Newsletter for April 29, 2016

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
Students have been building their vocabulary, particularly adjectives, as they write end of year letters to each other. We generated a large list of specific and descriptive words.

Reading & Writing Workshop
Students are writing end of year letters to each other. Each student will leave with twenty-three letters from their classmates who will share how they admire them as a friend and a learner.

We are also working on poetry. While a bit of a struggle, students are starting to use non-literal language to compose poems about natural items (see below). We are learning to use figurative, non-literal language and personification to describe interesting specimens.

Math
Students are reviewing key concepts and skills we learned this year in small groups by developing games aimed at teaching these specific skills. They are utilizing different math manipulatives for inspiration.

Science
We are collaborating with a fifth grade classroom to develop Rube Goldberg machines. Third and fifth graders are in teams using a variety of items to achieve the goal of popping a balloon. Students are devising unique ways to accomplish this.

 

Mayor, Debbie Johnson, and UA Parks and Forestry Director, Steve Cothrel, planted a Japanese Zelkova tree in celebration of Arbor Day. As a Tree City USA member, the mayor read a proclamation in honor of the day.  Students shared poems and songs for the occasion.

Important Dates & Reminders

I hope to see everyone tonight at our Hawks Hoedown. 

Our class earned additional tickets for their generous donations!

We love Mrs. Bernon! Happy Secretaries' Day!

I will highlight new and changed dates on subsequent posts in red.

May 23 - Field Day 
Please click on the following link to volunteer!

May 27 - Last Day of School for Students

Newsletter for April 15, 2016

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
Students reviewed contractions, synonyms and antonyms, and parts of speech (adjectives, nouns (subject), verbs (predicate)).

Reading
Students studied author's perspective (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and figurative language in poetry.

Writing
Students practiced note taking for planning, with an emphasis on using bullet points, rather than writing out a draft when they are composing on a computer.

Math
Students focused on measurement and developing a list of personal references to help them remember what each unit of measure represents.

Mass/Weight
gram = large paper clip
ounce = slice of bread
pound = loaf of bread/16 ounce can of vegetables or soup
ton = 2,000 pounds (most cars weigh about 1/2 ton)

Volume
cup = school milk/small coffee cup
pint = 2 cups, large drinking glass
quart = 2 pints, smaller paper or plastic container of milk
gallon = 4 quarts or large jug of milk
liter = many soda bottles are two liters

Length
centimeter = width of the head of a push pin
inch = width of a quarter
foot = sheet of paper (long side)
yard = width of a doorway

Students also acted out two-step problems to help them focus on the two distinct operations.

We also paired up with a talented group of 5th graders to help us with comparing fractions with common denominators and fractions with common numerators.

Science
I am co-planning a fun science challenge with our 5th grade team. We will be developing a Rube Goldberg challenge.

Important Dates & Reminders

I will highlight new and changed dates on subsequent posts in red.

April 20 & 21 - Ohio Mathematics Assessment
April 25 through 29 - Scholastic Book Fair

April 29 - Kids Fest 5 till 8pm
3rd grade basket items - www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa9af2da31-star/31903624
Tickets are available here -  http://uawindermerepto.org/wmpto_KFTicketForm.html
Volunteers - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040f49abad28aa8-windermere/
You can learn more by visiting the Windermere PTO website. See the link on the right under favorites.

May 27 - Last Day of School for Students

Newsletter for April 8, 2016

We had a great week. The students have really raised their work levels and engagement. Their response to text is higher than any previous group I've ever had the pleasure to work with:)

I am suspending homework for the next two weeks. I'm trying to be cognizant of the students' age, the effort they gave this week, the fact that many have just started spring sports and other extra curricular activities, and my desire for them to be well rested and fresh for the next two weeks of rigorous assessments.

Important Dates & Reminders

I will highlight new and changed dates on subsequent posts in red.

April 12 - Progress Reports sent home (Please refer to the district email sent out last week.)
April 12 & 13 - Ohio English Language Arts Assessment
April 20 & 21 - Ohio Mathematics Assessment
April 25 through 29 - Scholastic Book Fair

April 29 - Kids Fest 5 till 8pm
Kid Fest 2016 will soon be here! One of the highlights of this fun, family event is the GIANT raffle baskets! This exciting tradition is always eagerly anticipated and a great fund-raiser! Please click on the link to view the third grade basket items. 
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa9af2da31-star/31903624

May 27 - Last Day of School for Students

Newsletter for April 1, 2016

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
Students learned about conjunctions, primarily and, but, either-or, and neither-nor. We are working on intentional sentence variation.


Reading Workshop
Students are reviewing many of our reading skills: main idea, comparing and contrasting, fact and opinion, inference, predictions, and answering questions from our text using complete sentences and spelling from the text. Despite our practice, many students still skim and miss relatively easy questions.


Writing Workshop
I'm having the students respond to the same text with an opinion essay, personal narrative, and
informational essays. Our greatest opportunity for improvement is in opinion essays where we are doing a nice job of referencing the text but we do not express how the text supports our position.


Math Workshop
I introduced geometry this week. Students learned about lines, line segments, angles, right angles, vertices, parallel lines, intersecting lines, perpendicular lines, polygons, and specific quadrilaterals.



Important Dates & Reminders

I will highlight new and changed dates on subsequent posts in red.

Please make sure your student has a working pair of headphones or earbuds for April testing! There will be auditory components on the state math test. 



April 5 - Progress Reports sent home
April 6 - Early Dismissal Professional Development 1pm
April 12 & 13 - Ohio English Language Arts Assessment
April 20 & 21 - Ohio Mathematics Assessment
April 25 through 29 - Scholastic Book Fair



April 29 - Kids Fest 5 till 8pm
Kid Fest 2016 will soon be here! One of the highlights of this fun, family event is the GIANT raffle baskets! This exciting tradition is always eagerly anticipated and a great fund-raiser! Please click on the link to view the third grade basket items. 
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa9af2da31-star/31903624

We won the Box Tops collection. The class decided they would like to celebrate with a technology day. I'm meeting with one of our district technology leaders to help plan this event for May. Thank you for supporting our school!


May 27 - Last Day of School for Students