Three days of testing is behind us and the kids are doing great!! They are handling this like old pros and seem to be taking it all in stride. The notes you all have written them are the highlight of their morning!! They absolutely love them!! Thank you for all of the snacks and treats! We have two days of math next week on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be so happy to have this behind us so we can move on with the rest of they school year!
Speaking of that... We are in the middle of writing adapted fairy tales. Hopefully you have heard about it because the first rule of being able to write an adapted fairy tale is to know the original well and tell it often. I told them they need to be sharing the original story with you often!!! You're welcome! We are very excited about where this story is headed, but we need your help. The kids will be "publishing" their own story at the end of this process, illustrations and all. We need each parent to purchase a "bare book". This is a book that is hard back but has blank pages. I have ordered them from amazon before and they are under $5 each. If you could order one and send it in so that we have it when we are ready to write our final draft. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Productions-ASH10700-Hardcover-Length/dp/B01J19YXVM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bare+book&qid=1555609264&s=gateway&sr=8-3 So the exciting part to this is that we will be inviting you to our Author's Tea on Friday, May 17th at 10:30 in the classroom. This will be a time to allow the students to share their books as well as celebrate a wonderful school year. I encourage you to be here to join us in this celebration! With all that is going on and coming up I want to recap the important dates to remember!!! 4/24-4/25 - Math Milestones 4/26 - Crazy Hat Day Foundation 4/30 - EVENING IN THE GARDEN!!!! 5/6 - Swinging for STEM 5/7 - Tellus field trip (if you want to go with us - just meet us there!) 5/8 - Field Day 5/17 - Author's Tea (classroom) 5/21 - Early Release 5/22 - Early Release (LAST DAY!!!) Please remember to turn in your Tellus field trip form. If you need another let me know and I will send one home!! If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!!! I can't believe we have finished the third nine weeks!! This is the nine weeks that goes by way too fast. Before we know it we are saying good-bye to third grade. Let's not talk about it.
Book Scouts This Friday, March 22nd is the last day to turn in all forms for Book Scouts. Please help your child achieve this goal so that they can join the rest of the class for our fun day of Camp Wannastemalotta. Pillowcases Don't forget to send in your cotton, white pillowcase. Most pillowcases come in a pack of two so maybe you can partner up with someone and split the bill. We will be tye-dying these at Camp Wannastemalotta and they do best when they are white and cotton. It would be very helpful if you would send them in in a ziploc bag with their name on the outside. Picture Day Spring picture day is this Tuesday. We are scheduled for after lunch so make sure you don't pack them anything messy. Even if you aren't buying pictures, we will do our class picture that day as well. Milestone Prep Milestones will be after spring break but we will be taking the next couple of weeks to prepare the students. This year third graders will be taking it completely on-line. We will be accessing the tutorial and practice test at school but I am attaching the link so that if your kiddo would like to practice at home they may access it there as well. The kids and I had a big discussion about Milestones last week. I asked them who was nervous and almost all of them raised their hands. I talked to them about how the test is really more about me than them. It is a way that my bosses can see what I did a good job on in teaching and where I need more work. I told them that I have taught them everything they need to know and if they use the tools that I taught them they will be fine. Encourage them to just do their best and by the time the test gets here they only thing they will need to do is get a good nights rest. For some kids the practice test brings a sense of relief for them, others it just makes them more anxious. So I am going to teach them how to use everything, let them play around on it and we will go from there. They will have to type their extended responses and constructed responses so if they are not so quick with typing you might want to use some of the typing game links I have pasted below. A lot of kids use them and really have fun with them. You know your child best, so whatever you think will best prepare them, do that! Typing resources: https://www.todaysparent.com/family/fun-typing-games-for-kids/ Milestone Practice: http://www.gaexperienceonline.com/ Report Cards Report cards go out this Friday and I just finished them up. They are all doing so well and I am so impressed with the progress they made. Please be sure to send in a self addressed, stamped envelope when you return the signature envelope so that I can mail you their final report card. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!! You all know how to make a teacher feel loved!!! From breakfast, lunch, cards and the SUPPLIES!!! I am so excited about the new writing center and so are the kids as they watched it take shape. We will be jumping into using it this week and I am so excited to embark on using these supplies!!! Thank you so much for making the week so fun!!!! I know we have a lot going on and I appreciate you reading until the very end. Your continued support makes my job so much easier (and fun!) so thank you truly for all that you do to support your kiddo! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out!! Michelle I hope you all had a restful holiday break and are ready to get these kiddos moving towards 4th grade! I have some updated information to share with you! Homework You may have noticed that homework has changed just a little bit. Rather than the ELA spiral homework, students will be bringing home their green vocabulary book nightly. They will write down the assignment for each night in their agenda. They have been doing these assignments all year, so they should be pretty comfortable with the format. They will still have spiral math as well as reading and practicing math facts. Book Scouts Your kiddo came home with a packet regarding our Book Scouts program that we run for the 3rd nine weeks. The standards address students reading across the genres. All of the information is in the packet. I have sent it home, but I have attached it to the bottom of this post as well. Each student must complete all badges in order to participate in "Camp Wannastemalotta" on Friday, March 29th. It is important that the entries are done neatly and up to a 3rd grade standard. They understand that I might send it back for correction before they earn their badge. If after reading the packet, you still have questions, please feel free to reach out to me. This is a really fun program and I really appreciate your support! Math Night Publix math night is this Thursday night at the Brookstone Publix. Ford teachers and staff will be there from 6:30-8:00. There will be a specific sheet given out for 3rd grade students to solve math problems throughout the grocery store. It is one my favorite nights! I recommend bringing a clipboard and something to write with! If they attend they get out of homework for that night and earn a homework pass to use on another night! Report Cards Report cards will be going home this Friday. Please sign the white envelope and return it to school. If you have any questions about your child's report card, please do not hesitate to reach out.
You know how the rest of that song goes...
I can't believe that this year is almost half way over. Part of me feels like I just met these kiddos and the other part feels like I have known them forever!!! Holiday Party Our room moms, Callie Warren and Cheryl Brown, are cooking up so fun for us for our Holiday Party. It is scheduled for Friday, December 21st at 9:45. Please plan to join in on the fun! Don't forget that we have half days on Thursday and Friday of next week. Testing The Georgia Milestones are going to be here before we know it. Resources to help your student prepare for Georgia Milestones are available on the Georgia Department of Education’s website at http://testing.gadoe.org. To see what online testing is like, you and your student may visit the Experience Online Testing Georgia website at http://gaexperienceonline.com. The items on the demonstration tests are general and represent multiple grade levels. They do not assess student achievement. We are also working to encourage our students to get familiar with typing. Some resources you may wish to explore are: https://www.typingclub.com/ or https://www.dancemattypingguide.com/ I will continue to share information as it becomes available. Upcoming Dates: 12/19 Talent Show 8:15 12/20 and 12/21 - Early Dismissal 12/21 Class Holiday Party 9:45-10:45 12/24-1/4 - Holiday Break 1/7 - Students return to school 1/10 - Publix Math Night (It's my favorite!!!) 1/11 - 2nd quarter report cards go home We have a busy month ahead of us so please read carefully!
Field Trip We have a field trip to the Etowah Indian Mounds this coming Friday. The weather does not look promising, but we are headed there rain or shine, so please make sure your student is prepared. We are recommending rain jackets, ponchos, rain boots but no umbrellas. I heard Wal-Mart has some great "puddle jumpers" on sale right now! If your child is packing a lunch please make sure everything comes in disposable containers. If you would like to go with us, you are welcome to join us, but you will have to drive your own vehicle and pay your own way. Salt-Dough Maps We have been studying the regions of the United States and the Native Americans that lived there. We will be building our salt-dough maps next week. Look for a "recipe" for salt-dough to come home on Thursday. Please send in your dough by Monday. Thank you to Mrs. Robbins for getting our pizza boxes for them to use for this project! Thanksgiving Feast The Thanksgiving Feast is always a special time to come enjoy an extended lunch with your kiddo and their classmates. Our day is Wednesday, November 14th, 11:50-12:35. If you did not turn in your reservation, you can still come, you just won't have a plate of food reserved for you. After the feast, we would like to invite you back into the classroom to share our "Thankful" writing. They are looking for helpers to help with drinks and serving. Click the link below to sign up to help! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0844acab29a57-thanksgiving Food Drive As in years past, Ford works hard to fill up the pantries of those less fortunate in our community. Please continue to send in non-perishable food items. The committee does need help boxing and sorting these items. Please click the link below to sign up to help! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090d4baea822a1ff2-thanks I have quite a few things to share with you!!
T-shirts Your child is coming home with their 3rd grade class tshirt today. I think they look great! We will these for field trips and any other class events. Please have your child wear them this Tuesday for our In-House field trip with CATO. Conference Week Conference week is the week of October 15-19. Your child should also be coming home with a conference invitation. If the time works for you, please send it back so I can confirm it. If it does not, please send it back with optional times that work for you. We will be dismissing two hours early during that week. Binder I requested through email last week for a 1.5" binder and dividers. If there is a problem getting that, please let me know asap so that I can get them for you. Math Facts We have officially started multiplication!!! The kids are so excited! More information will be coming home soon about how we will be testing for the facts checks. They all gave me a great list of apps and games to use to practice math facts and I will be sharing them with you as soon as vet them all and make sure they are what I am looking for in practice! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me! Happy Weekend! Michelle Fall break is here and from all of us in Room 208 all we can say is WAHOOOOO!!!!
We have been working hard and we are ready for our break. MATH We have been working hard on multi-step word problems, multi-digit subtraction and addition algorithm and number sense. When we get back from the break we will be jumping into multiplication. We will begin by discussing "equal groups of" using manipulatives. I will send home information soon on how we manage our multiplication facts and how we will encourage each other to learn them! So here is the bad news - they took their Fact Fluency check on Wednesday and when I went to see what their growth I could not find my data sheet. I turned my room upside down looking for them but could not find them. I am sending home their graded fact fluency and have collected the data and put it in the RIGHT place. So next month you will be able to see the growth. I am so sorry! I was so bummed not to be able to see the growth! Please forgive me! READING: We have been learning how to become a Close Reader. By doing this students are learning how to slow down and pull details from a reading passage. We have turned the corner from learning to read, to reading to learn and we are learning HOW to do that. We are becoming active readers! WRITING: We have completed our first narrative piece. When we come back from break will begin a new one, but this time we will be working on our "revising" and not just going with our first idea. Everything can be revised!!! Social Studies: We performed our Branches of Government plays today. I put some of the video up on Dojo. We will be moving into our economics standard for this nine weeks and talking about opportunity cost and what that means for them as a 3rd grader and a consumer. We have some fun activities planned. Science: We wrapped up our soil unit with a great activity that you all helped support. We learned about the different types of soils. I told them if they brought some soil back from their fall break location they will receive DOJO points. Now that testing is over, we have a long stretch of time where we can just WORK and I, for one am looking forward to the predictability of the normal school day. Upcoming: 10/10 - End of 1st 9 weeks 10/11 - Early Release Day 10/15-10/19 - Conference Week - Early Release all week 10/31 - Foundation Costume Day I will be making the conference schedule when we come back from break. If you need a special day/time, please email me and I will do my best to fulfill your request. We partner with sibling teachers to coordinate conferences consecutively. Thank you for all of your contributions to the Big Head Campaign!! We are able to keep 15% for our classroom. We will be getting some new writing resources as well as some new math games. I hope you all have an amazing, restful break... your babies earned it!!! We have gotten off to an amazing start for the school year! The kids have picked up on the routines easily and are already making progress! I am so excited to see what this year holds for us!
Here is what we will be doing this first nine weeks: Writing: Students will write their first piece this nine weeks and it will be a narrative piece. We will read many narrative stories to understand how an author gives their story a "voice". We will take our time with this piece to make sure that they understand the concepts of the parts of a writing assignment. We will be talking a lot about "Bold Beginnings" "Mighty Middles" and "Excellent Endings". We will work and edit on each of these parts separately. Reading: I have been meeting individually with students to work on specific skills for their reading comprehension and fluency. Starting next week they will begin to move into reading groups to work on standard based skills. This nine weeks we will be working on main idea and being able to answer explicit questions from a narrative piece. I have really loved sitting with each of them and having that one on one time. I will continue to do this as well as meet with their groups. Grammar: We will be working a lot with nouns this nine weeks. We have a journal called their "Write Rights" journal. It is part of our writing program that we are using called "Writing A to Z". Students work during their "Word Work" time to complete the skills for the week. We review it together and then assess on Friday. We will be working with regular, irregular, abstract and plural nouns. Math: This is an exciting time in the curriculum for third grade students in math as they put all of their hard work from 2nd grade math strategies to work! We are learning the standard algorithm for multi-digit addition. They have already done very well with this skill. The more fluent they are with their math facts, the easier this will be for them. We will also be moving towards multi-digit subtraction as well. We will introduce the "CUBES" strategy for attacking word problems. I have seen great success with kids using this strategy. It really forces them to slow down and attack the problem. So when you see the word problems all marked up ask them to explain what they are doing and trust the process!! Science: We have begun our units of Rocks and Soils already. Some of you are discovering that you have geologists in the making with all of the rocks that are coming home! I am partnering with Ms. Slayton next door to create hands on experiences for the students. She is an amazing asset to my science lessons! CATO will come out soon and they do a wonderful job of supporting our standards! Social Studies: We will begin our social studies unit with a look into the branches of government. All the way from federal to local. We will also be discussing opportunity cost for our economics standard. As you can see we have a very full nine weeks! Testing will be here before we know it as well. We will have conferences in October, but if you need to discuss something before then, know that my door is always open. I am pretty easy to schedule appointments with, so don't hesitate to reach out! Thank you for sharing your kids with me...it's going to be a great year! Michelle Upcoming Dates: 8/23: Chick-fil-A Spirit Night; 5:30 - 7:30 pm 8/29: Early Release Students will be dismissed at 12:30 (Students will be home from the bus approximately 2 hours earlier than usual.) 8/31: BINGO Night PTSA Budget Presentation: 6:15-6:30 BINGO 6:30-8:00 I know we continue to send out information, but hang tight, we are almost to the end. The end of the year is busy and I want you all to be well informed!!
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