http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg&feature=youtu.be
This clip is too large to embed, but it's worth the watch.
Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson
Sunday, December 11, 2011
A Call for Scientific Literacy
I hope you enjoy this call for scientific literacy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg&feature=youtu.be
This clip is too large to embed, but it's worth the watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg&feature=youtu.be
This clip is too large to embed, but it's worth the watch.
Newsletter for December 10, 2011
What We Learned This Week
Word Study: This week's words are: called, fixed, hooked, loved, finished, owned, counted, needed, lifted, played, smiled, and lived.
Additional words you may want to use for at home activities include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): stopped, batted, raced, voted, picked, mixed, mailed, dressed, chased, baked, dotted, patted, joined, cared, grinned, tried, broiled, closed, skipped, applied, multiplied, ignored, spaced, and flipped.
The three general categories for the sorting should be words in which -ed sounds like /d/, like /t/, and like /ed/. In order to make the past-tense form some present -tense forms undergo a spelling change. Words in which -ed sounds like /ed/, the pat-tense form has more more syllable than the present-tense form.
We reviewed plural nouns and action verbs as well. We will contrast action verbs with linking or being verbs next week.
Reading: In reading we returned to main idea using the 5 W's and sharing them as complete sentences that contain a minimum of a Who, a What, capitals at the beginning and punctuation at the end.
We also started our new read aloud, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, by Rodman Philbrick.
We will be looking closely at this historical fiction novel to learn history and geography as our protagonist travels from Maine to the heart of the secession.
I will be conducting Developmental Reading Assessments on all students next week to monitor growth in accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
Writing: We wrote pen pal letters to our partners at Tremont.
Math: We are deeply immersed in multiplication in math and are developing our understanding of multiplication as efficient addition of same sized groups. Unlike the way most of us learned multiplication through drill and memorization, we now focus on strategy based fact fluency and using arrays to model multiplication as addition. We utilize a lot of vocabulary in math and I've introduced multiplication in terms of factor x factor = product.
I've introduced fact fluency strategies for:
0's - any number multiplied by 0 is simply 0 because there are no groups of N factor.
1's - any number multiplied by 1 is equal to the other factor because the number model represents one group of N factor.
2's - we utilize our addition strategy of doubles
3's - are doubles plus one more group of N factor
4's - are double doubles or two groups of our double
We are modeling story authentic story problems with:
- Factor X Factor = Product model
- Number model
- Array
- Fact triangle and all number models (This supports learning division as multiplication)
Before we get to multi digit multiplication, I'd like to share that our district strongly discourages teaching the traditional algorithm (the way most adults perform multi digit multiplication) as it does not foster understanding, but simply memorization. The traditional algorithm is a convenient, but arbitrary algorithm that does not require any understanding of the operation. I'll elaborate on this further when we introduce multi digit multiplication.
Science: This year's first Science Buzz Around was a huge success. Every student at Windermere was engaged in science and engineering throughout the building on Wednesday morning. Third grade focused on engineering as well as 21st Century Skills of collaboration and communication. Each third grade class rotated through the three classes to experience a different engineering lesson. Our classroom used Keva Planks (aka Citiblocs). In our room, students began with a short video clip from the movie Apollo 13 that showed authentic engineers solving complex problems.
Students sat across from a partner with blinds and six blocks each. The "engineer" was given 60 seconds to construct a shape. Then they had three minutes to talk their "builder" through creating an identical shape. Neither student was allowed to look at the other's work until the time limit was up. After both students had an opportunity to experience both roles, they were challenged with building the "most simple" design they could think of and finally with building an "interesting" design. Once we were done, we compared what we did with what the Apollo 13 engineers and astronauts did in a life-or-death situation.
We will have our next Science Buzz Around in the spring and are hopefully working towards quarterly Buzz Arounds in the future. It is my sincere hope that when these students revisit Windermere as graduating seniors, they will excitedly ask, "Do you still do Science Buzz Arounds?" and will share their plans to major in science and engineering (oh, and they still play ukulele).
Important Dates & Reminders
No newsletter next week. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.
Please send in books for the holiday book drive. From our wonderful room parents... "We are asking each child to bring in 2 (or more) new or gently used books for ages K-8th Grade to donate to the Homeless Families Foundation. Gently used = no folded, ripped, or marked pages, no worn covers, no writing in the books. Participation is optional, but we hope to gather as many books as possible for needy families."
Please begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center. See earlier post: http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Word Study: This week's words are: called, fixed, hooked, loved, finished, owned, counted, needed, lifted, played, smiled, and lived.
Additional words you may want to use for at home activities include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): stopped, batted, raced, voted, picked, mixed, mailed, dressed, chased, baked, dotted, patted, joined, cared, grinned, tried, broiled, closed, skipped, applied, multiplied, ignored, spaced, and flipped.
The three general categories for the sorting should be words in which -ed sounds like /d/, like /t/, and like /ed/. In order to make the past-tense form some present -tense forms undergo a spelling change. Words in which -ed sounds like /ed/, the pat-tense form has more more syllable than the present-tense form.
We reviewed plural nouns and action verbs as well. We will contrast action verbs with linking or being verbs next week.
Reading: In reading we returned to main idea using the 5 W's and sharing them as complete sentences that contain a minimum of a Who, a What, capitals at the beginning and punctuation at the end.
We also started our new read aloud, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, by Rodman Philbrick.
I will be conducting Developmental Reading Assessments on all students next week to monitor growth in accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
Writing: We wrote pen pal letters to our partners at Tremont.
Math: We are deeply immersed in multiplication in math and are developing our understanding of multiplication as efficient addition of same sized groups. Unlike the way most of us learned multiplication through drill and memorization, we now focus on strategy based fact fluency and using arrays to model multiplication as addition. We utilize a lot of vocabulary in math and I've introduced multiplication in terms of factor x factor = product.
I've introduced fact fluency strategies for:
0's - any number multiplied by 0 is simply 0 because there are no groups of N factor.
1's - any number multiplied by 1 is equal to the other factor because the number model represents one group of N factor.
2's - we utilize our addition strategy of doubles
3's - are doubles plus one more group of N factor
4's - are double doubles or two groups of our double
We are modeling story authentic story problems with:
- Factor X Factor = Product model
- Number model
- Array
- Fact triangle and all number models (This supports learning division as multiplication)
Before we get to multi digit multiplication, I'd like to share that our district strongly discourages teaching the traditional algorithm (the way most adults perform multi digit multiplication) as it does not foster understanding, but simply memorization. The traditional algorithm is a convenient, but arbitrary algorithm that does not require any understanding of the operation. I'll elaborate on this further when we introduce multi digit multiplication.
Science: This year's first Science Buzz Around was a huge success. Every student at Windermere was engaged in science and engineering throughout the building on Wednesday morning. Third grade focused on engineering as well as 21st Century Skills of collaboration and communication. Each third grade class rotated through the three classes to experience a different engineering lesson. Our classroom used Keva Planks (aka Citiblocs). In our room, students began with a short video clip from the movie Apollo 13 that showed authentic engineers solving complex problems.
Students sat across from a partner with blinds and six blocks each. The "engineer" was given 60 seconds to construct a shape. Then they had three minutes to talk their "builder" through creating an identical shape. Neither student was allowed to look at the other's work until the time limit was up. After both students had an opportunity to experience both roles, they were challenged with building the "most simple" design they could think of and finally with building an "interesting" design. Once we were done, we compared what we did with what the Apollo 13 engineers and astronauts did in a life-or-death situation.
We will have our next Science Buzz Around in the spring and are hopefully working towards quarterly Buzz Arounds in the future. It is my sincere hope that when these students revisit Windermere as graduating seniors, they will excitedly ask, "Do you still do Science Buzz Arounds?" and will share their plans to major in science and engineering (oh, and they still play ukulele).
Important Dates & Reminders
No newsletter next week. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.
Please begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center. See earlier post: http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Newsletter for December 4, 2011
What We Learned This Week
Word Study: This week's spelling words are: inches, chairs, faces, desks, flashes, dishes, benches, cliffs, leashes, chicks, skips, and boats. We are studying plural nouns. Students should note that the plural forms that end in -s have one syllable and the plural forms that end in -es have two syllables.
Important Dates & Reminders
December 7th: Early dismissal for staff development.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
Word Study: This week's spelling words are: inches, chairs, faces, desks, flashes, dishes, benches, cliffs, leashes, chicks, skips, and boats. We are studying plural nouns. Students should note that the plural forms that end in -s have one syllable and the plural forms that end in -es have two syllables.
Important Dates & Reminders
December 7th: Early dismissal for staff development.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Newsletter for November 18, 2011
What We Learned This Week
Word Study
We will not have spelling words next week. Our words for the week of November 28th are:
check, desk, kick, quack, sick, oak, smock, book, sneak, dock, weak and cheek.
Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling activities (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include: back, brick, clock, flock, cook, took, bark, dark, pack, pluck, shack, snack, shark, stork, leak, squeak, struck, whack, wreck, thicken, speaking, weekend, croaking and hawk. The two general categories for the sorting should be words that spell the /k/ sound with k and ck. Students should notice that usually when the vowel sound preceding the /k/ sound is short, /k/ is spelled with ck; if the vowel sound preceding the /k/ is long, /k/ is spelled k. I will send home handwriting paper for students who are required to practice handwriting as part of their homework. I've begun to use smaller paper, that is closer to the paper we use in our writing journals.
We also reviewed proper use of a and an with the generality that a precedes consonant, e.g., a book, whereas an precedes vowels, e.g., an apple.
We compared singular and plural nouns ending in y. We applied the generality that singular nouns ending in a pattern of "consonant y" are made plural by replacing the y with ies, e.g., sky = skies. Singular nouns ending in a "vowel y," e.g., monkey = monkeys, pattern simply add s.
Reading
We continued to improve our brief, organized summaries, contrasted with richer and more detailed retellings, by identifying the key characters, setting (when and where), and plot (beginning, middle, end) using the folktale genre. I find these often familiar tales are a perfect length to use for summaries.
I've assigned some buddy reading groups for students who are ready for this. Buddy reading supports fluency and comprehension, but can also be motivating to the reluctant reader when paired with an engaged reader.
Students are still working on decoding using a combination of reading with their finger, sounding out words (reading as much of the beginning of the word as they can, looking for patterns, prefixes, root words, and suffixes, covering part of the word, etc.), and reading on and rereading for context clues.
Writing
I introduced the concept of persuasive writing, but our pen pal letters came. We practiced the writing process by preparing a plan and draft that responds to their letters. We also read our pen pal letters for good examples of paragraphs (single idea supported with sufficient details, 5 W's, and a clear topic and conclusion).
Math
We are wrapping up our study of linear measure and I plan to assess this unit on Tuesday. I introduced measurement by discussing kinds of measurement and appropriate units of measure: weight/mass (grams, pounds, tons, etc.), volume/capacity (cups, liters, gallons, etc.), time (days, months, decades, seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) and length (inches, feet, yards, etc.). We also discussed that in math we are always measuring quantity and the importance of labeling our answers in units of measure. I attempt to assign a unit of measure to all of our problems, even if we are simply working on multi digit subtraction. We have covered nearest inch, 1/2 inch, centimeter, and 1/2 centimeter, area, and perimeter.
When we return from break we will begin working on multiplication, using arrays as a model of multiplication as efficient addition of same sized groups. See the Unit 4 Everyday Math Family Letter below.
We will begin learning multiplication facts based on strategy after break. Here is a link to practice pages you can work on at home. Don't forget to review addition facts as well.
http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/11/newsletter-for-november-11-2011.html
Social Studies
I introduced government's three branches and purposes: legislative writes laws, executive executes laws, and judicial interprets laws. We discussed local government services and how they serve the public: teachers, police, fire fighters, school board, parks and recreation department, street maintenance, etc. We also talked about the need for rules and laws. We will conclude with an activity where we will attempt to balance the UA City budget with different hypothetical city shortages and public demands. The current development of the Lane Avenue corridor will provide us with a great example of how complicated government decisions can be. We will also discuss important documents in our government.
Ukulele Orchestra
We are working on Over the River and Through The Woods. As motivation, I've offered any student who can play the song below a free twenty seven two chord song book. Students should practice C F C G7, four strums each and transition to the next chord at a slow pace.
Important Dates and Reminders
No newsletter next week - have a relaxing and safe holiday.
No homework next week
Please send an art smock to school with your student if they received a note from Dr. Myers this week. Thank you!
The Hawk Herald is now available online at http://www.uaschools.org/index.aspx?nid=763.
Lost and Found items not collected by this Tuesday, November 22nd will be donated.
From Mrs. Meyer.
"Mid Ohio Food Bank is need of peanut butter! Due to drought conditions, the prices of peanuts have soared and they are in desperate need for this protein-packed food item. Mrs. Meyer's third grade class is collecting donations and will deliver the jars next Weds., Nov. 23. If you'd like to donate some peanut butter, please send in a jar with your child. Thank you! " http://www.midohiofoodbank.org/
November 23rd - 25th: No School - Thanksgiving holiday.
December 2nd: Author visit with nature writer James Bruchac. Book preorder forms for signatures for holiday gifts have been sent home.
(http://www.jamesbruchac.com/pages/intro.php).
December 7th: Early dismissal for staff development.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
Please begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center. See earlier post: http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Word Study
We will not have spelling words next week. Our words for the week of November 28th are:
check, desk, kick, quack, sick, oak, smock, book, sneak, dock, weak and cheek.
Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling activities (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include: back, brick, clock, flock, cook, took, bark, dark, pack, pluck, shack, snack, shark, stork, leak, squeak, struck, whack, wreck, thicken, speaking, weekend, croaking and hawk. The two general categories for the sorting should be words that spell the /k/ sound with k and ck. Students should notice that usually when the vowel sound preceding the /k/ sound is short, /k/ is spelled with ck; if the vowel sound preceding the /k/ is long, /k/ is spelled k. I will send home handwriting paper for students who are required to practice handwriting as part of their homework. I've begun to use smaller paper, that is closer to the paper we use in our writing journals.
We also reviewed proper use of a and an with the generality that a precedes consonant, e.g., a book, whereas an precedes vowels, e.g., an apple.
We compared singular and plural nouns ending in y. We applied the generality that singular nouns ending in a pattern of "consonant y" are made plural by replacing the y with ies, e.g., sky = skies. Singular nouns ending in a "vowel y," e.g., monkey = monkeys, pattern simply add s.
Reading
We continued to improve our brief, organized summaries, contrasted with richer and more detailed retellings, by identifying the key characters, setting (when and where), and plot (beginning, middle, end) using the folktale genre. I find these often familiar tales are a perfect length to use for summaries.
I've assigned some buddy reading groups for students who are ready for this. Buddy reading supports fluency and comprehension, but can also be motivating to the reluctant reader when paired with an engaged reader.
Students are still working on decoding using a combination of reading with their finger, sounding out words (reading as much of the beginning of the word as they can, looking for patterns, prefixes, root words, and suffixes, covering part of the word, etc.), and reading on and rereading for context clues.
Writing
I introduced the concept of persuasive writing, but our pen pal letters came. We practiced the writing process by preparing a plan and draft that responds to their letters. We also read our pen pal letters for good examples of paragraphs (single idea supported with sufficient details, 5 W's, and a clear topic and conclusion).
Math
We are wrapping up our study of linear measure and I plan to assess this unit on Tuesday. I introduced measurement by discussing kinds of measurement and appropriate units of measure: weight/mass (grams, pounds, tons, etc.), volume/capacity (cups, liters, gallons, etc.), time (days, months, decades, seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) and length (inches, feet, yards, etc.). We also discussed that in math we are always measuring quantity and the importance of labeling our answers in units of measure. I attempt to assign a unit of measure to all of our problems, even if we are simply working on multi digit subtraction. We have covered nearest inch, 1/2 inch, centimeter, and 1/2 centimeter, area, and perimeter.
When we return from break we will begin working on multiplication, using arrays as a model of multiplication as efficient addition of same sized groups. See the Unit 4 Everyday Math Family Letter below.
We will begin learning multiplication facts based on strategy after break. Here is a link to practice pages you can work on at home. Don't forget to review addition facts as well.
http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/11/newsletter-for-november-11-2011.html
Social Studies
I introduced government's three branches and purposes: legislative writes laws, executive executes laws, and judicial interprets laws. We discussed local government services and how they serve the public: teachers, police, fire fighters, school board, parks and recreation department, street maintenance, etc. We also talked about the need for rules and laws. We will conclude with an activity where we will attempt to balance the UA City budget with different hypothetical city shortages and public demands. The current development of the Lane Avenue corridor will provide us with a great example of how complicated government decisions can be. We will also discuss important documents in our government.
Ukulele Orchestra
We are working on Over the River and Through The Woods. As motivation, I've offered any student who can play the song below a free twenty seven two chord song book. Students should practice C F C G7, four strums each and transition to the next chord at a slow pace.
Click to enlarge.
Important Dates and Reminders
No newsletter next week - have a relaxing and safe holiday.
No homework next week
Please send an art smock to school with your student if they received a note from Dr. Myers this week. Thank you!
The Hawk Herald is now available online at http://www.uaschools.org/index.aspx?nid=763.
Lost and Found items not collected by this Tuesday, November 22nd will be donated.
From Mrs. Meyer.
"Mid Ohio Food Bank is need of peanut butter! Due to drought conditions, the prices of peanuts have soared and they are in desperate need for this protein-packed food item. Mrs. Meyer's third grade class is collecting donations and will deliver the jars next Weds., Nov. 23. If you'd like to donate some peanut butter, please send in a jar with your child. Thank you! " http://www.midohiofoodbank.org/
November 23rd - 25th: No School - Thanksgiving holiday.
(http://www.jamesbruchac.com/pages/intro.php).
December 7th: Early dismissal for staff development.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
Please begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center. See earlier post: http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Reed on didgeridoo
Reed played didgeridoo during Friday's Global Education Assembly that features Australia.
Newsletter for November 11, 2011
What We Learned This Week
This week's newsletter will be brief. I will be following up on our conferences. I truly appreciate your partnership and enjoyed getting to sit down with all of you. I appreciate your patience while I research and respond to your student's needs.
Word Study: This week's words are: chain, chick, their, what, third, wheel, with, than, chair, church, when, and wheat. Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling activities (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include: each, much, chat, this, thick, both, when, whip, charm, coach, which, those, Thursday, mouth, what's, whale, search, pinch, chatter, smooth, youth, thimble, wheelchair, and whistle. This week's patterns fall into three general categories of words with ch, th, and wh. Two weeks ago we focused on double consonant patterns with a silent letter; last week's pattern focused on blends where both consonants could be heard; this week's patterns are blends and combine to make a new sound (called digraphs). Digraphs make a different sound than either of the letters in the digraph do singly.
Math: We continued with linear measure this week and I introduced area. We'll be working on area and perimeter and I hope to assess this unit prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Many students have mastered (but will likely need revisiting to stay fresh) their addition and subtraction facts. I'm posting the multiplication facts for your use at home until we introduce them in our homework, after winter break. Like our addition facts, these are all tied to a strategy and leave only a handful of facts that must simply be memorized
Important Dates and Reminders
A friendly reminder to begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center's visit in February. Here's a link to our earlier post. Thank you! http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Ukulele Orchestra meets on B and D days, this Monday and Wednesday.
I will be out on Friday for a Math Coach Meeting.
November 23rd - 25th: No School - Thanksgiving holiday.
December 2nd: Author visit with nature writer James Bruchac (http://www.jamesbruchac.com/pages/intro.php).
December 7th: Early dismissal.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
This week's newsletter will be brief. I will be following up on our conferences. I truly appreciate your partnership and enjoyed getting to sit down with all of you. I appreciate your patience while I research and respond to your student's needs.
Word Study: This week's words are: chain, chick, their, what, third, wheel, with, than, chair, church, when, and wheat. Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling activities (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include: each, much, chat, this, thick, both, when, whip, charm, coach, which, those, Thursday, mouth, what's, whale, search, pinch, chatter, smooth, youth, thimble, wheelchair, and whistle. This week's patterns fall into three general categories of words with ch, th, and wh. Two weeks ago we focused on double consonant patterns with a silent letter; last week's pattern focused on blends where both consonants could be heard; this week's patterns are blends and combine to make a new sound (called digraphs). Digraphs make a different sound than either of the letters in the digraph do singly.
Ones
Doubles
Doubles Plus One (3's)
Double Doubles (4's)
Fives
Fives Plus One (6's)
Nines
Tens
Square Products
Important Dates and Reminders
A friendly reminder to begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center's visit in February. Here's a link to our earlier post. Thank you! http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html.
Ukulele Orchestra meets on B and D days, this Monday and Wednesday.
I will be out on Friday for a Math Coach Meeting.
November 23rd - 25th: No School - Thanksgiving holiday.
December 2nd: Author visit with nature writer James Bruchac (http://www.jamesbruchac.com/pages/intro.php).
December 7th: Early dismissal.
December 19th - January 2nd: Winter holiday, no school for students.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Newsletter for November 4, 2011
What We Learned This Week
Word Study: Next week's spelling words are: flame, flower, dream, drive, breeze, brave, drank, draw, flake, flapping, brace, and brand. In each of these words, the side by side consonants blend together, but we can still hear the individual sounds. Our patterns will be fl, dr, and br. Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling strategies (see http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include drink, drop, drill, flip, flat, fled, brat, bring, driveway, drift, dribble, flies, flirt, flicker, break, bread, drooping, dromedary, drive-in, Florida, flutter, fluid, breathe, breakthrough.
We also continued our study of idioms. Please take a moment to look at these posted in the hallway when you come for conferences. I've enjoyed seeing so many students from other classes reading them and learning about idioms.
I introduced the generalization that we use "a" before words beginning with consonants and "an" before words beginning with vowel sounds. We will need to revisit this several times typically before it begins to stick.
Reading: We have been studying summaries: characters (who), setting (when and where), and plot (sequence of events: beginning, middle, end). I am using picture books and short stories to support this learning. Reading groups have been formed for all students who will be in them this quarter. Alternatively, some students are receiving their primary reading instruction in intervention. Some students are doing both. Reading groups have discussed strategies for choosing "just right" books and have started writing summaries of what they have been assigned to read. I will slowly introduce new jobs to each reading group as they develop mastery of each literature circle role.
Writing: We are concentrating on revision using three strategies to improve our writing: adding descriptive words that create a mental picture, combining short sentences with transition words to build sentence variation that mirrors our speaking, and adding sentences to provide missing details. This is new for most students and will take time as well. We're looking forward to receiving our pen pals letters soon.
Math: We started linear measure and have practiced measuring lines to the nearest cm, 1/2 cm, in, and 1/2 inch. We begin by identifying our two choices and then we round up or down depending on whether or not the line is equal to or past the halfway mark (1/2 cm/inch for rounding to the nearest whole cm/in and 1/4 cm/in when rounding to the nearest 1/2 cm/in). We have also discussed different types of measurement (quantity/amount, volume/capacity, weight/mass (technically different, but as long as we're on planet Earth, they're more theoretically same than different), length, and time), and their most common respective units of measure. We also identified personal references for a cm (the widest part of a push pin), inch (width of a common Pink Pearl eraser), foot (length of a sheet of paper), and yard (width of a door frame).
Science: We have nearly concluded our earth science unit. We evaporated saturated salt water and looked at the salt crystals that were left; added color to our crystal gardens as the liquid evaporates, made models of sedimentary rock using different colors of clay to represent different erosion events and compared these models to our earlier sedimentary rock models (we mixed gravel, sand, and clay in water and observed that the heavier particles fell out first to create layers of different material). I am investigating the possibility of rescheduling our field trip and will update when I know more.
We are currently working on "Skip To My Lou" and "Ain't No Bugs On Me" in Ukulele Orchestra. Please feel free to print these sheets out for your student to practice at home. Please trim your students fingernails, at least on their left hand (their chording hand). It will help them a great deal when forming chords.
Important Dates and Reminders
Word Study: Next week's spelling words are: flame, flower, dream, drive, breeze, brave, drank, draw, flake, flapping, brace, and brand. In each of these words, the side by side consonants blend together, but we can still hear the individual sounds. Our patterns will be fl, dr, and br. Additional words you may want to use with at home spelling strategies (see http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html) include drink, drop, drill, flip, flat, fled, brat, bring, driveway, drift, dribble, flies, flirt, flicker, break, bread, drooping, dromedary, drive-in, Florida, flutter, fluid, breathe, breakthrough.
We also continued our study of idioms. Please take a moment to look at these posted in the hallway when you come for conferences. I've enjoyed seeing so many students from other classes reading them and learning about idioms.
I introduced the generalization that we use "a" before words beginning with consonants and "an" before words beginning with vowel sounds. We will need to revisit this several times typically before it begins to stick.
Reading: We have been studying summaries: characters (who), setting (when and where), and plot (sequence of events: beginning, middle, end). I am using picture books and short stories to support this learning. Reading groups have been formed for all students who will be in them this quarter. Alternatively, some students are receiving their primary reading instruction in intervention. Some students are doing both. Reading groups have discussed strategies for choosing "just right" books and have started writing summaries of what they have been assigned to read. I will slowly introduce new jobs to each reading group as they develop mastery of each literature circle role.
Writing: We are concentrating on revision using three strategies to improve our writing: adding descriptive words that create a mental picture, combining short sentences with transition words to build sentence variation that mirrors our speaking, and adding sentences to provide missing details. This is new for most students and will take time as well. We're looking forward to receiving our pen pals letters soon.
Math: We started linear measure and have practiced measuring lines to the nearest cm, 1/2 cm, in, and 1/2 inch. We begin by identifying our two choices and then we round up or down depending on whether or not the line is equal to or past the halfway mark (1/2 cm/inch for rounding to the nearest whole cm/in and 1/4 cm/in when rounding to the nearest 1/2 cm/in). We have also discussed different types of measurement (quantity/amount, volume/capacity, weight/mass (technically different, but as long as we're on planet Earth, they're more theoretically same than different), length, and time), and their most common respective units of measure. We also identified personal references for a cm (the widest part of a push pin), inch (width of a common Pink Pearl eraser), foot (length of a sheet of paper), and yard (width of a door frame).
Science: We have nearly concluded our earth science unit. We evaporated saturated salt water and looked at the salt crystals that were left; added color to our crystal gardens as the liquid evaporates, made models of sedimentary rock using different colors of clay to represent different erosion events and compared these models to our earlier sedimentary rock models (we mixed gravel, sand, and clay in water and observed that the heavier particles fell out first to create layers of different material). I am investigating the possibility of rescheduling our field trip and will update when I know more.
We are currently working on "Skip To My Lou" and "Ain't No Bugs On Me" in Ukulele Orchestra. Please feel free to print these sheets out for your student to practice at home. Please trim your students fingernails, at least on their left hand (their chording hand). It will help them a great deal when forming chords.
Important Dates and Reminders
November 6th: Daylight Savings ends.
November 7th - 11th: Conferences. I will put your student's date and time on their progress report.
November 8th: Election Day - Early dismissal at 11:05. No lunch on this date.
November 8th: PTO Bake Sale in the lobby
November 9th: Mr. Hudson will be out all day. NO Ukulele Orchestra.
November 10th: Family Game Night 6:30-8:00
November 12th: PTO Pancake Breakfast
November 23rd - 25th: No School - Thanksgiving holiday.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Newsletter for October 31, 2011
A brief post...
Word Study: This week's spelling words are: knew, knife, knotted, wrinkle, wrist, writing, knitted, knock, unknown, wren, knee, and wreck. Each word has either the sound /r/, spelled wr, or the sound /n/, spelled kn. In each pair (wr and kn) the first consonant is silent and the second consonant is pronounced. Additional words you may choose to work with (see earlier post regarding at home spelling activities) include: knot, knuckle, wrong, wrap, know, wrapping, write, kneel, knight, knob, jackknife, written, wriggle, writer, wring, penknife, knapsack, knob, wreath, wrench, wristwatch, wrestle, and knuckle. Optional letter formation and spelling practice sheets follow.
We've been working hard on fluency, utilizing Shel Silverstein poems. Here are a few examples.
Word Study: This week's spelling words are: knew, knife, knotted, wrinkle, wrist, writing, knitted, knock, unknown, wren, knee, and wreck. Each word has either the sound /r/, spelled wr, or the sound /n/, spelled kn. In each pair (wr and kn) the first consonant is silent and the second consonant is pronounced. Additional words you may choose to work with (see earlier post regarding at home spelling activities) include: knot, knuckle, wrong, wrap, know, wrapping, write, kneel, knight, knob, jackknife, written, wriggle, writer, wring, penknife, knapsack, knob, wreath, wrench, wristwatch, wrestle, and knuckle. Optional letter formation and spelling practice sheets follow.
We've been working hard on fluency, utilizing Shel Silverstein poems. Here are a few examples.
Math: We are beginning our third unit in math and will focus on linear measure. Please see the Everyday Math Family Letter below.
Progress reports will be sent home (mailed for dual households) on Friday. Your conference date and time will appear on your student's progress report. I will also post the schedule on our door. Please note: when it is your conference time, please knock and enter.
Thank you to all of our wonderful room parents for a successful Halloween party. I hope everyone had a safe "howliday."
Please begin collecting items for the Ohio Wildlife Center's visit in February (see earlier post).
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