Time flies when you are busy!

Sorry for the delay, this is was a crazy week and weekend for my family and I. On Monday, I was at an all day meeting covering another tier of our PBIS (our school districts behavior support plan). Then on Tuesday, I was home with a sick child.  On Friday, I was sitting at my desk frantically trying to schedule conferences and talk to teachers in other buildings. I am so excited to have received notice back from just about everyone in our class about a conference time. This made things go very quickly, yet is now a little bit of a challenge for some of you who asked for extra time, or to coordinate it with another building. Things are pretty much full. but, please rest assure, I am doing  my best and hopefully we can come up with something. 

The weather this week is like a roller coaster. Please make sure you send your child with a coat, hat, and gloves. There are many students still outside in t-shirts. I try to catch them on their way in, but unfortunately when they go from lunch or special (which is almost always) I don't get to see how they are dressed. With that being said, our classroom stays very warm all winter long.  Last year, and so far this year we have had the windows cracked open every day. Please feel free to send your child either in layers or have them leave a sweatshirt in their locker or on their chair during the week. 

Math- Last week students worked on place value and finding numbers on the thousands chart as well as a 300 chart. They are currently learning a game called "Capture on the 300 chart). With this they will continue to work on large number story problems, as well as different strategies for breaking apart the large numbers to assist in their solving.

Reading- Last week we read Young Thomas Edison by Michael Dooling. 

With this story the kids learned Thomas Edison was the mastermind behind many inventions that are taken for granted today. He invented the light bulb, the phonograph, the movies, as well as many other inventions. This story explores the origins of Edison’s scientific genius: his interest in mixing chemicals – sometimes with explosive results – his diligence in his work as a paperboy, and his difficulty paying attention in school making a portrait of the man who has been called America’s greatest inventor and entrepreneur.

Writing- Last week the students created "Ouch" stories. Some are true, while some are quite fictional. :) This assisted the students in adding transition words to their stories and prewriting. We used transition words such as: first, next, then, later, and last.  Towards the end of the week, we read The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush and the students created their own color poem. These we are finishing up and they will be in the hallway on display for conferences.

Science- So far in Science we have been discussing using different rubbing techniques to create different textures. The students have performed rubbings on coins, fabric squares, and leaves. Last Thursday, students were introduced to the second section of our unit which is carbon printing, also known as fingerprints. :) 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.

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.

 

Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, November 12th- Proposed date for report cards to be sent home. There were some printing issues, hopefully these will all get resolved and you can see your child's progress this week. 

Wednesday, November 20th- BIG BLAST PARTY (from our fundraiser)

Thursday, November 21st- 1:15 Dismissal, Conferences 1:30-5:30

Monday, November 25th- Conferences 3:30-7:30

Wednesday, November 27th- Friday, November 29th- No School, Thanksgiving Break


Just a reminder conferences are this Thursday, November 21st and Monday, November 25th. 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 (hopefully, unless I get asked to wait). If you need an extra copy of the report card please let me know.

 

Report card rubrics:

Reading-  Understands 3^rd Grade Vocabulary & Comprehension

90% and above 4

80%-89% 3

70%-79% 2

69% or below 1  

Fluency- On Grade level in a Guided Reading text and 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- 

We used a percentage from 3 assessments the students have been given this year.  

•  Place Value and Rounding Test
• 2 and 3 digit addition with and without regrouping
• 2 and 3 digit subtraction with and without regrouping

Have a great week!
Mrs. Jodie Yuska