Our+Learning

August 27th- Today we learned classroom procedures (our schedule and how to do classroom tasks), school and classroom expectations, and how to open a combination lock. Ask me what I learned about using an iPad.

August 28th- Today we continued learning class procedures. Students were introduced to edmodo a classroom collaboration site and our classroom website. We are still working on opening our lockers with a combination lock, if you have a lock at home have your child practice. There was an issue with lunch today and the cafeteria ran out of food. This was resolved with the help of the kitchen next door and students were able to eat lunch later than scheduled. I have talked with the principal and kitchen staff to ensure this does not happen again. Ask me about edmodo.

August 29th- Today we took several placement tests in math and reading. I am working hard to place students in small group math, reading, and writing groups. Students also took a baseline writing exam. We had P.E. today and our first fire drill which went well. We have half the class who can now open their lockers, but many still need help. Our lunch experience was still slow and late, but improved over yesterday. I am still working with our kitchen and office staff to help speed this process along.

August 30th- We are still working on placement tests in math and reading. We attended art for the first time and made artist portfolios. Working on the skills of cutting and gluing. We took an ACUITY pre-test today. It was our first time in the computer lab. Best of all lunch was very much improved over the last few days. We have also moved our lunch time up 15 minutes so that the students can eat a little earlier. Students are following classroom procedures well and using their iPads frequently throughout the day. Tomorrow I will finish giving the students my classroom assessments, but they will begin some school assessments. We will be on a more normal schedule next week.

September 4- Today in math we talked about addends, sums, differences, and the communative property. Our imagine it story this week is called Rugby and Rosie. It is a story about friendship. We had our first day of Tanner Dance and the students LOVED it. Such a fun way to move our bodies and practice our listening skills. We will be doing some more ACUITY testing this next two weeks.

September 5th- As a class we had a difficult time staying on task and being respectful of others. We are working on this and I hope that tomorrow we will see some improvement in these areas. In math we identified patterns in numbers. We learned about the identity property of addition. In reading we practiced retelling a story using a story map which included: In the beginning, the problem was, first, next, then, and in the end. We also identified key nouns, verbs, and adjectives from our reading. We took a test in the computer lab, and had fun in P.E. For social studies/ science we discussed characteristics of living things. Tomorrow a parent letter will be going home explaining classroom procedures and policies. Homework bags are going to start next week. Students will be bringing home a book bag on Monday and returning it with their work on Thursday.

September 6th- Today was a much better day for staying on task and being respectful. We still need to work on our hall behavior, but we are improving. Today we wrote a summary and some details for stories we read. We listened to a fun story called Rugby and Rosie. It was about friendship. In math we learned about rounding. We rounded to the tens place and the hundreds place. We can round up or down. We learned if it's 5 or more we bump it up, bump it up. If it is 4 or less it stays the same, stays the same. I also went over our classroom website and showed the students the resources available to them, and explained our homework procedures. The class is very eager to begin book bags next week. Students received a note explaining classroom policies. Ask them to see this it has important information for you.

September 7th- We wrote a summary of First Day Jitters and learned about estimating sums. We also learned a new app on our iPad called Scribble Press. It lets us create books and stories. We will be using this app alot this year. The app is free so if you have an iPad download it and let your child play. We re-read the story Rugby and Rosie in iBooks on our iPad. We are still working on getting our lockers figured out. I purchased a few more combination locks that students can borrow and practice with. Please help them practice if they bring one home. We need to be able to use our lockers and be back into the classroom in 5 minutes. Also this next week, I have a few training to attend this week, so we will have a guest teacher on Wednesday and Friday. Please talk to your child about the importance of behaving well for a guest teacher.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 11th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Today we had a busy day. We are doing well in our small reading groups and participating in fluency, spelling, writing, and reading comprehension. We are still finishing up some testing in the computer lab. We will be doing this everyday for the next two weeks. In Tanner Dance we learned about energy and explored new vocabulary words and moving our bodies. In math we learned about the associative property or the grouping property. This concept is hard for students to grasp so we will continue to study it. We also looked at and completed some math practice worksheets. Tomorrow students will have a substitute. I will still post an update.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 12th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Overall the sub report was good. We have a few things to work on for the next time. Today students worked on place value and expanding numbers. They also started reading another story about friendship. Today we had P.E. and spent a little time in the computer lab taking another test.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 13th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">This week for writing we have been focusing on using verbs to drive our story and 4 is core sentences. 4 is core sentences have an: Article, Noun, Verb, and a punctuation mark. Students are making good progress toward our 5 is fine sentence structure. In math we reviewed the concepts students covered this week, and practiced rounding, breaking apart numbers (expanded form), and the associative property of addition. We started a fruit and vegetable program today and students will be receiving a fruit or vegetable for a healthy snack every Tuesday and Thursday. Today we had peaches. They were delicious. In art we discussed International Dot Day, which is a day celebrating creativity. We used our iPads to create an organic image of a dot going on a walk. These turned out great. Thanks for your support in turning in book bags today. We still need a few more returned so we can hand out new ones on Monday. We also worked on publishing our story from dance class. Tomorrow students will have another substitute.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 17th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We have started our math portion of the new Acuity placement screener and will be doing this every morning for the next week. Students finished a writing assignment and learned the plan for writing Personal Narratives. This week students will be writing a personal narrative about the first time they did something. In math we used place value to add big numbers. Students also used photography and video to find and explain examples of living and nonliving things. Today students took home their first weekly progress note. These notes are to keep you informed of how your child is doing behaviorally and academically. If you child is missing any assignments I attached a missing assignment sheet. Pay attention to the code next to the missing assignment. If it has an M it means the assignment is missing. If it has an E it means the assignment was excused for one reason or another. Please sign and return this progress note tomorrow. If the note is not return by Wednesday students will have to call home so that I can make sure the note was taken home.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 19th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We had a busy day. Yesterday students had a vision screening and today they had a hearing screening. Our technology teacher came in today and we talked tech and learned about letter getters. Next time she comes we will create one. In math we had some special visitors. We learned about estimating differences. We are also working on math to show you for SEP conferences. Tomorrow we have art!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 24th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We have got our small group reading rotations down well. Students are quickly able to use their lockers and get into class. We are doing a much better job at lining up quietly in the hall. We brainstormed some of our firsts and began our rough draft of our personal narrative. Students also discussed communities and the characteristics of the communities we belong to. Students will be working in groups to brainstorm a community service project this week. In math we reviewed using place value to subtract. We are working on math rotations and these rotations need a lot of practice. I am certain things will improve as students practice these procedures. Yellow notes and SEP conference times went home today. Tuesday and Wednesday are SEP conferences.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">September 25th- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Math rotations were much more successful today! The students rotated quickly and were on task for all activities. In math today we learned how to solve word problems. Step:1 What is the question asking you? Step 2: What information do you have. Step 3: Solve (some problems are 2 step problems.) Step 4: Label your answer. We will continue to practice this throughout the year. We are about to finish Unit 1 in our math program. We talked about goals and our classes goal to graduate from high school in 2022. We are discussing tools and resources that will help us to reach this goal. The students are also conferencing with me now on their personal narratives and will begin publishing their work tomorrow.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">October 1, 2012- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We went over last weeks math tests in math groups today and I was impressed with how much the students have learned. In our whole class math lesson we learned how to solve word problems with graphs. This new unit is about collecting, organizing, and reading data. Today we collected data about the types of shoes students wore to school. Students were introduced to Persuasive writing and students will be writing a persuasive paper this next few weeks. We also started our vocabulary study of the story Goodbye 382 Shin Dang Dong. it is a story about friendship. We also had a lesson about the earth and its mapping features. We talked about the equator, Prime Meridian, hemispheres, and cardinal directions.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">October 3, 2012- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Today in math we worked on reading and interpreting picture graphs. In small group math we were lucky to have 6 middle school volunteers come in and help. Many of the students got to work 1 to 1 with these helpers. The extra help is nice! In dance today students focused on following a beat and this supported our language study because we worked on finding the beat or syllables of words. We also had library today. This is a new date and time for library and I think it will work with our overall schedule better.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">October 8, 2012- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We are learning more about graphing in math. Today students created graphs. We will continue making graphs tomorrow. We had our Latinos in action tutors today and students are working hard during small group math rotations. We were introduced to friendly letter writing to prepare for our African Penpal introduction on Wednesday. We prepared flashcards to start learning multiplication facts with our reading buddies tomorrow. We will be introduced to blogging this week and will be blogging with our buddies as well. We are reading Beauty and the Beast this week in our literacy unit and we are still focusing on Friendship. I forgot to get yellow notes ready this weekend so they will go home tomorrow. Students will not be bringing home book bags this week, but are to focus on reflections this week. I will give them some time in class, but most of the work will have to be done at home. You can get more information about the requirements at the following link. [|REFLECTIONS INFORMATION]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">October 9, 2012- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We continued our study of graphing in math today. We collected data from an ipad application and created a picture graph in doodle buddy with the results. Students were also able to log in and complete their first SOAR to SUCCESS activity in Think Central. In Dance we are still focusing on finding the beat and using words with syllables to complete this. Our reading buddies came in this week and students practice fluency, comprehension, and read a lot. We even worked on our basic multiplication facts. Some of the students from our buddy class are working to create e-books for our class. It is shaping up to be an awesome tool for all students involved. Homework this week is to simply come up with a plan for a reflections project, discuss it with Mrs. Farnsworth to get the materials you need and work on your project. I will have art paper within the next few days. Projects are due on October 31st. See link above for more information.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">10/12- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Today students were introduced to blogging and many completed their first blog entry. We are working with a few other classes and have become pen pals with some students in Africa. Students are working on writing letters to the school of children in Africa. Reflections are due at the end of the month on the 31st. We will be have a term reward party for students who have had good behavior, less then 2 absences or tardies, are getting good grades, and have no missing assignments next week. This activity will be with all the 3rd grade classes.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">10/23 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We are finishing our unit on reading and creating graphs. Students did a review test today and will be doing some on-tests later this week. The next unit we are studying is multiplication. We have already started working on basic multiplication facts. Students are doing wonderful in dance and I am seeing a lot of growth in them as dancers. They are also becoming very good listeners. We visited the Library today and most of the students got new books. There are a few students who need to bring library books back to turn in. We are reading a story this week called Teammates. It is about friendship. This week is Red Ribbon Week and we are talking a lot about making healthy choices. Thursday is Crazy sock day. Tomorrow I will be at a training and there will be a substitute. We have had this substitute before and the students have a busy day scheduled. The term ends next week. Reflections is Due October 31st.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">10/29- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We earned a 100% point party. The students have been working hard this year to earn points for a party. They earned it today. The students have voted and decided to have iPad free time for their reward. Some of the students asked about bringing candy to share. I okayed this as long as it is prepackaged and they purchased enough to share with the class. We have 25 students. We are making good progress on our multiplication unit and students learned today the similarities and differences of multiplication and addition. We spent more time working on our map/community unit and we are writing our final drafts for our African Pen Pal letters. We will be mailing them soon. We are also still working on our persuasive writing unit and students are brainstorming their persuasive letter. Halloween is coming there are to be no masks, make-up, or costumes. We will be having a fun assembly that morning. This week is a short week and students do not have school on Friday. Thursday is an early day.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">November 5- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">We had an awesome day today! We learned this morning how to make paper. Thanks to the help of Mr. Munoz. He came in and walked each student through the process of making paper. We are using this experience as a writing prompt and working on our sequencing skills by writing about the steps it took us to make paper. In math we are working on arrays. Arrays are picture representation of multiplication problems. We have been working on our 0, 1, and 2s times tables. We will be adding 3s next week. Please help us at home by practicing. I did not send home yellow notes because students will be bringing home report cards later this week. Students also do not have homework this week. I am working on a special project with some of the books in the book bags and need to use them for the week. We have started our reading unit on Animal Habitats and Animal Survival. We are also focusing on GRATITUDE this month. Students are spending time each day to write what they are grateful for. I will be tweeting some each day. Yesterday I shared 6 things that students from our class are thankful for. Feel free to follow us on twitter and tell us what you are thankful for.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">December 1, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">It has been way to long since I updated you on our learning. We are starting some new and interesting units and I wanted to make sure you were aware of what we are learning. Just to catch you up- We shared lots of things that we are thankful for, and I posted many of them onto our classroom twitter account. We attended the full length performance of the nut cracker, and have started learning multiplication. We are still working on multiplication in math and I need your help in making sure you child knows their multiplication facts. They should be able to answer facts 0-12 in 3 seconds or less. It is important that their knowledge of basic facts is automatic. We are starting a science unit on force and students are exploring force, motion, and gravity. We have some fun activities planned to apply these concepts. We are also going to be working on service learning activity the month of December. The students are going to be thinking of ways to help their community. The science fair is coming up soon. We will be working on a class project, but students interested in completing their own will need to let me know of their interest and plan as soon as possible so that I can support them with this. In art we have started a poetry and writing unit that we will integrate visual arts and multi media projects. Students have already written an autobiographical poem that students will be editing and revising. I enjoy working with all your children and thank-you for your help and support.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Jan 4, 2013 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">This week was a short week but we accomplished a lot. We have been working hard to review and practice skills for our Dibels test next week. We will be testing on Tuesday in the morning. We have also started a unit on Culture and communities. We read several versions of the story Cinderella and are working to identify evidence of culture. This next week we will start interviewing members of our community for a greater understanding of the resources and services available to us. We are continuing our study on Force and Motion and on Monday will be doing an experiment related to this for the school Science Fair. I have had many students and parents request homework. I have decided to send home some homework this next week. Look for a packet and instructions on Monday.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Jan 7, 2013 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">I made a short video for you to watch about an effective way to practice multiplication facts using flashcards. Each student needs a set of flashcards at home to practice with. Students who do not have a set can bring 1.00 to school and I will purchase them a set. [|Multiplication Practice]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">This week we have earned a reward activity. With our reading buddies we created a video following a youtube trend........[|The Harlam Shake!]

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">Donor's Choose Grant:

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">Donor's Choose is non profit organization that helps teachers with supplies for their classroom. I write grants for supplies and activities that I think will enrich our student's lives. Anyone in the public can donate to these projects. I have written a grant I would love to get funded for Lego Language Arts. Lego Language Arts is a hands on way for students to build a story before they write it. This is very engaging to students who learn by building and will be helpful for students learning English. All the kids are going to love it. The grant is partially funded. I am putting the link below if you are interested in donating. Just click on the link and then push the GIVE button.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">[|Lego Language Arts]

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">In other news we have been working hard on a Film Festival. Students have been creating a series of inspirational movies to show at art night. We will have several showing of movies (all will be different) April 18th. I will need some help from students that night with seating and such. I will be sending a note home tomorrow and a sign up home after spring break. I am amazed at the work the students have done to create their movies and make the world a better place.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">Another bit of news......

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">When we return from spring break will begin intensive review for our state test at the end of the year. We are one of the first grades to test. We will be talking a lot about healthy testing habits and I will be putting extra resources on edmodo for students who have access to the internet at home.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21px;">Thanks everyone for making this a great year!