HOW is it already Thanksgiving? You all probably hear (or read) me say this almost weekly but I truly wonder sometimes how time goes so fast!
I am so thankful for a group of great students this year. I am so thankful for supportive parents who help their child and me. You all are awesome. Being an educator is not an easy job. But having people who support you and the needs of the students makes a WORLD of difference. Thank you so much for all you do for your kiddos, for the class, and for the school. Math Tests- We did our first online math assessment of the year. Today, a summary sheet of your child's assessment is coming home. It will give the number of questions correct and the number of questions (I highlighted this for quick reference), and the standards they got and the standards they need more practice with- but it will not list the questions and the answers your child chose. The only way to access this is for your child to log in to Pearson. You can use the link under the "Student Link" tab at the top of this blog, The username is their lunch pin and the password is their birthday (041209 format) This test is very challenging and many students had trouble with concepts taught. It covered 7 standards (which is a lot). I will be spending time "reteaching and reassessing" after break. This is one of those units that most students don't get right away. It's hard and it's a foundation for standards that will come in the next few years. Shoe Box for Soldiers- A colorful note came home last week with some information about Shoe Box for Soldiers. On that little sheet of paper are some suggested items to add to our box. Students may bring those in at any time between now and Dec. 15th and help out our soldiers serving our country! Book Orders- Book orders will be coming home Tuesday! If you want to order a book for a gift and don't want your child to know about it, contact me and I will hold your items and arrange a pick up time. Orders can be made online through Scholastic or turned into me by Friday, December 1st. No cash in the orders, please. Upcoming Dates: November 22-24- NO SCHOOL; Thanksgiving Break December 1st: November Tiger Pride. ( I think I may have listed an incorrect date in an earlier blog. Tiger pride will be Dec 1st at 2:30 December 15: Shoe Box for Soldiers Items Due December 21: Half Day/ Winter Party @ 11:45
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I hope everyone had a great Fall Break! I hope your kiddo's got some rest, recovery, and playtime.
Veteran's Day Assembly-This Friday will be our Veteran's Day Assembly. The breakfast will be from 8:30-9:30 and the assembly will begin at 9:30. If your child will be having a veteran with them and you haven't let me know, please email me ASAP. :) Cooler Weather- As we get further into fall and closer to winter, please be sure your child has a coat for recess. We WILL go outside as long as it is not raining (or any precipitation) and the windchill is above 32 degrees. We have had some cooler days where kiddos only have a sweatshirt for a "coat" and the wind on our playground can feel brutal. Upcoming Dates: Friday, Nov. 10- Veteran's Day Breakfast and Assembly Nov. 22-24- NO SCHOOL. Thanksgiving Break Friday, Nov. 27- November Tiger Pride Here is what we are learning this week! Leader in Me- Habit Review (Review the first 4 habits and how to apply them) Writing- Topic sentences in non-fiction writing Math- Finding the area of a figure Reading- Identifying the main idea/ topic sentence in a non-fiction passage. Science- Changing states of matter. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!! How are we already approaching the end of October?! Every year, I am floored that the year goes by so fast and every year seems to go by a little faster! Upcoming Dates: Red Ribbon Week- All Week Friday, Oct. 27- Tiger Pride @ 2:30 Oct. 30- Nov. 2- Parent/ Teacher Conferences Nov.3rd- 7th- Fall Break. No School Our fall party was last Friday! We had SO much fun! Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, efforts to plan, and for sending in $5 for the supplies. The kids had a great time and it wouldn't be possible without you! Parent/ Teacher Conference-
Here is the sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences. If you have not signed up, please sign up for a time to meet with me to discuss your child's progress. Thanks! Veteran's Day Assembly- In a couple of weeks we will be honoring anyone who has served or is currently serving our country by celebrating Veterans Day here at school. If you would please let me know if someone in your family has served, it would be greatly appreciated! We want to make sure everyone is honored on this day. Thank you in advance! What we are learning this week... Leader in Me: Habit 4: Think Win-Win Writing- Introduce non-fiction writing and begin learning how to research and write a non-fiction piece of writing. Math- Using patterns to solve multiplication equations Reading- Introduce non-fiction and learn about the features of a non- fiction text. Science- States of Matter Upcoming Dates:
October 18th: Mrs. Letterman out for an appointment October 20th: Fall Parties @ 11:30-12:15. Students get out at 12:30. October 27th: October Tiger Pride October 30th- Nov. 2nd: Parent/ Teacher Conferences Nov 3rd-6th: No School/ Fall Break Fall Parties- Fall Parties are THIS Friday! Notes went home last week. Instead of signing up to bring items, students were asked to bring $5 to cover the cost of snacks, crafts/games, and goody bags.You can send that in anytime this week! We will party from 11:45-12:30. Friday the 20th is also a 1/2 Day. Students will dismiss at 12:30. Parent/ Teacher Conferences- If you were unable to come to Open House a couple of weeks ago, I will be sending a note through email to schedule a conference time. I will send home reminders next week before conferences start. Here is what we are learning this week: Leader In Me- Habit 4. Think Win-Win. There is a better option than one person getting what they want, and one person not getting anything. Reading- We completed the first quarter reading assessment today. We will review strategies and skills we learned first quarter and talk about reading engagement this week. Writing-We are working on finishing our first quarter writing prompt this week. Then, we will begin our next unit of writing about non-fiction! Math- We are still working on multiplication and applying multiplication to solve division. Science- We will begin talking about the water cycle. Have a great week!!! Here are some updates for the upcoming week!
Important Dates: October 10th: Picture Day! Class and Individual pictures will be taken. Order forms and reminders were sent home last week. October 11th: Mrs. Letterman (and all 3rd grade teachers) out for a science training. October 16th: Hayride to the AG Building October 20th: Fall Parties/ Half Day October 30th-Nov 2nd: Parent/ Teacher Conferences Hayride to the AG Building- We have been invited on a hayride to go see the High School Agriculture Department's pumpkin patch. We will just be gone a short time and will be on the school property the entire time, so no permission slip is needed. There isn't enough room for parents this time, so this will be a student only hayride. What we are learning this week: Leader in Me: We will continue to talk about putting first things first. Taking care of the important things first and then do the things I want to do. Writing- This week, we will finish up talking about adding descriptive words (like replacing boring words) and adding detail. We will begin writing our 1st quarter writing prompt by the beginning of next week. Math- We will finish up Topic 4 on Thursday. Topic 4 focused on using multiplication to solve division equations. We will take the Topic 4 assessment this Friday. Reading- We are back in the swing of meeting in reading groups after a short break to give the 1st quarter DRA. As a class we will work on using context clues to determine the meaning of an unknown word. Have a great week!!! October 2nd-6th
Upcoming Dates: * Tuesday, Oct. 3rd- Open House 6:00-7:00. * Book Fair October 2nd-6th * October 10th- Picture Day! * October 11th- Mrs. Letterman gone for a curriculum day * October 20th- Fall Parties Open House- Be sure to stop by Open House on Tuesday, Oct. 3rd! Come pop in our room and see a few of the things we have been working on so far this year, order a yearbook, visit the Book Fair, and pick up your fundraiser items! If you can't make it, fundraiser items need to be picked up tomorrow! You can stop by school as early as 3:30 to get your items. Book Fair- The Book Fair is going on all this week and there are some GREAT books! Students may visit the Book Fair before school after they have checked in with their teacher and before 8:30. The Book Fair is also open after school for students to shop with parents. We also have our library day to shop on Friday! If you send money, please send it in an envelope with your child's name and amount marked on the outside. What We Are Learning This Week: The Leader in Me- Habit 3. Put First Things First. Students will learn they can put the important things first, then do the fun things. :) Writing- We will practice writing using paragraphs, using transition words, and showing what is happening in our story by using good "juicy" (or descriptive words). Math- We will begin Topic 4 this week! This topic will focus on relating multiplication to division and using known multiplication facts to solve a division equation (all small numbers). Over the last six weeks we have been learning the foundations of multiplication and division. Memorization alone leads to some "holes" in having a true understanding of math and can lead to some struggles later on as students learn higher level of math. We have been working with multiplication long enough at this point, many students are getting the hang of "why" and starting to remember some facts on their own. In place of nightly math homework, please start working with your child on multiplication facts. This doesn't have to be a nightly drill and practice. Reviewing a few in the car on the way to practice, school, or while dinner is cooking are some easy times to squeeze in a few facts so students begin to remember them. :) Reading; This week, we will begin working on author's purpose. Students will begin to learn the different reasons and author writes or publishes. Have a wonderful week! Mrs. Letterman What we are learning this week:
Leader in Me- Habit 2. Begin with the end in mind. I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom. I look for ways to be a good citizen. Writing- Students finished up their first personal narrative today. This one really shows what they already know and helps us know. For the rest of this week, we will learn about using dialogue in our writing and how to use paragraphs in our writing. Reading- This week I will be finishing up the student's first quarter DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). As a class, we will be learning about character traits and will be identifying character traits in class read alouds and in students personal reading books. Math- This week, we are continuing to practice using patterns to help solve equations and applying the distributive property. (They are getting pretty good at this!) This week, I will send home some extra practice for the skills we have learned. These worksheets/ pages are NOT required to turn back in. Just a little extra practice. Right now, it looks as though we may take our Topic 3 Assessment on Friday. **This may get moved to the beginning of next week. I will let you know if that happens.** Social Studies- We will take a small quiz/ assessment on communities and then begin our first science unit. Upcoming Dates: *Friday, September 29- Tiger Pride at 2:30 * October 2nd-6th- Book Fair *October 3rd- Open House 6:00-7:00 pm What we are learning this week:
Leader in Me- Habit 2. Begin with the end in mind. I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom. I look for ways to be a good citizen. Reading- We will be learning about and be able to identify point of view of the narrator in the story. Writing- We will finish our first narrative of the quarter. We will also be learning about using dialogue and paragraphs in our stories. Math- Topic 2 Assessments went home today. They have also been loaded into Mastery Connect. Remember that most of these standards will be taught and reassessed again at some point in the year. Today we started Topic 3 and will continue to learn about properties of multiplication to apply when solving facts. Social Studies- We will finish up talking about communities this week and take a small quiz/ assessment on Friday to wrap up our unit. Upcoming Dates: September 29- Tiger Pride Assembly at 2:30 So apparently the lack of a Monday last week messed with me more than I thought. Routines all over the place were off. I didn't blog, I didn't send home spelling words...I'm sure there are at least 13 other things. ;)
Since I'm a week late, I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday week and 4 day week. Here is what is going this week in 3rd grade! Leader In Me- We are still learning about our first habit- "Be Proactive". This week we will discuss and plan how we can be proactive at home and at school. Writing- We will learn about catchy beginnings for our narratives, the writing process, and hopefully begin writing our personal narratives. Math- We have been working on patterns used to multiply. (If you haven't seen the tricks for 9's that we learned, ask your kiddo! They go beyond just the ol' finger trick for the 9's facts!) I also put the math tests into mastery connect so you can see how your students did on the standards assessed. Remember that these standards are going to be assessed multiple times throughout the year so this is not the only chance they have to improve or get mastery. You may have to check your spam folder as some of the mastery connect emails automatically go into that. Reading- We will be talking about asking deep and meaningful questions this week and starting to meet in our reading groups. Since Mrs. Letterman was off a little last week, we are only on Week 2 for spelling. We will take our Week 2 test on Friday. Social Studies- This week we will continue to learn about the regions of the United States. Other Announcements and reminders: *Fundraiser orders, money, and packets: Due Tomorrow! (Tuesday, Sept. 12) We made it through our first week of school!!! We have more routines established and are ready to roll on through the rest of our year!
Now that we have learned most of our procedures and have had a chance to "acclimate" to them, we will begin to reinforce those expectations and procedures that we have learned. Last week, I tried to give positive Dojo points to students. If you notice your child get a negative point at some point in the year, this means they have had a verbal warning (or sometimes maybe more than one) and they are still continuing on with that behavior. We all need reminders to carry out the expectations that are expected of us and sometimes have a small consequence. I try to make a note on Dojo with the negative point but sometimes it happens at a time where I can't enter it. If you ever have questions about a situation and I will contact you if a behavior is concerning or is beginning to become consistent. Here is what we are up to this week: Writing- We will be setting up our writer's notebooks and collecting ideas to write about. Math- We will complete our first Topic and review the VERY basics of multiplication. We will review in class Wednesday and take the assessment on Thursday. These assessments are much like the ones last year. I will send home a voluntary review Tuesday. Reading- We will finish up talking about Daily 5 expectations and building up our reading stamina. We will begin meeting in groups next week. Social Studies- Discuss and identify parts of a map and how to use them to read a map. We will also learn various types of Maps and the 8 border states of Missouri. Upcoming Dates- Aug 28- Early Out Aug 29- Fundraiser Kickoff - watch for packets to come home Friday, Sept 1- NO SCHOOL Monday, Sept 4- NO SCHOOL |
AuthorMrs. Letterman is a third grade teacher at Willard East. This is her 8th year in Willard, but her 10th year to teach third grade! Archives
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