June 1, 2014

We had a busy week! On Wednesday, we enjoyed a presentation called "The Raptor Program". The kids got to learn about a variety of local raptor birds and saw birds who have been rescued and rehabilitated. Check out some pictures below! On Thursday, we attended the used book fair and on Friday we celebrated Zachary and Caitlin's birthdays.

This week...

Reading
May reading calendars are due Monday, June 2nd. Students should be reading 30-45 minutes each night at this point! They have really grown so much as readers! They have gotten really good at choosing "just right" books and making recommendations. Mrs. Collen has been so impressed with how much they use the library that she asked our class to pilot a Library Helper Club. On Wednesdays, she has been picking 4 kids to come in from 9:15-9:30 to organize books, make bookmarks, etc. They are really enjoying this and Mrs. Collen says they are doing a wonderful job!

Writing
We are finishing up persuasive writing speeches. We will have a class writing celebration on Thursday or Friday. They have done a great job! On a side note, my daughter brought home her first grade persuasive letter asking for a fish...and you may be getting some similar requests:). They have done a great job!

** We have completed all of the 3rd grade spelling units, so there will be no spelling homework in June! We will be going back and reviewing words in class as part of cursive  and sentence practice.

Math
We will be continuing Step up to 4th Grade. Please continue to have your child go on xtramath each night for 15 minutes.

Science/Social Studies
We finished up the solar system in science and we are working on the Brazil unit in social studies.

May 27, 2014

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! The class is hard at work getting ready for the play on June 20th. Check out the picture below!

This week...

Reading
Most of the class has finished the Andrew Clements books. Some are still working on these. The May reading calendar is due Monday, June 2nd.

Writing
Students are revising and editing drafts and writing final copies of their persuasive speeches. We will share speeches and celebrate completing this writing piece next week!

Math
We are working on a unit in class called "Step up to Fourth Grade". We are reviewing previously learned concepts and students will be introduced to some topics that they will cover in fourth grade. At this point, homework each night is to go on XtraMath for 15 minutes. Gaining fluency in basic facts is so important for fourth grade success!!

Science/Social Studies
We are finishing up the solar system in science and will continue learning about Brazil in social studies. Students will be making travel brochures.

May 18, 2014

I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine this weekend! Last week, Suzie Dunn came in and completed auditions for the class play, The Garden Show. I will be telling the kids their parts tomorrow and I will send that information to parents in an email. They are so excited! The play is scheduled for June 13th at 1:00. We will have an end of the year celebration following the play. 

This week...

Reading

We are still working on Andrew Clements book groups. Some students have finished the  books and assignments, and others are still working. Students should continue reading 30 minutes each night, a book of their choice. 

Writing

Students are drafting their persuasive speeches. We will be revising and editing this week.

Math

We will be starting a unit called "Step Up to Fourth Grade". We will revisit previously learned concepts as preparation for fourth grade. For homework this week, students should go on xtra math each night for 15 minutes! 

Science/Social Studies

We will continue the solar system projects and will continue learning about Brazil. 

May 11, 2014

We had a very exciting week! First of all, thank you for the beautiful flowers! I absolutely loved reading all of the lovely cards from the class. What a great way to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week! We also started a class play with Suzie Dunn (Ellie's mom) of The Cue Theatre! Mrs. Dunn goes to local schools and works with classes to perform plays. We are very lucky to have this opportunity. Thanks to all who volunteered to help out with this. The class will be performing it in June. Finally, we celebrated Amato's creative writing award. Amato wrote the story as part of our personal narrative unit and it was chosen from several local entries to be entered in the state-wide contest and he won first place!!! We are so proud of him. He read his winning story, "The Best Game Ever", to the class and was presented with his award by members of the Delmar Progress Club, who locally sponsor this contest. Check out some pictures of these events below and look for Amato's picture on the school website! Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms!!

 This week...

Reading
Students are continuing the Andrew Clements book clubs. We finished The Land of Stories and started a new read aloud. We are now reading the first book in the series "Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School". We have one group of students left to read the weekly poem aloud. All students should continue to read the poem aloud each night to practice fluency and expression. This week's poem is called "Dandelions".

Writing
Students spent last week gathering evidence and will start drafting their persuasive speeches this week.

Math
We will continue working on geometry, word problems and reviewing previously learned concepts. For homework, I will send home word problem practice on Monday and Wednesday and the other nights will just be to go on Xtra math.

Science/Social Studies
We are continuing the solar system and Brazil units.

May 4, 2014

We finished up the last of the NYS tests on Friday! The class worked hard and did their best on all of the testing. I'm very proud of them! It's hard to believe it's May. We are truly in the final stretch! Have a great week.

We have some exciting class news! Amato Tiu was entered in the annual creative writing contest and his essay was one of three chosen in the 3rd-5th grade category! This is a statewide competition!! He will be presented with a special award next week. Look for pictures of this on the blog. We are so proud of him! Way to go Amato!

This week...

Reading
We started another set of book clubs. This time students will be reading a variety of books by Andrew Clements. The choices were Frindle, The School Story, The Landry News, and Jake Drake: Class Clown. They will have some assignments in their reading notebooks to go along with the book they are reading. We are continuing the read aloud, The Land of Stories, and the class LOVES it. Many of them want to read the second book!

Writing
We will continue the persuasive writing unit. Students have chosen a "seed idea" and have started gathering evidence to support their thesis.

Math
We will be continuing the geometry unit. There will be less math homework as the year progresses. We have finished the core math units and now will be going back and doing some supplemental work and working on preparation for fourth grade.

Science/Social Studies
In science, we are still working on the solar system. In social studies, we are starting a unit on Brazil.