Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Pumpkin Math

Ms. Barry taught a great lesson today! She helped kids practice their estimating, rounding, and counting skills - all while having fun!

Each table received one pumpkin. (Thanks to Volante Farms for generously donating the pumpkins!) The children worked together in table groups to estimate the number of seeds in their pumpkin. Together, the class rounded the estimates to the nearest ten. Then plotted the estimates on a number line.

Next, we got messy! Third graders dug into their pumpkins, pulling out the seeds. They developed different strategies to count the actual number of seeds inside. Many children counted by tens. They recorded the actual numbers on cards.

Finally, Ms. Barry led the children in rounding the actual numbers to the nearest ten. These new numbers were plotted on the number line.

Tomorrow, as we learn to subtract with regrouping - we will find the difference between the actual number and estimated number of seeds.

Happy Halloween! :o)

Monday, October 29, 2007

Reminder

Scholastic Book Club orders are due tomorrow, Tuesday, October 30.

Handwriting

We learned new letters on Friday. The kids can practice at home!

i
*Start at the grass line.
Glide up to the plane line.
Trace down to the grass line and make a tail.
Add a dot.

j
*Start at the grass line.
Glide up to the plane line.
Go all the way down to the worm line.
Loop back up to the grass line, and make a tail.
Add a dot.

p
*Start at the grass line.
Glide up to the plane line.
Go all the way down to the worm line.
Trace up to the plane line, make a big belly.
Make a tail.

Halloween

As you have probably heard from our wonderful room parents, this Halloween we will have a party but will not wear costumes to school. Instead it will be silly hat day. Your children may wear their silliest hats (I'll even allow wigs) but no other costume items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Happy Halloween!

Check This Out!

The self portraits and "I am from..." poems are online! Mrs. Martell has recorded each child's voice and posted the amazing results. Check us out here!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Stereotypes

This morning third graders were given a true/false quiz. They were asked to answer the following:

Kids who wear jeans are not smart.
Girls wear dresses.
Girls have long hair.
Doctors are boys.
Nurses are girls.
Girls play with dolls.
Boys play sports.
Moms do housework.
Dads go to work.
Boys like to build things.
Girls like to cook.

Their responses were fantastic! Many of them asked at the beginning, "Wait a minute. Girls don't always wear dresses. Not all girls wear dresses..." I asked them to complete the "quiz" the best they could and be sure to raise their questions and concerns during our discussion.

The discussion was quite animated. Many children had very strong feelings about the statements made. The most challenging to get over were - Nurses are girls and doctors are boys. Some children had difficulty being convinced otherwise.

The point of this experience of course was to introduce the children to the concept of stereotypes. A stereotype is when we make an assumption about a person based on the group they belong to - in this case 'boys' or 'girls.' We will have more conversations about stereotypes. Based on our conversation about nurses and doctors, I think we'll stick with gender for now and focus specifically on professions. You can have some interesting conversations about this with your child at home. :o)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Regrouping

Yes, the time has come. We are reviewing addition with regrouping. Although it may feel like torture to some children, they are doing quite well. We are even venturing into regrouping with 3 digit numbers...

As you are working with your children, remember that math instruction has changed since we were in elementary school. You probably know regrouping as carrying.
"5 + 9 = 14. Put down the 4, carry the 1..." Children can still solve addition problems this way. The only thing different for that method, is that we call it regrouping. They don't carry the one, they regroup the 10 (or the hundred).

You may have noticed children using other methods of solving however. They can even start in the tens place instead of the ones place! For example:

57 + 49=

Here's a process many children will use: 50+40=90, 7+9=16, 90+10=100, 100+6=106

Although this may seem complicated because you're not used to it, it's actually giving children the opportunity to use their number sense, and to use what they do know to solve what they don't.

Here's a three digit problem (a little trickier):

378 + 496=

300+400=700, 70+90=160, 700 + 100= 800, 800+60=860, 8+6=14. 860+10=870, 870+4=874

Remember, either process (or many I haven't mentioned) are acceptable as long as the answers are accurate and the children can explain their thinking.

Please don't hesitate to write or ask if you have any comments or questions! :o)M

New Cursive Letters

On Friday, we learned three new lowercase letters:

k
*start at the grass line
glide up to the sky line
loop down to the grass line
retrace the line straight up to the plane line
make a little belly
kick out to the grass line
make a tail

f
*start at the grass line
glide up to the sky line
loop down all the way to the worm line
loop up to the grass line
make a tail

b
*start at the grass line
glide up to the sky line
loop down to the grass line
make a big belly
make a tail

Have fun practicing together!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Sturbridge Village

As part of our study of the history of Needham, we watched a video about Sturbridge Village today. I wanted the children to have a better picture in their minds of what life was like in the early 1800s.

If you're looking for something to do with your family, it's a fantastic place to visit! Check it out online at
http://www.osv.org/.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Revised Homework Schedule

I'm changing things up a bit to make things more efficient for us in the classroom. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Monday - spelling
Tuesday - Scholastic News
Wednesday - Math
Thursday - grammar/word study

Monday, October 15, 2007

Choosing a Seed

No, we haven't started a garden in Room 221. We haven chosen a seed idea from the entries in our Writer's Notebook. Children were asked to choose stories that matter to them, stories that hold significance in their lives.

Ask your child to tell you the story they chose. Ask them not to summarize it for you, but to storytell it. Ask them to tell it long, to tell it so it gives you goosebumps.

When they've finished telling, please offer them a compliment or two. We are working to choose small moments, write (or tell) focused stories with lots of detail. Over the next weeks, we will get our stories down on paper. We hope to be published by
November 2.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Thundercake

This afternoon we read "Thundercake" by, Patricia Polacco. It's a story of Patricia as a young child being taught not to fear the sound of thunder by her Babushka (grandmother). At the end of the book, Ms. Polacco includes the recipe for Thundercake. I thought some of you might be interested in giving it a try. :o)

My Grandma's Thundercake

Cream together, one at a time
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated
(Blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.)

1 cup cold water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes
Sift together
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.
Bake in two greased and floured 8 1/2-inch round pans at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Frost with chocolate butter frosting. Top with strawberries.


P.S. We are learning to be better writers from Patricia Polacco. Ask your child what story they might write about a time when he/she was scared.

Cursive Letters

We have learned three lowercase letters! Below the letters are the keywords for helping children remember how to form them:


l -
*start at the grass line
glide to the sky line
loop back down to the grass line
make a tail

e -
*start at the grass line
glide to the plane line
loop back down to the grass line
make a tail

h -
*start at the grass line
glide to the sky line
loop back down to the grass line
retrace to the plan line
make a hump back down to the grass line
make a tail

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Columbus Day

Most of you are probably aware of the year 1492. The year Columbus sailed the ocean blue on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. The voyage when Columbus "discovered" America.

You may not have heard the story from the Native American point of view. I read "Encounter" by, Jane Yolen to the class - a piece of historical fiction that tells the Columbus story from the voice of a young Taino (Native American) boy. From that point of view, Columbus came to the America's and "discovered" a land that had been inhabited for thousands of years. He claimed that inhabited land for Spain.

Ms. Barry and I did a role play this afternoon. She was sitting at the back of the group pushing buttons on MY cell phone. The conversation went something like this:

Mrs. S: What are you doing with my cell phone?
Ms. B: This isn't your cell phone. I discovered it just a little while ago.
Mrs. S: Discovered it? You couldn't discover that! It belonged to me. I had it first.
Ms. B: But I found it and I want to keep it...

Apparently Ms. Barry and I are talented actresses, because many of the children thought the conversation was for real. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces as we argued back and forth.

The kids got it though. They said, "You can't discover something that already belonged to someone else!" This in fact is true. Columbus did not truly "discover" America. From another point of view however, Columbus did introduce the New World to Europeans. Certainly a kind of discovery.

Talk to your child about Columbus. Talk about the story that you learned originally and how your thoughts have changed. Talk about how stories change depending upon the point of view.

Happy Talking!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Reminder

Scholastic Book Club orders were due today. I will hold off ordering until tomorrow afternoon. If you're interested, send them in tomorrow!

Fundations!

This year grade 3 will join kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 in using the Fundations Program. The Level 3 (Grade 3)program reviews and builds upon Level 2 (Grade 2). In addition, there will be new sounds to read and spell and new spelling rules to learn. The cursive writing program is integrated into the Level 3 Fundations Program and is slightly different from what students have used in the past. For example, this program allows for the different writing slant used by right and left handed people.

Our trick words (wall words) will focus on homophones ( words that sound the same but are spelled differently). We will discuss the meaning and practice using and spelling them correctly in sentences.

The review concepts for the first unit are:
• closed syllable
This syllable has only one vowel and that vowel is followed by one or more consonants. (ex. at, itch, scram) The vowel sound is always short.
• spelling of the /k/ sound
Rule: At the end of one syllable words, ck is used immediately after short vowels
(sick). If there is another consonant after the short vowel, you only use the k (milk). The letter c is most often used at the beginning of the word and the letter k is most often used at the end of the word.
•glued sounds (am, an, ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, onk, unk)
•exceptions to the closed syllable (The vowel in these syllables has a long sound.) ild,ind, old, olt, ost.

The new concepts for the first unit are:
• tch sounds like /ch/ and is used in spelling after a short vowel (catch)
• w and qu change the sound of a as in: want wash, squash
• cursive writing: loop letters (Loop letters start on the grass line - the bottom line.):
l (orientation week) ,e,h,(week 1) b,f,k (week 2)
• homophones:
week 1: know, no
week 2: which, witch

We are starting week 1 today. Your child's spelling words will reflect the new concept of -tch and the review concept of /k/. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

History of Needham

This week begins our study of Needham. We're learning all about how our community has changed since the glacier covered the land 1,000,000 years ago. Our technology specialist, Mrs. Martell helped to create some amazing online resources.

Click here to see the website we've been exploring. I hope you're able to have some interesting conversations with your children. Maybe you can visit some of the historic sites

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Reading is Thinking

Your children are enthusiastic readers! During Reading Workshop, you can hardly hear a pin drop, and all you see are heads bent over books. This is an awesome thing, because the more children read, the more they will improve as readers.

Currently, we're working to take that a step further. Reading is more than saying the words from the page in your head. Reading is thinking. I'm challenging third grade readers to think, react and feel as they read. This is what proficient readers do.

Read with your children at home. Every once in a while stop and share what your thinking. You might say:

Wow! I can't believe that...
Did you know...
That happened to me once...
I wonder...
That reminds me of...


You can even model thinking with your own reading. If you're reading the paper or a magazine at the breakfast table, stop and share what you think about the article you're reading. You might agree, disagree, feel shocked or confused about it. Let them know.

The most important thing is that children see and understand that reading is thinking.

Happy reading!

Monday, October 1, 2007

Spelling Words

Our spelling program has officially begun. Children are bringing home a list of words this afternoon. This week, the words came from two places. Five of the words are words they chose from a list we provided. They are all words that include blends and short vowels. The other five words come from an individualized list. Every day last week, the children took a pre-assessment of "trick words". (Most words on the list do not follow phonetic patterns or rules.) The words they were not able to spell correctly were placed on a list called "Words to Learn".

As we've discussed before, all children have strengths and struggles. The children have individualized lists so they can choose words that are "just right" for them. The words should be ones they are close to knowing. (They can't spell them accurately, but their spellings are only off by a few letters.)

We teach children that we should spell correctly out of respect for their readers. "Dictionary" spelling is much easier to read than invented spelling. We want readers to easily read and understand what we're trying to say. Please be sure that your child studies 5-10 minutes each night to help them improve their spelling.

Flashcards Coming Home...

There's another quiz Thursday! Children should be studying their flashcards at least 5 minutes each day. In their folders this afternoon, you will find flashcards appropriate to the quiz they will be taking Thursday. If they passed last Thursday's quiz, they will have Doubles +1 flashcards (1 + 2, 2 +3, etc...). If they were not able to pass, they should study their doubles again.

Happy Adding! :o)