Newsletter for March 13, 2015

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
We learned four new cursive letters (l, h, k, b), all based on the lowercase l shape. Students are starting to employ cursive in their writing, especially on their dry erase boards.

Students learned four new vocabulary words this week and they have become very motivated to pay attention to vocabulary as they can earn apple punches towards reading graphic novels or homework passes.

I reintroduced word ladders this week. We begin with a word and slowly "climb" the ladder by changing the order of, adding, or deleting letters from our base word. Many of these words are strong vocabulary words (e.g., rut, char, etc.) that challenge students. Words ladders train students to both listen and look for connections in words.

Students learned action verbs (as opposed to being verbs, e.g., is, am, are, etc.). We also discussed verb tenses. We also learned when applying present tense verbs to plural nouns (which often end in -s) the verb does not end in -s (e.g., cats purr), but when applying present tense verbs to singular nouns (which do not end in -s) the verb often ends in -s (e.g., cat purrs). I cannot stress enough to students that most have had the benefit of hearing correct grammar since infancy and they can often identify errors in their writing simply by reading their writing aloud.

Reading

 

Wow!!! I've never been more pleased with student research. While we are taking it slowly, students used their notes to produce fantastic paragraphs on Martin Luther King, Jr. They are using a process of developing a guiding question. Understanding why we are studying any subject focuses our research and writing, rather than trying to include every thing we read, which results in weak positions and poor, rambling and disconnected writing. Our guiding question is "What is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy?" Next, students used a T-chart, something they have done with me many times in reading group, to take notes, recording a main idea and supporting details from each paragraph of their source materials. Students then numbered their main ideas based on their perceived importance, even combining some. This was very helpful in developing a meaningful sequence to students' writing. While we had a lot of commonalities in our note taking, we had a lot of variation in our order and students' interpretations of what was most important to King's legacy provided interesting variation in paragraphs that would not have resulted without the confidence that there were many ways to approach this question, all of them valid as long as they could be supported by the text. I can't wait to start our independent research projects next week. Students will be assigned a partner they will check in with from time to time throughout the process to support their learning and practice. Many students voluntarily wrote persuasive essays asking to study specific famous African Americans.

I am focusing on fluency as my recent assessments show many students have plateaued with this skill. We are reading Dr. Seuss tongue twisters, Shel Silverstein poetry, and will begin plays after spring break. All of these practices should improve students' speed, accuracy, and expression.

I finished our read-aloud, Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull. This has to be an all time favorite for any of my classes. I suspect many of them will read other books in the series. So far we've read aloud realistic fiction (Wonder) and fantasy (Fablehaven) titles. Our next read aloud will be the young readers' edition of I Am Malala by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai. This class in particular has a strong sense of social justice, as evidenced by the number of families involved in community activities and charities. I think the insights students showed during Wonder will be built upon through I Am Malala.

Bone

I love reading new books and discussing them, so I was pleased to be asked about the graphic novel series, Bone. Is it genre defining fine literature? Absolutely not, but it has its place. Graphic novels introduce young readers to different genres, rich vocabulary, creative worlds, dialogue and expression, and can be a literary palette cleanser between more challenging reads. I discourage students from reading two consecutive graphic novels, but they can also be a path to reading for reluctant readers. Ultimately, I want my students to be reading everything and anything they can get their hands on, to become voracious readers!

so many books

We have many more wonderful book recommendations recorded in our "Book Room." Many thanks to Mrs. Hastings for helping with this project! Please visit it for your student's (or your) next book choice. http://mrhudsonsbookroom.blogspot.com/

Writing
We have a wonderful writing opportunity to start corresponding with pen pals from Dubai. Because of different school schedules, we will be rushing to get these done next week, but I am hopeful we will have a meaningful cultural exchange where we can learn about each other.

Math
We concluded our fraction unit by converting whole numbers to fractions (e.g., what fraction can the whole number 5 make with a 6 in the denominator?) and converting fractions to whole numbers (e.g., 30/6 = 5). We also practiced simplifying or reducing fractions by dividing by fractions equivalent to 1 (or the "whole"), where the numerator and denominator are the same. I suggest students start with the following three fractions: 2/2, 3/3, and 5/5 as they will typically work for reducing any fraction. Students who are strong in their multiplication and division facts often find larger common factors they can use to simplify.  I will assess students next week on Wednesday and Thursday.

Science
Students shared their inventions and their process in small teams where they had the opportunity to hear what their peers liked, hear peer suggestions for improvement, and field questions.

 

Students will share their prototypes and finished presentation boards on Monday to their entire class. This will support communication standards and prepare them for the actual Invention Convention on March 31st. Please visit the earlier blog post to learn more about our Invention Convention. 

http://3rdgradehudson.blogspot.com/2015/03/invention-convention.html

 

Guidance
A NOTE FROM THE COUNSELOR:

Dear Windermere Families,

This week’s classroom lesson focused on celebrating each other’s differences.  We read the book It’s Okay to be Different,  by Todd Parr, which looks at how everyone has differences.  It explains acceptance, understanding, and appreciation of the differences in a way that the children really connect with.  After reading the book, we brainstormed similarities and differences that we see within the class, and talked about how to appreciate and respect everyone and their differences.  Children wore a poem about a difference that they learned about or have experienced and how it is okay.  As one student put it, the world would be really boring if we were all the same!

I hope you might take this opportunity to talk with your child about this lesson.  Here are some questions that can help with the conversation:

·      What are you proud of that makes you different?
·      What are ways that you can show respect to everyone in the classroom?  At home?  On the playground?

Thanks for all you do!

Katie O’Keefe

School Counselor

kokeefe@uaschools.org

614-487-5060, ext. 7022

Monday - Thursday, 9am - 4pm

Important Dates & Reminders 

Please complete planned absence forms if you know your student will miss school. I am happy to send one home with your student if you email me.

Important 3rd Quarter Dates & Reminders

March 16, 2015 - Invention Convention display boards and prototypes due
March 16, 2015 - recycled instruments due for 3rd Grade Musical
March 17, 2015 - 3rd Grade Musical (arrive at 6:45, instruments due Friday, March 13th.)
March 20 through 27, 2015 - No School Spring Break
March 31, 2015 - Invention Convention Open House 10 to 11am - free to go out for lunch afterwards

April 2, 2015 - End of third quarter
April 2, 2015 - Early dismissal 
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 (rescheduled for April 2nd)
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, 2015 - Film Festival of Book Recommendations (Tremont Library 7-8pm)
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 

What We Learned This Week

Word Study

I assessed students understanding of contractions by having them construct contractions from two words and deconstruct contractions into two words. These assessments will come home next week. I also revisited dialogue convention in relation to contractions. We discussed that we often use contractions in speech, but rarely in writing, unless we were using dialogue to show a casual or familiar relationship. We also revisited possessive nouns, the other situation in which we use apostrophes.

Reading Workshop

Students concluded shared research on Martin Luther King, Jr. using T-charts to record main ideas and supporting details. The research materials we are using are a little more challenging than what we’ve used previously for identifying main idea (e.g., reading homework) and the main idea was inferred in many paragraphs, rather than explicitly stated. Students shared their main ideas for each paragraph with a partner and then we determined a shared main idea as a class, often explaining why a suggestion was really a supporting detail, rather than a main idea.

Writing Workshop

We will co-construct a research paragraph next week, using our shared note taking on Martin Luther King, Jr. before I assign individual’s independent research topics. Students who are more secure will receive additional source materials to differentiate and stretch their research materials. 

Math Workshop

Students are delving deeply into fractions. Students are learning to compare fractions using inequalities (< > =) and order fractions from least to greatest. Students should understand fractions whose numerators are zero (e.g., 0/4, 0/2, etc.) are equal to 0. Fractions whose numerators are half their denominators (e.g., 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, etc.) are equal to 1/2. Fractions whose numerators are equal to their denominator (e.g., 3/3, 5/5, etc.) are equal to 1 or “the whole.” Knowing and recognizing these three conditions will enable students to quickly organize and compare many fractions as well as supporting their understand of fractions as equal parts of a whole or one. Students began simplifying fractions by dividing fractions by different forms of the whole or the one.

4/10 can be simplified by dividing by 2/2 because both 4 and 10 are divisible by 2 and when dividing by one, we are simply changing the name or number of pieces, but not the relationship of numerator to denominator or the value.

                4/10 ÷ 2/2 = 2/5

We will conclude our study of fractions by comparing at fractions with common numerators (e.g., 2/3, 2/4, 2/5, etc.) and fractions with common denominators (e.g., 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, etc.).

Science

Students worked on their student journals in class and we looked at examples of display boards from previous years’ Invention Conventions. Students should bring their display boards and student journals on Monday to share and receive ideas for improving them.

Important Dates & Reminders 

Important 3rd Quarter Dates & Reminders

March 9 through 13, 2015 - PTO Book Sale

March 17, 2015 - 3rd Grade Musical (Please have your student wear green, arrive at 6:45, and bring their instrument on Friday, March 13th.)

March 20 through 27, 2015 - No School Spring Break
March 31, 2015 - Invention Convention Open House 10 to 11am - free to go out for lunch afterwards

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, 2015 - Film Festival of Book Recommendations (Tremont Library 7-8pm)
April 28 through 29, 2015 - Math State EOY

May 1 through 29, 2015 - STAR Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing

May 9, 2015 - Wish Run - Please remember to mark your calendar for Saturday, May 9, the date of the 12th Annual Windermere Wish Run!  This event culminates a whole-school service-learning project.  Following a school-wide vote March 16 - 17, Student Council will announce the charity chosen to receive the proceeds from this year’s Wish Run.  The nominated organizations are the American Red Cross, Canine Companions for Independence, Meals on Wheels and Special Olympics. Entry forms for the Wish Run poster contest will be available in the school office and from your child's teacher on March 18 and 19. Registration forms for Running Club and the Wish Run will be available in the school office the week we return from spring break.  (Running Club will be held from 3:00 to 3:45 on the five Wednesdays preceding the Wish Run--April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6.)   

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 

Invention Convention

INVENTION CONVENTION TIME

All 3rd grade students will be participating in Windermere's Invention Convention. Students have studied the invention process, have identified a problem and are developing a solution to solve their problem. Students will be sharing and improving their work over the next few weeks as we prepare for our Invention Convention on March 31st from 10 to 11am. I encourage all families to attend (and ask hard questions!). You are also encouraged to take your student out for a celebratory lunch afterward.

Student Journals - due Monday, March 9th

Students viewed a slide show of problems and inventively simple solutions to get them thinking. They then generated three possible problems to solve in their Invention Convention Student Journal.

They should complete their student journal by Monday, March 9th. Students have used iPads to research their problems and solutions, but should continue to look for ideas and inspiration when they are out and about. Often times, simply using tools, playing with pets or friends, or going to the store can be research and they should document it in their journal. The purpose of the journal is to generate ideas and organize them. I am not concerned with spelling or other forms of convention, just ideas and creativity.

Students DO NOT have to complete the "How I improved my solution" until they have constructed their prototype (see below).

Display Boards - due Monday, March 9th

Display boards are due Monday, March 9th. I sent home a paper copy of the display board requirements (click below)  with student journals today.

Display boards will be constructed at home as homework, along with completing the student journal, in lieu of regular homework this week.

Tri-fold display boards may be purchased at United Art & Education,  Staples, Office Max, CVS and many groceries.  Please do not use poster board as it is hard for the students to talk, hold their student journals, and model their solution with their prototype.

(click to enlarge)

This was sent home today, separate from the student journal.

Here are several display board examples: While these don't follow all of the requirements for the board above, they will give you and your student some ideas. I have shared many different examples with your student so they should be familiar with this step. Anything on their board should be securely attached so it won't fall off. Text should be large and easily visible. Encourage your student to be creative and have fun! The more of their personality that comes through, the better!

Students can use a computer or markers. Photos of their process are also encouraged, especially if they are able to try their prototype.

Please write your student's name and their teacher name on the back of their display board so it is easily visible. 

Prototype - due Monday, March 16th

Students will build a representative (does not have to be a fully operational) prototype. If the technology already exists, they can simply mock it up (e.g., a garage door opener can be replicated from cardboard).

These will be due on Monday, March 16th. Prototypes must be no larger than a paper box (approximately 20" x 12" x 12") and may not use electricity (except for batteries). 

Prototypes will be constructed at home as homework. 

Convention - Tuesday, March 31st from 10 till 11am

Students will present their journal, display board, and prototype the morning of March 31st.

Families are encouraged to help us celebrate student inventions and interview students on their invention process. You are also encouraged to go out for a celebratory lunch afterward.

Help

The most common question I receive is, "How much should parents help?"

It is important to note that while we may have some inspiring outliers, these should be student directed problems and solutions. As much as we want to help them (and you can), the ideas and solutions should be theirs. You can ask questions and let them arrive at their own conclusions. The Invention Convention is all about the process.

You can probably help most by having them plan and do a little work daily so they don't have to cram the night before their materials are due.

This is NOT parent work. You may help your student by encouraging them to think about their invention. You can even help them assemble their boards and prototypes, but students must be able to explain their work and demonstrate understanding of every step of the process. We are not looking for robots or technologically bound solutions, but simple and achievable solutions to problems that impact many people. The real benefit of this project is the student learning. We want our future leaders to see they can identify and solve others' problems.