Field Trip info and Passport Club

Hi Folks,
Thursday is our field trip.  It looks like the weather will cooperate with us and we'll have a sunny trip through Henry Huggins' Neighborhood.  But if the weather changes for the worst, we'll reschedule. Thanks to all those who have volunteered.  Kids will need cold lunch that day.  Please have them dress for the weather with comfortable shoes, we'll be walking the whole way!
Thursday is also the first Passport Club check.  We're leaving right around our check time so I'm working to make other arrangements.
Thanks for all your support,
Valerie McKenzie

Opps!! We left off the time for the field trip!!

Best laid plans and all!
Henry Huggins Field Trip
10:45 -2:00
I need 4-5 Volunteers.  Let me know if you can help.
Next time, we'll proof read a little more carefully!!!
Valerie

Spelling Practice

Hello Families,
It was such a pleasure to meet so many of you at Back to School Night.  Thanks for signing up for conferences, it is a little time we get to carve out to talk about your student and third grade.  If you haven't yet, I have the lists in my classroom.
We have been busy in Room 21 creating life-size versions of Henry Huggins and Ribsy.  We've looked at the text for clues about Henry and whether or not he likes the idea of being in a play.  In math we are gathering and interpreting data in pictographs and bar graphs.
For homework this week I added spelling.  These are commonly misspelled sight words + Portland and Laurelhurst.  The latter two are on lists at school.  I'll send home the bookmark list tomorrow.  I also sent home a tic-tac-toe of ways to practice spelling words.   They are suggestions.  Kids could bring me an example of one of the ways they practiced.
I also sent home some graphing homework with the suggestion that they might want to wait a day or two to start it.  We'll be working the next few days on the topic and they might be more comfortable with the material in a couple days.
We've sent home the permission trip for the field trip.  Please return as soon as possible.  We'll have lunch at Grant Park.  Kids can bring their own OR if they usually have hot lunch, Alicia, can prepare a sack lunch for them.  I'll need to let her know about that soon.
This is a vibrant and boisterous class, a good thing.  We are working for peaceful transitions from one lesson to another.  Sometimes it takes a few reminders.  Other than that, I think we are really coming together as a class.  This is a diverse and fun group of kids with a lot to contribute.  It is an honor to be their teacher.
All the best,
Valerie

Back to School Night K-5 Tonight

Back to School Night happens tonight.
It is the time to hear about the plans and procedures for third grade this year!
Also, it is the time to sign up for school conferences.
The evening begins in the cafeteria at 6:30.  Then there are classroom visits.
If you can't make it to the event, I'll have sign up sheets for conferences in my room.
Hope to see you there,
Valerie McKenzie

Homework today

September 15, 2014

Dear Families,

      Today we are starting our math and reading homework.  My expectations are that students will read for twenty minutes and practice math facts for fifteen minutes daily.  That is thirty five minutes separate from the homework I send home on Monday.  Kids will be completing a bar graph of their daily work.  Back in the classroom, on Friday, we’ll total the amounts for the week and add them to a weekly graph.  All of these graphs will be collected into individual folders for each student.  That way kids can see their progress at home and in reading and math fluency assessments.

      Reading can be a combination of Read to Self, Read to Someone and Listen to Reading.   We want them to advance and improve so the last one, Listen to Reading, should not dominate.  I am available to help you and your student pick Good-Fit books that they can read independently.

       Have you checked out the Math Learning Center resources for families?  This is a great tool for Math Facts Practice.  Here’s the link:  www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/families

You can also use flash cards or write up a quick fact sheet for your student.  They should be solid in addition; thirty facts in a minute and a half, then subtraction, multiplication and finally division.

      I’m certain there will be questions and I am willing to make modifications on an individual basis, based on student need.  Kids are always invited to do more and the graphs can accommodate that.   Let’s try it out for a few days and we can talk about it at Back to School Night on Thursday. 

                                                                                    Thanks so much,

                                                                                    Valerie McKenzie

Homework Expectations

Dear Families,

                We've started our second week of school and the class did so well today.  I was very proud of them.  We are creating a culture that is respectful, kind and busy!

                Today we talked about homework.  They took home a math sheet that is due on Friday.  It is mostly review but please glance over it before they bring it in on Friday.  It is one page, back to back, sometimes it will be more.  I also talked with them about the homework expectations I have for them this year. 

           Note:  Most homework goes out on Monday and comes back to class on Friday.

• ·         Every week there will be some math homework connected to our Bridges Math Curriculum.  After assessments are complete I will differentiate the homework to meet the needs of students.  For example, some kids will get addition practice, but a level ahead, some might need more review.   I will make those decisions with each unit. 
• ·         Students are expected to read (outside the classroom) at least 20 minutes each day.  Next Monday they will bring home a graph to chart their reading from Monday through Thursday.  I’ve already talked with them about strategies to get to that number, considering their very busy lives.  They can always read more.
• ·         On the other side of that graph is one for Math Facts Practice.  I am asking for 15 minutes a day of practicing Math Facts - Addition Facts, Subtraction Facts, Multiplication and Division.  This can be as simple as Flash Cards or throwing out math problems in the car on the way to soccer.  But http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/families is a great website from our Bridges publisher.  Scroll down to Online Skills Practice, click on third grade and scroll down to the games.  Math Magician is great for basic facts.  We want them solid in addition and subtraction facts before they move to multiplication and division.  These skills are the foundation of all the Math learning in third grade.  Please give them some time to practice.

      The graphing and practice at home is differentiated because students are reading books at their level, and they are studying the math facts at their own pace.  It also cuts down on huge homework packets and tons of paper.   On my end, I will be assessing their ability to recall basic math facts with Fluency Checkups.  These can be stressful for some kids because they are timed.  The more they practice, the less the stress.

• ·         We’ll also have weekly spelling and a test on Friday.  We won’t start that until we finish Henry Huggins’ Neighborhood.  I have some fun ways for kids to practice spelling words.  Look for them in a couple of weeks.
• ·         Occasionally, there will be some science or social studies related homework.  Not a lot, most of the work we do in science is experiential and done in the classroom.
• ·         Finally, we’ll assign a few home projects that require more than a week of work to prepare.  These projects, like the Egg Drop, require students to plan, draft, revise and prepare a final project.  Students will have between three to five weeks to finish this type of project.

                 I hope this gives you a sense of what to expect from homework.  We will talk more about it at Back to School Night.

              .

                                                                                Thanks for all your support,

                                                                                Valerie McKenzie

               

Welcome to Third Grade and Painted Paper Factory on Thursday and Friday--Help!

We’re off to a great start!

How wonderful to meet all of your third graders.  They are kind hearted and full of life.

            We spent the morning organizing our materials, beginning a Reading Workshop, meeting the new PE teacher –Mr. Lewis-- and making Glyphs (ask your student) that represent our feelings and thinking about math class.

In the afternoon we started our Storyline with Beverly Cleary’s book Henry Huggins.  Kids listened to Ms. Cleary’s introduction in which she describes how she came to write the book,  lots of discussion about what choices and decisions writers make.  We did a “close reading” with the first chapter and kids looked for evidence in the text that described the main characters.  (See the photos).  We prepared homework boxes and discussed homework before the three o’clock bell rang.

Whew!! That was a lot.

         Please mark your calendars for Back to School Night, Thursday, September 18, 6:30-8:00.  The event always begins in the cafeteria with introductions and then moves to classroom.  That is the time to sign up for fall conference which will be earlier this year--- The last week of October.  It is also the time to get the full run down on classroom procedures and expectations.  Our year together will be jam-packed and I will be expecting a lot from your students.  With the Common Core State Standards, teachers are preparing students for some rigorous testing and new curriculum to meet the standards.  During Back to School Night I’ll also talk about volunteer opportunities.  Some things just don’t happen without the help and support of parents.  Please consider volunteering to help with Writing Workshop, Math and such.

                One great opportunity happens this Thursday and Friday, September 4 and 5,  from 2:00-3:00.  For our Storyline we need to make a lot of painted paper.  It’s always fun to see kids mix the colors.  But it can get hectic.  Help us out, you won’t regret it.

                  The blog is up and running and it is the best way for me to let you know what is happening in the classroom.  Please let me invite you, send me an email with the tag line:  class blog, and I will use that email.  I’m NOT an expert at this but it is fun to learn as I go.

                                                                                                                Thanks for all you do,

                                                                                                                Valerie McKenzie

 

Close reading of the text.