Word Study
We continue to work on singular and plural nouns, word sorts by sound and pattern, and vocabulary. Word sorts first listen for the long or short vowel sound in a word and then further classify by spelling patterns. I am proceeding through a, e, i, o, and u vowel sounds with long vowel sounds (VCe or VVC) and short vowel sounds (closed syllables, VC or VCC).
I did not administer a word study assessment this week as we had InView and TerraNova assessments this week.
Reading
Students are developing fluency and comprehension of non-fiction/informational texts in small groups with me. I am introducing CLOSE reading (not to be confused with CLOZE reading). CLOSE reading is the intentional and purposeful rereading of a text, each time for a different explicit purpose to develop comprehension.
There are a lot of errors and opportunities to improve our narrative writing. However, the specific purpose of this writing is to help students engage in their reading so I do prioritize content over convention in these specific daily exercises. I reviewed expectations for reading homework and modeled the personal narrative response this week. Some families have inquired as to how much help to provide with this. I suggest letting the student attempt their narrative independently, but please feel free to direct them to:
1. Reread their work aloud for awkward or incomplete sentences.
2. Reread for capitals.
3. Reread for punctuation.
4. Reread to make sure all relevant 5 W's are included.
I am looking for more complete writing. I hesitate to provide length guidelines, as quality writing can often be very succinct and should be judged by its content and craft rather than volume. However, I am looking for something in the neighborhood of 100 words. Please know I realize not all students are producing this much writing and take this simply as a guideline. Student writing will vary from day to day based on interest and energy.
Many families have started emailing their students' reading homework. I am happy to receive your student's homework via email. However, I receive a lot of email daily. To help ensure I am able to prioritize what I read prior to the start of our day, please put "homework" in the subject line of your email.
Writing
Students worked on personal narratives this week with a lens on revision.
Math
I am trying to make the link between multiplication and division very explicit. Students are transforming addition of same sized groups, arrays, and division statements into multiplication equations. Likewise they are turning multiplication equations into story problems and division problems. Students are even acting out their story problems to drive home the concept of equal sized groups. When supporting students, please encourage them to use the language of "n groups of m," rather than "n times m." I hope to conclude our study of multiplication (not fact fluency as that will continue for some time) by winter break. I will then begin our most challenging unit: fractions. Students who are fluent in multiplication and division will be infinitely more prepared for fractions as they will be able to mentally calculate equivalent fractions.
Science
This week we learned more about states of matter. Students reviewed matter is what all things are composed of and states are different forms (solids, liquids, gases or a transition from one to another). This week we focused on density, roughly defined as weight in third grade. They will develop a deeper understanding of density as they progress through the science curriculum. I present density in terms of how closely packed molecules are. We compared density of oxygen, helium and carbon dioxide. We looked at oxygen (or room air for our experiments) as our standard or norm. Students should understand gases are less dense than solids and liquids and take on the shape of their container. We looked at compressing oxygen by forcing it into a balloon, which increases its density. We added energy, accelerating molecules and increasing the space between them, via motion (a fan) and heat (a hairdryer), both of which reduce its density.
Here is an example of using the hairdryer to heat the air in a dryer bag balloon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xX2WTLv7W4
Here is an example of a solar powered balloon, based on the same principle of heating the air molecules and lowering their density: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr3OSfdMg9Q
This principle is why hot air balloons will rise. The air inside the balloon has lower density. You can demonstrate this at home using a tea bag rocket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghn4lEtdusQ
Here is a nice visual of warm water (in place of air) rising and cool water sinking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN7E6FCuMbY
Helium has the lowest density which makes it lighter than air, which is why helium rises. This is similar to an inflated ball sitting on the surface of water. As long as the air (or water in our pool example) being displaced by our helium balloon (or ball) is more dense (heavier) than our balloon, the balloon will float.
Carbon dioxide is more dense than air and therefore sinks. Here is a good video demonstrating CO2's higher density: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kycY6iA_cF0
Important Dates and Reminders
New dates and information are indicated in red.
Important 2nd Quarter Dates & Reminders
November 25, 2014 - Scarlet and Gray Day
November 26 through 28, 2014 - No School Thanksgiving
December 1 through January 9, 2015 - STAR Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing
December 3, 2014 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
December 19, 2014 - Holiday parties 2pm
December 22 through January 2, 2015 - No School Winter Break
January 16, 2015 - End of second quarter
January 19, 2015 - No School Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 20, 2015 - No school, teacher grading day
Important 3rd Quarter Dates & Reminders
January 27, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
January 29, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Conferences at 11am
February 2 through 13, 2015 - Ohio Wildlife Center donation drive
February 4, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
February 9 through 13, 2015 - Collection days for Box Tops for Education
February 16, 2015 - No School Presidents' Day
February 17, 2015 - Math State PBA
February 23, 2015 - English Language Arts State PBA
February 23, 2015 - AASCD
March 9 through 13, 2015 - PTO Book Sale
March 17, 2015 - 3rd Grade Musical
March 20 through 27, 2015 - No School Spring Break
April 2, 2015 - End of third quarter
April 3, 2015 - No School
April 6, 2015 - No School, teacher grading day
Important 4th Quarter Dates & Reminders
April 8, 2015 - Early Dismissal/Teacher Development at 1pm
April 9, 2015 - Spring Picture Day
April 13 through May 22, 2015 - District Writing Diagnostic Testing
April 14, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
April 21 through 22, 2015 - English Language Arts State EOY
April 22, 2015 - Ohio Reading Achievement Assessment
April 24, 2015 - Kid Fest
April 28 through 29, 2015 - Math State EOY
May 1 through 29, 2015 - STAR Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing
May 9, 2015 - Wish Run
May 25, 2015 - No School Memorial Day
June 1, 2015 - Field Day
June 3, 2015 - End of fourth quarter/Last day for students, Classroom parties 12:05 till 1:05pm
June 9, 2015 - Progress Reports sent home
