Digging for Dinosaurs

Room 221 paleontologists uncovered a dinosaur today! They worked in teams of two to dig through hard, baked mud to uncover the remains. They used shovels, picks, brushes and scrapers to assist them. Just as professional paleontologists, we recorded the exact spot where we found each bone using a grid. It was great fun! Ask your third grade paleontologist about their process. :o)

Non-fiction Writing

Have you heard about our feature articles? The children have each chosen a topic to research and write about. We are working to use the strategies we learned in our non-fiction reading unit to help us research. Our latest challenge is to respond, or think about what we're reading. In other words, don't just notice the facts in the book. Have a reaction to them.

For example, in my research I learned that the Ancient Egyptian written language (heiroglyphics) used 1000 pictures or characters. That was the fact I learned. My response is, 'Wow! Heiroglyphics must have been really hard to learn. No wonder not everyone learned...'

You can model this for your children whenever you're reading together. Just stop every few paragraphs and explain what you're thinking. It's probably what just pops into your head.

Happy Reading!

Word Study

This morning, we reviewed:

When a word ends in y, change the y to i before adding a suffix that does not begin with i.

For example: cry - cried, crying

*When a suffix begins with i - you leave the y alone, because two i(s) wouldn't look right together.

Reminder

Please return signed report cards as soon as possible! :o)

Revised Homework Schedule

I know our schedule has bounced around quite a bit lately. I will try to keep this as consistent as possible.



Monday - paragraph
Tuesday - math or Scholastic News (*If we have math groups, it will be math.)
Wednesday - spelling
Thursday - math or miscellaneous (*This depends on Tuesday.)

Miscellaneous could be word study, grammar, social studies or science. It depends on what needs to be reviewed at the time.

Thanks!

Dear Families,

I hope you have a wonderful vacation! We had a fabulous Valentine's Day party today. Thank you to our room parents for planning and executing such fun activities. Thanks to all the other supportive parents who supplied yummy food and materials.

See you in a week!

Melanie

Thank you notes

You may have heard that the PTC approved a grant to supply many new indoor recess games at each grade level. The kids were psyched! It seemed as if they hit the jackpot when they realized the games were for them! The kids wanted to say thank you because they were so appreciative.

I took the opportunity to introduce the children to Type III writing. Type III writing is part of the John Collins approach to writing that our school is currently adopting. Type III writing includes one draft that is self edited. Your children wrote a thank you note to the PTC as Type III.

Prior to writing, the children were given FCAs (focus correction areas). The children were asked to do their best on everything, but work extra hard at the FCAs. I sent home a copy of your child's letter today. You will see the FCAs at the top. They help children remember to use certain skills and strategies they have learned in writing. (In this case, it was format of a letter, 2 reasons they liked the games, and accurate capitals and punctuation.) The writing is assessed for each FCA. The children received a "check plus" for excellent work on the FCA, a "check" for work that is acceptable, and a "check minus" for work that should be improved.

Please take the time to talk to your child about their letters. Focus on the positives and then talk about what they can do better.

Thanks for your support! :o)

Report Cards

I'm sorry I wasn't clear, but report cards were due back and signed by Thursday, February 14. I didn't even notice yesterday that very few people had returned them. No worries, I can get them back after vacation. But I wanted to give you a heads up so that you can put them someplace safe until then. (I know over a long vacation things have a way of getting lost.)

Thanks for your help! :o)Melanie

Drumming Presentation

I'm sorry for any confusion I may have caused. The drumming presentation is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, February 13. We will be meeting at 7:15pm in the lobby. The children will be presenting for 5-10 minutes. The presentation will be over in 20-30 minutes.

Hope to see you there! :o)Melanie

Fundations Review

This week will be a review week for spelling. The children will receive lists from each unit (1-6) to choose the words that are most challenging for them. At the same time, we will review the rules that we have learned. I thought you might like a refresher.

Unit 1:
A closed syllable has 1 vowel, and is closed in by a consonant.
A closed syllable almost always gives the short vowel sound.
K is usually used at the end of a word.
C is usually used at the beginning of a word.
CK is used immediately after short vowels.

Unit 2:
Read the baseword first, then read the word with the suffix.
A 1-1-1 word has 1 closed syllable, 1 vowel, and 1 consonant after the vowel.
When adding a vowel suffix to a 1-1-1 word, double the final consonant.

Unit 3:
When s is between 2 vowels, it often says /z/.
Ive makes the short vowel sound (exception to the rule) because words in the English
language never end in v.

Unit 4:
When adding a vowel suffix to a word that ends in e, drop the e.

Unit 5:
When e is followed by t in the second syllable, it sounds like /it/(with a
short i sound).

Unit 6:
An open syllable has one vowel at the end of the syllable and makes the long sound.
Y works as a vowel in an open syllable.
Y says /i/ (long i) at the end of a one syllable word.
Y says /e/ (long e) at the end of a multisyllable word.

Multiplication Challenge

Well, I planned to blog this later in the week. But tonights loss has me all wound up, and I find myself unable to sleep. I'm sure I'll regret this tomorrow, but I figured I'd take advantage of the extra minutes...

My husband offered me this brain teaser at lunch the other day. (I was successful on the second try! No hints! :o) I thought you might have fun trying it with your children. It will help them practice their understandings of multiplication. They can certainly use a calculator - we haven't taught them to multiply any more than single digits. Let me know what you come up with!

There are 7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 backpacks.
There are 7 big cats in each backpack.
There are 7 little cats for every big cat.

How many legs are on the bus?