http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segwayed/lessons/boss/student1.html

 

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellation_list.html



http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/play/

Week of February 24th

*All families received a redistricting letter in the mail.  These letters need to be filled out and returned by Tuesday, Feb. 25^th.

ISTEP Dates and Times (3rd Graders Only)

Need Parent Volunteers to work with our 2nd graders during these testing times!

Monday, March 10^th:       Mathematics Testing Session #1 9-9:40

                                      Specials at 12:40-1:15

 Tuesday, March 11^th:      English/Language Arts Session #2 9:00-10:00

                                      Specials at 12:40-1:25

Wednesday, March 12^th:  English/Language Arts Session #3  9:00-10:00
                                       Specials at 12:40-1:25

IREAD Testing (3^rd Graders Only)

(Change in my last email-can use parent volunteers for testing times too!)

Wednesday, March 19^th:  Session #1    9:00-9:27

                                       Session #2   10:00-10:30
                                       Specials:       10:00-2:55

 

Thursday, March 20^th:      Session #3   9:00-9:34
                                       Specials        9:35-10:20
                                       Session #4    10:30-11:02

 

Here’s our week at a glance!

Reading:  We will be reading Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong.  Our focus will be reviewing sequencing and compound words.  Students will also be reading a small chapter book called Scraps of Time 1937 The Home-Run King.  Watch for it to come home Tuesday-Thursday on nightly basis for reading homework.

 

Writing:  We will be working on persuasive writing pieces.  Adverbs will be our grammar focus for the week.

Social Studies:  We are enjoying learning about the history of all of our families.  Students will be presenting their quilt squares to the class next week and then we’ll be hanging them in the hallway.  Stop by to see them if you get a chance.  This week our focus will be ethnic foods and learning about the history of language.

 

Math 2:  Students did a great job on their Unit 7 tests and they will be coming home on Monday 2/24.  Our focus for the week will be fractions.

 

Math 3:  Our 3rd graders also did a great job on their Unit 7 tests and they will be coming home on Monday 2/24 as well.  We will be reviewing measurement and measurement conversions this week.

 

*Our snacks are running low again.  Some of the kids' favorites are Rice Krispie treats, Skinny Pop popcorn, and Cheez-Its.  Thanks to those of you that keep us stocked up for our afternoon snacks!!  The kids LOVE you for that!!

*We are also low on regular-size bottles of hand sanitizer. 

*I'll send home the testing schedule above so you can hang it on the refrigerator.  Many parents have volunteered to help us out and I'll be in touch soon.

 

Thank you for all of your wonderful support!  We've had a lot of stressful kids this week so let's all take a deep breath and get back at it this week!!  Stress is no fun for any of us!

 

Have a great week,

Mrs. Mitchell

 

 

Weather Forecasts

Check out these meteorologists!  We culminated our weather unit today with students creating a 4-day weather forecast.  They created television station names and logos!!  Some even made boom microphones, ear pieces, and pointers.  They had a ball!  Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!



 

 

 

Week of February 10th

We are excited about our Valentine's Party on Friday!  Thanks to Mrs. Estes for being our "Room Mom" and all of the other parents who have donated time, goodies, and money!!

Third Graders have English/Language Arts Acuity from 1-2 on Tuesday, February 11th. 

Reading:  We return to the basal this week to start a unit about different cultures.  Our first story is Suki's Kimono.  Remember the reading book and vocabulary bookmark will come home on Monday night!  We will be working on comparing/contrasting and synonyms for this week. We will also be reading Olympic books as well!

Spelling:  CV/VC syllable pattern  (create=cre/ate)

English:  Students will learn about articles and adjectives this week.  In writing, we will be focusing on writing good beginnings and endings.  The students will be writing an essay for the Indianapolis Zoo.  The  topic will be,"The name orangutan means "person of the forest" in the Malay language of Indonesia.  Do you think this name is appropriate for the animal?  Why or why note?"  We will be reading some books on orangutans in preparation for this essay.

Math 2:   We are going to work one more day on using parentheses in equations which will wrap up Unit 7.  There will be a review on Tuesday and Test on Wednesday so watch for the Test Alert.  Unit 8 focuses on fractions and starts on Thursday.  I am so proud of the students who have passed their addition and subtraction xtra math quizzes!  We have several second graders already working on multiplication.  Please be sure your child is taking time to do his/her xtramath each night!!

Math 3:  We will be wrapping up Unit 7 on Wednesday.  The Unit 7 review will be Thursday and the test will be Friday. 

Science:  We are enjoying learning about weather although we would like to get outside more to use some of our weather instruments we have created.  This week we will learn about climates, shadows, rotation of the earth, clouds, and do a group project on Friday. Students will work in groups to create a safety presentation on one of the following topics:  tornados, extreme heat, thunderstorms, and winter/extreme cold. 

We will be keeping a close eye on the Olympics too and learning as much as possible about the them! 

Thank you for the snacks!  We are stocked up for now!

Please don't forget about the Boxtop contest and the Reuse-A-Shoe contest!

~Mrs. Mitchell

Week of January 24th

Wow--what a crazy week of weather and it doesn't look like next week will be any better!!  Our 2/3 class has done a great job of adjusting to the "2-hour Delay Schedule!" 

Reading:  For the next two weeks, we will be doing Weather Literature Circles.  The class will be divided up into four groups reading one of the following books by Seymour Simon:  Tornadoes, Global Warming, Hurricanes, and Lightning.  Students will have some extra reading homework during this time.  They will be responsible for reading the required pages and using that information to determine possible headings, vocabulary words, and facts from that reading.  From there, students will be creating their own nonfiction books based on their notes and discussion with others.  Please help your child remember to complete this homework and return both the book and the packet to school the next day.  Thank you!!

Spelling:  Consonant Diagraph /sh/ list will be our focus this week.

Writing:  Students will be working on improving word choice as well as learning to evaluate their own writing.  Last week, students created a Sillyasaurus and wrote about it-ask your child what he/she created!

Math 2:  Students will be excited because they will be getting their new Volume 2 Math Journal!!  Unit 7 will be about multiplication and division!  Getting some multiplication/division flashcards and practicing those each night will help your child a great deal with this unit.

Math 3:  The third graders were excited to get their new Volume 2 Math Journals last week as well.  They will be focusing on probabilities, fractions, fraction addtion, and fraction and decimals this week.  Busy week as we work to catch up!!

Science:  We will start our weather unit this week!  Perfect time to learn about weather, don't you think??!!  We wil have a "meteorologist" research and report the weather each morning!!

General Info:
*We are almost out of snacks again. Thank you to those that can send some in to restock our snack shelf!!
*3rd Grade Math Acuity:  Monday, February 3rd from 10-11

Have a great week and stay warm!
~Mrs. Mitchell

Week of January 21st

Welcome Back after what seemed like a very long vacation!  It’s good to be back and the kids seemed very ready to settle back into their routine. (well, almost all of them!)

The last Acuity test before ISTEP is coming up.  We will take Math Acuity on February 3 from 10-11 and English/Language Arts Acuity on Tuesday, February 11^th from 1-2.  Please encourage your child to work through his/her acuity lessons-watch for the Acuity Letter coming home with your third grader this week!
 

The 3^rd graders also have the IREAD test coming up.  It is scheduled for the week of March 17^th. We will be reviewing lots of reading and language arts skill for this test in the next month.  Our 2^nd graders will review with us to help prepare them for the same test the following year.

Please remember that our entire class will perform with the third graders on Thursday, March 20^th.  Be sure to mark your calendars for this special event. See the picture for this program below!!

Here’s what we are doing this week:

Reading:  We will read two stories from our Storyworks Magazine focusing on fact/opinion and  context clues.

Spelling:  Rock List
 

English:  We learned the RUPR song last week!Be sure you have your child sing it to you and tell you what it’s for!  We will be working on adding details and using purple WOW! Words in our writing this week. Students will also be analyzing their past writing pieces to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

Math 2: Our next two lessons will be about Polyhedrons-reviewing 3-dimensional shapes and identifying bases of pyramids and prisms .
 

Students will review for a Unit 6 Test on Thursday and the test will be given on Friday.

 
Math 3:  3^rd Graders will review for their Unit 6 test on Tuesday and the test will be given on

Wednesday.  We will then begin Unit 7 which is about fractions and probability.

Science:   We will continue our second week of rocks. Students have learned about sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Identifying minerals, and Indiana rocks. Next week, we will be studying the rock cycles, how erosion changes rocks, and wrapping up the unit on Friday.

Have a great day off Monday!