Just a reminder that tomorrow is our first official MCAS test. I have asked the children to go to bed by 8:00 tonight. They should also eat a nutritious breakfast so that their bodies are ready to work hard and persevere.
Although some children are still feeling nervous, most children are excited to begin. Please remind your children that they are smart and we just want them to work hard and try their best.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Potato Hill Poetry
Thanks so much to the PTC for bringing third grade Potato Hill Poetry! Mr. Andrew Green was a pleasure to work with in our classroom. He shared many of his wonderful poems with us. As he shared, he talked about many important techniques and strategies writers can use to create powerful poetry.
*Think about how words sound together
*Use alliteration
*Share what's in your heart
*Write a "puzzle poem" filled with clues about an ordinary object
*Write about a small pleasure
*Get inspired by something
*Write a poem as a note to someone
*Include the 5 senses
*Write about small moments
*Give the reader the news - the 5Ws
*Name the world
The children were given ample time to create their own poems. Mr. Green honored their poems by reading them aloud himself. Ask your child to tell you about theirs.
Room 221 will continue our study of poetry by reading, reading and reading more poetry. Finally as we finish our feature articles, we will jump into writing our own poems every day!
Thanks again to Mr. Green at Potato Hill Poetry and the PTC for bringing him to us.
*Think about how words sound together
*Use alliteration
*Share what's in your heart
*Write a "puzzle poem" filled with clues about an ordinary object
*Write about a small pleasure
*Get inspired by something
*Write a poem as a note to someone
*Include the 5 senses
*Write about small moments
*Give the reader the news - the 5Ws
*Name the world
The children were given ample time to create their own poems. Mr. Green honored their poems by reading them aloud himself. Ask your child to tell you about theirs.
Room 221 will continue our study of poetry by reading, reading and reading more poetry. Finally as we finish our feature articles, we will jump into writing our own poems every day!
Thanks again to Mr. Green at Potato Hill Poetry and the PTC for bringing him to us.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Fractions
Our class has started a unit on fractions, called Fair Shares. Your child will be using fractions to make "fair shares" of things like paper "brownies" and pattern block "cookies." By working with these materials, your child will learn about how "wholes" come apart into fractions, and fractions fit together as wholes. We'll talk about which of two shares is larger, and which fractions are really the same (for example, 1/3 is the same as 2/6). Here are some ways that you can help at home:
*When your family really is sharing food, talk about "fair shares" and help your child name fractions. If you want to split the pizza among five people, how can you split it fairly. How much does each person get?
*Cooking is another great way to learn about fractions. How can we measure 3/4 cup? Look together at how the fractions appear on a measuring cup. Doubling recipes, or cutting them in half, can help your child understand how to make new numbers with fractions.
*Throughout the unit, look over your child's math homework. Ask about the fraction work the class is doing, and encourage your child to explain some of the problems to you.
You may be surprised that your child won't be learning step-by-step procedures for working with fractions. Many adults remember the "invert and multiply" rule they learned for dividing fractions, but few can explain how and why this works. Your children will learn the hows and whys -- and, hopefully, will become much more comfortable using fractions.
*When your family really is sharing food, talk about "fair shares" and help your child name fractions. If you want to split the pizza among five people, how can you split it fairly. How much does each person get?
*Cooking is another great way to learn about fractions. How can we measure 3/4 cup? Look together at how the fractions appear on a measuring cup. Doubling recipes, or cutting them in half, can help your child understand how to make new numbers with fractions.
*Throughout the unit, look over your child's math homework. Ask about the fraction work the class is doing, and encourage your child to explain some of the problems to you.
You may be surprised that your child won't be learning step-by-step procedures for working with fractions. Many adults remember the "invert and multiply" rule they learned for dividing fractions, but few can explain how and why this works. Your children will learn the hows and whys -- and, hopefully, will become much more comfortable using fractions.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Nonfiction
We are diving into nonfiction during Reading and Writing Workshops! Nonfiction is lots of fun! We love it because children love reading and learning about topics of their choice.
In Writing Workshop, Mr. Kerr is teaching us to write feature articles. Each child has chosen the topic that they want to research and then write about. It was exciting to see inquisitive brains at work as children developed questions they want to learn about. Finally, they turned those questions into subtopics. Subtopics are the smaller topics within the larger one that researchers want to focus on in their article.
As many researchers began taking notes today, Mr. Kerr taught us about plagiarism. It's important that children learn not to copy exact sentences from their research. Mr. Kerr taught children to pull out "fact fragments" - the most important words from a sentence that contain the chunk of meaning. This is a skill the children will be developing for years to come.
Ask your child to tell you about their research topic. I'm sure they will have lots to share!
In Writing Workshop, Mr. Kerr is teaching us to write feature articles. Each child has chosen the topic that they want to research and then write about. It was exciting to see inquisitive brains at work as children developed questions they want to learn about. Finally, they turned those questions into subtopics. Subtopics are the smaller topics within the larger one that researchers want to focus on in their article.
As many researchers began taking notes today, Mr. Kerr taught us about plagiarism. It's important that children learn not to copy exact sentences from their research. Mr. Kerr taught children to pull out "fact fragments" - the most important words from a sentence that contain the chunk of meaning. This is a skill the children will be developing for years to come.
Ask your child to tell you about their research topic. I'm sure they will have lots to share!
United States
Our unit on the United States is coming to a close. We hope you enjoyed our State Fair. We certainly enjoyed preparing it for you. I was very impressed with the children's creativity and knowledge about their state.
There are several understandings and skills that I want the children to hang on to:
1. There are 50 states in our country.
2. Each state has a capital which is typically represented with a star on the map.
3. Washington D.C. (not state :o) is the nation's capital.
4. The states are organized into regions based on similar location, agriculture, landforms and climate.
5. Identify the general location of each region.
6. Identify one fact about each region.
The children will complete an assessment on Wednesday, but I am confident that most children have most of these understandings in place. You can discuss them at home when you discuss current events or the setting of a story you are reading together.
There are several understandings and skills that I want the children to hang on to:
1. There are 50 states in our country.
2. Each state has a capital which is typically represented with a star on the map.
3. Washington D.C. (not state :o) is the nation's capital.
4. The states are organized into regions based on similar location, agriculture, landforms and climate.
5. Identify the general location of each region.
6. Identify one fact about each region.
The children will complete an assessment on Wednesday, but I am confident that most children have most of these understandings in place. You can discuss them at home when you discuss current events or the setting of a story you are reading together.
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