Another week flying by

I am always amazed how fast the week can fly by. Of course this week it didn't help we had a snow day on Monday, then I was home with a sick child on Tuesday. 

This week I will send home conference reminders. If you need to double check or reschedule your conferences you can click on this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CAFAD22A0F94-spring 

Math-In math last week we started to learn how multiplication is related to division. With this we looked at he parts of a division problem and stared reversing our multiplication fact to answer problems dividing by 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

Reading- In reading last week we read A Tree is Growing by Aurthur Dorros.

Leaves, sap, bark, and roots all play a part in nourishing trees through seasonal changes and years of growth. This week our story had informative explanations and sketched views of trees, forest life, and animals. We discussed how to determine tree growth cycles by the layers of cambium forming the growth rings. We also looked at the passage of water, the production of flowers and seeds, the autumnal color change, and the microscopic and larger animal life supporting and supported by trees through text, captions, labels, and excellent diagrams. This week we took a look at root words.
 

Writing- Last week we used our Language Arts time to take a practice Cognitive Abilities test. We will take the actual tests this coming week. Please make sure your child has plenty of sleep and eats breakfast in the morning. This is good advice for every school day, but extra important on testing days. 

Social Studies-  Everyone is in various stages of their research reports. We range from creating our research posters, to working on our reports, to being completed with our reports and continuing our hard work on our ABC books. The students can not wait to share their projects with you at conferences.

Upcoming dates: 

Friday, February 28th- please have your child wear their red FMI t-shirt on Friday this week instead of Wednesday.

Tuesday, March 4th- I will be gone to Grant Wood AEA all day for a PBIS meeting

Tuesday, March 11th- 1:15 Dismissal, Conferences 1:30-5:30

Thursday, March 13th- Conferences 3:45-7:30

Friday, March 14th-Friday, March 21st- No School- Spring Break

Monday, March 24th- Happy birthday Allie! 

Have a great week!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

So much to share...

Hopefully, you received my email on Friday. Since conferences are student-led, I am not opposed to having more than one going at the same time. It may just mean you need to wait a little while to talk with me. I do have these set up in 30 minute blocks with up to 3 conferences running at the same time. This will be something new for me also. If you have children in other building who have conferences on the same day, please take that into consideration when signing up. Student-led conferences generally take a little longer. When it is your scheduled time, please just come in and get started. 

A paper copy of the sign-up sheet will be coming home next week with your child's report card. If you prefer to fill out the paper or just email me with your choice of times, I will do my best to make something work. Thanks for helping me try something new! :)

You can sign-up for conferences at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CAFAD22A0F94-spring

Report cards should be coming home this week. I will create a page at the top of the blog about our current grading rubrics if you have any questions about scores. As always, if you do have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Our Valentine's Party was a lot of fun, and rather loud. I am sure you could hear us on the other side of the building. :) We had a lot of fun playing the Minute To Win It Game of "Face the Cookie." After that we played a relay game with candy hearts. My video wasn't great as I was too close to capture everything, However, I did take a picture of the fun that was left over. :) To end our party we ate our snack and looked through our Valentine bags. I know I disappointed a lot of kids when I wouldn't let them eat the candy in their bags. Hopefully this created a few less tummy aches. :) 

Thank you to everyone who helped or donated items for our parties this year. You are the ones that make the memories and the fun happen!

 

Math-In math last week we finished up our fraction unit with some additional conversations and practice with equivalent and improper fractions, then a few Common Core fraction assessments.

Reading- In reading last week we read The Albertosaurus Mystery: Philip Currie's Hunt in the Badlands by T.V. Padma.

In this story we followed paleontologist Philip Currie with his hunt for a legendary dinosaur site hiding the buried remains of multiple dinosaurs. We learned how Currie examined the fossil site to determine how the Albertosaurus lived and hunted more than 70 million years ago.

This week we also took an in depth look into the suffix of -ly and how it relates to behaviors. 

Writing- Last week we took a break from our ABC books to write a story called, "If I lived in the rain forest..." First, students created a T-chart to examine what they might see, taste, touch, feel, or smell in the rain forest. After coming up with some ideas, the kids wrote creative stories. These will be shared with you at conferences. 

Social Studies-  This week we continued to used our social studies/ science time to work on our Rain forest Research project. We have taken notes about our animals, are working on creating informational posters, as well as writing a multi-paragraph report about their animal.

 
Upcoming dates:

Monday, February 17th- I will be gone to complete my wonderful glucose test, followed by a dentist appointment. The students will have a chance to meet Ms. Bredman, my long term sub in May. :)

Saturday, February 22nd- Happy Birthday Morgan! 

Tuesday, March 4th- I will be gone to Grant Wood AEA all day for a PBIS meeting

Tuesday, March 11th- 1:15 Dismissal, Conferences 1:30-5:30

Thursday, March 13th- Conferences 3:45-7:30

Friday, March 14th-Friday, March 21st- No School- Spring Break

Monday, March 24th- Happy birthday Allie! 

Calendar Changes:  Monday, April 21st- Snow day make-up day, Students will need to be in attendance

May 30 - student attendance - no early out

June 2 -  student attendance - no early out

June 3 - student attendance - 1:15 dismissal

Wishing you safe travels this week!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears... Oh My!

Ok, so I guess it is more like alligators, and piranha, and anacondas.. oh my! Our class, as well as the entire 3rd grade are in full rainforest mode. We are diving deep into the different layers to learn all kinds of various rainforest facts about plants, animals, people, and products we get from the rainforest. The kids could not be more engrossed and I am loving every minute of it. It is amazing to watch them eat up all this knowledge and beg for more. Expect to see a lot of rainforest things coming soon.


Thank you for your cooperation with having your child wear the "moveable" watch last week. We will complete this research for the PE grant a couple more times this year I believe. There are a few that did not make it back to school. If you see something like this please send it back as soon as possible (you will also get an email from me if it is missing). 

Cursive licenses are starting to make their way out the door. If your child has not yet earned or received theirs it is not to late. We just need to work on some of their letters yet. :) Also, if your child is not in my room when we work on cursive, but would like to take the packet home to complete, please let me know. 

Math-In math last week we continued to talk about fractions. We discussed how different fractions can be added together to equal one whole. We also discussed comparing fractions and what makes and equivalent fraction.

Reading- In reading last week we read Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald. 

We only read a small piece of chapter one and chapter two as part of our Basal. However, the third book in the Judy Moody series finds the spunky third-grader in save-the-world mode. Then a class environmental preservation project inspires a new mission. But it's not long before Judy discovers that saving the world isn't easy, whether she is trying to convince her father not to drink rainforest bean coffee or her mom to dispose of a rubber toilet plunger.

 *This week I added something new to their reading quizzes. Not only are the completed independently, but we are starting to transfer our answers to a bubble sheet.  I want to get them use to it before Iowa Assessments. This is probably the best group of transfer skills I have seen in a while, especially for the first time. I am so proud of them!

Writing- We are using this time to work on yet another research project where we are learning and taking notes to create an ABC book about the Rainforest.

Social Studies-  This week we have used our social studies/ science time to work on our Rainforest Research project. We have taken notes about our animals, are working on creating informational posters, as well as writing a multi-paragraph report about their animal. Eventually, we will work on taking our information and turning it into a few PowerPoint slides to share with you at conferences.

Upcoming dates:

Thursday, February 13th- Valentine's Party

Friday, February 14th- No School

Saturday, February 15th- Happy Birthday Eden! 

Monday, February 17th- I will be gone to complete my wonderful glucose test, followed by a dentist appointment. I am very excited! :) 

Saturday, February 22nd- Happy Birthday Morgan! 

Tuesday, March 4th- I will be gone to Grant Wood AEA all day for a PBIS meeting

Tuesday, March 11th- 1:15 Dismissal, Conferences 1:30-5:30

Thursday, March 13th- Conferences 3:45-7:30

Friday, March 14th-Friday, March 21st- No School- Spring Break

Monday, March 24th- Happy birthday Allie! 

Calendar Changes:  Monday, April 21st- Snow day make-up day, Students will need to be in attendance

May 30 - student attendance - no early out

June 2 -  student attendance - no early out

June 3 - student attendance - 1:15 dismissal

Stay Warm!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska