Friday, December 11, 2015

December 14 - 22

M - Art  *Return library books
T - P.E./Media
W - Art/Music
Th - Media
F - P.E

M - Music
T - Art  *Return library books

Reading - Unit 4 in our Benchmark Literacy curriculum will focus on story elements and summarizing.  Students will identify the story elements of characters, setting, plot, problem, and solution in a story.  Students will also summarize and synthesize to gain fuller meaning from a story.

Word Study - Students will:
* Understand that VCV syllable pattern words can be a V/CV or VC/V syllable pattern
• Understand that V/CV words are divided after a vowel to make an open syllable
• Understand that VC/V words are divided after the consonant to make a closed syllable
• Understand that VV/CV words are divided after the vowel pair

Writing - We will be finishing up our realistic fiction stories.

Math - Students will:
6.1 - Recognize and describe flips, slides, and turns.  Recognize flips, slides and turns in geometric patters and create patterns.
6.2 - Identify and continue a repeating pattern.  Identify and continue a repeating geometric pattern.
6.3 - Identify and continue a number pattern that grows or shrinks.  Identify and continue and geometric pattern that grows or shrinks.

Social Studies - We will be working on Lesson 4 (How Do People Become Part of Our Community).  Students will learn about the immigrant experience.  They will analyze why and how people immigrate to the United State.  They will compare benefits and drawbacks of immigrating to the United States.

* In Monday's (14th) homework folder the class will be bringing home papers to interview an adult about a change (moving, new job, etc.) that they have made in their life.  They should write a summary of what they learned on the back page.  Please have them return the papers to school on Friday the 18th.

* On Monday, the 21st, the 3rd grade classes will be rotating classrooms and doing winter/holiday crafts.


Monday, December 7, 2015

December 7 - 11

M - P.E./Media
T - Art/Music
W - Media
Th - P.E.
F - Music

Reading - This week we are on Unit 3, Week 3...every 3rd week we will be focusing on fluency.  This week we will utilize punctuation to signal full stops while reading.  Students will use effective pausing to make their reading sound like talking.

Word Study -
Students will:
* Understand that VCCV pattern words may have different consonants in the middle of word, but still divide syllables between the two consonants
* Understand that words with VCV pattern divide the syllable between the long vowel and consonant

Writing - Students will continue working on their Realistic Fiction story.

Math -
Students will:
5.16 - Analyze data in horizontal and vertical bar graphs.
5.17 - Use information in a table to create horizontal/vertical bar graphs.

Science - We will finish up our Engineering is Elementary unit on acoustical engineering.



Sunday, November 29, 2015

November 30 - December 4

M - Art/Music
T - Media
W - P.E.
Th - Music
F - Orchestra Hall/Minneapolis Institute of Art field trip - Remember to send a bag lunch to school!

Math -
Students will:
5.11 - Represent and solve word problems with extra or hidden information.
5.12 - Identify word problems with not enough information to solve and identify the information needed.  Students will also rewrite word problems with not enough information.
5.13 - Solve word problems requiring two steps.
5.14 - Solve multi-step word problems requiring two or more steps.
5.15 - Write and answer questions using horizontal and vertical bar graphs.  Students will create bar graphs to represent data from tables.  Students will also find the mode and range of data.

Word Study -
Students will:
*Understand that syllables that end with a short vowel and consonant are closed syllable words and have a VCCV pattern
• Understand that VCCV words divide between the two consonants
• Understand that syllables that end with a long vowel are open syllable words and have a VCV pattern
• Understand that VCV words divide between the long vowel and consonant
 • Spell VCCV and VCV pattern words

Reading - Genre Study - Historical Fiction
Students will:
* Demonstrate prior knowledge about historical fiction by answering genre-specific questions.
* Discuss and analyze "Signing the Declaration of Independence."
* Build academic oral language and vocabulary as they engage in partner and whole-group discussion.

Writing - Students will be doing some pre-writing on their Realistic Fiction stories.

Science - We will continue going through the Engineering is Elementary unit about acoustical engineering.

Yikes!  That sounds like a busy week, we might have to take a break and get outside to enjoy the SNOW :)




Friday, November 20, 2015

November 23 - 25th

M - Music
T - Art  *Return library books
W - P.E./Media  GAME DAY!!!
Th - No School
F - No School

Wednesday will be a game day in our class!  The students can bring in a card game or board game from home.  They will have some time in the morning and the afternoon to play their games :)

I will not be sending homework this week...please continue to have your child read and work on Dreambox when they have time.

Reading - With the short week, we will not be starting the next week in our reading curriculum.  Instead we will review the concepts already learned (main idea/details, sequencing, analyzing characters).

Writing - We have been reading examples of Realistic Fiction and discussed the features of realistic fiction writing.  Last week each student generated a list of possible topics.  This week, they will pick one topic and begin planning where the story will take place, who the characters will be, and the events that will happen in their story.

Word Study - No Word Study this week

Math -
5.8 - Interpret information in tables.  Students will write and solve problems based on tables with data.
5.9 - Students will use information in tables to create and solve word problems.
5.10 - Students will create a simple table and practice completing tables with missing information.

Science - We are beginning our Engineering is Elementary unit (Sounds and Acoustical Engineering).  Students will begin the unit by discussing everyday examples of technology and how they are designed to solve problems.

Friday, November 13, 2015

November 16 - 20

M - Art  *Return library books
T - P.E./Media
W - Art/Music
Th - Media
F - P.E.

Math -
5.4 - Review the names and values of U.S. coins
        Determine and compare the values of collections of coins and bills
5.5 - Represent amounts of money in various ways
        Practice counting the exact amount of money to make a purchase
5.6 - Practice making change from purchases
5.7 - Round money amounts to the nearest dime or dollar
        Make estimates in situations involving money
5.8 - Write and solve problems based on tables with data

Reading - We will be starting Unit 3 (Identifying Sequence of Events) this week.
Students will:
* Identify the sequence of events in pictures and text.
* Identify and use the signal language for sequence of events.
* Determine important information in text.

Word Study -
Students will:
* Understand that words with a vowel and final y just add the inflectional endings.
* Understand that words with a consonant and final y change the y to i before adding -es or -ed.
* Understand that words with consonant and final y do not change the y when adding -ing

Writing - Realistic Fiction
Students will:
* Discuss the features of a realistic fiction story
* Brainstorm a list of topic ideas

Science - Sound
Students will:
* Observe the vibrations made by various objects that produce sound
* Conduct investigations to build explanations by observing, communicating, comparing and organizing.















Monday, November 9, 2015

November 9 - 13

M - No School/Conferences
T - Art/Music
W - Media
Th - P.E.
F - Music

Math - We will be taking the test on Unit 4 (Figures, Angles, and Triangles) on Tuesday.  We will start Unit 5 on Tuesday.
5.1 - Round numbers to the nearest hundred and estimate sums and differences.
5.2 - Round numbers to the nearest ten and estimate sums, differences, and quantities.
5.3 - Compare and order whole numbers and the values of expressions.

Word Study - Students will -
* Understand that irregular plural words have different rules for their plural spellings.
* Understand that words with f or fe change the f or fe to v before adding -es.
* Understand that some words change the vowels and/or consonants to form the plural.
* Understand that some irregular plural words have no spelling change and are both singular and plural.

Reading - We are on Unit 2, Week 3 this week.  This week the students will be reading the Reader's Theater called Our New Home.
Students will -
* Utilize punctuation to signal short pauses while reading.
* Demonstrate understanding of the text through purposeful pausing.
* Use effective pausing to make their reading sound like talking.

Science - We will begin our first science unit this week!  The students will be learning about the Physics of Sound.
Students will -
* Observe sounds made by objects when dropped.
* Compare sounds to develop sound discrimination.
* Create a code.
* Communicate with others using a drop code.
* Identify a variety of sound resources and receivers.

It was wonderful to visit with you all at conferences!  Thank you for taking the time to come in and visit about your child.  I look forward to watching them work towards their goals in the next few months.














Thursday, October 29, 2015

November 2 - 6

M - Media
T - P.E. *Remember helmets
W - Music
Th - Art *Return books
F - P.E./Media, Grandfriend's Day
    *Because of Grandfriend's Day the specialist time will be shortened, no need for helmets.


Math - We will be testing on Unit 3 and will begin Unit 4 (Figures, Angles, and Triangles).  The class will create symmetrical shapes, label figures with letters, review quadrilaterals, and classify triangles by the lengths of sides.

Word Study - Students will:
*Understand that words with plural endings indicate more than one of something
*Recognize plural endings
*Recognize the singular form of plural words
*Understand that plural endings of -s, -es, and -ies add a new syllable to the singular word

Reading/Writing - We will continue to work on analyzing character traits and visualizing while reading.  The students will be reviewing the features of a personal narrative and finalizing their own personal narrative stories.

Social Studies - The class will be spending time using the Pages app to create a travel brochure for Mound.  The students are focusing on learning the natural resources, climate, and physical features of our community.

I look forward to visiting with you all during conferences :)


Friday, October 23, 2015

October 26 - October 30

M - P.E.  *Bring helmets
T - Music
W - Art *Return library books
Th - Media/P.E
F - Music/Art

Math - In math we will be working on solving a variety of multi-digit word problems.  The students will practice interpreting comparison language (more, fewer) and solving comparison word problems.

Reading - We will be starting Unit 2 in our Benchmark Literacy curriculum.  For the next 3 weeks we will be focusing on Character Traits and the metacognitive strategy of Visualizing.  Students will analyze characters' traits, feelings and relationships.

Word Study - We will be working on Unusual Past Tense Words.  The students will learn that not all past tense words have an -ed ending.   They will recognize that sometimes vowels change from present tense to past tense.  Examples:  keep, kept, say, said, blow, blew.

Social Studies - The class will be working with their partners to create a travel brochure about a community that we have researched.  They will describe the natural resources, climate, and physical features.

Notes:

Halloween - We will be having a small Halloween party on Friday afternoon.  The parade starts at 2:15 and you are welcome to join us in the classroom when the parade is over.  If your child's costume doesn't fit in their backpack, please send it in a separate bag.

Dreambox - This is a great resource that Shirley Hills students have access to!  If you are able to, please have your child spend some time working through the program at home.
Here is a link to the FREE app:
Our school code is:  vvkd/exzx  
Students know their usernames and passwords.

Have a great weekend!












Sunday, October 18, 2015

October 19 - 23

M - Music
T - Art **Return library books today
W - Media/P.E
Th - Music/Art
F - Media

Math: The students will be working on understanding the relationship between addition and subtraction.  They will practice solving word problems with unknown partners as well as comparison problems.

Reading - We are on week 3 of Unit 1 in Benchmark Literacy.  This week we will continue to focus on identifying the main idea and details.  Every 3rd week in our curriculum, the students will work on fluency skills throughout the week.  Our class will focus on a Reader's Theater titled Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.  

Word Study - The class will practice words with -ed endings this week.  Students will practice finding the root word in words with -ed endings and learn the rules for adding -ed.

Social Studies - We begin our next unit this week - What Is the Geography of Our Community?  The class will identify and describe the physical features, climate, and natural resources of various geographic ares.  Students will use map tools: scale, grid , key, symbols, title, and compass rose.

Reminders:
* Roller skating starts in P.E. this week.  Please send in their helmet from home on P.E. days.
* Students should be working on earning 6 AR points by the end of October.  Please check with your child to make sure they are working towards this goal.
* Remember to login to Skyward Family Access and sign up for a conference time if you haven't already :)

Friday, October 9, 2015

October 12 - 16

M - Media
T - P.E.
W - No School - Teacher Workshop
Th - MEA break
F - MEA break

In Math this week, we will finish up our Unit on quadrilaterals.  The plan is to finish on Tuesday, but classifying quadrilaterals is often a tricky concept so we may spend an extra day and push the test back until the following week.

In reading we will continue to work on Main Idea and Supporting Details.  The students are beginning to type up their rough draft of their personal narrative and we will spend the next two weeks revising and editing them.

The social studies presentations are really taking off! It is so fun to hear all the interesting facts that the students are finding when doing their research :)

Notes:
* Please remember that our classroom is a peanut/nut free class.  Be mindful of that when sending in snacks for your child.
* If you are interested in helping out on October 30th for the Halloween party, please let me know.  Our schedule will only allow for about 35 minutes of party time in the classroom before the parade begins.
* No homework this week :)  If they have some extra time at home, I encouraged them to read, work through Dreambox, and practice their math facts on Math Magicians.
* If you haven't already, please sign up for a fall conference time through Family Access.



Friday, October 2, 2015

October 5-9

M - P.E
T - Music
W - Art   *Please return library books today!
Th - Media/P.E
F - Music/Art

Math - The class will be taking the test on Unit 1 (addition and subtraction) on Monday.  Their daily work packets will be coming home in the Friday folder, use them to review over the weekend if you have time.  We will start Unit 2 on Tuesday.  The students will be measuring and drawing line segments, finding the perimeter, and sorting quadrilaterals.

Word Study - We are already on our 4th Word Study unit.  The class will be reviewing words that have -ing endings (doubles, e-Drops, No Change).

Reading - Our class will be focusing on reading biographies this week.  We will identify the key features of a biography and compare and contrast the biographies of Galileo and Einstein!  We will also read a longer biography about George Washington.

Writing - We will identify a sequence of events in personal narratives.

Social Studies - Last week we practiced finding the distance and direction from Mound to other communities throughout the US.  This week the students will pick one of those communities, research and gather facts, and then create a presentation using the Keynote app.

It's been a busy week!  Enjoy the pictures :)














Friday, September 25, 2015

Sept. 28 - Oct. 2

M - Music
T - Art
W - Media/P.E.
Th - Music/Art
F - Media

* Mr. Lhotka would like library books returned the day before our checkout day.  Please have them back on Wednesday this week.  Thank you!

Here is what we will be working on this week:

Math - We will practice subtracting across zeros and discuss how addition and subtraction are related.

Reading - The class will practice identifying main idea and supporting details in text.  They will practice asking questions about a picture and text.  Students will also practice finding evidence and clues throughout a story.



Word Study - Students will add -ing to words with VCe and VVC patterns.  We will also practice recognizing base words in -ing words.

Social Studies - We will learn the cardinal directions (north, east, south, west) and intermediate directions (NW, SE, etc...).

Look for an AR report in their Friday folders next week :)




Friday, September 18, 2015

September 21 - 25

Here's what we'll be working on next week:

Math:
*Adding money amounts
*Methods for subtracting multi-digit numbers
*Subtracting across zeros

Reading:
The class will be getting their Reader Response Journals set up and will practice how to write about what they have read.  We will also discuss the features of Fiction and Non Fiction books.

Word Study: The students will practice adding -ing to words with VC (vowel consonant) and VCC patterns.

Writing:  We have introduced the Writing Process Cycle.  The students will use a story web to help understand the importance of prewriting.



Social Studies:  Students will use compass directions, practice identifying directions, and measure distances to other places.

Notes:
*Curriculum morning is Thursday the 24th at 8:00am.
*Please make sure that your child has brought their headphones to school.
*The class will be taking the NWEA math and reading tests on Wednesday and Thursday morning.
*Day 5 is on Tuesday, please make sure library books are returned.

A few pictures from this week :)








Monday, September 14, 2015

Sept. 14 - 18

We had a great first week of school!  The students did well with helping to come up with expectations in the classroom and the hallway.  Here are a few pictures from the first day:





This week we will be starting our first Word Study (similar to Spelling from last year).  We will be working on compound words this week.  In reading, we are going through our first 30 days of the curriculum.  The students will spend time on what it means to be a good listener, asking questions while reading and learning what a book talk is.  In writing, the students will get their writing folders organized and practice picking a topic to write about.

Last week in math, we started off with reviewing place value.  We will continue that this week as well as talk about different methods for addition.

In social studies, we will continue to learn about "Where In the World is Our Community".  Last week, the students learned about the equator, prime meridian, and hemispheres.  We will learn about the oceans and continents.  We will practice identifying countries on a map of North America as well.

Hope everyone has a great week!