Time for Kids

Time for Kids is a wonderful, weekly magazine written for kids. We will spend time each Wednesday reading parts of it together. The children will bring it home to share with you. You may want to share with them similar stories that you have read in magazines or the newspaper. You can also check out www.timeforkids.com for supplements to their weekly articles.

This week we read about scientists' search for lost amphibians. You can go to conservation.org/campaigns/lost_frogs to check for updates on the search. On the same site you can also watch a video about frog scientists Robin Moore and Don Church. Just scroll down to find Features & Media and click on "Robin Moore & Don Church Talk Frogs."

Enjoy!

Place Value

We've been having fun with place value! When we study place value we are learning that the place a digit has in a number affects its value. For example, 7 has a different value in 27 than it does in 72. In 27 the 7 is worth 7. However, in 72, the 7 is worth 70. This is a very important concept for children to understand as we move into more sophisticated math concepts.

We have practiced writing numbers in expanded form. Expanded form shows the value of each digit. For example, the expanded form of 273 = 200 + 70 + 3. The expanded form of 791 = 700 + 90 + 1.

We also learned a new math challenge called Digit Deal. To play Digit Deal well, you need to understand the concept of place value. You can play Digit Deal together or independently. The players should choose 3 digits from a deck of cards. (You can make one of the face cards stand for 0.) The players should use only their 3 cards to make the:

Largest possible number, smallest possible number, the number closest to 500, the largest even number, the smallest odd number, the even number closest to 400 and the odd number closest to 300.

If your child is looking for more of a challenge, the game can be played with 4 digits or even 5. Just change some of the kinds of numbers you are looking for. Have fun! :o)

Weekend Adventure

Each Monday night for homework your child is responsible for writing a paragraph. The paragraph should be about one thing they did over the weekend. I will be sending the paragraph home on Fridays so that children can get a head start on it if they would like. (This is not a have-to, it's a choice. The paragraph is due on Tuesday.) Please remember, these should not take the children more than 30 minutes. It is not necessary to write more than one copy.

This weeks' FCAs are:

Topic sentence - This sentence should be towards the beginning of their letter. It should tell the reader what the paragraph is about.

3+ specific details - Third grade writers should include 3 specific details telling about their topic. The details and the topic sentence should be about the same thing.

Capitalization and punctuation - Third grade writers should begin every sentence with a capital and end every sentence with punctuation.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns you might have,

Enjoy your weekend! :o)

Reflection Letters

Hopefully your child will come running through the door today excited to share their newly written reflection letter with you. If not, it can be found in a spiral notebook in the backpack slung over their shoulder... :o) Each Friday students will brainstorm a list of the activities and lessons we learned throughout the week. Students will use these ideas to write a letter home about one or two of their favorite lessons. In third grade, this takes a LOT of practice! We work on our letter writing skills for the entire school year.

Each week their will be FCAs (Focus Correction Area) based on what has been taught and what the kids are practicing. These FCAs make it clear to the students what my expectations are. This week's FCAs for the letter were:

Topic sentence - This sentence should be towards the beginning of their letter. It should tell the reader what the paragraph is about.

3+ specific details - Third grade writers should include 3 specific details telling about their topic. The details and the topic sentence should be about the same thing.

Capitalization and punctuation - Third grade writers should begin every sentence with a capital and end every sentence with punctuation.

You will see a check, check plus or a check minus next to each FCA on each writer's page. This shows you how your child is doing with that particular skill. As we learn and grow you will see lots of progress and improvement in our letters. Eventually you will see the FCAs change as we work on more sophisticated skills and techniques.

Please read and respond to these letters if possible. Students look forward to hearing from you and it is a great way to model writing a friendly letter, which is a component of the 3rd grade curriculum.
Happy writing! :o)Melanie

FCAs - Weekend Adventure

I try to give student's feedback about the work they do. Feedback helps students to see what they are doing well and what they need to work on. When an assignment has FCAs (focus corrections areas)attached to it,I will give feedback specifically on the FCAs. I will look at the work for each FCA separately. Depending on the work I see, I will give the student a check, check plus or check minus.

For example, on Monday's paragraph assignment the FCAs were:
Topic sentence (TS)
3 Specific details (3+SD)
Capitals and punctuation (shown with a symbol the student's understand)

In order to give students appropriate feedback, I read each paragraph three times.

First I read to see if it has a topic sentence. If it has a topic sentence that reflects the content of the paragraph, it gets a check. If it is an incredible topic sentence, it gets a check plus. If the paragraph does not have a topic sentence, or if the topic sentence is not related to the details they included it gets a check minus.

Second, I read for specific details. If the piece has 3 specific details, it gets a check. If it has more than 3 precise, and very interesting details, it gets a check plus. If the details are very general or there are less than 3, it gets a check minus.

This process continues for each FCA. (I usually give only 3.)

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Timed Addition Quizzes

The children will bring home their corrected math quizzes today. In order to move to the next quiz they need to have no more than 2 problems wrong. In addition, they need to finish the quiz within a certain time. (I don't tell them what the time is, because that tends to stress them out. :o(

In your child's folder you should find their corrected quiz. The quiz has their score on it given as a fraction - the number correct over the total number of problems. All children completed their quiz accurately, however, most of them did not complete the quiz quickly enough. If I wrote "You got it!" on the quiz, they passed and will go on to the next quiz (+1,+2,+3). Those children received 3+ flashcards to study for that quiz. They should cut the flashcards out and begin studying tonight.

If I wrote "Keep studying" or "Study harder so you can go faster" on the quiz, the child needs to keep studying +2 so they can complete the first quiz more quickly. (If anyone needs new +2 flashcards, they are welcome to them.) I have emphasized to the children that I don't want them to worry, I just want them to study hard.

The next quiz will be given on Tuesday.

As always, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Assignment Notebook

Yesterday was an exciting day in third grade! The children received their assignment notebooks. This is a big jump in terms of their responsibility. Each day, children should fill out their assignment notebook with that day's assignment. (It will be posted on the smartboard for them to copy.) When they return home in the afternoon, they should open to the correct page (it will be marked with a sticky note so it's easy to keep track). They should read their assignment notebook before completing any homework.

We also talked about being responsible about returning the assignment notebook each day. I suggested to the kids that they should put their assignment notebook in their backpack immediately after completing their homework. At the same time, they should put their homework back in their folder and their folder in their backpack. That way, the next morning they will be ready to go!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the assignment notebook.

Homework

Hopefully you saw the homework and assignment notebook that was sent home today. Your child should bring home the assignment notebook each night, Monday - Thursday. The assignment notebook should be checked before doing homework each night.

Each night your child should read for at least 20 minutes. They should fill in the reading log after reading.

Each night your child should spend at least 5 minutes studying for the timed math quiz. They should use the triangle flashcards they brought home today.

Each night there will be written homework. Today, the children began to learn about our Weekend Adventures. Every week they will be asked to write a paragraph about something they did that weekend. I will typically send the assignment home on Friday, but it will not be due until Tuesday. Tonight they simply received a graphic organizer. They were asked to add 3 specific details about their topic. The details should match the topic sentence which they already wrote on the top of the page.

We will spend more time developing our writing skills as we work on our paragraphs.

The Colors of Us

Last week, Room 221 listened to "The Colors of Us" by, Karen Katz. It's a story of a young girl's walk through her neighborhood as she notices the beautiful and unique shades of each person's skin. She returns home to mix white, black, red and yellow paint to recreate each skin tone and paint portraits of her friends.

221 artists also mixed paint to find their own, unique skin color. They painted the shade onto a plain piece of paper which they will used to cut out their face and create their self portrait in collage. We noticed and celebrated the difference of each one. Hopefully you saw them hanging in our classroom with our "I am from... poems." Next week, Mrs. Martell will take photographs of each, record each child reading their poem and post them to the web for you all to enjoy.

String Instruments

If your child is interested in playing a string instrument this year please send in the registration forms as soon as possible. Students will be measured for their instruments on Tuesday, September 28 at 7:30. String instruments will be distributed on Thursday, September 30 at 6:30.

Many children seemed very excited at the possibility after the instrument demonstration.

Working with Partners

Working as part of a team is very important, but not always easy. It is important that third graders learn to cooperate with others to solve problems, make decisions and complete projects. Children learn so much from listening to others' ideas and expanding those ideas with their own.

This afternoon I challenged the kids to solve a "toothpick" brain teaser with a partner. Before they got started I asked them what it looks like and sounds like when partners are working well together. They came up with the following:

*accept your assigned partner graciously
*be nice
*disagree respectfully - "I respectfully challenge..."
*use a nice tone of voice
*take turns - "You can go first."
*both people's ideas are important
*listen to each other
*stay focused on your work

Impressive list, don't you think? More impressive was the way they actually did work together this afternoon. They were awesome! Ask them to tell you about their process and what went well for them and their partner.

Scholastic Book Club

I will extend the deadline until tomorrow. If you are interested in ordering books please send in your forms or order online. :o)

Math Curse

Are you a Jon Scieszka fan? He is a fabulous children's author with a quirky sense of humor. Yesterday morning we read the beginning of his picture book "Math Curse." The main character feels cursed when her teacher informs her that everything can be seen as a math problem! Suddenly there is math everywhere and she doesn't know what to do!

"Math Curse" is a fantastic book to read together with your child. There are many math challenges to enjoy. The level of the math varies so there is something for almost everyone. For example, the children might be challenged with a simple math word problem, or to recognize the Fibonacci Sequence. Check it out! You won't be disappointed.

P.S. Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith also worked together to create "Science Curse." I'm sure you'll love it.

Curriculum Night

Thank you so much to all who were able to join us last night. It was truly a pleasure meeting and working with all of you. For those of you who were unable to make it, I will send home the handouts and blog some important links soon. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. I look forward to a wonderful year together.

I'm sorry we weren't able to complete our game of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" (I will ask my husband to work on fixing it for next year...) If you are interested in seeing the rest of the questions or answers click on this link:

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Grade 3

Go to Third Grade and scroll to the bottom. It's called Curriculum Night - Mrs. Sullivan. Have fun! :o)

Reminder

Tonight is Eliot School's Grades 3-5 Curriculum Night. Join us at 7:00 in the Performance Center where our principal and PTC president will speak to us. At 7:30, you will be invited to Room 221. I can't wait to share with you our exciting plans for third grade! AND you'll get to play a round of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

This afternoon, Room 221 will visit the Book Fair. The children may bring money to spend or create a wish list. You are welcome to join us there at 12:30 if you are interested. In addition, the Book Fair will be open tonight. You can purchase items from your child's wish list at that time if you would like. Also, there is an easel placed near the performmance center. If you would like to contribute a book to our classroom library, there are many suggested titles in a pocket with my name on it. Please remember, there is no obligation.

Hope to see you tonight!

Hopes and Dreams

This week we began reading The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, by Barbara Kerley. It is the biography of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins who dreamed of building life-size models of dinosaurs in the 19th century. His accomplishments led us to think about our hopes and dreams for third grade. Children brainstormed what they might like to accomplish this school year. Next, each child completed a reflection sheet to help them narrow their decisions down. Finally, on Friday they will choose one aspiration to share. They can decide based on what's important to them at school, what they want to get better at, or what they want to learn about.

Have a conversation with your child. Talk about your hopes and dreams. You'll be able to see your child's final decision hanging in the classroom when you come for Curriculum Night, Tuesday September 14.

Instrumental Demonstration

Check your child's backpack this afternoon for information about string lessons in the Needham Public Schools. Mr. Mark Smith came and played for the children this morning. They were practically spellbound. When he asked how many might be interested in playing a string instrument, nearly ALL children raised their hand. Please consider signing your child up. Musical intelligence is an important intelligence to be fostered.

Ask your child which string instrument plays lower - violin, viola, or cello.

The First Six Weeks

We will be spending a lot of time during the first six weeks of school spelling out expectations, articulating rules and establishing predictable structures.

1. The children are participating in guided discoveries. In a guided discovery children discuss, explore and practice the use of classroom materials so that they can take care of the materials and each other. They role play what we can do when something goes wrong, or when another child wants to share.

2. Tomorrow, the children will choose a hope and dream for third grade. Each child will share their dream with the rest of the community. We will use these hopes and dreams as the basis for classroom rules. The discussion will begin with the question - “What rules do we need to have in our classroom so that everyone is able to fulfill their hopes and dreams this year?”

3. We are practicing, practicing, practicing all of the expectations. We practice lining up quietly, using quiet voices while working and even hanging up our backpacks in the cubbies. (**So far so good! The children have been fantastic and respectful. I am constantly amazed by them.)

4. I will be teaching recess. This may sound strange to you, but it's very important. The purpose of recess is for all children to have fun. We have been playing games together as a community. We model and practice what it looks like to be sure everyone has fun and is safe.

5. Most importantly, we are getting to know one another. We are all special and unique and we have begun sharing small pieces of ourselves with one another

***We put a strong focus on all of these activities so that we can move toward an
orderly, cooperative and stimulating learning environment where children feel ownership and safety.

Home Folders

Please be sure your child checks his/her folder each evening and delivers any important papers to you. I often send home important notes and homework. I expect each third grader to return their emptied folder the following day. It should only have new notes or completed homework in it.

Thanks for your help as your children learn to handle new responsibilities.

Welcome to Third Grade!

We have successfully completed our first day of third grade! I have to tell you that your children are amazing! They worked very hard today as they began to learn routines and expectations. They have been incredibly respectful.

This morning we had a "person" scavenger hunt. The children walked around the room looking for people that fit a certain description. For example, they were challenged to find someone who ate toast for breakfast this morning. They also tried to find someone who was born in another state. Through this activity they were able to learn that we are very similar in some ways, but very different in others. Ask your child what they learned about a new friend.

I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!