Weekly Kickoff - April 30

I'm sure you've already heard that our classroom has transitioned from desks to tables. The students are SO excited to make the change. Be ready for some of the school supplies that we haven't used this year, any large items that won't fit, and any extra "trinkets" that had accumulated in desks to come home today! We are on a mission to clear clutter!!!

Calendar note --- I missed our music program on the May calendar. Please make note that it will be Tuesday, May 15th at 10:15 in Mrs. Zerface's classroom.

MAP TESTING - WE ARE MAP TESTING AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY MORNINGS! PLEASE BE SURE TO EAT HEALTHY, EXERCISE, & GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP THIS WEEK!!!!!

This week is going to be crazy busy with 3 MAP tests! Here is what we'll be focusing on & a few ideas for things you can easily do at home during your busy evenings!

Spelling - I can add prefixes to words and understand how they change the meaning. Watch for words on TV, in books you're reading, or on signs that have prefixes. Figure out what the prefix and base word are!

Grammar - I know what punctuation marks are and how to use them correctly. Watch for punctuation marks everywhere, especially those that are more uncommon, such as semicolons, hyphens, colons, etc.

Writing - I can compare & contrast two objects and write about how they are alike and similar. We will be using a tennis ball / soccer ball & an apple / orange this week. Find two different foods on your dinner plate or two different pieces of furniture in your living room and talk about all the ways they are the same or different!

Math - I can measure length, weight, and capacity. Measure anything & everything & use a variety of tools (tape measure, measuring tape, scale, measuring cups, pails, etc.)! How long is your kitchen table, how many gallons is your bath tub, how much does your dog weigh, how many golf balls fit into an ice cream bucket...be creative and have fun!

Social Studies - I understand what our government does and how I can be involved. Talk about why you vote and what things your family values! See how many people you can name who work for either our local, state, or national government...do you know who will be running for president in the next election?

Inspired by Georgia O'Keefe

Aren't these beautiful!? Our hallway is filled with gorgeous flowers right now!!!

Cool color scheme - by Shaeden

Warm color scheme - by Max

Figurative Language

One of the projects the students completed with Mr. Brownlee was to study figurative language and compare literal and non-literal meanings. Here are a few of their illustrations!

May Calendar

Click here for the May 2012 calendar!!!

Weekly Kickoff - April 23rd

Wow, this year is flying by! As I begin planning for next week, my calendar says May...how did that happen?! I have been so thrilled to return to teaching my students full time after Mr. Brownlee completed his teaching time, and now I'm a little bummed that I have so few weeks remaining with them. We have MUCH to do to be ready for 4th grade!!!

A few of this week's learning goals:

I can write words with suffixes and understand how the meaning of the words change.

I can write contractions and know which two words have been combined.

I can use what I'm reading to make predictions about what will happen next. No guessing!!!

I can identify human, natural, and capital resources.

I can explain the difference between producing goods or providing a service.

I can distinguish between imports and exports, and international and domestic trade.

I can write positive and negative numbers. 

I can measure length and volume.

That's a lot to learn in one week! Wow...we are going to have some smart kids by Friday!!! :)

This week's events:

Thursday - Library & Book Adventure #16 are due!

Friday - April birthday party 

Upcoming events:

WE HAVE 3 MAP TESTS NEXT WEEK ON MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & THURSDAY! Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest the night before, eats healthy meals, and gets plenty of exercise. Amazingly, these healthy habits make a tremendous impact on how well each child tests!!!

Watch for another post with pictures of student work!!!

Weekly Kickoff - April 16

Good afternoon and happy Monday!!!

*** We've been busy beavers in school and have several projects to show off! I would love to get pictures posted ASAP, but I would like to get your permission first. Watch your child's home folder tomorrow for a permission slip. You can opt in or out of both student work and photos. (I will only use first names when posting.) Either way, please return the form right away! Thanks!!! ***

I am so excited about the activities we have planned for this week and to once again be leading classes! We have a full week planned...and here's a glimpse of our learning goals and how you can support at home:

*Spelling*
We are studying words with vowel/vowel patterns, like suit, boat, boa, and neon.*

Sometimes both vowels work together and follow this rule, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." These words have only one syllable. If you hear separate sounds for both vowels, the first vowel sound is always long. Remember this rule: every syllable must have a vowel!

*Grammar skill of the week = ADVERBS!*

*Reading Comprehension Strategy --- Inferring*

Good readers constantly make inferences without realizing it. Inferring means you think about what the author tells you directly and what you already know to figure out what the author doesn't state explicitly. This is sometimes called "reading between the lines." The next picture came from this website (click here), which includes great information on reading strategies. Check it out if you have a minute! 

*Everyday Math*

Multiplication, Multiplication, Multiplication! The students are learning many strategies for multiplying numbers large and small. Ask your son or daughter how to use the lattice method in multiplication when they get home tonight!

* Social Studies --- Economics: $ and Resources*

Students will focus on learning about money, which they all love! How do you earn it, spend it, and budget for things you want and need? We'll also begin learning about resources and distinguishing between human resources, capital resources, and natural resources. 

*Upcoming events*

Mid-terms will come home on Friday

Book Adventure due Thursday, April 26th

A few online games for extra practice on the continents and oceans!


Find the Continent
Name the Continents
Continents and Oceans Match

Click on each name above to link to the games!!!

Weekly Kickoff - April 2

Wow! I can't believe it's April already! Where has this year gone?! Our mild winter and this beautiful spring weather have been such a treat.

Last week the class enjoyed working with John Coy on Thursday. Mr. Coy is an author from Minneapolis, and has written some great books for kids. We were able to learn more about the process of writing and publishing books from an author's perspective, and the kids were very surprised to learn that his picture books took around 6 years each to complete. Students will have one more opportunity to order autographed books from John Coy. Watch for information to come from the library or in our weekly Westside newsletter! Some titles you may want to check out are Night Driving, Love of the Game, and Two Old Potatoes and Me. Love of the Game is part of the series 4 for 4, which are books written for boys in grades 3-5.

Click here for John Coy's website!

In addition to meeting John Coy on Thursday, the third graders were privileged to attend a performance by Concordia's Percussion Ensemble on Friday afternoon. The concert was fantastic, as always! Often times students are anxious to learn percussion in middle school when they begin band. If your son or daughter came home expressing this interest, you may want to consider piano lessons (if you aren't already taking). I've been told that percussion students are required to have 2 years of piano lessons prior to beginning band.

Now on to this week! We will have a mix of review and new skills covered this week. In reading we're on Lesson 25, which is a review week. Students will be working on readers theater, reviewing cause and effect, and using Be Verbs (am, is, are, was, have, has, do, been, etc.), and have a list of 15 review words in spelling. We'll also be introducing some exciting new topics: idioms, similes, metaphors, and working with extending our multiplication and division skills. In addition, we'll be working on a project to help get ready for our continents, oceans, and 10 states quiz at the end of the week.

Upcoming events:
* Book order due Wednesday
* No school Friday, Monday, or Tuesday due to Easter break
* Book Adventure due Thursday, April 12 (this counts for our Redhawks Reading Program)
* April Packer Pride Day is Friday, April 13

Have a wonderful week!!!