What We Learned This Week
Word Study
- We learned synonyms and antonyms along with ASL signs for both. I like to pair kinesthetic learning with content to provide students with multiple paths to the same information. See if your student can explain synonyms and antonyms and show you the signs.
- I administered the initial screening portion of the Developmental Spelling Assessment (DSA). This assessment identifies students as one of four stages of spellers: letter name, within word, syllable juncture and derivational constancy. You can learn more here: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/rdla165/docs/c4s2_11wordjourneys.pdf I will conduct additional DSA tests next week to further refine my knowledge of your student as a speller so I can best determine what they need for spelling and phonemic development.
Reading
- We began reading by talking about why we read, primarily for two reasons: for pleasure and to find information. We are focusing on developing the ability to comprehend, organize and share main ideas using short non-fiction passages with a support sheet that lists the 5 W's (who, what, where, when, why). We then construct a main idea sentence that contains all of the relevant 5 W's. Students' efforts are recorded on the board and evaluated on whether or not they contain the 5 W's. We also combine the best parts of student efforts for a co-constructed main idea statement. I go to great lengths to show students that their "right" answers are all different, if only subtly. The 5 W's will be very important in writing and reading and will provide a valuable framework for linking the two.
- I started my initial reading conferences in an effort to get to know students as readers. I will conduct the Developmental Reading Assessment once I've had an opportunity to talk about reading strategies, genre (which we touched on briefly this week) and authors' techniques.
- Our first read aloud is City of Orphans by Avi. This summary is from the publisher, "The streets of 1893 New York are full of life: crowded, filthy, dangerous. If you are a newsboy like thirteen-year- old Maks Geless, you need to watch out for Bruno, leader of the Plug Ugly Gang whose shadowy, sinister boss is plotting to take control of all the newsies on the lower East Side. With Bruno’s boys in fierce pursuit, Maks discovers Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley. It is she, stick in hand, who fights off the Plug Uglies--but further dangers await. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from The Tombs, the city jail where she has been imprisoned for stealing a watch at the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks, believing her innocent, has only four days to prove it. Fortunately, there is Bartleby Donck, the eccentric lawyer (among other employments) to guide Maks and Willa in the art of detection. Against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of tenement New York, Maks, as boy detective, must confront a teeming world of wealth and crime, while struggling against powerful forces threatening new immigrants and the fabric of family love." This engaging text will provide us many learning opportunities including responding to text, summaries, and changes over time in society, an important third grade social studies standard.
- Everyone turned in their homework each day! That's a great start. Please have your student number and underline their evidence. We'll slowly add more of the back checklist responsibilities. You will notice that the 5W's also appear here.
Writing
I captured an initial writing sample from students. From what I've been able to review so far, we have some great writers. We will work on sentence structure as well as common convention errors in early third grade writing: indenting (understanding paragraphs), capitals (including proper nouns), and punctuation. We will keep our writings short so we can focus on these important skills and knowledge. Some students will receive additional spelling and handwriting homework. While this will be optional it will be necessary to close gaps in these areas. I will communicate directly with any families that I will recommend this to.
Math
- We had a great start to math. We are introducing our fact fluency strategies. Our first strategies are: zero more (e.g., 5 + 0), one more (e.g., 3 + 1), and doubles (e.g., 6 + 6). Each strategy is introduced at school, practiced during our lunch to class transition period (DEAR) and finally practiced during homework. I also use domino sorts to help students further identify strategies. This is very different from how most of us learned (memorized) facts and develops a much stronger memory for facts. I'll discuss this further at our upcoming Parent Information Night. I conducted baseline addition and subtraction fact assessments today that I will use to monitor student growth. I'll send these home next week so you can keep up with your student's progress as well. I typically assess fact fluency at the end of each unit and quarter. We also looked at patterns in our addition/subtraction chart we're creating.
- I introduced place value as "p
- I introduced problem solving strategies: looking for important information, understanding (restating) the question, using a strategy (primarily drawing a picture, making a list/chart or using a number model at this stage), sharing answers, sharing strategies, identifying the most efficient strategies, and identifying what skills and knowledge are necessary for the most efficient strategies. We focused on set or combination problems, (e.g., Nanda has a blue shirt, a green shirt, and a yellow shirt. She has blue shorts and white shorts. How many possible combinations of shirts and shorts does she have?) See if your student can answer these types of questions making a drawing, a list, an array, or a multiplication number model.
Important Dates & Reminders
Your student has optional student council homework this weekend. If they are interested in running for student council, they should prepare a short speech to share on Monday that shares why they would be a good student council representative. I emphasize we are not voting for friends, but for the best candidates based on their speeches.
PTO Room parent forms went home this week. Please let me know if you are interested in being a room parent and helping to organize our parties: Halloween, Winter Break, Valentine's Day, and End of Year. I have historically invited the Ohio Wildlife Center to bring animals in exchange for cleaning and food donations for our Valentine's Day party.
From the office... Reminder: If you are picking your child up early for any reason, including leaving campus for lunch, must follow the following procedure:
- Parents must go to the office
- School secretary will call the student down to the office or send the parent to the classroom with a dismissal slip.
Our first field trip will be an earth sciences trip to Highbanks Metropark on Monday, October 8th. We will depart Windermere promptly at 8:30 and should return to Windermere near noon. I would like to have 5 to 6 chaperons. Please send me an email if you can assist us on the field trip. Please plan to accompany us on the bus to and from Highbanks.
Important Dates
We will go to library approximately every other week this year on alternating E days. Our library days are: August 27; September 11, 25; October 9, 24; November 8, 27; December 11; January 8, 24; February 7, 22; March 8, 22; April 16, 30; and May 14, 29. This is a new schedule approach this year and may be modified. I will update as needed. Please refer back to this information to help your student remember to return their library materials.
August 30, 2012 - Parent Information Night from 7:50pm till 8:30pm in Room 120.
September 3, 2012 - No School in honor of Labor Day
September 5, 2012 - Picture Day
September 12, 2012 - Early Dismissal for professional development at 1:15pm
October 2, 2012 - Ohio Reading Achievement Assessment (Please avoid scheduling absences on this date)
October 3, 2012 - Walk To School Day
October 8 through 12, 2012 - PTO Book Fair
October 8, 2012 - Field trip to Highbanks Metropark
October 12, 2012 - Fall Family Night from 6pm till 8pm and Windermere Spirit Wear Sale
October 22, 2012 - No school, professional development day
October 24, 2012 - Picture Retakes
October 26, 2012 - End of the first quarter
October 29, 2012 - No school, teacher grading day
October 31, 2012 - Halloween party (extended lunch from 12pm till 1:30pm, most students go home to change into costumes)
