Friday, June 17, 2011

Last Day!

Well, we made it- summer is here!  As the year comes to a close I want to say thank you for all of your help and support that made this year great.  Without your help third grade activities such as Field Day, Math Night, and the ShopRite trip would not have been such a success.  Thank you to those of you who donated supplies to the classroom and for our class parties.  Most of all, thank you for sharing your children with me for a year.  It has been so much fun getting to know them and working with them everyday. 

Have a wonderful summer!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Weekly Update- 6/10

This week we finished chapter 12 in math, which means we have completed the entire book!  The students learned about probability this week.  We used some probability websites to practice this concept.  We also did an experiment in which we tossed a quarter 50 times to see how many times it landed on heads and tails.  It landed on tails 51 times and heads 49 times.  We discussed these results as a class.  Next week we will play some math games to review the concepts we have learned this year.

In science we finished learning about Food Chains and Webs.  We learned about how ecosystems change and we played a review game before our test.  The students took turns having a vocabulary word taped to their back and then another student had to try to get them to guess the word.  The students did a good job giving each other clues during this game.  We took our unit test yesterday.



The students are still reading their Andrew Clements books.  Some of the students have finished and have started working on questions related to the book.  As more students complete their books, they will be meeting in groups to discuss the books and to complete extension activities related to their book.

The students' cereal box stories are coming along nicely!  We will be sharing them with each other next week. 



As students complete their cereal box stories, they are working on writing letters to next year's third grade students.  In these letters the students are writing about what they did this year, their favorite activities, and they are also offering advice for next year's class so that they "survive" third grade.

Today we watched an awesome assembly!  Mr. Lenosky, a Sparta parent, demonstrated his talent at doing stunt mountain biking.  He talked about the importance of following your dreams and never giving up.  The students enjoyed watching all his stunts!




Next week we have many things planned.  Monday we are having an assembly and our end of the year party.  On Tuesday we are planning to Skype with Evalyn's old class from Watchung.  On Wednesday we will be having board game day.  Thursday we will be ordering pizza, and Friday is our last day!!  Don't forget that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be early dismissal days for the students.  Please send in a lunch with your child on these days. Also, if your child would like pizza on Thursday, please send in money by Tuesday.
Enjoy the last weekend before summer vacation!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Weekly Update- 6/3

In science, we continued our unit on Food Chains and Webs.  This week we took a trip to the computer lab and the students used the computer program, Kidspiration to create food chains.  We also learned about energy pyramids and food webs.  The students then created their own food web.  We will be having a test on this unit next Thursday 6/9.


In reading we talked about the author, Andrew Clements, where he was born, and how he became a writer.  The students are all reading one of three books by Andrew Clements; Frindle, Janitor's Boy, or A Week in the Woods.  The students are reading independently, but will be working with the other students who read the same book as them next week.

The students are continuing to work on their cereal box stories.  Many of the students are still working on their rough drafts, but some have moved onto creating their final drafts with illustrations.  They are having a fun time coming up with creative stories! The students will be sharing these stories with the class when they are complete.

In math we have been working with measurement.  This week we learned about milliliters and liters, ounces and pounds, and grams and kilograms.  The students find it interesting how much easier it is to convert units in the metric system because all of their measurements are based on the number 10.  The students also practiced working backwards to solve problems.  We will continue with this chapter next week and we will be learning about probability.  Though we will complete all of the lessons, we will not be having a test on this chapter in math.

In Fundations we are still working on unit 13.  We have learned about ch making the /k/ sound and ph making the /f/ sound.  This week focused on words that have silent letters.

In Spanish the students learned about some of the Spanish speaking countries in the world.  They learned the names of the countries and some information about each.  We will talk more about this concept next week.

We have a number of assemblies next week that we are looking forward to.  One of which is the instrument demo from The Music Shop.  The students will get a chance to see and hear the instruments that they will have a choice of playing next year.  Be on the lookout for paperwork to be coming home regarding choosing an instrument for next year.

Only 10 days of school left!  Have a great weekend!