Friday, May 18, 2018
Week in Review: May 14-18
We survived testing week! The kids had STAAR Math on Monday and STAAR Reading on Tuesday, and I know they are glad to have that behind them. As if that was not enough testing, we wrapped up units in math and science with tests this week, and completed our end-of-year writing assessment that is also required by the district. It was a week full of testing so they could show off all they have learned this year, and I am proud of how hard they worked.
We definitely squeezed in some fun, too. We finished learning the cursive alphabet and will do more practicing next week. We began working on our third grade memory books, and will continue on those next week as well. On Thursday, we had a visit from the counselor to talk about summer safety tips. And Friday was busy with tie-dying T-shirts to wear on field day, and a visit from the librarian to discuss the school's summer reading program.
It has been such a great year, and I can hardly believe we only have 6 days of school left. On Wednesday May 23, we have field day. Our class will do field day stations from 10am-12pm if anyone wants to join in on the fun. And our end-of-year party will be on Friday May 25 at 1:30pm. As always, you are welcome to join us! The last day of school is Tuesday May 29 (no school on Monday for Memorial Day), but please let me know if your child will be missing any of the last few days of school. I want to make sure that they are able to take all of their belongings home, so it helps to know ahead of time if they have a different last day.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Week in Review: May 7-11
As you know, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and I sure felt appreciated! I received so many sweet cards and letters from my students that I will always treasure. I also want to thank everyone for the generous gifts. This has been such a wonderful school year, and I have truly enjoyed each and every one of your children. Thank YOU for sharing them with me!
On the academic side, we had a busy week leading up to Monday's STAAR test! In language arts, we are reading and writing persuasive pieces.
In science, we are learning about animal and plant life cycles. We will have a science test over this unit next week, on Thursday or Friday.
In math, we did a lot of skill review for the STAAR test. We tried something new this year with class rotations. My class went to four other 3rd grade teachers throughout the week, to review a specific math skill. It was a lot of fun, and a chance for them to learn from someone else with a different teaching style. I think they really enjoyed the rotations!
On Friday, we spent some time discussing expectations and procedures for next week's STAAR test. I reminded the kids that they have been preparing all year for this, and they are ready! I hope they do not feel nervous, but instead, just excited to do their best and show off what they have learned this year. Thank you to everyone who sent in or emailed encouragement notes for their kids, it will surely put a smile on their face on Monday morning.
I hope you all have a great weekend, and remember...let your kids be kids. No test prep this weekend! :)
On the academic side, we had a busy week leading up to Monday's STAAR test! In language arts, we are reading and writing persuasive pieces.
In science, we are learning about animal and plant life cycles. We will have a science test over this unit next week, on Thursday or Friday.
In math, we did a lot of skill review for the STAAR test. We tried something new this year with class rotations. My class went to four other 3rd grade teachers throughout the week, to review a specific math skill. It was a lot of fun, and a chance for them to learn from someone else with a different teaching style. I think they really enjoyed the rotations!
On Friday, we spent some time discussing expectations and procedures for next week's STAAR test. I reminded the kids that they have been preparing all year for this, and they are ready! I hope they do not feel nervous, but instead, just excited to do their best and show off what they have learned this year. Thank you to everyone who sent in or emailed encouragement notes for their kids, it will surely put a smile on their face on Monday morning.
I hope you all have a great weekend, and remember...let your kids be kids. No test prep this weekend! :)
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
Week in Review: April 23-27
This week in science, we have continued our study of plant and animal adaptations. We wrapped up the unit with students creating a unique animal with specific adaptations to help it escape a predator in its habitat. You will be able to see these creations and read stories of their escapes at Spotlight Night on Thursday May 3. We will have a test over adaptations on Monday or Tuesday, and will do a quick review before the test to refresh their memories of all that we learned!
In language arts, we are doing lots of reviewing of skills for the upcoming STAAR test. This week, we have worked on main idea, fact / opinion, and done a practice reading passage. In honor of Earth Day (Sunday April 22), we created Earth Day posters and wrote letters to Mother Earth. You will also be able to see these on Spotlight Night.
In math, we have been working on multiplying 2 digit by 1 digit numbers, and learning various strategies for this skill. We will continue this multiplication practice into next week.
I think the highlight of the week for every student was....cursive handwriting! This is something I always teach the last few weeks of school, and for some reason, the students are so excited to learn this. For the 10-15 minutes we spend each day, you could hear a pin drop, they are concentrating so hard.
It is so hard to believe there are only 4 weeks of school left! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
In language arts, we are doing lots of reviewing of skills for the upcoming STAAR test. This week, we have worked on main idea, fact / opinion, and done a practice reading passage. In honor of Earth Day (Sunday April 22), we created Earth Day posters and wrote letters to Mother Earth. You will also be able to see these on Spotlight Night.
In math, we have been working on multiplying 2 digit by 1 digit numbers, and learning various strategies for this skill. We will continue this multiplication practice into next week.
I think the highlight of the week for every student was....cursive handwriting! This is something I always teach the last few weeks of school, and for some reason, the students are so excited to learn this. For the 10-15 minutes we spend each day, you could hear a pin drop, they are concentrating so hard.
It is so hard to believe there are only 4 weeks of school left! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Friday, April 6, 2018
Classroom Update
Happy Friday, families! For the last two weeks, and into next week, Ms. Lampkin has taken over most of the teaching. She will be with us through the first week of May, and is learning and growing so much as a teacher.
In math, students have been learning about different forms of measurement. These include perimeter, time, weight, and volume and capacity. We will wrap up this unit next week with a test on Friday.
In science, students are learning about environments and habitats, and this unit will also culminate with a test on Friday the 13th.
In language arts, students are writing personal narratives, and reading a novel in a book club. This round of book clubs consists of daily meetings with literacy activities and will culminate with a book presentation project within the next two weeks. Each day, students are taught a mini-lesson to review a specific reading skill, and then given an opportunity to put it into practice within their book club.
And finally, in social studies, we are learning about communities and how they have changed over time. We will be taking a closer look specifically at how communication, travel, school and inventions have changed over the years.
In math, students have been learning about different forms of measurement. These include perimeter, time, weight, and volume and capacity. We will wrap up this unit next week with a test on Friday.
In science, students are learning about environments and habitats, and this unit will also culminate with a test on Friday the 13th.
In language arts, students are writing personal narratives, and reading a novel in a book club. This round of book clubs consists of daily meetings with literacy activities and will culminate with a book presentation project within the next two weeks. Each day, students are taught a mini-lesson to review a specific reading skill, and then given an opportunity to put it into practice within their book club.
And finally, in social studies, we are learning about communities and how they have changed over time. We will be taking a closer look specifically at how communication, travel, school and inventions have changed over the years.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Week in Review: March 19-23
This week in science, students have been exploring ecosystems. We started on Monday by exploring outside of our school to see what living and non-living things we could observe, and discussed their interdependency.
This study of ecosystems tied in perfectly with our field trip to Westcave Preserve on Tuesday.
Just a reminder that next week, there is no school on Friday. Have a wonderful weekend!
In math, students are learning about perimeter through lots of hands-on activities. Next week, we will move onto time and time intervals.
In language arts, we have continued to work on our slideshow about our PBL research on endangered animals. We also worked on different verb tenses, including past, present and future. On Friday, we spent some time looking over our STAAR ready practice tests and thinking about the questions that we missed and why.
In social studies this week, we learned about the efficiency of an assembly line. We did this by creating our own assembly line to build bookmarks. First, students created one of their own to see how long it would take. Most students took 3-5 minutes to create just one bookmark. Then we formed three assembly lines, and in a matter of 10 minutes, these assembly lines were able to create 14-24 bookmarks!
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