Welcome December (almost!)!

News of the week:Thank you to everyone who attending their child's conference! :) It was great to have everyone show up and share in the success their child is having this year. I know it is not always at the most convenient times for you or there is a wait to be seen. However, ALL teacher's greatly appreciate your dedication to your child's education! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break! A few short weeks and it will be time for another one!

Math- This week we multiplied by 6, 7, 8 and 9. We talked a lot about tricks for the 9's. On Thursday, a packet when home with a few tricks or ways to help your child start memorizing their multiplication facts. Although, we will make flashcards at school to practice, they may make a great stocking stuffer and can usually be found for around a dollar! :) We will continue practicing our basic facts. I hope to start introducing division by the end of the month.

 

Reading- This week we read Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary. Ramona is showing a range of emotions as she gets ready for a new baby in her family. She is anxious about her mother's condition, then disappointed and humiliated when she is too young to see the infant in the hospital. In the end, an excited Ramona takes center stage, as she shares how intrigued she is by her new sister Roberta. During this story we analyzed Ramona and her wide range of feelings and behavior. We also made inferences about how Ramona was feeling different times in the story when the author did not come straight out and tell us.

Text Talk- This week we read A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. This is a story about a girl named Camila Cream who is too busy worrying about what everyone else thinks, to be her true self. She comes down with a case of stripes, which then changes into other things as she is easily influenced by others. Only when she is true to herself and honest about her love for lima beans does she go back to normal. The words we studied were: altered, contagious, distraction, remedies, perplexed, and vanished. On Thursday, students created a cause and effect from the story about Camilla Cream. If you are interested in hearing this story, it can be found at: http://www.storylineonline.net/stripes/fullscreen_yt.html

Science- Today students learned more about Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison various inventors and inventions. We also discussed carbon printing this week. Carbon Printing is when you transfer carbon (or graphite which is used in place of lead in current day #2 pencils) on a piece of scratch paper by scribbling. Then students rubbed their fingertips along the surface. The fingertip is now like a printing plate and can transfer the residue. We placed tape over their fingers to collect as much carbon as we could while leaving the finger print impression. After taking our fingerprints we looked at the finger patterns. Everyone's fingerprints are unique, but they usually have one of the three basic patterns known as arches, whorls, and loops. On Tuesday, we were detectives, we played a game called Mystery Prints. Students were placed in groups and took their index print and middle finger print. Then they selected one member of the group to be a "mystery person." This person added only one print to the Mystery Print card. As cards traveled to different groups, they had to solve who's print it was by looking at the patterns.

Whorls- go around and around like a spiral

Loops- start at one side, go up to the middle and back out the same side

Arch- goes up, through the middle, and out the other side. It looks like a hill.

On Wednesday and for the next four weeks, we will have a volunteer named Dru Bridges, come into our classroom and teach Junior Achievement.  Junior Achievement is about a community. So they have volunteers from the community teach lessons about what makes a community, and what types of communities do we live in. Our class will talk a lot about zones (business, residential, industrial, farming, and multipurpose zones). We will talk about how a city planner uses these zones to develop a city and determine what buildings will go where. This week, students were introduced to Dru, the zones, and then made our classrooms in different zones. These lessons are always a lot of fun. I will try to remember to write what we did that week in JA each week in the Science section! :)

Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

With the short week next week I decided to combine last week and this week.

News of the week:

--Conferences were 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight Thursday 11/15, and 1:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Monday (tonight) 11/19

--Early dismissal next Monday 11/19 (TODAY! )

--Tuesday- Big Blast Party *Students will need to wear socks! 

--No School November 21, 22, or 23

--School resumes on Monday, November 26

Happy Birthday to our November birthdays- Julian G., Patience, and Maggie

Math- The last two weeks we have been discussing and practicing multiplication. We discussed how multiplication  is really just repeated addition. We skip counted by 2s and 5s to solve problems with those two numbers as a factor. We will also created number lines to multiply by 3 and 4. Today we will introduce a multiplication table to solve various multiplication problems.

Reading- This week our story will be How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman. This story is about a girl, who's parents met while he was serving the country as an American sailor in Japan. Through trial and error, her mother a Japanese schoolgirl and her father, the American sailor learned to eat in each other's style, overcoming the feelings of insecurity in the process. 

Text Talk- This week we will read Everybody Cooks Rice by Peter J. Thorton. This is a story about a child who is sent to find a younger brother at dinnertime.  While walking into other people's houses the child is introduced to a variety of cultures and encounters the many different ways rice is prepared at the different households visited. The words we will study are: appetizing, boarder, community, diversity, grumbling, and gulped.We did not take a quiz over these words.

Science- We have been discussing using different rubbing techniques to create different textures. The students have performed rubbings on coins, fabric squares, and leaves. On Tuesday, they created a rubbing invention (it could have been ANYTHING!) I mainly want them to be creative and think of something other than what their friend is working on. Wednesday and Thursday provided time for students to present their inventions and get some practice public speaking, as well as being a good audience member. We will spend the next few days before Thanksgiving talking about some inventors and their inventions. After Thanksgiving we will move to the second section of our unit which is carbon printing, also known as fingerprints. :)

Writing-Last week we finished a "how-to" paragraph. We then used some time to create some fun Native American influenced writing. We created color poems (see Student work tab)  
and skin stories (will soon be uploaded to student work tab). We also made turkeys with things we were thankful for. These were sent home.  

*Our election writing has finally been uploaded. I am still working on Halloween images. I have really missed adding the pictures to the blog the last couple weeks.

 

I look forward to discussing your child's progress with you soon, if I haven't already! :)

Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Hope to see you within the next week!

News of the week: 
Just a reminder conferences are this Thursday, November 15th and next Monday, November 19th. Please try to show up on time as conferences are scheduled every 15 minutes. I will do my best to stay on time also! :) 

A conference slip with the day and time to meet with me will be in report card envelopes going home on Tuesday. If you didn't get one, please let me know. I also marked the planners that are turned in on Monday. 

--Early dismissal next Monday 11/19

--No School November 21, 22, or 23

--School resumes on Monday, November 26

 

Report card rubrics:

Reading-  Understands 3^rd Grade Vocabulary & Comprehension

90% and above 4

80%-89% 3

70%-79% 2

69% or below 1  

On Grade level in a Guided Reading text

Independently Reads a 3^rd Grade Passage  - uses DIBELS score

Writing- 

* Able to develop number notes, simple statements, and a question statement

* Uses correct grammar

* Capitalizes beginning of sentences 

* Capitalizes proper nouns  

  * Uses correct punctuation at end of statements, exclamations, and questions

* Use conventional spelling for high-frequency words  

 

Math-

• Compare and order numbers through the hundred’s place
• Ordinal numbers and estimation 
• Rounding to the ten’s place and the hundred’s place 
• Addition and subtraction story problems with 1-2 steps 
• Fluency on an addition time test
  o   95 + facts in five minutes = 4
  o   85-94 facts = 3
  o   75-84 facts = 2
         o    74 or less facts = 1   
• Fluency on a subtraction time test
  o   95 + facts in five minutes = 4
  o   85-94 facts = 3
  o   75-84 facts = 2
        o 74 or less facts = 1
• 2 and 3 digit addition with and without regrouping
• 2 and 3 digit subtraction with and without regrouping

 

 

Math- If you have heard yet, we are making Multiplication Monsters, when we are finished these will head home. These provided a great opportunity for all 3^rd grade students to use their listening to direction skills. Students can use these independently to quiz themselves over their multiplication facts. You could use the monsters to create a family game where the student and another person at home quiz each other. This year in math we have covered basic addition and subtraction skills. These were necessary to review as some students still struggle with the basic facts. In 3^rd grade we teach a wide variety in our math curriculum and these facts are very important for your child to have or be working on mastering.On top of that, we have reviewed and practiced place value, comparing, ordering, rounding, as well as adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers. Packets from your child’s workbook should be coming home soon. 

All of these skills build. We are currently learning multiplication. As the students found out multiplication is actually the same as repeated addition. 3x4= 3+3+3+3=12.  We have practice multiplying by 0's and 1's. We will keep moving up in numbers this week.

We will continue to practice basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and soon division all year in third grade.

However, if you see your child struggling or know your child is struggling in math, building their basic facts can be a quick and fun way to help them achieve. Flashcards are great! I am in the process of creating some different sheets of flashcard games, which the whole family can play. These monsters are a tool for you to use at home; because I know you are all busy, but all teachers do appreciate any additional support you can give your child at home.

 

Reading and Text Talk-  Last week we read The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy. This is a story about a girl named Tanya. Her grandmother is making a patchwork quilt from scraps of clothing. Each scrap holds a special memory of their family. When the grandmother becomes ill, Tanya is the one who decides to finish the quilt. She inspires the rest of the family to help reach this task. This story was also our Text Talk book last week. The vocabulary words discussed were: anxious, compassion, dreaded, masterpiece, nurturing, and ruin. 

Social Studies and Science- This week we wrapped up the short week and a half of election lessons. We also started our Ideas and Inventions unit. This unit is all about using different ways to see things that you may not notice by just looking at it. Students will discuss rubbings, carbon printing (fingerprints), chromatography (color writing), and reflections. Last week we took a look at coin and fabric rubbings. We will also incorporate Social Studies and learn about some inventors in the process! 

 

Writing-This week students a paragraph about their favorite Halloween snacks as well as a organizer for a "How-to" paragraph.

*My computer is still struggling uploading pictures. I have a few ideas and will let you know as soon as I get them posted this week. 

 

Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Welcome to November

News of the week: 
We have had a very busy week. 

We celebrated my birthday, had a pizza party for our reward goal, had a fantastic Halloween party, and participated in a mock election. The weeks to come with also be very busy, but with not as many tasty activities! :) 

Thank you Kim, Lori, Kristina, and everyone who donated items to make our Halloween party fantastic. Pictures will be posted on a tab above for the next month. 
 

*If you have not yet let me know a preference for when you can come to conferences please do so as soon as possible. I will start plugging in the people I have not yet heard from soon and hope you can make it in to meet with me and discuss your child's progress. 

**Book orders for October and November were sent home on Friday. Please take a look and either order online (a how to is located on a page link above) or send in your child's order and a check written out to Scholastic by Wednesday, November 7th. To see the October books click on the flyer link on the parent page. 

***I hope you remembered to turn your clocks back today and got an extra hour of relaxation this morning.  

Monday, November 5th- Conference scheduling sheet due
Tuesday, November 6th- ELECTION DAY! Picture retake day
Wednesday, November 7th- wear red FMI shirt, book orders due
Friday, November 9th- No School- work day for teachers. I will be writing report cards. 

Math- We had a few days of discussing things that come in groups and how when we multiply it is a matter of determining how many groups x how many in each group. Another way to solve until we get some facts memorized is repeated addition. This week we will took a look at equal groups, using the repeated addition strategy, and started multiplying by 0 and 1. When students finish their work in class, they will have a chance to create a multiplication monster, to help them review and self check their facts. Once all 12 monsters are made, they will be able to take them home to use for additional practice.

Reading- This week we did not have a story, so we took the time to review and take our unit 8 Level 2 assessment.

Text Talk- This week we read Montezuma's Revenge by Cari Best. In the book, Montezuma is left at home when his owners go on vacation. He is a good dog who always sits and stays when told to. He reflects on how awful his dog-sitter is and how much he'll miss his family. He goes out through the "doggie door," runs off to the park, meets a scruffy stray named "Wild Bill," and hatches a plan. When his family returns, Montezuma is missing and Wild Bill shows them just what a disobedient dog can do; he splashes in the toilet, swings on the drapes, puts on lipstick, and skateboards through the house. Needless to say, when Monty reappears, he is showered with affection and is taken along on the next trip.. Vocabulary words we discussed this week are revenge, mesmerized, misery, coaxed, frustrated, and regret.

Social Studies- This week we took the opportunity to discuss citizenship, what it means to be a citizen and how it is linked to our right to vote. We discussed the presidential candidates, participated in a mock election, discovered more about the election process and its importance, as well as some fun information on the White House. We will continue election information for Social Studies through Wednesday, then begin on our new science unit Ideas and Inventions. This unit will intermix the science of experiments to help produce things your eyes can't see, however, I am planning on incorporating a lot of social studies with the history of some inventions and the inventors who came up with the inventions.  

Writing-This week students created stories about their Frankenstein friend and a persuasive piece about why they should be elected president. Most of these can be seen under the student work tab. We also created a number note sheet about the best Halloween treats. We will turn our number notes into a paragraph on Monday. 

Mrs. Jodie Yuska