Newsletter for September 1, 2017

It was so good to see so many families at Parent Information Night. I hope you found our time beneficial. Please let me know if you have any questions.

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
I reviewed vowels: a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y and w. We practiced marking short vowel sounds with a breve and long vowel sounds with a macron. We also discussed the importance of vowels. Every word in the English language has at least one vowel and we use vowels (and vowel teams) to segment words into syllable types. We reviewed closed syllables (a vowel followed or closed by a consonant: e.g., cat) and VCE (vowel-consonant-silent e words: e.g., cake). The study of phonemes and syllable types will aid us in both reading (decoding) and writing (encoding).

We continued our study of nouns: proper and common.

Reading 
We worked on identifying the difference between main ideas and supporting details. This will support our writing as well. Titles and topic sentences are often great starting points for identifying the main idea. This is a skill that can be used for all reading, from figurative poetry to non-fiction texts.

I talked a lot about "just right" texts for independent reading and homework. Here is a helpful Scholastic site that you can use to search for books by text level (upper right hand corner). I recommend looking for books by DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) level. Students are expected to be reading at a DRA level of 28 at the start of the year. I would recommend looking at level 20 and 28 books as a starting point and adjusting from there. You can share a DRA level with a librarian (and the occasional Barnes & Noble employee) and they will be able to help you. I will send home a copy of a correlation chart for all of the different ways book levels are categorized, which is also helpful. Please let me know if you need help finding books. Some good independent reading series for many students are:

A-Z Mysteries      Cam Jansen      Eerie Elementary      Branches Series
Judy Moody             Stink             My Weird School      Magic Treehouse

Math
We reviewed multi-digit addition with an emphasis on vocabulary (addend and sum). We summed without regrouping, with regrouping, named the regrouping (We NEVER carry "the one," but carry the ten, hundred, etc.), and I challenged the class by providing the sum and students solved for missing addends (e.g., 2?5 + ?4? = 689 Solve for ?s). While a few students need support with these skills, I was really pleased with the class' understanding.

We added two new strategies:
Doubles (e.g., 3 + 3)
Near Doubles (e.g., 9 +8)

We are practicing these daily, but students must master these as soon as possible. There are many approaches to learning facts. Please know there is a great difference between testing and learning. Online fact programs and games typically test, but do not teach in any systematic way and are not a good use of time. Rote memorization is typically not effective either. My preferred methods are:
- Flash cards: Make a pile of "Know" and "Don't Know" cards. Practice two to three cards from the "Don't Know" pile each night. One month of concentrated practice should get your student to where they need to be. Tie each new card to one or more strategies. (e.g., 2 + 8 = 10 is both a 2 more and a sums to ten).
- Strategies: Focus on the more challenging strategies. Sort flash cards or dominos by strategies. Students can then practice for recall a few each night as above.

Many students will improve recall significantly if they finger write the numbers in the air, on their hands, or with a crayon (more friction is better) with their eyes closed as they say it. This multi-sensory approach will provide another way for them to recall the fact and is more effective than just saying it.

If you have any questions regarding how to support your student with fact mastery, please contact me. Again, this is a second grade standard. I hate to harp on this, but the sooner students master these facts the greater they will be able to apply them to third grade content.

This chart shows all of the fact fluency strategies that we will associate with facts. Many of the facts have more than one strategy.

Click image to enlarge.

Science 
I introduced plant life science this week and we practiced identifying different leaf and branch types by touring trees on our campus in anticipation of our upcoming field trips. Please let me know if you can volunteer. We are in need of chaperones.

Homework

Homework starts today. I will send homework Mondays through Thursdays. Students may earn homework passes by making good choices. Homework consists of:

- 20 minutes of engaged independent reading

- One double sided math review and practice sheet

- One optional math challenge sheet 

Important Dates and Reminders

I will highlight changes and new dates in red.

Please follow this link to sign up for fall conferences.

If your student still has an iPad carrying case from last year, please send it with them on Monday. Thank you!

September 2017

3 Golden Bear Bash

4 No School Staff/Students:  Labor Day

13  PTO General Mtg at 7:00 pm in the lounge

13 Walking Wednesday

14 Field Trip 9am-11am Thompson Park Tree Trek. Please email if you can chaperone.

20 Walking Wednesday

21 Fall School Pictures
24 & 25 3rd Grade State of Ohio Reading Assessment

25 Book Fair Week

27 Early Release 1:00

27 Walking Wednesday

29 Fall Family Fun Night  5:30-7:30 p.m.

October 2017

TBD Third Grade Reading AIR Testing

4  Walking Wednesday

11 Walking Wednesday

9-13 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”

16 No School for Students:  Work Day/PT Conference Day

16  Parent Teacher Conferences 12:20 - 7pm

18 Walking Wednesday

19 Parent Teacher Conferences 3:20 - 7pm

20 Fall Picture Retake

20 Field Trip 9am-11am Thompson Park Tree Trek. Please email if you can chaperone.

25 Walking Wednesday

26 Early Dismissal at 11:05

27 Halloween Parties & School wide Parade starting at 1:30 pm

31 Beggar’s Night 5:30-8 p.m. in UA

November 2017

1 Walking Wednesday

6 End of First Trimester

7 No School for Students:  Faculty In-service Day

8 Walking Wednesday

15 Walking Wednesday

21  Progress Reports go Home

21 Scarlet and Gray School Spirit Day

22-24 Thanksgiving Holiday

December 2017

21 Holiday Parties 2:00 pm

December 22-January 4 Winter Break

January 2018

5 No School for Students:  Teacher Workday/PD Day

8 School Resumes

15 No School for Staff or Students:  Martin Luther King’s Birthday

18 PT Conferences grade 1-5 (students are dismissed at 11:05)

February 2018

5  State of the Schools at UAHS 5-8 p.m.

5-9 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”
8 Third Grade Musical
11-14 Ohio Wildlife Center donation drive
14 Ohio Wildlife Center

19 No School Staff or Students:  Presidents’ Day

28 Early Release 1:00 (NO LIFT)

March 2018

5 Spring Pictures

9 End of Second Trimester
9 Invention Convention 10-10:30am in the Multipurpose Room/Cafeteria

12-16  Spring Break

19 No School for Students:  Teacher Grading Day

27 Progress Reports go Home

30  Good Friday:  No School for Students or Staff

April 2018

4  Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Windermere 11-12 in lounge

May 2018

April 30-May 4  Scholastic Book Fair

4 KidFest, 5-8 p.m.

8  NO School for students or certified staff - Ohio Primary Elections

21  Field Day

28 No School Staff:  Memorial Day

30  Last Day for Students

30 End of third trimester

Newsletter for August 25, 2017

Room 120

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
I introduced nouns with a fun game. We also distinguished between common and proper nouns.

The third grade team attended training for Fundations on Wednesday. This word study program replaces our previous program, Words Their Way. I will continue to use the Developmental Spelling Assessment to measure student growth as I believe it is a great tool. We will be supported this year by Kerry Jackson, Orton Gillingham teacher and district instructional leader. Our word study is very different from the old model of simply memorizing words. We will learn syllable types, mark them, and emphasize word construction using a multi-sensory approach.

Reading 
We practiced identifying the 5W's (who, what, when, where, and why) in a reading passage and forming main ideas.

We began identifying the main idea in short passages, a priority standard in third grade.

I also introduced using Venn diagrams to compare and contrast subjects in a single text. We will use Venn diagrams later in the year to compare and contrast multiple texts.

We continued reading The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. This engaging book provides great opportunities to model reading with expression and comprehension skills.

Writing

We will have pen pals from Oman this year. I love letter writing for young authors. Letters are a great way to introduce the concept of paragraphs for writing and reading. After modeling a brief letter for the class, I asked them to write me a multiple paragraph letter that shares some things they want me to know about them. This is a very slow process as we learn to indent and follow convention, but it will pay off later. We will also learn about other countries and cultures.

Student council elections will be held on Monday. I've encouraged everyone to run for the two positions and have given them a sheet they can use to plan their speech.

Math
Most students have not mastered addition and subtraction facts, a second grade standard. Please practice these at home using whatever strategy you are comfortable with (fact strategies, flash cards, addition/subtraction tables, etc.). I will continue to use fact strategies. I have introduced the following strategies:
Zero More (e.g., 3 + 0)
One More (e.g., 9 +1)
Two More (e.g., 6 +2)
Students should recognize the numerals 0, 1, or 2 in a fact and remember to begin with the larger number and simply add on. These strategies are intended to "prime the pump" and activate the brain to recall fact sums from memory.

Many students are dependent on finger counting. 

Fact mastery (defined as three seconds per single digit operations) is a priority in third grade and students are expected to master their addition and subtraction facts by the end of second grade. Fact mastery enables students to focus on operations and authentic problem comprehension, rather than getting bogged down with single operations. A student who is proficient with their facts is like a proficient reader who can attend to the larger message of a sentence, or passage, rather than spending their energy decoding individual words.

We practiced writing three digit numbers to the hundreds place in standard, written and expanded form as well as naming each place's value by its two names. For example, in the number 547, the hundreds place's value is both five hundred or five one hundreds. The tens place's value is forty or four tens and the ones place's value is seven or seven ones. This language is very important for students growth and development as mathematicians.

I also ask students to tell me how many many ones, tens, and hundreds are in a three digit number. This is different than asking the value in the ones, tens, and hundreds places. For example, in the number 547, there are five hundreds, fifty-four tens, and five hundred forty-seven ones. I use money to try to help students visualize this and we build them with base ten blocks to give them a concrete experience.

To further develop our understanding of numeracy, we also added and subtracted ones, tens and hundreds from three digit numbers.

Science 

Students had  an amazing opportunity to view our partial eclipse. The clouds parted just enough for us to see multiple stages of the eclipse. Thank you Windermere PTO and Mrs. Nolan for funding this memorable science experience! 

Important Dates and Reminders

I will highlight changes and new dates in red.

Please follow this link to sign up for fall conferences.

You can find the Windermere Lunch menu by following this link. 

August 2017

30  New Parent Breakfast Orientation, 9 a.m. MP Room

30 Parent Information/Curriculum Night grades 1-5 (parents only please). Please meet in the art room (Room 128) from 7:00 - 7:45pm. Note the date change. If you are unable to attend, please click on this link to see Superintendent Paul Imhoff's message.

September 2017

1  Windermere Way Day! Please send your student with their Windermere Hawk shirt, athletic shoes and clothing, sunscreen already applied, and a large water bottle. Students may also wear hats.

3 Golden Bear Bash

4 No School Staff/Students:  Labor Day

13  PTO General Mtg at 7:00 pm in the lounge

13 Walking Wednesday

14 Field Trip 9am-11am Thompson Park Tree Trek. Please email if you can chaperone.

20 Walking Wednesday

21 Fall School Pictures

25 Book Fair Week

27 Early Release 1:00

27 Walking Wednesday

29 Fall Family Fun Night  5:30-7:30 p.m.

October 2017

TBD Third Grade Reading AIR Testing

4  Walking Wednesday

11 Walking Wednesday

9-13 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”

16 No School for Students:  Work Day/PT Conference Day

16  Parent Teacher Conferences 12:20 - 7pm

18 Walking Wednesday

19 Parent Teacher Conferences 3:20 - 7pm

20 Fall Picture Retake

20 Field Trip 9am-11am Thompson Park Tree Trek. Please email if you can chaperone.

25 Walking Wednesday

26 Early Dismissal at 11:05

27 Halloween Parties & School wide Parade starting at 1:30 pm

31 Beggar’s Night 5:30-8 p.m. in UA

November 2017

1 Walking Wednesday

6 End of First Trimester

7 No School for Students:  Faculty In-service Day

8 Walking Wednesday

15 Walking Wednesday

21  Progress Reports go Home

21 Scarlet and Gray School Spirit Day

22-24 Thanksgiving Holiday

December 2017

21 Holiday Parties 2:00 pm

December 22-January 4 Winter Break

January 2018

5 No School for Students:  Teacher Workday/PD Day

8 School Resumes

15 No School for Staff or Students:  Martin Luther King’s Birthday

18 PT Conferences grade 1-5 (students are dismissed at 11:05)

February 2018

5  State of the Schools at UAHS 5-8 p.m.

5-9 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”
8 Third Grade Musical
11-14 Ohio Wildlife Center donation drive
14 Ohio Wildlife Center

19 No School Staff or Students:  Presidents’ Day

28 Early Release 1:00 (NO LIFT)

March 2018

5 Spring Pictures

9 End of Second Trimester
9 Invention Convention 10-10:30am in the Multipurpose Room/Cafeteria

12-16  Spring Break

19 No School for Students:  Teacher Grading Day

27 Progress Reports go Home

30  Good Friday:  No School for Students or Staff

April 2018

4  Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Windermere 11-12 in lounge

May 2018

April 30-May 4  Scholastic Book Fair

4 KidFest, 5-8 p.m.

8  NO School for students or certified staff - Ohio Primary Elections

21  Field Day

28 No School Staff:  Memorial Day

30  Last Day for Students

30 End of third trimester

Newsletter for August 18, 2017

The Hudson Hawks

I am so excited to get to work with this wonderful class. This is a kind group of hard working students, full of curiosity and wonder!

What We Learned This Week

friend scavenger hunt

We spent a lot of time learning about each other and ensuring students were comfortable asking for help. Students are learning ASL name signs and making connections.

Word Study

Third Grade is switching from Words Their Way to Fundations this year. I began administering our initial phonics assessments to determine students' phonemic awareness levels for word study instruction.

Reading 

I introduced the importance of selecting Just Right Books for independent, rather than teacher or parent supported, reading. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this skill. Many students feel they should choose "hard" or overly challenging books, but research is strongly opposed to this for young readers. Students should be independently reading "easy" books to develop fluency, expression and comprehension. They will develop these important reading skills far faster with just right texts than trying to develop them on their own with an overly challenging text. This is different than choosing a book to read with their teacher, for reading conferences during which I will introduce higher level reading skills.

While many teachers suggest students should not miss more than five words on the page, research again suggests this number of missed words is a too difficult for independent reading. Students should be able to read 98% of all words on the page. I tell students they need to be able to read all of the words on the page, except for proper nouns. Unlike decoding most unfamiliar words, there are few context clues to support a student's decoding of proper nouns (other than capitalization). Proper nouns can be particularly challenging in fantasy and science fiction as well. We will practice selecting just right books a great deal in the beginning of the year. I encourage students to look for books based on interest and then open to the first page to check for whether or not they can read all of the words and comprehend what they've just read.

Lastly, I discourage students from reading graphic novels at school. Like a balanced diet, students should be reading a broad range of genres. I view graphic novels as dessert. Personally, I love graphic novels and have quite a few series at home. However, they are problematic for developing readers for a number of reasons. The cartoons often suggest they are easy books, but they often contain very challenging vocabulary. The writing is very different than a typical fiction or non-fiction book as it is nearly all dialogue. There is also far less text in them. Having said that though, I encourage students to check them out from the library and read them at home if they like. Students need to find books they are interested in to develop their love and appreciation of reading.

I do not conduct group reading conferences as I want to develop students' ability to choose just right texts, have a choice in what they read, and read more interesting texts than what are typically offered by educational presses.

We started our first read aloud, The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown. This is a wonderful book about friendships, courage and the environment. This book would likely be too difficult for many students, but works beautifully with teacher support and it provides many opportunities for class discussion on reading comprehension skills and how we can act with kindness, even in the face of great adversity.

Writing

Students' first writings were short writings to get them focused and ready to work after recess. Especially during the first warm days of school, the transition period from recess to working and engaging is very hard for many students. We do a short (five minutes or less) writing in our gratitude journal where we simply record one small act of kindness we are grateful for that day. I spend the time observing to see who may struggle producing writing and then I invite a few students to share to develop public speaking skills.

Math

I conducted our initial fact fluency assessments. Addition and subtraction facts are expected to be mastered by the end of second grade, meaning a student can recall any fact within three seconds. However, many students do not enter third grade having mastered these facts. If you know your student has not yet mastered their facts, please work on them nightly. We will discuss this further during Parent Information Night (see below - note the date change).

Science 

We discussed Monday's solar eclipse. We will make pin hole eclipse viewers in anticipation of this unique event. Our school has ordered NASA approved solar sunglasses for all students, but I will have students use their pin hole viewers rather than actually looking at the sun, a safe alternative to glasses.

Homework

I introduced homework at school so students will know my expectations and I observe whether or not students need individualized homework.

Important Dates and Reminders

I will highlight changes and new dates in red.

We have two wonderful interpreters this year, Ms. Dobbins and Ms. Westlake. Ms. Dobbins is new to Windermere, but has many years of experience and is a welcome addition to our interpreter staff. I've had the pleasure of working with Ms. Westlake nearly every year since I joined Windermere. She is very talented and has a great knack for supporting all of our students. She is my ears and my eyes when I'm out as well and gives me great feedback.

August 2017

30  New Parent Breakfast Orientation, 9 a.m. MP Room

30 7:00 - 8:30pm Parent Information/Curriculum Night grades 1-5 (parents only please) Note the date change to accommodate Ohio State football fans.

September 2017

1  Sportsmanship Day and Assembly in Gymnasium at 12

3 Golden Bear Bash

4 No School Staff/Students:  Labor Day

13  PTO General Mtg at 7:00 pm in the lounge

13 Walking Wednesday

20 Walking Wednesday

21 Fall School Pictures

25 Book Fair Week

27 Early Release 1:00

27 Walking Wednesday

29 Fall Family Fun Night  5:30-7:30 p.m.

October 2017

TBD Third Grade Reading AIR Testing

4  Walking Wednesday

11 Walking Wednesday

9-13 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”

16 No School for Students:  Work Day/PT Conference Day

16  Parent Teacher Conferences

18 Walking Wednesday

19 Parent Teacher Conferences

20 Fall Picture Retake

25 Walking Wednesday

26 Early Dismissal at 11:05

27 Halloween Parties & School wide Parade starting at 1:30 pm

31 Beggar’s Night 5:30-8 p.m. in UA

November 2017

1 Walking Wednesday

6 End of First Trimester

7 No School for Students:  Faculty In-service Day

8 Walking Wednesday

15 Walking Wednesday

21  Progress Reports go Home

21 Scarlet and Gray School Spirit Day

22-24 Thanksgiving Holiday

December 2017

21 Holiday Parties 2:00 pm

December 22-January 4 Winter Break

January 2018

5 No School for Students:  Teacher Workday/PD Day

8 School Resumes

15 No School for Staff or Students:  Martin Luther King’s Birthday

18 PT Conferences grade 1-5 (students are dismissed at 11:05)

February 2018

5  State of the Schools at UAHS 5-8 p.m.

5-9 Collection Days for “Box Tops for Education”
8 Third Grade Musical
11-14 Ohio Wildlife Center donation drive
14 Ohio Wildlife Center

19 No School Staff or Students:  Presidents’ Day

28 Early Release 1:00 (NO LIFT)

March 2018

5 Spring Pictures

9 End of Second Trimester
9 Invention Convention 10-10:30am in the Multipurpose Room/Cafeteria

12-16  Spring Break

19 No School for Students:  Teacher Grading Day

27 Progress Reports go Home

30  Good Friday:  No School for Students or Staff

April 2018

4  Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Windermere 11-12 in lounge

May 2018

April 30-May 4  Scholastic Book Fair

4 KidFest, 5-8 p.m.

8  NO School for students or certified staff - Ohio Primary Elections

21  Field Day

28 No School Staff:  Memorial Day

30  Last Day for Students

30 End of third trimester