Cursive handwriting pages are sent home daily so you can see how your student is progressing and which letters we have covered. I do NOT need these pages back. Feel free to have your student do additional practice if they have not completed the page.
Print handwriting is only sent home for a select group of students who need additional practice. If your student is brining home print homework, they should return it daily.
Spelling words for this week are quick, thumb, phone, phantom, comb, graph, limb, quack, quilt, quiz, phase, crumb. Additional words with the same patterns are under the shopping list. Our three patterns are: "qu" words where "q" and "u" combine to make a single sound; "ph" words where "p" and "h" combine to make a single sound; and "mb" words where the "b" is silent. There is no change in how you should practice spelling words. The only difference is I sent them home in a paper format to make sure everyone saw them as some families have limited access to the internet. (See previous newsletter posting regarding sending them home differently and additional exercises you can do.)
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
February 26, 2011
Important Dates & Reminders
My apologies, I left my Spelling for Writers book at school. I will send this week's spelling words via email tomorrow.
Some families have asked about handwriting resources. This page offers many links to different sites for both print and cursive to meet your student's needs: http://www.learningreviews.com/Handwriting.html. For students who I have identified as needing additional handwriting practice, I will be sending home handwriting practice that is independent of spelling words as spelling is being differentiated and students have different spelling lists. This will also maintain practice even on weeks when we don't have spelling words. Students should practice in a quiet, well lit environment without distractions, (e.g., pets, siblings, electronics, etc.), with good posture. They should make their letters from the top down, fill the page paying attention to spacing between letters, height of letters and should begin by tracing the letters. Please sign your student's handwriting before they return it. Most students are capable of producing very nice handwriting, but they simply haven't been held accountable. My "deal" with students is that when I consistently see good handwriting, they do not have to do the homework any more.
I introduced new reading homework this week and went over my expectations on Thursday before sending it home. We reviewed students' attempts on Friday once they had a chance to try it at home. Contrary to the image above, it is not my goal by adding challenge math homework and more rigorous reading to exhaust students, but rather to continue to challenge them and not let them plateau. I ask that students number and underline evidence for the questions (not all questions will have "right there" evidence and they may not find evidence for every question). They should support their answers for the extended response questions by adding "why" statements. Students are ready for the additional challenge and the non-fiction text with charts, graphs, tables etc. are important non-fiction elements that will support their science and social studies reading.
I will send home your student's most recent pen pal letter on Monday. Please look at the published letter, draft, and plan. The published letters reflect some teacher editing for spelling and convention, but the letters show significant growth. I had students compare their first "paragraphs" from the beginning of the year to what they are producing now. This is a meaningful exercise and builds confidence when they see how far they've come. It took us about a week and a half to follow the entire process from planning to published piece.
I would like to thank all of our wonderful field trip chaperons for helping to make our trip on the Underground Railroad to the Kelton House so successful. It was my first time taking students to the Kelton House and I think it was a huge success. Students gained a much deeper appreciation for what the risks were and what life was like for slaves and Underground Railroad conductors. I don't recall seeing third graders as engaged as they were on this trip. Thank you chaperons!
We took a formative geometry assessment on Friday as well as fact fluency assessments. We will review our assessment for reteaching on Monday and will take the final summative assessment on Tuesday. We concluded our instruction on polyhedrons by looking at the following figures: spheres, cones, cylinders, prisms, and pyramids. We studied their bases, faces, and edges.
In science we invited Mr. Bill Palmer, a water and board sport enthusiast (and our former physical education teacher, Mrs. Palmer's husband) to visit. He shared the invention process from problem all the way through multiple solutions to manufacturing and marketing. He also gave the students a demo. You can learn more about his product by visiting his website sk8pole.com. His invention was very meaningful to kids as it provides a solution to a kid interest and is simple. We will conclude our Invention Convention process next week. I'm including links to examples of display boards (which you can purchase at teacher supply stores like United Art and Education in Hilliard) and prototypes. You can find more information about the Invention Convention including rules, judging and awards at http://just-think-inc.com/columbus/index.html. I will provide students with registration forms this week. Any student wishing to participate in the UA Invention Convention will have the opportunity to present to the class to develop their public speaking skills.
Some hints for boards from www.estuffenough.com/Carlson/Invention/Board%20Display.doc
"Bo rders around the outside of the board are optional. It helps to make the board look more attractive, but do not choose one that is too busy. To make your work stand out, “shadowing”, both Titles (i.e. PROBLEM) and information should be considered. Only three colors, other than white, should appear on the board. More than three colors makes the board too busy and takes away from the information that you are trying to get across to the judges.
You may also want to consider including:
Inventions must be:
- Registered for the local competition received by Mr. Hudson no later than Wednesday, April 11th in the a.m.
- Presented by inventors.
- Original work of a single student or designated team of K-8 students.
- Researched to ensure originality.
- Accompanied by a prototype of the invention which is no larger than 2' by 3'.
- Accompanied by a presentation board that details the student's invention.
** Please note: inventions that need power should run on batteries, not electricity.**
April 2-5 - Terra Nova and InView
April 6 - No school - Good Friday
May 1 - Ohio Mathematics Achievement Assessment
My apologies, I left my Spelling for Writers book at school. I will send this week's spelling words via email tomorrow.
Some families have asked about handwriting resources. This page offers many links to different sites for both print and cursive to meet your student's needs: http://www.learningreviews.com/Handwriting.html. For students who I have identified as needing additional handwriting practice, I will be sending home handwriting practice that is independent of spelling words as spelling is being differentiated and students have different spelling lists. This will also maintain practice even on weeks when we don't have spelling words. Students should practice in a quiet, well lit environment without distractions, (e.g., pets, siblings, electronics, etc.), with good posture. They should make their letters from the top down, fill the page paying attention to spacing between letters, height of letters and should begin by tracing the letters. Please sign your student's handwriting before they return it. Most students are capable of producing very nice handwriting, but they simply haven't been held accountable. My "deal" with students is that when I consistently see good handwriting, they do not have to do the homework any more.
I introduced new reading homework this week and went over my expectations on Thursday before sending it home. We reviewed students' attempts on Friday once they had a chance to try it at home. Contrary to the image above, it is not my goal by adding challenge math homework and more rigorous reading to exhaust students, but rather to continue to challenge them and not let them plateau. I ask that students number and underline evidence for the questions (not all questions will have "right there" evidence and they may not find evidence for every question). They should support their answers for the extended response questions by adding "why" statements. Students are ready for the additional challenge and the non-fiction text with charts, graphs, tables etc. are important non-fiction elements that will support their science and social studies reading.
I will send home your student's most recent pen pal letter on Monday. Please look at the published letter, draft, and plan. The published letters reflect some teacher editing for spelling and convention, but the letters show significant growth. I had students compare their first "paragraphs" from the beginning of the year to what they are producing now. This is a meaningful exercise and builds confidence when they see how far they've come. It took us about a week and a half to follow the entire process from planning to published piece.
We took a formative geometry assessment on Friday as well as fact fluency assessments. We will review our assessment for reteaching on Monday and will take the final summative assessment on Tuesday. We concluded our instruction on polyhedrons by looking at the following figures: spheres, cones, cylinders, prisms, and pyramids. We studied their bases, faces, and edges.
In science we invited Mr. Bill Palmer, a water and board sport enthusiast (and our former physical education teacher, Mrs. Palmer's husband) to visit. He shared the invention process from problem all the way through multiple solutions to manufacturing and marketing. He also gave the students a demo. You can learn more about his product by visiting his website sk8pole.com. His invention was very meaningful to kids as it provides a solution to a kid interest and is simple. We will conclude our Invention Convention process next week. I'm including links to examples of display boards (which you can purchase at teacher supply stores like United Art and Education in Hilliard) and prototypes. You can find more information about the Invention Convention including rules, judging and awards at http://just-think-inc.com/columbus/index.html. I will provide students with registration forms this week. Any student wishing to participate in the UA Invention Convention will have the opportunity to present to the class to develop their public speaking skills.
Some hints for boards from www.estuffenough.com/Carlson/Invention/Board%20Display.doc
You may also want to consider including:
- A commercial jingle for your invention
- A marketing slogan or campaign slogan
- An example of what an advertisement for your invention might look like
- Information on how you plan to market your invention"
Inventions must be:
- Registered for the local competition received by Mr. Hudson no later than Wednesday, April 11th in the a.m.
- Presented by inventors.
- Original work of a single student or designated team of K-8 students.
- Researched to ensure originality.
- Accompanied by a prototype of the invention which is no larger than 2' by 3'.
- Accompanied by a presentation board that details the student's invention.
** Please note: inventions that need power should run on batteries, not electricity.**
From Mr. Hill and Mr. Moore - "Windermere is holding a Jump Rope for Heart event on Friday, March 9th from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. As part of the kickoff for this great event the students watched a video in P.E. and received a permission slip and donation form which will be coming home in your child's backpack. If your child chooses to participate in this activity, please return all permission slips and donation forms to school by Thursday March 8th."
March 6 - Election day. “Attention Parents: Primary Election Day is March 6th. Students will be eating in their classrooms. The sack lunch menu for March 6 (Election Day) is: A 5 inch sub with lettuce & tomato on the side, carrot sticks with ranch dip, diced peaches and a milk. Please do not place any peanut products in your child’s packed lunch on that day.” .
March 11 - Daylight Savings time begins
March 16 through 25 - Spring Break
March 6 - Election day. “Attention Parents: Primary Election Day is March 6th. Students will be eating in their classrooms. The sack lunch menu for March 6 (Election Day) is: A 5 inch sub with lettuce & tomato on the side, carrot sticks with ranch dip, diced peaches and a milk. Please do not place any peanut products in your child’s packed lunch on that day.” .
March 11 - Daylight Savings time begins
March 16 through 25 - Spring Break
March 29 - End of third grading period
March 30 - No school - Teacher grading day
April & May Assessment Dates - Please do not schedule appointments and trips on these dates if possible.
April 2-5 - Terra Nova and InView
April 6 - No school - Good Friday
April 9 - Progress reports sent home
April 11 - Early dismissal at 1:15
April 21 - Invention Convention at UA High School (more information coming)
April 30 - Ohio Reading Achievement Retakes (only for students who did not pass in fall)
May 1 - Ohio Mathematics Achievement Assessment
Monday, February 20, 2012
Newsletter for February 20, 2012
Happy Presidents' Day!
Short newsletter this week...There will be no new spelling this week. We will have no school on Monday and Tuesday morning we will be on our field trip. We will work on grammar and parts of speech this week.
Field trip reminder: We will go to the Kelton House on Tuesday, Februrary 21st to learn about the Underground Railroad and People In Societies.
- Please pack a sack lunch for your student. We should return to Windermere by 11:30, but if we are late and the cafeteria is closed, students will not have food.
- Please make sure your student comes in comfortable walking shoes. In the past, some students have dressed up for field trips and have worn shoes that were uncomfortable or impractical.
- Chaperons: Please plan to be in the classroom by 8:45. This will allow time to introduce you and students to each other for your groups. Chaperons are expected to ride the bus unless we have made previous arrangements. Thank you in advance for a wonderful field trip.
My sincere appreciation to everyone for their generous donations to the Ohio Wildlife Center (OWC). Students had a great "party" and were introduced to several indigenous Ohio animals including a groundhog, a turtle, a brown bat, a kestrel, and a screech owl. The OWC educator talked about human impact, defense mechanisms, and habitat, all part of our spring life science unit.We will be voting on four possible charitable organizations next week for the spring Windermere Wish Run fundraiser. Please take a moment to discuss these organizations and whether or not your family has a meaningful connection to any:
- Breathing Association http://www.breathingassociation.org/
- My Orphans http://www.myorphans.us/
- National Coalition for Homeless Veterans http://www.nchv.org/
- Smile Train http://www.smiletrain.org/
February 21 - Field trip to Kelton House for Underground Railroad tour. Visit http://www.keltonhouse.com/ for more information.
March 6 - Election day. Students will eat in the room. I will show an educational film on insects. Please pack a sack lunch. From Mr. Scarpitti, "Attention Parents: Primary Election Day is March 6th. Students will be eating in their classrooms. Please do not place any peanut products in your child's lunch on that day."
March 16 through 25 - Spring Break
March 29 - End of third grading period
March 30 - No school - Teacher grading day
April - No school - Good Friday
April 9 - Progress reports sent home
April 11 - Early dismissal at 1:15
April 21 - Invention Convention at UA High School (more information coming)
April Assessment Dates - Please do not schedule appointments and trips on these dates if possible.
April 2-5 - Terra Nova and InView
April 30 - Ohio Reading Achievement Retakes (only for students who did not pass in fall)
May 1 - Ohio Mathematics Achievement Assessment
I was honored to have Mackenzie Haines and her family visit my two man band, Canned Goods, at the North Market this past weekend. Next time Mackenzie will have to join us on stage. Thanks Mackenzie!
I was honored to have Mackenzie Haines and her family visit my two man band, Canned Goods, at the North Market this past weekend. Next time Mackenzie will have to join us on stage. Thanks Mackenzie!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Newsletter for February 12, 2012
What We Learned This Week
This week's spelling words all include the silent e. They are: plane, became, eve, these, tube, prize, space, smiles, tired, drove, smoke and wrote. The five general categories for the sorting of the silent e words are long a, long e, long i, long o, and long u patterns. Students will learn to notice the vowel closest to the silent e has the long sound. These are largely auditory, but are fairly visual as well, with a few exceptions, e.g., tube makes an "oo" sound rather than a long u sound.
We will also be sorting words into parts-of-speech (nouns, verbs and adjectives)
Additional words you may want to use for at home spelling activities which support our generalizations include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): cape, ripe, tape, hide, hope, those, use, cute, knife, trade, flake, price, write, note, home, value, cases, homemade, twice, scribes, owe, spoke, flute, and fume.
February 15 - 23: PTO Book Fair
This semi-annual event brings books galore to Windermere students. The Book Fair will be open to students and parents during the lunch period (11:)5011:50) and after school (2:50-3:50) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with extended hours on Tuesday February 21st from 2:50-6:00 to accommodate our SACC families. The fair will be open on Thursday during the lunch hour only.
February 14th - Valentine's Day party at 2:00pm: Please refer to earlier post regarding collecting donations for the Ohio Wildlife Center.
(http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html)
February 20 - No school in honor of Presidents' Day
February 21 - Field trip to Kelton House for Underground Railroad tour. Visit http://www.keltonhouse.com/ for more information.
Word Study
We will also be sorting words into parts-of-speech (nouns, verbs and adjectives)
Additional words you may want to use for at home spelling activities which support our generalizations include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): cape, ripe, tape, hide, hope, those, use, cute, knife, trade, flake, price, write, note, home, value, cases, homemade, twice, scribes, owe, spoke, flute, and fume.
You should be receiving your student's cursive writing samples daily. We will start writing our spelling tests in cursive soon. I find the tests are short enough that students can get applied practice without sacrificing too much time. I will start to write on the board in cursive in the fourth quarter as this is a 4th grade teacher practice and I want students to be prepared for reading cursive as well as writing it.
Science
Students brainstormed problems and then applied a second brainstorming exercise to help them develop multiple solutions to their problem, a key element in problem solving. The Invention Convention will take place at the Upper Arlington High School on April 21, 2012. You can learn more at http://www.just-think-inc.com/.
Important Dates and Reminders
Tom Trainer of the Upper Arlington Fire Department visited us last week and asked me to share these important reminders:
- Do not use frayed electrical cords
- Do not plug too many electrical cords in one outlet
- Cook only with adult supervision
- Keep electric heaters at least three feet from objects
- Never cover electrical appliances (including lamps)
- Have an escape plan
- Practice your escape plan from different parts of the house
- Make sure your student knows their address and phone number
- Know how to call 911 in an emergency
Websites you may want to use to review fire safety with your student are:
February 13 - 17: Jump Rope for Heart (Has been cancelled. Will update with new event.)
February 15 - 23: PTO Book Fair
This semi-annual event brings books galore to Windermere students. The Book Fair will be open to students and parents during the lunch period (11:)5011:50) and after school (2:50-3:50) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with extended hours on Tuesday February 21st from 2:50-6:00 to accommodate our SACC families. The fair will be open on Thursday during the lunch hour only.
February 14th - Valentine's Day party at 2:00pm: Please refer to earlier post regarding collecting donations for the Ohio Wildlife Center.
(http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html)
Please remind your student not to address their Valentines, but sign them. This makes passing out cards much faster and we will have more time for learning!
February 17 - School Spirit Day, students wear their Hawk-wear.
February 17 - School Spirit Day, students wear their Hawk-wear.
February 20 - No school in honor of Presidents' Day
February 21 - Field trip to Kelton House for Underground Railroad tour. Visit http://www.keltonhouse.com/ for more information.
April Assessment Dates - Please do not schedule appointments and trips on these dates if possible.
April 2-5 - Terra Nova and InView
April 30 - Ohio Reading Achievement Retakes (only for students who did not pass in fall)
May 1 - Ohio Mathematics Achievement Assessment
Ms. Wiseman took this photo of a Windermere Hawk looking over the school.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Newsletter for February 5, 2012
What We Learned This Week
This week's spelling words are: anyway, monkey, they, really, good-bye, butterfly, January, twenty, July, crying, already, daisy. The three general categories for the sorting are:
- Words in which the letter y has the long a sound
- Words in which the letter y has the long e sound
- Words in which the letter y has the long i sound
Anyway has both a long e and long a sound. Additionally we will be looking at the root words (crying and already) and compound words in our list (anyway and butterfly).
Additional words you may want to use for at home spelling activities which support our generalizations include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): lady, shy, eye, busy, easy, clay, stay, payday, playing, speedway, fancy, skinny, myself, crybaby, army, eighty, typewriter, reply, eye opener, heavyweight, skyward, greyhound, February, and tabby.
Students who are receiving Wilson or other spelling and phonological development programs will likely not be in the room during weekly spelling assessments. Instead, they will be assessed on the words they are doing in their respective programs by their intervention teachers. While I do consider spelling assessments, I rely more heavily on students' writing samples for high frequency words and end of quarter assessments than on weekly assessments to monitor student spelling progress.
We are focusing on present and past tense in grammar.
Students completed their African American research. Their work will be in in the hallway by Tuesday. Please take a moment to look at their hard work and learn something new.
Writing
We received our pen pal letters. We will be focusing on the writing process and paragraphs as a single idea. The class read their pen pal letters to find quality paragraphs and improve others. They have a great understanding of paragraph.
Math
We continued geometry this week naming and drawing parallel and intersecting lines, line segments, and rays. We also named and drew angles (right, acute and obtuse) and triangles. We practiced our 9's for multiplication and will introduce square products this week.
We are starting math with the previous night's challenge problem and are identifying key words and numbers to underline that help us to understand the problem and organize our information. We use one of two strategies, occasionally both, drawing a picture or writing a number model, to solve challenge problems.
Science
February 14th - Valentine's Day party at 2:00pm: Please refer to earlier post regarding collecting donations for the Ohio Wildlife Center. Students SHOULD bring their donations to school on Friday, February 10th.
(http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html)
February 17 - School Spirit Day, students wear their Hawk-wear
February 21 - Field trip to Kelton House for Underground Railroad tour. Visit http://www.keltonhouse.com/ for more information.
Word Study
This week's spelling words are: anyway, monkey, they, really, good-bye, butterfly, January, twenty, July, crying, already, daisy. The three general categories for the sorting are:
- Words in which the letter y has the long a sound
- Words in which the letter y has the long e sound
- Words in which the letter y has the long i sound
Anyway has both a long e and long a sound. Additionally we will be looking at the root words (crying and already) and compound words in our list (anyway and butterfly).
Additional words you may want to use for at home spelling activities which support our generalizations include (see earlier post http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/09/parent-information-highlights.html): lady, shy, eye, busy, easy, clay, stay, payday, playing, speedway, fancy, skinny, myself, crybaby, army, eighty, typewriter, reply, eye opener, heavyweight, skyward, greyhound, February, and tabby.
Students who are receiving Wilson or other spelling and phonological development programs will likely not be in the room during weekly spelling assessments. Instead, they will be assessed on the words they are doing in their respective programs by their intervention teachers. While I do consider spelling assessments, I rely more heavily on students' writing samples for high frequency words and end of quarter assessments than on weekly assessments to monitor student spelling progress.
We continued our study of lowercase cursive letters: i, t, u, w and their connections. Students who are not in the classroom during cursive for additional services (e.g., speech, enrichment, intervention, etc.) will receive the day's practice in their mailbox. They should complete it as homework and return it the following day. Suggestions for practicing cursive were posted in the previous newsletter.
Students continue to have time to practice keyboarding skills in the computer lab. However, due to limited opportunities to go to the computer lab and priority curriculum, I recommend students practice typing at home using the district's Type To Learn 4 license (information and login I.D.'s were shared during Parent Information Night). Please let me know if your student does not remember their login. Their password is "type." Students should practice a few minutes each night using this engaging keyboarding program. A few minutes each night will see them progress much more than longer sessions only a few times per week. Students should be aware of their posture and use the appropriate finger for the appropriate key with their index fingers resting lightly on the home keys of F and J.We are focusing on present and past tense in grammar.
Reading
Students completed their African American research. Their work will be in in the hallway by Tuesday. Please take a moment to look at their hard work and learn something new.
Writing
We received our pen pal letters. We will be focusing on the writing process and paragraphs as a single idea. The class read their pen pal letters to find quality paragraphs and improve others. They have a great understanding of paragraph.
Math
We continued geometry this week naming and drawing parallel and intersecting lines, line segments, and rays. We also named and drew angles (right, acute and obtuse) and triangles. We practiced our 9's for multiplication and will introduce square products this week.
We are starting math with the previous night's challenge problem and are identifying key words and numbers to underline that help us to understand the problem and organize our information. We use one of two strategies, occasionally both, drawing a picture or writing a number model, to solve challenge problems.
Science
Our next science unit will be in conjunction with the Invention Convention. Our process will be to identify a problem and develop multiple solutions to solve it. I encourage students to focus on simple problems and simple solutions. I've helped judge the Invention Convention in the past and have found it is an extremely rewarding experience for students. Students will participate at school through the design process and presentation boards. They will not make prototypes at school, but I encourage students to do so and participate in the actual Invention Convention, which will take place at the Upper Arlington High School on April 21, 2012. You can learn more at http://www.just-think-inc.com/.
Important Dates and Reminders
February 7 - Kindergarten open house at 7:00pm
February 8 - Early Release, dismissal at 1:15pm for staff development
February 13 - 17 - Jump Rope for Heart (details to come)
(http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2011/10/ohio-wildlife-center-wish-list.html)
February 17 - School Spirit Day, students wear their Hawk-wear
February 20 - No school in honor of Presidents' Day
April Assessment Dates - Please do not schedule appointments and trips on these dates if possible.
April 2-5 - Terra Nova and InView
April 30 - Ohio Reading Achievement Retakes (only for students who did not pass in fall)
May 1 - Ohio Mathematics Achievement Assessment
I hope you were able to get out and play some in this unseasonably beautiful weather!
I hope you were able to get out and play some in this unseasonably beautiful weather!
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