10 dollars on materials to make their product/service. Scholarships are available. Please let us know if you cannot purchase supplies and we will purchase them for you.
4. If your child is borrowing any special equipment or tools from you, they should be charged “rent” in the form of chores or jobs for you in exchange for use of the equipment.
5. Materials must be brought to school on Friday, December 16th.
We will manufacture the products on Friday, December 16th and sell to all the third grades on Monday, December 20th and Tuesday, December 21st. Thank you for your cooperation and help in making this a successful experience for your child.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Philips, Mrs. Porter, and Mrs. Cech
Here is the spelling list for this week:
Long /a/ is spelled ai, ay,
a-consonant-e and a at the end of a syllable
1. baby
2. able
3. paper
4. table
5. train
6. sail
7. bait
8. driveway
9. spray
10. tray
11. game
12. trade
13. safe
14. cage
15. plane
Compound Words
16. blackbird
17. cannot
18. haystack
19. starfish
20. popcorn
Bonus (science words)
tornado
hurricane
volcano
tsunami
I am sorry for not writing yesterday. I had a meeting with the 3rd grade teachers to discuss a big unit on economics we are starting with your students next week. I will send home a hard copy of the letter below on Thursday but if you want a head start here it is:
December 1, 2011
Dear Parents,
We have started our Mini-Society Unit, a program in which your child is involved in a unique educational experience dealing with economics and decision-making. While interacting with other students, the kids are learning economics by experiencing concepts in their own classrooms. They set up and name their own economic system and work with their own monetary standard.
During the time over which their “economy” is operating, your child will learn the economic concepts of scarcity, goods verse services, profit and loss and price determinations. We need your help in the following areas to make this experience exciting and education for your child:
1. Discuss with your child whether they would like to produce a good or a service for Mini-Society. Some examples of services students could provide: designing a game that students pay to play during the selling session, nail painting, hair styling, cleaning services, gift wrapping, etc. Some examples of goods students could provide: paper airplanes, origami, bake goods, ornaments, sketches, popsicle houses, holiday decorations, etc. We want students to be creative and we will be teaching them about an original idea as well as to think about what they would want to buy.
2. Your child will be using money he or she earns (by doing chores for you) to purchase supplies to make a product to sell, OR to develop a service they can offer to others. Meanwhile, students also will be earning class money in 3rd grade, in exchange for specific requirements they must meet in school. Products and services will be exchanged for this currency during our selling sessions.
3. Your child must pay you for any materials or time you provide for the society project. He or she can pay you by doing a task or job for you. To give you an idea of the compensation due to you, you could use the following guideline:
½ hour of time doing chores = $1 U.S. dollar or use of supplies from home
Your child should spend no more that $10 dollars on materials to make their product/service. Scholarships are available. Please let us know if you cannot purchase supplies and we will purchase them for you.
4. If your child is borrowing any special equipment or tools from you, they should be charged “rent” in the form of chores or jobs for you in exchange for use of the equipment.
5. Materials must be brought to school on Friday, December 16th.
We will manufacture the products on Friday, December 16th and sell to all the third grades on Monday, December 20th and Tuesday, December 21st. Thank you for your cooperation and help in making this a successful experience for your child.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Philips, Mrs. Porter, and Mrs. Cech
Here is the spelling list for this week:
Long /a/ is spelled ai, ay,
a-consonant-e and a at the end of a syllable
1. baby
2. able
3. paper
4. table
5. train
6. sail
7. bait
8. driveway
9. spray
10. tray
11. game
12. trade
13. safe
14. cage
15. plane
Compound Words
16. blackbird
17. cannot
18. haystack
19. starfish
20. popcorn
Bonus (science words)
tornado
hurricane
volcano
tsunami
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday, November 21st
Thank you parents for attending the conferences last week! It was wonderful to meet with you all.
This week is a very short week, so we will not have spelling words.
Your students earned all of their marbles last week, so tomorrow we will have a little party. Their reward will be a board game afternoon. They are invited to bring in a board game that they ALREADY own (please do not go buy anything!). They can wear their p.j.s as well (I don't know why they want to do that every time but they LOVE it!!!) Finally, as I said in the letter last week, we will be doing our stone soup tomorrow. Please remember that if your child is bring a veggie, PLEASE cut it up before!!!) If you are not able to bring something that is okay! :)
This week is a very short week, so we will not have spelling words.
Your students earned all of their marbles last week, so tomorrow we will have a little party. Their reward will be a board game afternoon. They are invited to bring in a board game that they ALREADY own (please do not go buy anything!). They can wear their p.j.s as well (I don't know why they want to do that every time but they LOVE it!!!) Finally, as I said in the letter last week, we will be doing our stone soup tomorrow. Please remember that if your child is bring a veggie, PLEASE cut it up before!!!) If you are not able to bring something that is okay! :)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Monday, November 14th
Hi Parents,
This week is going to be very busy with conferences so this will probably be my only post until Friday. This week in writing we are working on Expository text on things we are thankful for. If you have time brainstorm with your children things that they can be thankful for. We did a lot today in class and they had some wonderful ideas!
We are working on multiplication and division. They are doing a great job with it. If you have time at home work with them on their multiplication facts. The main idea I try to teach them is the multiplying in counting in multiples.
Spelling:
ou and ow
says /ou/
1. proud
2. about
3. fountain
4. ground
5. sound
6. mountain
7. count
8. grouch
9. outstanding
10. couch
11. slouch
12. down
13. coward
14. gown
15. growl
16. power
Suffix ful
17. colorful
18. helpful
19. painful
20. graceful
Bonus
pitiful
mouthful
sorrowful
harmful
In reading we are looking at Folktales with tricksters in them.
This week is going to be very busy with conferences so this will probably be my only post until Friday. This week in writing we are working on Expository text on things we are thankful for. If you have time brainstorm with your children things that they can be thankful for. We did a lot today in class and they had some wonderful ideas!
We are working on multiplication and division. They are doing a great job with it. If you have time at home work with them on their multiplication facts. The main idea I try to teach them is the multiplying in counting in multiples.
Spelling:
ou and ow
says /ou/
1. proud
2. about
3. fountain
4. ground
5. sound
6. mountain
7. count
8. grouch
9. outstanding
10. couch
11. slouch
12. down
13. coward
14. gown
15. growl
16. power
Suffix ful
17. colorful
18. helpful
19. painful
20. graceful
Bonus
pitiful
mouthful
sorrowful
harmful
In reading we are looking at Folktales with tricksters in them.
Friday, November 11, 2011
November 11th
Hi Parents,
One thing I want to make sure and mention. Your students have a test next Thursday in Social Studies on the 13 colonies. They need to be able to label them on a map. Parent teacher conferences are next week (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday). You should have gotten a note about those on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!
One thing I want to make sure and mention. Your students have a test next Thursday in Social Studies on the 13 colonies. They need to be able to label them on a map. Parent teacher conferences are next week (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday). You should have gotten a note about those on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
November 8th
Hi Parents,
Today was a very busy day! Your students did an excellent job at the play. Tonight your students are bringing home a note about conferences. It tells you the time and date. Please make sure and get that from them! :)
Today was a very busy day! Your students did an excellent job at the play. Tonight your students are bringing home a note about conferences. It tells you the time and date. Please make sure and get that from them! :)
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday, November 7th
Hi Parents,
I am so sorry for the crazy week last week. The RtI training I was able to attend was fantastic.
We are on track again this week as far as homework, spelling test, and day to day activities with the exception of the field trip tomorrow to see Beauty and the Beast. We will be leaving the school at 9am. The students do not have to bring a sack lunch tomorrow if they want to get hot lunch like they normally do. We will be back for them to have lunch here.
Tomorrow you will be getting a note about your conference time and a sheet to fill out to help me prepare for the conference.
The students report cards will be handed out at conferences as well.
Spelling for this week:
/S/ sounds
1. seven
2. six
3. ask
4. second
5. across
6. less
7. class
8. bicycle
9. city
10. ice
11. place
12. muscle
Vowel followed by r makes a new sound
13. girl
14. her
15. hurt
16. fur
17. work
18. worry
19. service
20. circus
Bonus
1. certainly
2. principal
3. cyclone
4. fascinate
I am so sorry for the crazy week last week. The RtI training I was able to attend was fantastic.
We are on track again this week as far as homework, spelling test, and day to day activities with the exception of the field trip tomorrow to see Beauty and the Beast. We will be leaving the school at 9am. The students do not have to bring a sack lunch tomorrow if they want to get hot lunch like they normally do. We will be back for them to have lunch here.
Tomorrow you will be getting a note about your conference time and a sheet to fill out to help me prepare for the conference.
The students report cards will be handed out at conferences as well.
Spelling for this week:
/S/ sounds
1. seven
2. six
3. ask
4. second
5. across
6. less
7. class
8. bicycle
9. city
10. ice
11. place
12. muscle
Vowel followed by r makes a new sound
13. girl
14. her
15. hurt
16. fur
17. work
18. worry
19. service
20. circus
Bonus
1. certainly
2. principal
3. cyclone
4. fascinate
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November 1st
Sorry for not writing last night. I figured because of Halloween parents would be pretty busy!
There will not be a spelling test this week because I am going to be gone the next two days for a training in RtI.
There is a permission form coming home tonight for the students to go to Beauty and the Beast on November 8th. Please send that form back with them tomorrow!
Tomorrow the students will have a math test on Unit 3 so they will not have homework tomorrow night.
There will not be a spelling test this week because I am going to be gone the next two days for a training in RtI.
There is a permission form coming home tonight for the students to go to Beauty and the Beast on November 8th. Please send that form back with them tomorrow!
Tomorrow the students will have a math test on Unit 3 so they will not have homework tomorrow night.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 27th
Hi Parents,
Your kids had a great day!
Remember that tomorrow is our Harvest/ Halloween Party from 1:00-2:00. No costumes tomorrow or on the 31st.
I still need one parent volunteer who would be interested in attending Beauty and Beast with us on Nov. 8th.
I also wanted to give parents the heads up that on Wednesday and Thursday next week I will be out of the classroom to receiving training for our school RtI (response to interventions).
Your kids had a great day!
Remember that tomorrow is our Harvest/ Halloween Party from 1:00-2:00. No costumes tomorrow or on the 31st.
I still need one parent volunteer who would be interested in attending Beauty and Beast with us on Nov. 8th.
I also wanted to give parents the heads up that on Wednesday and Thursday next week I will be out of the classroom to receiving training for our school RtI (response to interventions).
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26
Hi Parents,
Tonight your students do not have math homework because the students had a special presentation from the Bozeman firefighters from 12:15-1:15 which was our math block. I did ask that students spend some time practicing math facts (addition and subtraction). I still need two parents to volunteer to go with us on our first field trip to Beauty and the Beast. Please let me know if you would be interested. Thank you!!!
Tonight your students do not have math homework because the students had a special presentation from the Bozeman firefighters from 12:15-1:15 which was our math block. I did ask that students spend some time practicing math facts (addition and subtraction). I still need two parents to volunteer to go with us on our first field trip to Beauty and the Beast. Please let me know if you would be interested. Thank you!!!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 24th
Hi Parents,
Today was a busy day!
The most important thing for your students to remember tomorrow is that we have an evacuation drill. The evacuation drill is at 1:30. We will be walking to the Ridge. The students need to dress for the weather. It is not supposed to be a nice day tomorrow but no matter what we will be going. So please make sure they dress appropriately for the weather tomorrow.
Also, I really need the conference forms back that I sent home on Wednesday. They are on a salmon colored paper.
The spelling words this week all have the long i sound. Long /i/ spelling patterns:
y, igh, ind, i-consonant-e, i-at the end of a syllable
1. dry
2. try
3. supply
4. my
5. why
6. flight
7. high
8. right
9. night
10. behind
11. kind
12. blind
13. mind
14. final
15. silent
16. tiny
17. minus
18. library
19. bicycle
20. quite
21. stripe
22. kite
23. bike
24. wife
25. life
Finally, I am looking for 2 parent volunteers to come with our class on our field trip to see Beauty and the Beast. If you are interested please email me at katie.porter@bsd7.org
The first that I hear from will be the ones to go.
Today was a busy day!
The most important thing for your students to remember tomorrow is that we have an evacuation drill. The evacuation drill is at 1:30. We will be walking to the Ridge. The students need to dress for the weather. It is not supposed to be a nice day tomorrow but no matter what we will be going. So please make sure they dress appropriately for the weather tomorrow.
Also, I really need the conference forms back that I sent home on Wednesday. They are on a salmon colored paper.
The spelling words this week all have the long i sound. Long /i/ spelling patterns:
y, igh, ind, i-consonant-e, i-at the end of a syllable
1. dry
2. try
3. supply
4. my
5. why
6. flight
7. high
8. right
9. night
10. behind
11. kind
12. blind
13. mind
14. final
15. silent
16. tiny
17. minus
18. library
19. bicycle
20. quite
21. stripe
22. kite
23. bike
24. wife
25. life
Finally, I am looking for 2 parent volunteers to come with our class on our field trip to see Beauty and the Beast. If you are interested please email me at katie.porter@bsd7.org
The first that I hear from will be the ones to go.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
October 18th
Hi Parents,
Your students had a great day today. They did an awesome job writing a rough draft paragraph on gummy worms. I am so impressed with their writing abilities!
They do have math homework tonight, but again, no spelling test this week. Thanks!
Your students had a great day today. They did an awesome job writing a rough draft paragraph on gummy worms. I am so impressed with their writing abilities!
They do have math homework tonight, but again, no spelling test this week. Thanks!
Monday, October 17, 2011
October 17th
Hi Parents,
Your students took a math test today so they do not have homework tonight.
There is also no spelling list because we have a short week. Thanks!
Your students took a math test today so they do not have homework tonight.
There is also no spelling list because we have a short week. Thanks!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
October 13th
Hi Parents,
You should have received quite a few papers tonight. In the stack of all of those papers, there is a yellow one that talks about sack lunches for our all school field trip. PLEASE fill that out and return it as soon as you can! Thank you.
You should have received quite a few papers tonight. In the stack of all of those papers, there is a yellow one that talks about sack lunches for our all school field trip. PLEASE fill that out and return it as soon as you can! Thank you.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hi Parents!
I am in need of parent volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:45-2:00. I like to do math rotations with the students on these days so I can meet with students in small groups, however, I need parent help to supervise other groups that are taking place. If you would be available to help on one or both of these days at that time, please let me know.
Also, our Halloween Party will be on Friday October 28th, from 1:00-2:00. I will be sending home a letter on Thursday.
Also, our Halloween Party will be on Friday October 28th, from 1:00-2:00. I will be sending home a letter on Thursday.
Monday, October 10, 2011
October 10th
Hi Parents,
I hope you had a great weekend.
Here are the spelling words for this week:
/a/=ai ay,ei /e/=ea ee
1. paint
2. clay
3. feel
4. leave
5. neighbor
6. eight
7. seem
8. speak
9. paid
10. lay
11. need
12. weigh
13. stay
14. steep
15. weep
Word Wall Words
16. before
17. friendly
18. discover
19. usually
20. have
Bonus
1. quartz
2. calcite
3. fluorite
4. gypsum
The bonus words are content words from our science. We are studying these minerals.
Reminder that Thursdays is picture day.
I forgot to give the students the reading log tonight, I will have copies on their desks tomorrow. Sorry!
I hope you had a great weekend.
Here are the spelling words for this week:
/a/=ai ay,ei /e/=ea ee
1. paint
2. clay
3. feel
4. leave
5. neighbor
6. eight
7. seem
8. speak
9. paid
10. lay
11. need
12. weigh
13. stay
14. steep
15. weep
Word Wall Words
16. before
17. friendly
18. discover
19. usually
20. have
Bonus
1. quartz
2. calcite
3. fluorite
4. gypsum
The bonus words are content words from our science. We are studying these minerals.
Reminder that Thursdays is picture day.
I forgot to give the students the reading log tonight, I will have copies on their desks tomorrow. Sorry!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
October 6th, 2011
Hi Parents,
Tonight you will be getting quiet a few papers. One of them is your student's math test from unit 1. There are two test stapled together. You will notice that they are exactly the same test. The students take a pretest before the unit starts so I have an idea of what the students know and what they do not know. This allows me to focus on some skills that they need help with while moving quickly through things that they understand. Lately, you might be noticing that your students have had two sheets of homework at night. That is because, your students pretested incredibly well on the unit 2 math test. We are flying through this unit because it is review for them.
Tonight you will be getting quiet a few papers. One of them is your student's math test from unit 1. There are two test stapled together. You will notice that they are exactly the same test. The students take a pretest before the unit starts so I have an idea of what the students know and what they do not know. This allows me to focus on some skills that they need help with while moving quickly through things that they understand. Lately, you might be noticing that your students have had two sheets of homework at night. That is because, your students pretested incredibly well on the unit 2 math test. We are flying through this unit because it is review for them.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
October 5th
Hi Parents,
Thank you all for attending our Back to School Open House last night. I appreciate your willingness to take time out of your nights to come back to school. I know that life is busy.
Today your students showed me what amazing writers they are as we began to talk about writing Narratives. I am continually impressed by the ideas flowing from my students.
Tonight your students have two sheets of math homework. The main concept with these sheets is using graphic organizers to solve story problems. You will see two different graphic organizers on the two sheets of homework. Remind your students to paint a picture of the story. What is the story telling them?
Thank you all for attending our Back to School Open House last night. I appreciate your willingness to take time out of your nights to come back to school. I know that life is busy.
Today your students showed me what amazing writers they are as we began to talk about writing Narratives. I am continually impressed by the ideas flowing from my students.
Tonight your students have two sheets of math homework. The main concept with these sheets is using graphic organizers to solve story problems. You will see two different graphic organizers on the two sheets of homework. Remind your students to paint a picture of the story. What is the story telling them?
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday, October 3rd
Hi Parents!
Today was a great day! Our focuses today were
Writing: What is a singular noun vs. a plural noun?
Reading: How do I summarize when I read?
Math: Extension facts and what is my rule?
Science: Minerals are classified by their different properties.
Tonight, you students have two sheets of homework. We are going to cruise through this unit because your students did a fantastic job on the pretest. The biggest whole I am seeing with the students for this unit is subtraction with borrowing. If you are looking to challenge your students with more work, have them do double and triple digit subtraction with borrowing.
The spelling list for this week:
Spelling list # 5
Prefixes
1. rewrite
2. uncover
3. undo
4. unload
5. disappear
6. redo
7. prepay
8. invalid
9. unlikely
10. impossible
11. dislike
12. unhappy
13. impolite
14. reread
Word Wall Words
15. there
16. their
17. they’re
18. to
19. two
20. too
Bonus
inappropriate
unacceptable
rearrange
We will do a mini-lesson tomorrow reviewing homophones.
Tomorrow night is our "Back to School Night" from 5:30-6:30. Please come if you are able.
Early release is also tomorrow at 1:45.
Today was a great day! Our focuses today were
Writing: What is a singular noun vs. a plural noun?
Reading: How do I summarize when I read?
Math: Extension facts and what is my rule?
Science: Minerals are classified by their different properties.
Tonight, you students have two sheets of homework. We are going to cruise through this unit because your students did a fantastic job on the pretest. The biggest whole I am seeing with the students for this unit is subtraction with borrowing. If you are looking to challenge your students with more work, have them do double and triple digit subtraction with borrowing.
The spelling list for this week:
Spelling list # 5
Prefixes
1. rewrite
2. uncover
3. undo
4. unload
5. disappear
6. redo
7. prepay
8. invalid
9. unlikely
10. impossible
11. dislike
12. unhappy
13. impolite
14. reread
Word Wall Words
15. there
16. their
17. they’re
18. to
19. two
20. too
Bonus
inappropriate
unacceptable
rearrange
We will do a mini-lesson tomorrow reviewing homophones.
Tomorrow night is our "Back to School Night" from 5:30-6:30. Please come if you are able.
Early release is also tomorrow at 1:45.
Friday, September 30, 2011
September 30th
Hi Parents,
We had a great day today. The students were able to watch Mulan and they filled out a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the movie and the story. Ask them to tell you about the differences between the two.
Please remember that Oct 4 is our back to school night. It would be wonderful to have all of the parents present to discuss our curricula. Thank you!
Have a wonderful weekend, I heard it is supposed to be beautiful!
We had a great day today. The students were able to watch Mulan and they filled out a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the movie and the story. Ask them to tell you about the differences between the two.
Please remember that Oct 4 is our back to school night. It would be wonderful to have all of the parents present to discuss our curricula. Thank you!
Have a wonderful weekend, I heard it is supposed to be beautiful!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
September 29th
Ahhhhh! Parents, in the rush to get your students out the door I forgot to put their homework on top of the pile of papers I was returning! I am very sorry. So for two nights in a row they do not have homework! I am very sorry! Sometimes the end of the day sneaks up on me before I have a chance to get everything done!
Tomorrow your students earned a party! The way the students earn a party is this: I have 50 marbles in the front of the classroom. As the students do a good job as a class and get compliments from other teachers they earn marbles, when they get all 50 marbles they earn a party. The party for this time is going to be watching Mulan...now you might be thinking WHAT?! We just read the story The Ballad of Mulan in our reading curriculum. The students will be doing a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two stories. They also get to wear their pjs and we will be having popcorn and rootbeer floats.
Some students will not be participating in our party as a consequence for their actions. I have in my class checkbook. The way that it works is the students write their name and checks when they miss behave, if they write on the checkbook 5 times, then they do not get the party. The students have known this from the first day of school, and I did not start the checkbook until the 2 week of school. They are given warnings but this is a good way for them to learn. It will make them work that much harder for the party the next time we earn it.
I hope that clarifies what is happening tomorrow. Please email me if you have any questions.
katie.porter@bsd7.org
Tomorrow your students earned a party! The way the students earn a party is this: I have 50 marbles in the front of the classroom. As the students do a good job as a class and get compliments from other teachers they earn marbles, when they get all 50 marbles they earn a party. The party for this time is going to be watching Mulan...now you might be thinking WHAT?! We just read the story The Ballad of Mulan in our reading curriculum. The students will be doing a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two stories. They also get to wear their pjs and we will be having popcorn and rootbeer floats.
Some students will not be participating in our party as a consequence for their actions. I have in my class checkbook. The way that it works is the students write their name and checks when they miss behave, if they write on the checkbook 5 times, then they do not get the party. The students have known this from the first day of school, and I did not start the checkbook until the 2 week of school. They are given warnings but this is a good way for them to learn. It will make them work that much harder for the party the next time we earn it.
I hope that clarifies what is happening tomorrow. Please email me if you have any questions.
katie.porter@bsd7.org
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
September 28th
Hi Parents,
Your students do not have math homework tonight because we took a math test today. On the days that we take a math test, I do not give the students any math homework. Tonight would be a great night for them to do a little bit of extra reading because they do not have any other homework.
Remember that our back to school night is Oct. 4th.
Also I forgot to send home the reading log on Monday. The students got it tonight but if for some reason I forget to give them their reading log, feel free to just make one at home!
Your students do not have math homework tonight because we took a math test today. On the days that we take a math test, I do not give the students any math homework. Tonight would be a great night for them to do a little bit of extra reading because they do not have any other homework.
Remember that our back to school night is Oct. 4th.
Also I forgot to send home the reading log on Monday. The students got it tonight but if for some reason I forget to give them their reading log, feel free to just make one at home!
Monday, September 26, 2011
September 26th
Hi Parents,
Tonight for math homework your students are working more on analog clocks. We are working on it a lot in class, but help your students through telling time. We will be having our first math assessment on Wednesday and I will hopefully have those ready to go home on Friday.
The spelling words this week are a review of the word wall words so far this year. The word wall words are the most important words on the spelling list each week. Research shows that these are the words that 3rd grade students use the most in the writing. Every four weeks we will revisit the words we have studied plus the 5 new ones for the week.
Please remember that back to school night is on October 4th.
Tonight for math homework your students are working more on analog clocks. We are working on it a lot in class, but help your students through telling time. We will be having our first math assessment on Wednesday and I will hopefully have those ready to go home on Friday.
The spelling words this week are a review of the word wall words so far this year. The word wall words are the most important words on the spelling list each week. Research shows that these are the words that 3rd grade students use the most in the writing. Every four weeks we will revisit the words we have studied plus the 5 new ones for the week.
Please remember that back to school night is on October 4th.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday September 22nd
Hi Parents,
Sorry for not writing on Tuesday.
Tonight's math homework might seem confusing because there are no directions at the top. Your students got a blank frames and arrows worksheet that they need to fill out. They get to come up with the rules that they have to follow to fill out the frames and arrows boxes.
Something that I wanted to let you all know about so you could potentially start saving change now, on January 11th the students will be going on a field trip to Bohart for a Cross Country Skiing Adventure. I am not completely sure of the cost at this time but if you save 5 dollars a month that should be close to covering it. Scholarships will be available as well if you cannot afford it. I know times are tough.
Sorry for not writing on Tuesday.
Tonight's math homework might seem confusing because there are no directions at the top. Your students got a blank frames and arrows worksheet that they need to fill out. They get to come up with the rules that they have to follow to fill out the frames and arrows boxes.
Something that I wanted to let you all know about so you could potentially start saving change now, on January 11th the students will be going on a field trip to Bohart for a Cross Country Skiing Adventure. I am not completely sure of the cost at this time but if you save 5 dollars a month that should be close to covering it. Scholarships will be available as well if you cannot afford it. I know times are tough.
Monday, September 19, 2011
September 19th
Hi Parents,
I forgot to pass out the spelling list to your kids however, here it is:
The Lost and Found
The Vowel-consonant-e
Pattern
a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e
1. smoke
2. huge
3. save
4. life
5. wide
6. come
7. mine
8. grade
9. smile
10. note
11. cube
12. love
13. escape
14. slope
Word Wall Words
15. question
16. something
17. said
18. with
19. another
Bonus: Visual chunk /ance/
advance
allowance
ambulance
acceptance
They will get a copy of it tomorrow.
VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER. There is no school for your students on Wednesday, September 21st.
I forgot to pass out the spelling list to your kids however, here it is:
The Lost and Found
The Vowel-consonant-e
Pattern
a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e
1. smoke
2. huge
3. save
4. life
5. wide
6. come
7. mine
8. grade
9. smile
10. note
11. cube
12. love
13. escape
14. slope
Word Wall Words
15. question
16. something
17. said
18. with
19. another
Bonus: Visual chunk /ance/
advance
allowance
ambulance
acceptance
They will get a copy of it tomorrow.
VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER. There is no school for your students on Wednesday, September 21st.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday, September 15th
Hi Parents,
I am sorry for not writing last night. On the second and fourth Wednesday of each month I have meetings that go until 5 and then I try and organize the classroom and get out of here before 6, so I run out of time to write on the blog.
Reminder: tomorrow is the spelling test for the week. The words are posted on Monday's blog.
The homework tonight is about place value.
Your students did a fantastic job on the Dioramas!
I am sorry for not writing last night. On the second and fourth Wednesday of each month I have meetings that go until 5 and then I try and organize the classroom and get out of here before 6, so I run out of time to write on the blog.
Reminder: tomorrow is the spelling test for the week. The words are posted on Monday's blog.
The homework tonight is about place value.
Your students did a fantastic job on the Dioramas!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, September 13th
We had a great day today. I hope the students told you all about our science where we did models of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks! Tomorrow and Thursday they will be traveling over to Mrs. Cech's room for Social Studies.
Again, with the spelling homework. There is no specific assignment. We do a little work with the words in class, specifically focusing on the word wall words. I grade the spelling test on Friday, but you can expect them back on Thursday night when I pass out the papers for the week.
Tonight your students might have two things for homework. There is the math worksheet and they might need to finish up a math page that they were working on in class. The homework is all about chance. How likely is something to happen.
Something to mark on your calendars. Our back to school night is on Oct. 4th. I hope you are able to come as I will talk more about the year, grading and other things.
Have a wonderful Tuesday night!
PS We have had a lot of kids sick, so please encourage your students to WASH THEIR HANDS as often as possible:)
Again, with the spelling homework. There is no specific assignment. We do a little work with the words in class, specifically focusing on the word wall words. I grade the spelling test on Friday, but you can expect them back on Thursday night when I pass out the papers for the week.
Tonight your students might have two things for homework. There is the math worksheet and they might need to finish up a math page that they were working on in class. The homework is all about chance. How likely is something to happen.
Something to mark on your calendars. Our back to school night is on Oct. 4th. I hope you are able to come as I will talk more about the year, grading and other things.
Have a wonderful Tuesday night!
PS We have had a lot of kids sick, so please encourage your students to WASH THEIR HANDS as often as possible:)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 12th
I hope you all had a restful weekend.
Please remember that the dioramas are due tomorrow. The ones that have come in so far are incredible!!!!
I wanted to thank you also, for the wonderful letters you wrote to me about your children. It helps me so much to get the insight of the parents!
The math homework tonight is about name collection boxes. For example if the name on the box is 10, the students should think of different ways to equal ten.
Spelling:
week of 9/12-9/16/10
The Ballad of Mulan
Short Vowel Words
o/u
1. pond
2. luck
3. drop
4. lot
5. rub
6. does
7. drum
8. sock
9. hunt
10. crop
11. shut
12. won
13. hop
14. much
CHALLENGE WORDS
15. dodge
16. dusk
Word Wall Words
favorite
first
want
anyone
friend
Visual Chunk /mis/
misfit
mislaid
misprint
Please remember that the dioramas are due tomorrow. The ones that have come in so far are incredible!!!!
I wanted to thank you also, for the wonderful letters you wrote to me about your children. It helps me so much to get the insight of the parents!
The math homework tonight is about name collection boxes. For example if the name on the box is 10, the students should think of different ways to equal ten.
Spelling:
week of 9/12-9/16/10
The Ballad of Mulan
Short Vowel Words
o/u
1. pond
2. luck
3. drop
4. lot
5. rub
6. does
7. drum
8. sock
9. hunt
10. crop
11. shut
12. won
13. hop
14. much
CHALLENGE WORDS
15. dodge
16. dusk
Word Wall Words
favorite
first
want
anyone
friend
Visual Chunk /mis/
misfit
mislaid
misprint
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday, September 9th
Hi Parents,
Just a quick note. Please remember that the diorama project is due on Tuesday, Sept 13th. You will see the letter posted early this week. Have a wonderful weekend. Also, I don't ever give math homework on Friday nights, so if you are looking for a sheet in your child's backpack, there won't be one tonight!
Just a quick note. Please remember that the diorama project is due on Tuesday, Sept 13th. You will see the letter posted early this week. Have a wonderful weekend. Also, I don't ever give math homework on Friday nights, so if you are looking for a sheet in your child's backpack, there won't be one tonight!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday, September 8th
Sorry that the blog for today is a little later than normal. I had an appointment following school and am just getting a chance to write.
The most important thing I want to cover is the math homework tonight.
Maximum is the largest number is a set of data.
Minimum is the smallest number is a set of date.
Range is the difference between the maximum and the minimum.
Mode is the number that appears the most frequently.
I hope that helps with the homework tonight.
Remember your students have a spelling test tomorrow. Reading logs are due on Monday no Friday.
The most important thing I want to cover is the math homework tonight.
Maximum is the largest number is a set of data.
Minimum is the smallest number is a set of date.
Range is the difference between the maximum and the minimum.
Mode is the number that appears the most frequently.
I hope that helps with the homework tonight.
Remember your students have a spelling test tomorrow. Reading logs are due on Monday no Friday.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wedneday, September 7th
It was another great day with your students. I am enjoying our new class so much.
Tonight your students have homework in math working on telling time on an analog clock. For some of your students this will be a challenging exercise but we need to practice it.
I wanted to clarify the spelling words that came home yesterday. That is a copy for your students to practice at home. They do not have "specific" homework to turn in, but it would be good for them to study them, and have you quiz them on the words.
Today was the first day that your students rotated for Social Studies. On Wednesdays and Thursdays your students go to Mrs. Cech's room to study Social Studies while I teach Mrs. Cech's students Science in our room. I thought I would also share the class schedule with you so you know what your students are doing at the different times:
8:30-8:45 Morning Activities
8:45-9:30 Specials
9:30-10:15 Writing
10:15-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:30 Reading
11:30-12:15 Lunch
12:15-12:35 Read Aloud
12:35-12:50 Spelling/Word Work
12:50-2:00 Math
2:00-2:15 Recess
2:15-3:05 Science/Social Studies
3:05-3:20 Closure
Your students have Library on Mondays, Music on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Early release is every Friday at 2:10.
We will begin doing buddies with 1st grade in the next few weeks, where we will spend 15-20 minutes, once a week, reading to younger students.
Please remember to email me if you have any questions. katie.porter@bsd7.org
Tonight your students have homework in math working on telling time on an analog clock. For some of your students this will be a challenging exercise but we need to practice it.
I wanted to clarify the spelling words that came home yesterday. That is a copy for your students to practice at home. They do not have "specific" homework to turn in, but it would be good for them to study them, and have you quiz them on the words.
Today was the first day that your students rotated for Social Studies. On Wednesdays and Thursdays your students go to Mrs. Cech's room to study Social Studies while I teach Mrs. Cech's students Science in our room. I thought I would also share the class schedule with you so you know what your students are doing at the different times:
8:30-8:45 Morning Activities
8:45-9:30 Specials
9:30-10:15 Writing
10:15-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:30 Reading
11:30-12:15 Lunch
12:15-12:35 Read Aloud
12:35-12:50 Spelling/Word Work
12:50-2:00 Math
2:00-2:15 Recess
2:15-3:05 Science/Social Studies
3:05-3:20 Closure
Your students have Library on Mondays, Music on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Early release is every Friday at 2:10.
We will begin doing buddies with 1st grade in the next few weeks, where we will spend 15-20 minutes, once a week, reading to younger students.
Please remember to email me if you have any questions. katie.porter@bsd7.org
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 6th
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I sent home a letter on Friday with the students. If you didn't get it, here it is (which by the way, I read it and I made so many errors, I am very sorry!):
The project for the children at home for the next two weeks will be to construct a "diorama." A diorama is a three sided, open box (shoe box without a lid, a Kleenex box with the top cut off) the children are to show an adventure that they have been on in the box. The reason for this assignment is it's connection to stories we will be reading in our Houghton Mifflin reading resource that focus on adventures! For your student, their adventures may be going to Yellowstone, floating down a river, swimming, hiking, vacations, family gatherings, biking, or any activity with some movement and a story. They can use folded paper, clay, legos, cardboard, and then color in the backdrops to make a 3D adventure. They are to write a paragraph about the adventure depicted in the diorama. The students will give an oral presentation of their adventure. I would like to have the dioramas completed on turned in my Sept. 13.
Spelling for this week:
Spelling
week of 9/6/10-9/9/10
Cliff Hanger
Short Vowel Words
a/e/i
mix
milk
smell
last
head
friend
class
left
thick
send
thin
stick
test
dish
CHALLENGE WORDS
empty
glance
Visual Chunk “ic”
gothic
mimic
colic
music
Word Wall Words
beautiful
where
what
they
because
The students also have math homework tonight working on place value.
You should have gotten a new reading log. Please remember that I want those returned on Mondays.
I hope you all had a great weekend!
The project for the children at home for the next two weeks will be to construct a "diorama." A diorama is a three sided, open box (shoe box without a lid, a Kleenex box with the top cut off) the children are to show an adventure that they have been on in the box. The reason for this assignment is it's connection to stories we will be reading in our Houghton Mifflin reading resource that focus on adventures! For your student, their adventures may be going to Yellowstone, floating down a river, swimming, hiking, vacations, family gatherings, biking, or any activity with some movement and a story. They can use folded paper, clay, legos, cardboard, and then color in the backdrops to make a 3D adventure. They are to write a paragraph about the adventure depicted in the diorama. The students will give an oral presentation of their adventure. I would like to have the dioramas completed on turned in my Sept. 13.
Spelling for this week:
Spelling
week of 9/6/10-9/9/10
Cliff Hanger
Short Vowel Words
a/e/i
mix
milk
smell
last
head
friend
class
left
thick
send
thin
stick
test
dish
CHALLENGE WORDS
empty
glance
Visual Chunk “ic”
gothic
mimic
colic
music
Word Wall Words
beautiful
where
what
they
because
The students also have math homework tonight working on place value.
You should have gotten a new reading log. Please remember that I want those returned on Mondays.
I hope you all had a great weekend!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, September 1st
It was a great day again.
Tonight your students have two things for homework. They were given a story called "The Blogg Beneath the Bed." They need to read this story aloud twice and have it signed that they read the story to two different people (or things...it could be a dog or stuffed animal!). Some of them will need help reading it. It is a middle of 3rd grade reading level, so help them as they need.
They also have a math sheet. Please remember to read the directions on the math to help the students.
I have a sub tomorrow. I have talked with your students about my expectations. I told them that consequences include loss of recess in the coming week if I hear they misbehaved for the sub. I do not think we should have any issues but I wanted you to know what my consequences are for them.
No homework on Friday, enjoy the long weekend. Remember to email me katie.porter@bsd7.org if you have any questions!
Tonight your students have two things for homework. They were given a story called "The Blogg Beneath the Bed." They need to read this story aloud twice and have it signed that they read the story to two different people (or things...it could be a dog or stuffed animal!). Some of them will need help reading it. It is a middle of 3rd grade reading level, so help them as they need.
They also have a math sheet. Please remember to read the directions on the math to help the students.
I have a sub tomorrow. I have talked with your students about my expectations. I told them that consequences include loss of recess in the coming week if I hear they misbehaved for the sub. I do not think we should have any issues but I wanted you to know what my consequences are for them.
No homework on Friday, enjoy the long weekend. Remember to email me katie.porter@bsd7.org if you have any questions!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 31st
Today was fantastic. Your students did a great job today and I couldn't be more pleased!
You should have seen that your students had homework tonight and they also had a pink sheet for you. This is the unit 1 Parent Letter. This letter has ALL THE ANSWER TO THE HOMEWORK SO DON"T THROW IT AWAY!!!!!!! It also tells you about what the students are studying, so keep it around. The homework is due tomorrow even though the top of it says send it back in the next few days.
I also wanted to ask that your students bring in a sock. You might be thinking "a sock?!" and yes a sock. The students will use the sock to store their dry erase markers and it will also be what they use to eraser their whiteboards.
I am just tickled pink with your kids! They are awesome!
You should have seen that your students had homework tonight and they also had a pink sheet for you. This is the unit 1 Parent Letter. This letter has ALL THE ANSWER TO THE HOMEWORK SO DON"T THROW IT AWAY!!!!!!! It also tells you about what the students are studying, so keep it around. The homework is due tomorrow even though the top of it says send it back in the next few days.
I also wanted to ask that your students bring in a sock. You might be thinking "a sock?!" and yes a sock. The students will use the sock to store their dry erase markers and it will also be what they use to eraser their whiteboards.
I am just tickled pink with your kids! They are awesome!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 30th
What a busy day! Your students are really starting to get into the swing of things! Today we started having a bit of a regular schedule which is always a nice thing!
Your students took a pretest today in math. I really try and explain to them that a pretest is NOT a grade. I pretest the students before every unit so I can see what students know and what they do not know. It is very important to be able to do that so I can meet every student at their level. I will need parent volunteers to help with math on Tuesdays and Thursday from 12:30-2:00. If you would be interested in helping during that time with math please let me know.
There was no homework tonight, just reading. They will have math homework tomorrow night and on Thursday night. Students will never have homework on Fridays.
I am also really trying to work with your students are building a community in our classroom. I explained to the students that I do not expect them to be friends with everyone but they need to respect everyone. We will continue to work on that throughout the year!
Your students took a pretest today in math. I really try and explain to them that a pretest is NOT a grade. I pretest the students before every unit so I can see what students know and what they do not know. It is very important to be able to do that so I can meet every student at their level. I will need parent volunteers to help with math on Tuesdays and Thursday from 12:30-2:00. If you would be interested in helping during that time with math please let me know.
There was no homework tonight, just reading. They will have math homework tomorrow night and on Thursday night. Students will never have homework on Fridays.
I am also really trying to work with your students are building a community in our classroom. I explained to the students that I do not expect them to be friends with everyone but they need to respect everyone. We will continue to work on that throughout the year!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday August 29th
Hi Parents!
It was an excellent first day. This first week is all about getting into routines. The kids should have brought home two different sheets. One was their reading log. I hope for students to be reading 100 minutes a week. That breaks down to roughly 20 minutes for 5 nights. I know that some nights are busy.
You also should have gotten a letter on bright pink paper. Anything coming home on bright pink paper is a note for you from me. This paper asked for you to write a letter about your child so that I can get to know them better. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your child!
Normally the students will have a math worksheet to do every night. That will probably begin on Wednesday. Tomorrow your students will take a math pretest to give me an idea of where they are at for the coming unit.
Spelling will start next week also, so look for that on Monday.
We will really start to get into the swing of things in the following weeks.
I also wanted to let you know that I will be gone on Friday. My husband and I have a wedding California of two of our dearest friends. I know that timing is not great, but I have an excellent sub and she will do a great job.
Please call me or email me if you have any questions! Thank you.
It was an excellent first day. This first week is all about getting into routines. The kids should have brought home two different sheets. One was their reading log. I hope for students to be reading 100 minutes a week. That breaks down to roughly 20 minutes for 5 nights. I know that some nights are busy.
You also should have gotten a letter on bright pink paper. Anything coming home on bright pink paper is a note for you from me. This paper asked for you to write a letter about your child so that I can get to know them better. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your child!
Normally the students will have a math worksheet to do every night. That will probably begin on Wednesday. Tomorrow your students will take a math pretest to give me an idea of where they are at for the coming unit.
Spelling will start next week also, so look for that on Monday.
We will really start to get into the swing of things in the following weeks.
I also wanted to let you know that I will be gone on Friday. My husband and I have a wedding California of two of our dearest friends. I know that timing is not great, but I have an excellent sub and she will do a great job.
Please call me or email me if you have any questions! Thank you.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
August 25th----Drop and Greet
It was wonderful meeting you all today! I look forward to a great year! Please remember that you can check on this blog to know everything that is going on in our classroom.
Friday, June 3, 2011
June 3rd
I know I haven't posted yet this week! Here are the big things for the end of the year!
Monday: At 9am we will be doing our first performance of the Bozeman History Play. It should be about an hour. Your students have been doing a great job!
Tuesday: At 1pm we will be having our second performance of the play. It will go till about 2:00.
Wednesday: On Wednesday the students will clean out their desks and take almost everything home. We have a good bye assembly for Mrs. Hamburg at 1pm that day.
Thursday: The students will be invited to bring board games to play and we will be having a little party in our room. We will be having Sundaes and ending the year. School gets out at 12:30 that day.
It has been a great year! These last 5 days are very busy, but filled with wonderful fun!
Monday: At 9am we will be doing our first performance of the Bozeman History Play. It should be about an hour. Your students have been doing a great job!
Tuesday: At 1pm we will be having our second performance of the play. It will go till about 2:00.
Wednesday: On Wednesday the students will clean out their desks and take almost everything home. We have a good bye assembly for Mrs. Hamburg at 1pm that day.
Thursday: The students will be invited to bring board games to play and we will be having a little party in our room. We will be having Sundaes and ending the year. School gets out at 12:30 that day.
It has been a great year! These last 5 days are very busy, but filled with wonderful fun!
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23rd
Tomorrow we have our field trip to the Museum of the Rockies and the Pioneer Museum. We will be gone all day tomorrow.
We will not be having anymore spelling tests for the year due to a hectic schedule. This week we have a field trip and no school Friday, next week we have a field trip and no school Monday, and then the following week the last day of school is Thursday and that is a half day.
The big news in 3rd grade is our play about Bozeman history. This play will be performed on June 6th and 7th. The performance on the 6th is in the morning and on the 7th it is in the afternoon. I will send home a letter on Thursday with more details. Your students have been given lines that they should be memorizing. Please help them with that. They also need to be coming up with costumes. We absolutely do NOT want you to buy something new. If your students have nothing to fit the part, have them dress in western wear (blue jeans and a white shirt, or if they have a button up that would be great).
I am sorry to not have written much on here, there has been so much happening at school as we wrap up this GREAT year!
We will not be having anymore spelling tests for the year due to a hectic schedule. This week we have a field trip and no school Friday, next week we have a field trip and no school Monday, and then the following week the last day of school is Thursday and that is a half day.
The big news in 3rd grade is our play about Bozeman history. This play will be performed on June 6th and 7th. The performance on the 6th is in the morning and on the 7th it is in the afternoon. I will send home a letter on Thursday with more details. Your students have been given lines that they should be memorizing. Please help them with that. They also need to be coming up with costumes. We absolutely do NOT want you to buy something new. If your students have nothing to fit the part, have them dress in western wear (blue jeans and a white shirt, or if they have a button up that would be great).
I am sorry to not have written much on here, there has been so much happening at school as we wrap up this GREAT year!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday May 10
Hi Parents,
I wanted to let you know I will be out starting Thursday, until Wednesday of next week. My Grandma passed away and I will be going to her funeral.
There was a permission slip that went home last night, and one that will go home tomorrow. Please send them back as soon as you can. Thank you. I am sorry to miss so many days in a row.
I wanted to let you know I will be out starting Thursday, until Wednesday of next week. My Grandma passed away and I will be going to her funeral.
There was a permission slip that went home last night, and one that will go home tomorrow. Please send them back as soon as you can. Thank you. I am sorry to miss so many days in a row.
Monday, May 9, 2011
1. below
2. second
3. shiver
4. frozen
5. clever
6. writer
7. siren
8. cover
9. female
10. finish
11. tired
12. hemmed
13. twenty
14. focus
15. revise
Vocabulary from
Poppa’s New Pants
16. pallet
17. arthritis
18. crouched
19. mustering
20. limbs
21. haunting
22. scurried
23. sanctuary
24. knickers
25. draped
Here is the spelling list for this week.
There is no math homework tonight because your students took the end of the year assessment for the district. Some of them are not done yet. It was a longer test, so I wanted to give them a break from homework.
You should have gotten a field trip permission slip from your child when they got home. PLEASE fill that out and send it back with your student tomorrow. It is really important that I get the sack lunch from school count into Vicki tomorrow.
Hope you all are doing well. Thank you again for your help last week with the Character Banquet. I really believe that will be something your students will remember for the rest of their lives!
2. second
3. shiver
4. frozen
5. clever
6. writer
7. siren
8. cover
9. female
10. finish
11. tired
12. hemmed
13. twenty
14. focus
15. revise
Vocabulary from
Poppa’s New Pants
16. pallet
17. arthritis
18. crouched
19. mustering
20. limbs
21. haunting
22. scurried
23. sanctuary
24. knickers
25. draped
Here is the spelling list for this week.
There is no math homework tonight because your students took the end of the year assessment for the district. Some of them are not done yet. It was a longer test, so I wanted to give them a break from homework.
You should have gotten a field trip permission slip from your child when they got home. PLEASE fill that out and send it back with your student tomorrow. It is really important that I get the sack lunch from school count into Vicki tomorrow.
Hope you all are doing well. Thank you again for your help last week with the Character Banquet. I really believe that will be something your students will remember for the rest of their lives!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
May 3rd
Here is the grading rubric for the character banquet if your students are working on the speeches at home. They have sometime to work on them in class but they might also want to be working on them at home to make sure they are done by Friday.
Name____________________
Rubric
Character Banquet Speeches
The following things are in your speech:
_______ Told in first person
_______ Character’s Name
_______ Title of the book you read
_______ Genre of the book your read
_______ Setting (where most of the story takes place)
_______ Summary of the book (beginning, middle, end, problem and solution)
_______ Recommendations
Oral Presentation
_______ Loud and Clear
_______ Made eye contact with our class
_______ Stood up straight and tall
Tonight's homework is all about conversions. We worked on that in class today and there is a guide at the bottom to help.
Name____________________
Rubric
Character Banquet Speeches
The following things are in your speech:
_______ Told in first person
_______ Character’s Name
_______ Title of the book you read
_______ Genre of the book your read
_______ Setting (where most of the story takes place)
_______ Summary of the book (beginning, middle, end, problem and solution)
_______ Recommendations
Oral Presentation
_______ Loud and Clear
_______ Made eye contact with our class
_______ Stood up straight and tall
Tonight's homework is all about conversions. We worked on that in class today and there is a guide at the bottom to help.
Monday, May 2, 2011
May 2nd
Hi Parents,
I know the post are becoming less and less frequent. I am sorry. There is so much to get done before the end of the year and there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!
Spelling:
Spelling Review
1. two
2. to
3. too
4. people
5. spring
6. myself
7. everyone
8. brandish
9. uncle
10. sure
11. enough
12. able
13. because
14. strange
15. when
Challenge
16. entire
17. pardon
18. awful
19. salute
20. original
21. political
22. community
23. overwhelm
24. retaliate
25. audible
In reading this week, I will be taking the kids individually to do their end of the year Dibels scores.
Sometime this week we should be having Bob the Greenhouse Bus (it is being rescheduled because we were supposed to have it on Friday last week).
The character banquet is on Friday. Please send back the form stating what your child will bring to the banquet. Depending on how much food we get, we will probably let the children get hot lunch if they want to.
The Fun Run is on Thursday. Our running time is at the end of the day, I believe it is 2:30-3:10 but I have to double check on that.
Please email me or call if you have any questions about anything going on in this BUSY month. I will be happy to answer all of your questions. Thank you for your patients and support!
I know the post are becoming less and less frequent. I am sorry. There is so much to get done before the end of the year and there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!
Spelling:
Spelling Review
1. two
2. to
3. too
4. people
5. spring
6. myself
7. everyone
8. brandish
9. uncle
10. sure
11. enough
12. able
13. because
14. strange
15. when
Challenge
16. entire
17. pardon
18. awful
19. salute
20. original
21. political
22. community
23. overwhelm
24. retaliate
25. audible
In reading this week, I will be taking the kids individually to do their end of the year Dibels scores.
Sometime this week we should be having Bob the Greenhouse Bus (it is being rescheduled because we were supposed to have it on Friday last week).
The character banquet is on Friday. Please send back the form stating what your child will bring to the banquet. Depending on how much food we get, we will probably let the children get hot lunch if they want to.
The Fun Run is on Thursday. Our running time is at the end of the day, I believe it is 2:30-3:10 but I have to double check on that.
Please email me or call if you have any questions about anything going on in this BUSY month. I will be happy to answer all of your questions. Thank you for your patients and support!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
April 26th
Hi Parents,
A very busy week!
Spelling:
words that begin with a or be)
1. begin
2. again
3. around
4. before
5. away
6. about
7. alive
8. because
9. ahead
10. between
11. behind
12. ago
Challenge Words
13. awhile
14. beyond
15. district
16. hospital
Content Vocabulary
17. mumbled
18. language
19. enchilada
20. tortilla
21. tamale
22. salsa
23. Spanish
BONUS: portraits
pictures of people
Tomorrow your students have test in Mrs. Cech's class on the 50 states.
In science we began a webquest on Forces and Motion.
In math we continue to work on finding the mean of a set of data.
This week's reading focus is on evaluating.
Mrs. Hamburgh is coming into our class a few times over the next few weeks to work on a program called steps to respect.
A very busy week!
Spelling:
words that begin with a or be)
1. begin
2. again
3. around
4. before
5. away
6. about
7. alive
8. because
9. ahead
10. between
11. behind
12. ago
Challenge Words
13. awhile
14. beyond
15. district
16. hospital
Content Vocabulary
17. mumbled
18. language
19. enchilada
20. tortilla
21. tamale
22. salsa
23. Spanish
BONUS: portraits
pictures of people
Tomorrow your students have test in Mrs. Cech's class on the 50 states.
In science we began a webquest on Forces and Motion.
In math we continue to work on finding the mean of a set of data.
This week's reading focus is on evaluating.
Mrs. Hamburgh is coming into our class a few times over the next few weeks to work on a program called steps to respect.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday April 20th
Hi Parents,
There is an important thing you need to know for next week. Your students have a test in Social Studies in which they need to know all 50 states and where they are located. They need to be studying this at home. I have reminded them to tell you and to study over the weekend, but I want you to know about that. The test will be next Wednesday.
There is an important thing you need to know for next week. Your students have a test in Social Studies in which they need to know all 50 states and where they are located. They need to be studying this at home. I have reminded them to tell you and to study over the weekend, but I want you to know about that. The test will be next Wednesday.
Monday, April 18, 2011
April 18th
Hi Parents,
I think the cold bug is going around our class. I got it over the weekend (Friday) and still have not been able to shake it! We have a lot of kids coughing as well, so please just make sure that your kiddos are getting a lot of rest and WASHING their hands!
Today you should be receiving the parent letter for unit 10. This unit focuses on a wide array of things. We are starting with measurements. Tonight's homework introduces and talks about volume.
In reading we are focusing on Biographies this week. Your students are reading a bunch of different biographies about many famous inventors, activists, and athletes.
In writing we continue to work on the processes of persuasive writing.
Spelling for this week.
Week of April 18-22
words that end in er or le
1. summer
2. winter
3. little
4. October
5. travel
6. color
7. apple
8. able
9. November
10. ever
11. later
12. purple
Word Wall
13. confusion
14. I’m
15. independent
16. I’ve
17. I’d
Challenge Words
18. thermometer
19. mumble
20. force
21 motion
22. friction
23. reaction
24. machine
Bonus
triskaidekagon
= a 13 sided polygon
I think the cold bug is going around our class. I got it over the weekend (Friday) and still have not been able to shake it! We have a lot of kids coughing as well, so please just make sure that your kiddos are getting a lot of rest and WASHING their hands!
Today you should be receiving the parent letter for unit 10. This unit focuses on a wide array of things. We are starting with measurements. Tonight's homework introduces and talks about volume.
In reading we are focusing on Biographies this week. Your students are reading a bunch of different biographies about many famous inventors, activists, and athletes.
In writing we continue to work on the processes of persuasive writing.
Spelling for this week.
Week of April 18-22
words that end in er or le
1. summer
2. winter
3. little
4. October
5. travel
6. color
7. apple
8. able
9. November
10. ever
11. later
12. purple
Word Wall
13. confusion
14. I’m
15. independent
16. I’ve
17. I’d
Challenge Words
18. thermometer
19. mumble
20. force
21 motion
22. friction
23. reaction
24. machine
Bonus
triskaidekagon
= a 13 sided polygon
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
April 12
Hi Parents,
Today your students took a math test so there is no math homework.
Spelling list for this week is working on suffixes:
Suffix –less
1. harmless
2. helpless
3. endless
4. homeless
5. mindless
Suffix –ness
6. shyness
7. dampness
8. sadness
9. kindness
10. goodness
Word Wall
11. weather
12. whether
13. hole
14. whole
15. lovable
Challenge
16. forgetfulness
17. forgiveness
18. thoughtlessness
19. hopelessness
20. laziness
Content Words
21. potential
22. kinetic
23. atoms
24. liquid
25. motion
In science we started talking about kinetic energy vs. potential energy. It is A LOT of fun!
In reading this week our focus is on the Genre Fairy Tales.
In writing we continue to work on persuasion.
Today your students took a math test so there is no math homework.
Spelling list for this week is working on suffixes:
Suffix –less
1. harmless
2. helpless
3. endless
4. homeless
5. mindless
Suffix –ness
6. shyness
7. dampness
8. sadness
9. kindness
10. goodness
Word Wall
11. weather
12. whether
13. hole
14. whole
15. lovable
Challenge
16. forgetfulness
17. forgiveness
18. thoughtlessness
19. hopelessness
20. laziness
Content Words
21. potential
22. kinetic
23. atoms
24. liquid
25. motion
In science we started talking about kinetic energy vs. potential energy. It is A LOT of fun!
In reading this week our focus is on the Genre Fairy Tales.
In writing we continue to work on persuasion.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
April 6th
Hi Parents,
IT has been a busy week with a lot going on that I am sure you kids are talking to you about. I sent home a letter on Monday regarding a book project. Here is that letter:
Character Banquet Book Report Speeches
Dear Students and Parents,
Your students will be doing a book project for the month of April. They are going to choose a “just right” chapter book to read that they can finish by the end of April. When they are finished reading the book, they will then write a speech from the perspective of one of the main characters from their book. The speech will include:
• Character’s name
• Title of the book
• Genre of the book
• Setting
• Summary of the book
• Recommendations
The speech will be written in first person.
Then, on May 6th , the 3rd grade is going to be having a banquet in which they come dressed as the character they are presenting to the class. We also want them to bring a food item that is connected to the character in some way (for example in The Mouse and the Motorcylce, the boy brings Ralph, the mouse, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so your student could bring some sandwiches). They would not need to bring enough for the whole 3rd grade, but a sampling for the kids to try. If all the students bring a sample, there is enough for all the kids to have a potluck lunch. During the lunch, the students remain in character and have lunch conversation pretending to be the character from the book. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call us. We will be sending another letter home the last week of April asking for volunteers to help with the set up or clean up of the banquet, as well as stating what your child will be bringing for food. This is a fun event that really helps books come alive for students.
Mrs. Cech
Mrs. Porter
Important date, on Monday, April 11th, you students need to have chosen a book for the book project and have it at school! They are going to read a page to me so I can tell if the book is at an independent level.
Spelling words this week:
VCCV Pattern
(Vowel,consonant,consonant,vowel )
1. Monday
2. sudden
3. until
4. forget
5. happen
6. follow
7. dollar
8. window
9. hello
10. market
11. pretty
12. order
Word Wall Words
13. impossible
14. thought
15. almost
16. always
17. were
Challenge Words
18. stubborn
19. expect
20. iceberg
21. Antarctic
Word Chunk
quartus (Latin) = 4 (four)
22. quarter
23. quartet
24. square
25 quart
BONUS: albatross
a large sea bird
The spelling test is tomorrow 4/7
In writing we are working on persuasive writing. We plan by following this thinking:
Who is my audience:
What am I trying to get or convince my audience of:
Three reasons and support for what I am persuading on:
Conclusion:
In math we continue to focus on multiplication and division. Please let me know if you have any questions.
IT has been a busy week with a lot going on that I am sure you kids are talking to you about. I sent home a letter on Monday regarding a book project. Here is that letter:
Character Banquet Book Report Speeches
Dear Students and Parents,
Your students will be doing a book project for the month of April. They are going to choose a “just right” chapter book to read that they can finish by the end of April. When they are finished reading the book, they will then write a speech from the perspective of one of the main characters from their book. The speech will include:
• Character’s name
• Title of the book
• Genre of the book
• Setting
• Summary of the book
• Recommendations
The speech will be written in first person.
Then, on May 6th , the 3rd grade is going to be having a banquet in which they come dressed as the character they are presenting to the class. We also want them to bring a food item that is connected to the character in some way (for example in The Mouse and the Motorcylce, the boy brings Ralph, the mouse, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so your student could bring some sandwiches). They would not need to bring enough for the whole 3rd grade, but a sampling for the kids to try. If all the students bring a sample, there is enough for all the kids to have a potluck lunch. During the lunch, the students remain in character and have lunch conversation pretending to be the character from the book. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call us. We will be sending another letter home the last week of April asking for volunteers to help with the set up or clean up of the banquet, as well as stating what your child will be bringing for food. This is a fun event that really helps books come alive for students.
Mrs. Cech
Mrs. Porter
Important date, on Monday, April 11th, you students need to have chosen a book for the book project and have it at school! They are going to read a page to me so I can tell if the book is at an independent level.
Spelling words this week:
VCCV Pattern
(Vowel,consonant,consonant,vowel )
1. Monday
2. sudden
3. until
4. forget
5. happen
6. follow
7. dollar
8. window
9. hello
10. market
11. pretty
12. order
Word Wall Words
13. impossible
14. thought
15. almost
16. always
17. were
Challenge Words
18. stubborn
19. expect
20. iceberg
21. Antarctic
Word Chunk
quartus (Latin) = 4 (four)
22. quarter
23. quartet
24. square
25 quart
BONUS: albatross
a large sea bird
The spelling test is tomorrow 4/7
In writing we are working on persuasive writing. We plan by following this thinking:
Who is my audience:
What am I trying to get or convince my audience of:
Three reasons and support for what I am persuading on:
Conclusion:
In math we continue to focus on multiplication and division. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday April 1
Hi Parents,
Sorry for the lack in writing this weekend. I was in meeting all this week after school till 8:00 or so at night and just did not have the time to post on the blog.
We have been doing a lot with multiplication. Your students probably introduced you to a new way of doing double digit multiplication called lattice. When I first started teaching 5 years ago, I had to be taught how do lattice by one of my fellow teachers! We will be having a math night here in the next month, and I will teach you all how to do lattice as well. Please know that you can teach your children or help your children by doing the traditional method as well. I teach the students three different methods for solving multiplication problems, but I do not care which method they want to use. The big idea is that all students learn differently and one method will be great for some students and not great for others.
There will be a letter coming home today about book project for the month of April. Please make sure and read that letter!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sorry for the lack in writing this weekend. I was in meeting all this week after school till 8:00 or so at night and just did not have the time to post on the blog.
We have been doing a lot with multiplication. Your students probably introduced you to a new way of doing double digit multiplication called lattice. When I first started teaching 5 years ago, I had to be taught how do lattice by one of my fellow teachers! We will be having a math night here in the next month, and I will teach you all how to do lattice as well. Please know that you can teach your children or help your children by doing the traditional method as well. I teach the students three different methods for solving multiplication problems, but I do not care which method they want to use. The big idea is that all students learn differently and one method will be great for some students and not great for others.
There will be a letter coming home today about book project for the month of April. Please make sure and read that letter!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Monday, March 28, 2011
March 28th
Hi Parents,
We are starting a new unit in math on multiplication and division of two digit numbers. It is very important for your students to practice math facts as often as possible! You should also be getting a family letter tonight, remember to not throw it away!
In science we began our new unit today focusing on physical science. The essential questions that I want your students to know from this unit are: What is matter? What is energy? How do matter and energy interact? What is force? What is motion? How do force and motion work together in pairs? How does energy change forms?
In reading this week, our focus is on making predictions.
The spelling list is:
March 28th-April 1st
1. skirt
2. scared
3. skate
4. scab
5. scan
6. skid
7. scream
8. scamper
9. schedule
10. screech
Word Wall
11. its
12. it’s
13. vacation
14. we’re
15. that’s
Science Words
16. matter
17. energy
18. volume
19. mass
20. density
Challenge Words
21. bustling
22.vendor
23. passport
bonus: foreigner
We are starting a new unit in math on multiplication and division of two digit numbers. It is very important for your students to practice math facts as often as possible! You should also be getting a family letter tonight, remember to not throw it away!
In science we began our new unit today focusing on physical science. The essential questions that I want your students to know from this unit are: What is matter? What is energy? How do matter and energy interact? What is force? What is motion? How do force and motion work together in pairs? How does energy change forms?
In reading this week, our focus is on making predictions.
The spelling list is:
March 28th-April 1st
1. skirt
2. scared
3. skate
4. scab
5. scan
6. skid
7. scream
8. scamper
9. schedule
10. screech
Word Wall
11. its
12. it’s
13. vacation
14. we’re
15. that’s
Science Words
16. matter
17. energy
18. volume
19. mass
20. density
Challenge Words
21. bustling
22.vendor
23. passport
bonus: foreigner
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 24
Hi Parents
I just wanted to give you a quick note that there is no homework tonight. :)
I just wanted to give you a quick note that there is no homework tonight. :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, March 23
Hi Parents,
This week as been going by very quickly. Today your kids started out in social studies and then we had a morning of math rotations. We are really working on understanding fractions. It can be a hard concept, but your students are doing a pretty good job with it!
In reading we continue to focus on inferencing this week.
This week as been going by very quickly. Today your kids started out in social studies and then we had a morning of math rotations. We are really working on understanding fractions. It can be a hard concept, but your students are doing a pretty good job with it!
In reading we continue to focus on inferencing this week.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 21st
It was a great first day back from Spring Break. It was wonderful to see all of the students. They all were very excited about their breaks, but were happy to be back as well!
We jumped right back into things in math, working on mixed numbers and equivalent fractions. Tonight's homework should be pretty straight forward.
In reading this week, we are focusing on inferring. It is a hard skill but with practice your students will do great on it.
In writing, we received letters from our pen pals in Colorado, we so will write them back this week.
Spelling words:
/o/ ough & augh
1. caught
2. thought
3. bought
4. sought
5. fought
6. daughter
7. taught
8. brought
9. ought
10. cough
Word WallWords
11. question
12. where
13. threw
14. through
15. with
Content Area Words
16. weathering
17. erosion
18. natural
Visual chunk /ive/
19. inexpensive
20. destructive
21. informative
22. inattentive
Bonus Words
multiplication and division
We jumped right back into things in math, working on mixed numbers and equivalent fractions. Tonight's homework should be pretty straight forward.
In reading this week, we are focusing on inferring. It is a hard skill but with practice your students will do great on it.
In writing, we received letters from our pen pals in Colorado, we so will write them back this week.
Spelling words:
/o/ ough & augh
1. caught
2. thought
3. bought
4. sought
5. fought
6. daughter
7. taught
8. brought
9. ought
10. cough
Word WallWords
11. question
12. where
13. threw
14. through
15. with
Content Area Words
16. weathering
17. erosion
18. natural
Visual chunk /ive/
19. inexpensive
20. destructive
21. informative
22. inattentive
Bonus Words
multiplication and division
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday, March 7th
Hi Parents,
The big CRT testing is here. Your students did a great job on the first two tests today. Due to CRT testing, we have no homework this week or a spelling test. Please make sure your students have breakfast and get a good night's sleep. They can bring a snack to have before the test.
On Friday, we will be having a pajama day to celebrate the end of the CRT tests! I will also be getting pizza for them to enjoy in the afternoon. I am asking that the students bring boardgames to play in the afternoon as well. Thanks!
The big CRT testing is here. Your students did a great job on the first two tests today. Due to CRT testing, we have no homework this week or a spelling test. Please make sure your students have breakfast and get a good night's sleep. They can bring a snack to have before the test.
On Friday, we will be having a pajama day to celebrate the end of the CRT tests! I will also be getting pizza for them to enjoy in the afternoon. I am asking that the students bring boardgames to play in the afternoon as well. Thanks!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
March 2nd
Hi Parents,
Tonight's math homework is challenging. We just started working on fractions, tonight the family letter is coming home. DON"T throw it away. It has the answers to the homework on the back and helps explain the concepts we are teaching.
The main idea for the homework tonight is taking a whole group and splitting it into equal groups representing fractions. For example, if I had 21 students and I wanted one third of them working on a page in their math book, I would split the 21 into 3 equal groups, and how many is one of those three groups. The biggest idea I want the students to get is that the denominator tells the students how many equal groups to split their whole into, the numerator (top of the fraction), tells how many of those groups you want to count. I hope that helps.
Not a lot of big news, just remember CRT testing next week. We test Monday in the morning and afternoon, Tuesday in the afternoon, Wednesday in the morning and afternoon and Thursday in the morning. Please make sure they get a good night's sleep and they eat breakfast. We will provide snacks before each test session.
Tonight's math homework is challenging. We just started working on fractions, tonight the family letter is coming home. DON"T throw it away. It has the answers to the homework on the back and helps explain the concepts we are teaching.
The main idea for the homework tonight is taking a whole group and splitting it into equal groups representing fractions. For example, if I had 21 students and I wanted one third of them working on a page in their math book, I would split the 21 into 3 equal groups, and how many is one of those three groups. The biggest idea I want the students to get is that the denominator tells the students how many equal groups to split their whole into, the numerator (top of the fraction), tells how many of those groups you want to count. I hope that helps.
Not a lot of big news, just remember CRT testing next week. We test Monday in the morning and afternoon, Tuesday in the afternoon, Wednesday in the morning and afternoon and Thursday in the morning. Please make sure they get a good night's sleep and they eat breakfast. We will provide snacks before each test session.
Monday, February 28, 2011
February 28th
Hi Parents,
First off, celebrate with your kids tonight for their success on their unit math test! They should have it in their backpacks to share with you! They all did FANTASTIC! I was so proud of them!!!! Great job with multiplication, now we move on to FRACTIONS. I did not pass out the family letter at the end of the day today, so I will send that with the students tomorrow. The big idea that students need to get with fractions, is that fractions is part of ONE whole. The one can be anything, from a pizza to one whole group of 30.
Spelling Words
/oo/=ew,oo, ue, oe
/oo/=oo
1. tooth
2. chew
3. grew
4. swoon
5. shoe
6. blue
7. boot
8. flew
9. moon
10. balloon
11. drew
12. spoon
Challenge Words
13. loose
14. choose
15. chews
16. survive
17. settlement
Visual Chunk /ary/
temporary
legendary
elementary
complimentary
Word Wall
won
governor
general
another
wear
Bonus:
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Today in science we started talking about weathering. The breaking down of earth materials. The concept that I want the students to get from this unit is that the surface of the earth is always changing. Tomorrow they will watch a video about how catastrophic events change the surface of the earth and affect the living animals as it changes the earth's surface.
First off, celebrate with your kids tonight for their success on their unit math test! They should have it in their backpacks to share with you! They all did FANTASTIC! I was so proud of them!!!! Great job with multiplication, now we move on to FRACTIONS. I did not pass out the family letter at the end of the day today, so I will send that with the students tomorrow. The big idea that students need to get with fractions, is that fractions is part of ONE whole. The one can be anything, from a pizza to one whole group of 30.
Spelling Words
/oo/=ew,oo, ue, oe
/oo/=oo
1. tooth
2. chew
3. grew
4. swoon
5. shoe
6. blue
7. boot
8. flew
9. moon
10. balloon
11. drew
12. spoon
Challenge Words
13. loose
14. choose
15. chews
16. survive
17. settlement
Visual Chunk /ary/
temporary
legendary
elementary
complimentary
Word Wall
won
governor
general
another
wear
Bonus:
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Today in science we started talking about weathering. The breaking down of earth materials. The concept that I want the students to get from this unit is that the surface of the earth is always changing. Tomorrow they will watch a video about how catastrophic events change the surface of the earth and affect the living animals as it changes the earth's surface.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
February 23rd
Hi Parents,
Tonight the math homework is a little different because it is not a homelink, but it is just working on three digit subtraction. We will review tomorrow and then have our math test on Friday.
CRT testing is coming the week of March 7th-March 11th. Please make sure your students are here on those days. It is very important. Please make sure they have a good breakfast and plenty of rest. That week, they will not have any homework.
Thank you all for donating snacks! I had told the kids I hadn't had a chance to get to Costco (until this weekend) and getting some from you all was wonderful! Thank you. The students look forward to their snack! :)
Tonight the math homework is a little different because it is not a homelink, but it is just working on three digit subtraction. We will review tomorrow and then have our math test on Friday.
CRT testing is coming the week of March 7th-March 11th. Please make sure your students are here on those days. It is very important. Please make sure they have a good breakfast and plenty of rest. That week, they will not have any homework.
Thank you all for donating snacks! I had told the kids I hadn't had a chance to get to Costco (until this weekend) and getting some from you all was wonderful! Thank you. The students look forward to their snack! :)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February 22nd
Hi Parents,
I have to run to a meeting but I wanted to say, that on tonight's homework, there is a challenge section at the bottom. That is optional.
Changing Final y to i
1. puppies
2. flies
3. stories
4. skies
5. driest
6. candies
7. pennies
8. cried
9. ponies
10. bunnies
11. happier
12. funniest
Challenge Words
13. easier
14. busiest
15. biography
16. events
Visual Chunk /ance/
17. disturbance
18. importance
19. performance
20. endurance
Word Wall
21. your
22. you’re
23. unhappiness
24. by
25. didn’t
Bonus:
jargon - words that are specific to a certain job.
I will post more tomorrow.
I have to run to a meeting but I wanted to say, that on tonight's homework, there is a challenge section at the bottom. That is optional.
Changing Final y to i
1. puppies
2. flies
3. stories
4. skies
5. driest
6. candies
7. pennies
8. cried
9. ponies
10. bunnies
11. happier
12. funniest
Challenge Words
13. easier
14. busiest
15. biography
16. events
Visual Chunk /ance/
17. disturbance
18. importance
19. performance
20. endurance
Word Wall
21. your
22. you’re
23. unhappiness
24. by
25. didn’t
Bonus:
jargon - words that are specific to a certain job.
I will post more tomorrow.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
February 17th, 2011
Hi Parents,
I am sorry for the lack of posting. This week as been a little off with the Valentine's Day party and then early release.
Here are the spelling words for this week:
Prefixes and Suffixes
re-,un-,-ful, -ly,-er
1. helper
2. unfair
3. friendly
4. unhappy
5. remake
6. careful
7. hopeful
8. unlike
9. retell
10. sadly
11. farmer
12. unhurt
Challenge Words
13. refresh
14. unimportant
15. silently
Word Chunk /ism/
16. racism
17. heroism
18. organism
19. pessimism
20. realism
Word Wall Words
21. sometimes
22. one
23. winner
24. something
25. buy
Bonus:
Technophobia
Fear of technology
In reading this week we have been working on determining fact verses opinion. The kids do a pretty nice job with this, but one way for you to work with your kids at home is to read them an article from a magazine or newspaper and ask them what they thought was the author's opinion and what they thought was fact.
In Science we worked on a calcite test. We observed different rocks and tried to determine which rocks had calcite in them. The big idea is that students should know there are many test scientists do to determine what is in a rock.
In Social Studies they are studying the Civil War and then the movement from the civil war to the Industrial Revolution.
In writing, we are wrapping up our poetry books, focusing this week on quatrains and couplets.
Remember that there is no school on Monday of next week, and that our CRT testing will be March 7th-11th. PLEASE make sure on those days your students have a good breakfast and are in school. It is very, very important!
I am sorry for the lack of posting. This week as been a little off with the Valentine's Day party and then early release.
Here are the spelling words for this week:
Prefixes and Suffixes
re-,un-,-ful, -ly,-er
1. helper
2. unfair
3. friendly
4. unhappy
5. remake
6. careful
7. hopeful
8. unlike
9. retell
10. sadly
11. farmer
12. unhurt
Challenge Words
13. refresh
14. unimportant
15. silently
Word Chunk /ism/
16. racism
17. heroism
18. organism
19. pessimism
20. realism
Word Wall Words
21. sometimes
22. one
23. winner
24. something
25. buy
Bonus:
Technophobia
Fear of technology
In reading this week we have been working on determining fact verses opinion. The kids do a pretty nice job with this, but one way for you to work with your kids at home is to read them an article from a magazine or newspaper and ask them what they thought was the author's opinion and what they thought was fact.
In Science we worked on a calcite test. We observed different rocks and tried to determine which rocks had calcite in them. The big idea is that students should know there are many test scientists do to determine what is in a rock.
In Social Studies they are studying the Civil War and then the movement from the civil war to the Industrial Revolution.
In writing, we are wrapping up our poetry books, focusing this week on quatrains and couplets.
Remember that there is no school on Monday of next week, and that our CRT testing will be March 7th-11th. PLEASE make sure on those days your students have a good breakfast and are in school. It is very, very important!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday February 14th
Happy Valentine's Day.
WE had a great party today. The students were able to decorate sugar cookies and read their Valentine's from their classmates.
I did not get a chance to send out the spelling list for today. Please look for it tomorrow.
On Wednesday we have early release. The students will be going home at 12:30.
WE had a great party today. The students were able to decorate sugar cookies and read their Valentine's from their classmates.
I did not get a chance to send out the spelling list for today. Please look for it tomorrow.
On Wednesday we have early release. The students will be going home at 12:30.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
February 8th
Thank you all for getting those blue forms back into me! That is very helpful for our school district.
Just a few things:
The Snowshoe day was canceled today. It is rescheduled for Thursday, February 10th. Please make sure your students are dressed for the outdoors that day!
Also on Thursday, please make sure to have your students bring in a cereal or cracker box to decorate for Valentine's Day.
The lizard projects that your students did are FANTASTIC! They are presenting them and doing a great job! I am so proud of them and thank you for your help with that project at home.
Just a few things:
The Snowshoe day was canceled today. It is rescheduled for Thursday, February 10th. Please make sure your students are dressed for the outdoors that day!
Also on Thursday, please make sure to have your students bring in a cereal or cracker box to decorate for Valentine's Day.
The lizard projects that your students did are FANTASTIC! They are presenting them and doing a great job! I am so proud of them and thank you for your help with that project at home.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Ferbruary 7th
I was absolutely horrible last week about keeping you posted I am sorry!
Tonight there are a number of papers coming home. There is a blue "Intent to Return Form" that I need back TOMORROW. You should also get a letter about Valentine's Day and everything that goes along with that, the family letter on our new unit in math, the newsletter from Hyalite and their homework. The spelling this week is going to be a bit different. Half of the class as the same spelling words as last week because of low test scores and the other half has a review of our word wall words. The word wall words are as follows:
Word Wall Review Test
1. again
2. beautiful
3. before
4. because
5. does
6. probably
7. until
8. usually
9. favorite
10. friendly
11. especially
12. really
13. there
14. their
15. they’re
16. about
17. anyone
18. first
19. our
20. except
21. have
22. right
23. journal
24. city
25. exciting
This week here are our big focuses for learning:
Reading: Good readers know to monitor (who am I reading about, where is this taking place, what is the problem, etc) and clarify (I missed who the characters are...I should go back and clarify who).
Writing :Figurative and Creative Writing in poetry
Science: All minerals have PROPERTIES that help us identify what type of mineral we have.
Math: The big picture for this unit is algebra with a focus on multiplication and parenthesis.
*********Tomorrow is our snow shoe event with Mrs. Fisher for PE. WE have this from 8:45-9:30. Please make sure that your students dress for being outside!!!!
Tonight there are a number of papers coming home. There is a blue "Intent to Return Form" that I need back TOMORROW. You should also get a letter about Valentine's Day and everything that goes along with that, the family letter on our new unit in math, the newsletter from Hyalite and their homework. The spelling this week is going to be a bit different. Half of the class as the same spelling words as last week because of low test scores and the other half has a review of our word wall words. The word wall words are as follows:
Word Wall Review Test
1. again
2. beautiful
3. before
4. because
5. does
6. probably
7. until
8. usually
9. favorite
10. friendly
11. especially
12. really
13. there
14. their
15. they’re
16. about
17. anyone
18. first
19. our
20. except
21. have
22. right
23. journal
24. city
25. exciting
This week here are our big focuses for learning:
Reading: Good readers know to monitor (who am I reading about, where is this taking place, what is the problem, etc) and clarify (I missed who the characters are...I should go back and clarify who).
Writing :Figurative and Creative Writing in poetry
Science: All minerals have PROPERTIES that help us identify what type of mineral we have.
Math: The big picture for this unit is algebra with a focus on multiplication and parenthesis.
*********Tomorrow is our snow shoe event with Mrs. Fisher for PE. WE have this from 8:45-9:30. Please make sure that your students dress for being outside!!!!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, February 2nd
Hi Parents,
I am sorry to have not blogged the last few days. I was out sick yesterday and Monday I went right home to bed!
First off, the lizard project is due on Friday. Here is the rubric I sent home 3 weeks ago.
Lizard Project
Welcome back to a New Year. The kids had a great break and they are really ready to learn. In our reading curriculum, we are reading Raising Dragons by Jeanne Nolan. As a bridge to our reading, science and writing curricula, the children will write a report on Lizards.
The following is the grading rubric for their lizard reports and expectations.
LIZARD REPORT
• Cover AP P NP N
• Neatness AP P NP N
• 5 paragraphs AP P NP N
• Drawing AP P NP N
• Information given AP P NP N
• Oral Presentation AP P NP N
AP=Advanced Proficient
P=Proficient
NP= Nearing Proficient
N= Novice
Report is due: February 4th -- All materials are attached.
The following are the guidelines:
1. The report is to be written (printed or in cursive) not typed.
2. We are working on not plagiarizing information and the children will need to put the information from books or the Internet into their own words. I will be happy to copy things off the Internet if you do not have access.
3. Each report will have a cover. All materials are attached and I will be happy to give more if needed or due to mistakes.
4. The children will draw and color a picture of the lizard as the cover. Internet pictures may be included but I would like the cover to be their creative design that includes their name, name of the dragon/lizard and their drawing.
5. The report is to be a minimum of five paragraphs.
6. Each indented paragraph should be 3-5 sentences in length.
The 5 paragraphs should be in this order:
Introduction Paragraph 1: Name of the lizard. Reason you chose this lizard and what you find interesting about this animal that you want to write about it.
Description Paragraph 2: A description of the reptile, its size, shape, coloring, features, nicknames, anything the lizard does that is interesting.
Paragraph 3: A description and location of where this animal lives and the countries and continent in which it is located. The climate and temperatures of the region.
Paragraph 4- Information about the food chain in which the animal is a part of. Food it consumes, natural enemies and any other interesting fact about how it lives or how it kills it prey.
Paragraph 5- Conclusion paragraph-If you could have this pet in your home in Bozeman, would you? Why or why not? What would you need in food or equipment in order to have this animal live and survive in your home?
If you have any questions, e-mail or call me
Katie Porter
katie.porter@bsd7.org
582-6840
Ideas for Report
Komodo dragon Chuckwallas
Bearded Dragon Flat Footed Lizards
Basilisk Gila monster
Iguana Horned Devil
Flying Dragon Lizard Frilled Lizard
Collard Lizards Old Man Lizard
Leopard Lizards Yellow-Spotted Night Lizard
Spiny Tao; iguanas Blue-tongue Skink
Dwarf Iguanas Asian Agamid
(Or find one that is interesting to you)
www.factzoo.com/reptiles/types-of-lizards.html
The spelling words for this week:
ed/s/ing endings
1. cared
2. babies
3. chopped
4. saving
5. carried
6. fixing
7. hurried
8. joking
9. grinning
10. smiled
11. wrapped
1. parties
2. cherries
3. boxes
Challenge Words
15. moving
16. libraries
17. February
18. Valentine’s Day
Word Wall Words
1. myself
2. new
3. no
4. what
5. doesn’t
Bonus
plagiarism =
copy another's work
We just started a poetry unit is writing. You all will love reading their poetry books when we finish.
There is a math test tomorrow. Tonight's homework is a review sheet that I made.
I am sorry to have not blogged the last few days. I was out sick yesterday and Monday I went right home to bed!
First off, the lizard project is due on Friday. Here is the rubric I sent home 3 weeks ago.
Lizard Project
Welcome back to a New Year. The kids had a great break and they are really ready to learn. In our reading curriculum, we are reading Raising Dragons by Jeanne Nolan. As a bridge to our reading, science and writing curricula, the children will write a report on Lizards.
The following is the grading rubric for their lizard reports and expectations.
LIZARD REPORT
• Cover AP P NP N
• Neatness AP P NP N
• 5 paragraphs AP P NP N
• Drawing AP P NP N
• Information given AP P NP N
• Oral Presentation AP P NP N
AP=Advanced Proficient
P=Proficient
NP= Nearing Proficient
N= Novice
Report is due: February 4th -- All materials are attached.
The following are the guidelines:
1. The report is to be written (printed or in cursive) not typed.
2. We are working on not plagiarizing information and the children will need to put the information from books or the Internet into their own words. I will be happy to copy things off the Internet if you do not have access.
3. Each report will have a cover. All materials are attached and I will be happy to give more if needed or due to mistakes.
4. The children will draw and color a picture of the lizard as the cover. Internet pictures may be included but I would like the cover to be their creative design that includes their name, name of the dragon/lizard and their drawing.
5. The report is to be a minimum of five paragraphs.
6. Each indented paragraph should be 3-5 sentences in length.
The 5 paragraphs should be in this order:
Introduction Paragraph 1: Name of the lizard. Reason you chose this lizard and what you find interesting about this animal that you want to write about it.
Description Paragraph 2: A description of the reptile, its size, shape, coloring, features, nicknames, anything the lizard does that is interesting.
Paragraph 3: A description and location of where this animal lives and the countries and continent in which it is located. The climate and temperatures of the region.
Paragraph 4- Information about the food chain in which the animal is a part of. Food it consumes, natural enemies and any other interesting fact about how it lives or how it kills it prey.
Paragraph 5- Conclusion paragraph-If you could have this pet in your home in Bozeman, would you? Why or why not? What would you need in food or equipment in order to have this animal live and survive in your home?
If you have any questions, e-mail or call me
Katie Porter
katie.porter@bsd7.org
582-6840
Ideas for Report
Komodo dragon Chuckwallas
Bearded Dragon Flat Footed Lizards
Basilisk Gila monster
Iguana Horned Devil
Flying Dragon Lizard Frilled Lizard
Collard Lizards Old Man Lizard
Leopard Lizards Yellow-Spotted Night Lizard
Spiny Tao; iguanas Blue-tongue Skink
Dwarf Iguanas Asian Agamid
(Or find one that is interesting to you)
www.factzoo.com/reptiles/types-of-lizards.html
The spelling words for this week:
ed/s/ing endings
1. cared
2. babies
3. chopped
4. saving
5. carried
6. fixing
7. hurried
8. joking
9. grinning
10. smiled
11. wrapped
1. parties
2. cherries
3. boxes
Challenge Words
15. moving
16. libraries
17. February
18. Valentine’s Day
Word Wall Words
1. myself
2. new
3. no
4. what
5. doesn’t
Bonus
plagiarism =
copy another's work
We just started a poetry unit is writing. You all will love reading their poetry books when we finish.
There is a math test tomorrow. Tonight's homework is a review sheet that I made.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
2 more things for January 26th
Hi Parents,
For the lizard project I made a collection of some of the lizards the students want to research. If you go to this link http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/
and then type in for track number 420843, there are pages for students to do their research.
Also spelling list:
vowel + /r/
1. hair
2. care
3. chair
4. pair
5. bear
6. where
7. scare
8. air
9. pear
10. bare
11. fair
12. share
Challenge Words
13. flair
14. farewell
Visual Chunk/or/
15. cork
16. torch
17. north
18. ornament
19. forever
20. doctor
21. elevator
Word Wall Words
except
especially
know
friendly
then
Bonus:
hydrophobia- fear of water
For the lizard project I made a collection of some of the lizards the students want to research. If you go to this link http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/
and then type in for track number 420843, there are pages for students to do their research.
Also spelling list:
vowel + /r/
1. hair
2. care
3. chair
4. pair
5. bear
6. where
7. scare
8. air
9. pear
10. bare
11. fair
12. share
Challenge Words
13. flair
14. farewell
Visual Chunk/or/
15. cork
16. torch
17. north
18. ornament
19. forever
20. doctor
21. elevator
Word Wall Words
except
especially
know
friendly
then
Bonus:
hydrophobia- fear of water
January 26th
Hi Parents,
We had a fantastic day yesterday cross country skiing! Your students were so well behaved and I was very proud of their efforts. Bohart did a great job with instruction and organization!
Just a couple of things. Please read tonight's math homework carefully. It is working on symmetry.
Mid-term reports are coming home on Thursday. If you have any questions when you receive please feel free to call me before school or after school.
We had a fantastic day yesterday cross country skiing! Your students were so well behaved and I was very proud of their efforts. Bohart did a great job with instruction and organization!
Just a couple of things. Please read tonight's math homework carefully. It is working on symmetry.
Mid-term reports are coming home on Thursday. If you have any questions when you receive please feel free to call me before school or after school.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 24th
Hi Parents!
Very important!
Tomorrow is our Bohart Cross Country Skiing Field Trip. All of your students need to bring a sack lunch. They need appropriate outdoor snow clothes. Have them dress in layers. Tomorrow is supposed to be a snow/rain day. They need to be ready to be outside in the snow all day. We are literally outside all day long, including when we eat lunch. The students all also need to bring a back-pack. This needs to be a two strap, basic backpack to carry their lunch, water and any gear they might take off during the day if they get too hot. If you have any other questions please call me at 582-6840.
Make sure your students are on time. The bus leaves at 8:40.
Very important!
Tomorrow is our Bohart Cross Country Skiing Field Trip. All of your students need to bring a sack lunch. They need appropriate outdoor snow clothes. Have them dress in layers. Tomorrow is supposed to be a snow/rain day. They need to be ready to be outside in the snow all day. We are literally outside all day long, including when we eat lunch. The students all also need to bring a back-pack. This needs to be a two strap, basic backpack to carry their lunch, water and any gear they might take off during the day if they get too hot. If you have any other questions please call me at 582-6840.
Make sure your students are on time. The bus leaves at 8:40.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 20th
Hi Parents,
This is super fast because I am off to my meetings at Emily Dickinson, but there is no homework tonight. I did not like the home link that went with the lesson today, so I chose not to do it!
Please do practice the spelling words with your students. They are all homophones, so they need to hear the words in a sentence to make sure they get the right one!
This is super fast because I am off to my meetings at Emily Dickinson, but there is no homework tonight. I did not like the home link that went with the lesson today, so I chose not to do it!
Please do practice the spelling words with your students. They are all homophones, so they need to hear the words in a sentence to make sure they get the right one!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 19th
Hi Parents,
Before I forget, tomorrow is early release. The kids will be let out at 12:30. The staff has in-service at Emily Dickinson.
We had a great day today.
The students started in Social Studies with Mrs. Cech.
We had a long math this morning. Today we worked on polygons. We went over the different prefixes that help us name our polygons. On tonight's homework they will build polygons inside of circles and name them. Please study the example, as it will help you understand what they are supposed to do. We went over it in class as well, so your students should be able to complete it.
This afternoon we went to the computer lab to take an EasyCBM test on the computer. In the afternoon we continued to work on the genre of fantasy during our daily 5. The kids are finishing off right now with Music!
Before I forget, tomorrow is early release. The kids will be let out at 12:30. The staff has in-service at Emily Dickinson.
We had a great day today.
The students started in Social Studies with Mrs. Cech.
We had a long math this morning. Today we worked on polygons. We went over the different prefixes that help us name our polygons. On tonight's homework they will build polygons inside of circles and name them. Please study the example, as it will help you understand what they are supposed to do. We went over it in class as well, so your students should be able to complete it.
This afternoon we went to the computer lab to take an EasyCBM test on the computer. In the afternoon we continued to work on the genre of fantasy during our daily 5. The kids are finishing off right now with Music!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, January 17th
Hi Parents,
I am sorry for not posting the last two days of last week.
We had a great day today. We started out by reading a few books about Martin Luther King Jr, and discussing the impact he made on the US.
In math today we worked on three different types of triangle. Equilateral triangles, isosceles triangles and right angle triangles. On the homework there is one other triangle that is introduced. This unit on Geometry is all about vocabulary! The students really seem to be enjoying it.
In Science, we worked as geologists to break apart our "mock" rocks and find the materials that are in it.
In reading today we worked on the genre of fantasy. We read together a story called Dogzilla, and in small groups all the students will be reading and evaluating fantasy pieces.
We had big news with our pen pals writing back from Colorado. So exciting! ;)
The spelling words for this week are all homophones.
Week of Jan 17th-21st
Homophones
1. scene
2. seen
3. flower
4. flour
5. deer
6. dear
7. meet
8. meat
9. there
10. their
11. they’re
12. gene
13. jean
14. pair
15. pare
16. pear
17. hair
18. hare
19. night
20. knight
21. fair
22. fare
23. piece
peace
really
probably
about
usually
knew
Bonus sentence:
“Never desert a whole chocolate dessert,” bawled merry Mary.
Have a great night!
I am sorry for not posting the last two days of last week.
We had a great day today. We started out by reading a few books about Martin Luther King Jr, and discussing the impact he made on the US.
In math today we worked on three different types of triangle. Equilateral triangles, isosceles triangles and right angle triangles. On the homework there is one other triangle that is introduced. This unit on Geometry is all about vocabulary! The students really seem to be enjoying it.
In Science, we worked as geologists to break apart our "mock" rocks and find the materials that are in it.
In reading today we worked on the genre of fantasy. We read together a story called Dogzilla, and in small groups all the students will be reading and evaluating fantasy pieces.
We had big news with our pen pals writing back from Colorado. So exciting! ;)
The spelling words for this week are all homophones.
Week of Jan 17th-21st
Homophones
1. scene
2. seen
3. flower
4. flour
5. deer
6. dear
7. meet
8. meat
9. there
10. their
11. they’re
12. gene
13. jean
14. pair
15. pare
16. pear
17. hair
18. hare
19. night
20. knight
21. fair
22. fare
23. piece
peace
really
probably
about
usually
knew
Bonus sentence:
“Never desert a whole chocolate dessert,” bawled merry Mary.
Have a great night!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday, January 12th
Today we had an assembly at the end of the day about Bucket Fillers. Ask your students what this was all about. Ask them if they understood everything about the ideas. Ask them if they have filled anyone's bucket lately, and how full their bucket is. Essentially it is saying that everyone in the world carries around an imaginary bucket that is filled by other people. When people say nice things, encourage us, and praise us our bucket fills. When people say mean things, and hurt us they dip from our bucket. We want the kids at this school to focus on filling everyone's buckets.
In math today we worked on more with geometry. I introduced the words parallel and intersecting lines, rays, and line segments. The homework focuses on those concepts.
I forgot to write the spelling words last night, so here they are:
Raising Dragons
Week of January 4-8 2010
/j/, /k/ and /kw/ sounds
1. large
2. gym
3. skin
4. quick
5. picnic
6. judge
7. park
8. jeans
9. crack
10. orange
11. second
12. squeeze
dragons
courage
insect
appetite
chores
difference
dependence
confidence
BONUS-
phenomenon
Please remember that our Bohart Cross-Country Ski trip is coming up on the 25th of January. If you have not returned the permission slip/waiver, please do so ASAP.
In math today we worked on more with geometry. I introduced the words parallel and intersecting lines, rays, and line segments. The homework focuses on those concepts.
I forgot to write the spelling words last night, so here they are:
Raising Dragons
Week of January 4-8 2010
/j/, /k/ and /kw/ sounds
1. large
2. gym
3. skin
4. quick
5. picnic
6. judge
7. park
8. jeans
9. crack
10. orange
11. second
12. squeeze
dragons
courage
insect
appetite
chores
difference
dependence
confidence
BONUS-
phenomenon
Please remember that our Bohart Cross-Country Ski trip is coming up on the 25th of January. If you have not returned the permission slip/waiver, please do so ASAP.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday, January 11th
Hi Parents,
I am sorry for not posting last night. I was out from school yesterday.
We had a wonderful day today full of activities!
In math we are starting a new unit about Geometry! Today there is a homework sheet AND the family letter for Unit 6. This unit has a lot of vocabulary! Today we talked about line segments, lines, and rays. Please keep the family letter from this unit to help with the vocabulary.
For Science we are geologists! We have been studying "mock rocks." Over the last few days we have been drawing and observing our rocks. Next week we will be breaking the rocks apart and sorting the materials/minerals that make the rocks.
Today we read a story in small groups called "Raising Dragons." This story helped us introduce a research paper we are going to be working on in class and at home. On Thursday I will send home a paper explaining in detail the writing project. The students will be studying a lizard/dragon and writing a 5 paragraph paper about the reptile. Again, more details will come home on Thursday.
I am sorry for not posting last night. I was out from school yesterday.
We had a wonderful day today full of activities!
In math we are starting a new unit about Geometry! Today there is a homework sheet AND the family letter for Unit 6. This unit has a lot of vocabulary! Today we talked about line segments, lines, and rays. Please keep the family letter from this unit to help with the vocabulary.
For Science we are geologists! We have been studying "mock rocks." Over the last few days we have been drawing and observing our rocks. Next week we will be breaking the rocks apart and sorting the materials/minerals that make the rocks.
Today we read a story in small groups called "Raising Dragons." This story helped us introduce a research paper we are going to be working on in class and at home. On Thursday I will send home a paper explaining in detail the writing project. The students will be studying a lizard/dragon and writing a 5 paragraph paper about the reptile. Again, more details will come home on Thursday.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Thursday January 6th, 2011
Hi Parents,
Tonight on the homework that directions got cut off as I was copying it. The idea is that the grid is ONE whole and they need to shade the fraction or the decimal about that is listed below the grid. The last three they are supposed to come up with their own decimal and show the amount.
We had art today and the students loved the activity. We made ships and put them on a blue sea. I am putting them in our hallways tonight so take a look.
We then did a writing assignment on them. All the stories had to start with "There once was a ship..." The only guidelines that students had was that it needed to have characters, setting, problem and solution. I am excited to see all that their creative minds come up with!
There is a spelling test tomorrow. In spelling we worked on the suffix "ment"
A lot of papers are coming home tonight, please look through them.
Tonight on the homework that directions got cut off as I was copying it. The idea is that the grid is ONE whole and they need to shade the fraction or the decimal about that is listed below the grid. The last three they are supposed to come up with their own decimal and show the amount.
We had art today and the students loved the activity. We made ships and put them on a blue sea. I am putting them in our hallways tonight so take a look.
We then did a writing assignment on them. All the stories had to start with "There once was a ship..." The only guidelines that students had was that it needed to have characters, setting, problem and solution. I am excited to see all that their creative minds come up with!
There is a spelling test tomorrow. In spelling we worked on the suffix "ment"
A lot of papers are coming home tonight, please look through them.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday, January 5th
Hi Parents,
Last night got away from me. I am sorry I did not post about the math homework last night.
First, let me mention, this is the first that your students have been exposed to the tenths and hundredths place value. By third grade they need to be able to read and write whole number up to the millions place value. The tenths and hundredths is a developing concepts but one that they are beginning to understanding. I made the homework for tonight. The first part asks the students to write the written number in decimal form. The second part asks them to compare numbers to tell which is greater. The way that I taught this in class is by looking at each place value moving from left to right. Start with the ones, if they are the same then move to the tenths and so on. If they tenths are different then the students should be able to determine which is great by look at that place value.
This week we have been working on antonyms and synonyms. We did a few activities with them and the students are doing an excellent job. Find antonyms was easier to catch on to than the synonyms but they are understanding both now.
In reading this week we are looking at the genre folktales. They are really enjoying them!
Last night got away from me. I am sorry I did not post about the math homework last night.
First, let me mention, this is the first that your students have been exposed to the tenths and hundredths place value. By third grade they need to be able to read and write whole number up to the millions place value. The tenths and hundredths is a developing concepts but one that they are beginning to understanding. I made the homework for tonight. The first part asks the students to write the written number in decimal form. The second part asks them to compare numbers to tell which is greater. The way that I taught this in class is by looking at each place value moving from left to right. Start with the ones, if they are the same then move to the tenths and so on. If they tenths are different then the students should be able to determine which is great by look at that place value.
This week we have been working on antonyms and synonyms. We did a few activities with them and the students are doing an excellent job. Find antonyms was easier to catch on to than the synonyms but they are understanding both now.
In reading this week we are looking at the genre folktales. They are really enjoying them!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, January 3rd
Welcome back after a very refreshing break (at least I hope you had a few days with the family!)
It was wonderful to see all of your students today! They had some many wonderful things to say and share about their break!
We started out the morning by sharing about our breaks, and then writing goals for 2011.
In math we picked right up on place value. We will be wrapping up the unit at the end of the week. The homework tonight compares values of number in the tenths and hundredths. Work with your students, let me know if they get frustrated.
In Science today we put together a folder and book for our new unit on Rocks and Minerals. Tonight I will be making "mock rocks" that the students will observe and break apart in the up coming lessons.
The spelling words this week work on the sound of er-spelled er, ir, or, ur, ar (there is one that does not belong "north" does not fit the sound as it say or not er)
January 3rd-January 7th
ar, er, ir, or ur sounds
1. girl
2. clear
3. her
4. turn
5. dark
6. work
7. smart
8. word
9. hurt
10. serve
11. north
12. third
Challenge Words
13. giant
14. tornado
15. scurried
16. mysterious
Visual Chunk /ment/
17. enjoyment
18. entertainment
19. unemployment
accomplishment
Word Wall Words
21 journal
everybody
are
hopeless
hidden
Bonus Word
personification
giving human traits(qualities,feelings, action, or characteristics) to nonliving objects.
For our reading groups we are looking at the genre of folktales. The students are really enjoying those stories!
A couple of things that will be coming up for you to have the first heads up:
1. We will be doing a book project on a chapter book of the students choosing. We will begin this next week. The reading can be done at school and at home and the project will be due beginning of February.
2. We will be doing a research project on Lizards. Details will come home on Thursday in the folder.
Thanks!
It was wonderful to see all of your students today! They had some many wonderful things to say and share about their break!
We started out the morning by sharing about our breaks, and then writing goals for 2011.
In math we picked right up on place value. We will be wrapping up the unit at the end of the week. The homework tonight compares values of number in the tenths and hundredths. Work with your students, let me know if they get frustrated.
In Science today we put together a folder and book for our new unit on Rocks and Minerals. Tonight I will be making "mock rocks" that the students will observe and break apart in the up coming lessons.
The spelling words this week work on the sound of er-spelled er, ir, or, ur, ar (there is one that does not belong "north" does not fit the sound as it say or not er)
January 3rd-January 7th
ar, er, ir, or ur sounds
1. girl
2. clear
3. her
4. turn
5. dark
6. work
7. smart
8. word
9. hurt
10. serve
11. north
12. third
Challenge Words
13. giant
14. tornado
15. scurried
16. mysterious
Visual Chunk /ment/
17. enjoyment
18. entertainment
19. unemployment
accomplishment
Word Wall Words
21 journal
everybody
are
hopeless
hidden
Bonus Word
personification
giving human traits(qualities,feelings, action, or characteristics) to nonliving objects.
For our reading groups we are looking at the genre of folktales. The students are really enjoying those stories!
A couple of things that will be coming up for you to have the first heads up:
1. We will be doing a book project on a chapter book of the students choosing. We will begin this next week. The reading can be done at school and at home and the project will be due beginning of February.
2. We will be doing a research project on Lizards. Details will come home on Thursday in the folder.
Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)