We Survived Iowa Assessments and Tomorrow We Are Off to UNI!

Today is our last day for Iowa Assessments (for most students), and I think we are all pretty glad about that!!!  I will say that I have been very pleased with the effort from most of the students.  I have been giving out "Effort Coupons" and some students are collecting lots of points because of their hard word and effort they are putting towards the Iowa Assessments.  Excellent job!  They are very excited to turn those coupons on for prizes next Monday!  :)

Besides Iowa Assessments, there is a lot going on.  We have been working with Mrs. Galvin's kindergarten class to help them prepare for their big Zoo Day tomorrow.  3B students have done research for them, helped them prepare their little presentations, and will to a "run through" with them today as well.  It has been a fun activity for both 3rd grade and kindergarten.

I posted pictures from the music program last week on a previous post. Again, that was a huge success!!!

Students are loving their Book Clubs, reading a ton, and having super discussions about their reading.  I heard laughter and deep thought all shared on Monday from simply reading and sharing a good book through book clubs.  It brought a huge smile to not only my face, but others as well.   The students have also done a nice job, those with computer access at home, using their Google Documents to record their thoughts.  This is the first year I have done that this way and I am very pleased with how it is going.  Reminder that the students need to have their reading and thoughts posted by tomorrow's book clubs.  Can't wait to hear what they are going to discuss this time.

And just a reminder that we are going to UNI to a play tomorrow.  We are going to be watching the play of Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter.  The kids are very excited about going to UNI as well as riding on a chartered bus.  We will be leaving about 10:30 so that we can get some things done in the morning before we head out.  Remember that your child is to bring a lunch from home, and for this trip, peanut butter is allowed.  So, please send a lunch from home, a beverage to drink, as well as a small snack that they may want to eat on the way home.  It also looks nice if students show their school spirit when we go to activities like this, by wearing school colors.  I would love to see the students in their Cadet shirts or school colors to show our school pride.

Have a super weekend and enjoy the weather!

Healthy Iowa Kids and ITBS!

I am sending home a lot of papers today, some for you to keep and some that need to be returned.  Please read through this post very carefully.  I have gone over everything with the students, but I felt I also needed to make parents aware of everything.

First off, I am sending home a calendar that will be used for a school wide activity encouraging students to stay healthy and active.  This activity started January 18th and will continue throughout the school year.  To begin with, I have started recording the minutes the students are active in something, which includes recess and PE, on their calendars.  You can see that from January 18th until today, the calendar has been completed as far as minutes of being active.  Now it is your 3B child's responsibility to continue recording the minutes he/she is active and return it to school on the date shown.  Here is some more information:

     * Minutes can include active time are recess and PE (so be sure to include those every day).  Your 3B
        child can add whatever minutes he/she is active at home to the minutes given for each day of the
        week we are active at school.  (For example, if he or she is active 30 minutes at home or Fitness
        Center on Monday, he/she would add that to the 75 minutes we are active at school on Monday,
        which is on the previous weeks, so the total would be 115 minutes for Monday.)

     *  Students should also record the fruit they eat at home.  They will need to write tiny to write in the
        box what fruits they have eaten.  Be sure to add what fruits they have eaten at school as well.
        I did not do this part of the activity so 3B will start recording their fruit today.

     *  As far as exercise:  PE at school can be counted.  Add on whatever time is spent doing physical
        activity at home but here is the catcher:  Exercise with a video game, such as wii Fit, cannot be
        included!

If there is any confusion, please feel free to email me or call.  This is something new and I am totally confused about it as well so we will get through it together.  Hang it somewhere at home so it is easy to record minutes and fruits each day and then return on due date.  Students who reach the goal the school has set will get some sort of recognition by putting names up.  I am not sure about those details at this time.

Also, you will see that your 3B child is bringing his/her ITBS results home.  Please read through their profile very carefully as well as the parent information that was sent home.  If you have questions, feel free to contact me now or wait until parent-teacher conferences in 2 weeks.  Overall, I was extremely pleased with the scores in 3B!  Yeah!

Book-it for January is due tomorrow or Wednesday.  I am sending home February calendar today as I am not sure what the weather will be like the next few days for us.

I will be sending home conference times next Monday.  Remember these are student led conferences so your 3B child will need to attend.

Have a great week.....maybe all the snow will pass us....we can only hope!

Busy Next Two Weeks!

Wow!  What a difference in the temperature from two weeks ago.  I guess that is how the weather goes.  I know I am not ready for winter!! I wanted to remind everyone to have their 3B student dress warm every day.  Many stand outside in the morning before school and it is still very chilly!  Hats and mittens should be a must now as it is getting colder.  I was just glad to see the sunshine this morning!

Everyone in 3B is working hard and getting through our ITBS testing.  We have two test to take tomorrow and will finish up on Wednesday with the last one.  I am pleased how hard the students are trying and using their "test taking tips" along the way!  They have been troopers!  Thank you to everyone as well in making sure that there are not a lot of students gone during this time.  I understanding if your child is ill that they should be home...we can't help that and want them to rest and get better.  But thank you for not scheduling many appointments during this time!  It helps a lot with the students' comfort levels and routine of the day to be here as much as possible!  I have to agree with the students that I will also be glad when the testing is over and we can get back to a routine!

Thanks to everyone who sent in pictures for our "Oh! The Places You Have Been!" bulletin board for social studies!!!  It will be fun to look at all the pictures and the travels of 3B.  If you have not sent your child's pictures and would like to, feel free to send them in tomorrow.  I would like to get all the pictures up by tomorrow night so we can use them to build our understanding of communities.

Due to testing, we did not get our math assessment in last week for unit 3 on measurement.  I hope to finish that unit up this week and have the assessment by Thursday or Friday.  We just did a bunch of activities on perimeter (as you know from your child singing "The Perimeter Song" to you ) and now we will be moving into area.  Look for "The Area Song" to come home soon as well!  :)  I have found that the students have a great understanding of measuring to the nearest inch and half inch but struggle when it comes to nearest quarter of an inch.  If you are not busy at home some night, have your child get a rule and practice measuring the the nearest quarter of an inch.  While this is not a "secure" goal for math, it is something that you could work on at home.  There are also a few measurement links on my webpage that students can work on at home as well.  Always something to do.....

I will be sending home an invitation for our first Character Counts celebration that will be held next Wednesday afternoon.  Please note that parents are invited to this celebration and will be working on an activity with your 3B child.  It is all explained on the invitation.  If you are unable to attend due to conflicts, please have your 3B student let me know so that I can find other adults to work with him/her.   If you volunteered to supply snacks for this celebration, a reminder note will be sent to you by the end of the week.  Fun times ahead!

Just a reminder that fundraiser pick up is tonight at the elementary school.  Please remember that if your child sold items for the fundraiser that he/she is responsible for picking them up and getting them delivered.

There is also a 3 hour early out this Wednesday for teacher inservice.

Have a great week and stay warm!

ITBS Starts This Week...Google Earth....Blogging!

As the title of this post states, we will be starting our Iowa Tests of Basic Skills this week.  Our testing days this week will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  We will take Friday off and finish up next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Please try your best to have your child be at school on those days as it is more difficult to reschedule testing times when students are absent.  If possible, schedule dentist and/or doctor appointments around these particular days of testing.  I appreciate your help and cooperation!

The school is providing snacks that I called "brain food" for each day of testing.  Along with this, please encourage your child to eat a healthy breakfast and get enough rest each night.  I have discussed these tips with the students in a way to hopefully not make them too nervous.  Being it is the first time your 3B child is taking the test, it is important to not get them worked up.  All we ask is they try their best!  That's it.  So please don't discuss the testing with them in the way that will cause anxiety.  I know they will be fine as we have discussed many testing tips that will be useful with any test your child ever takes.

So the week is fairly choppy due to testing.  I am going to try and wrap up a math unit on measurement, perimeter, and area this week if possible.  We will have to wait and see how the testing times go to determine that.  We will be jumping into our social studies book this week and discussing communities.  Look for an sheet to be coming home tomorrow explaining and activity about places the students have been and bringing in pictures, postcards, etc.  We will be using our own "touring" and personal connections to build a better understanding of the different types of communities in social studies so look for that tomorrow.  Last week I introduced "Google Earth" to the students-which they LOVED!  I have heard many of you have already downloaded it at home per your child's request.  It is wonderful access to places around the world.....a virtual field trip....that we will continue to use throughout the year!  For those of you who have downloaded it, I hope you are enjoying it.  For those of you who have not, it is a free download off the internet that holds lots of valuable learning.  I encourage you to give it a try.

Remember I will be increasing the amount of homework that is given this quarter.  Today I noticed that many students did not do their homework given last Friday of singing the "Perimeter Song".  Not a great way to start the week.  Remember we need to work together in trying to build each child's responsibility with homework as there will be LOTS more in 4th grade.

Students were very excited last week to also begin their own blog pages.  Wow....they think they are "big stuff" now! (which they are! :)  We just made a basic blog post last week in practicing getting to and from their blog pages.  This week I hope to have each of them make a post about a book they have been reading......we will probably go into next week to finish that due to conflicts in time with ITBS scheduling.  Remember that we love to have comments from parents and relatives on our blog pages!!!! (hint, hint)

Enjoy the week!  Hard to believe we are almost half way through November already!  Wow!

Gotta Have Courage!

I thought I would make a quick post to share some "upcoming events" and what has been happening lately in 3B. The students continue to be my little angels and working so hard that I couldn't be prouder! They amaze me every day, and I think they amaze themselves as well.

First I must give "applause" to our three stars from the play this weekend of The Wizard of Oz. Trista, Alison, and Emily were Munchkins and did a fabulous job in a great production of the famous movie! I know there were a few other students in 3B who had tried out to be in the play. I hope that they, and others, continue to try out for other school and community productions! I am very proud of all the students who tried out, whether they were in the play or not! As we talked about, it takes a lot of courage to try something new (just like the Cowardly Lion from the play). Being in productions like that can be valuable learning experiences, as well as build confidence! Anyway, great job girls!

I am sending home an invite for our first Character Counts celebration. This celebration will be held next Wednesday on the early out before Thanksgiving. Parents are invited to attend as 3B students will be working with parent(s) to create a new mascot for Character Counts. It should not be a mascot that already exist for a team or anything. Try to be creative and come up with a mascot and a saying to go with it that connects to Character Counts. Please read the information immediately as there is another activity that involves writing a "Respect and Responsibility" recipe. Directions and a short example are given on the information sheet. This has been a favorite activity/event in the past so we hope to see you there. If you can not come, maybe ask a grandparent, older brother/sister, or other relative. If no one in your family can attend, I will make arrangements so that your child does not work alone. Please let me know if you are unable to attend so that I can make those arrangements ahead of time. Those parents who volunteered to supply snacks for this event will receive a separate letter/reminder with information by the end of the week. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, hope to see you next Wednesday!

We will continue, and hopefully finish, ITBS testing this week. Our schedule looks something like this: Tuesday - Math Concepts and Estimation, Wednesday - testing practice test from state, Thursday - Math Problem Solving, and Friday - Science. I want to thank everyone for trying to stay healthy and not miss any school. Thank you! 3B has done a wonderful job as we haven't had any absences for illness or appointments, which means no make up test. Yippee! Please remember to make sure your 3rd grader gets enough rest the night before the test and eats a healthy breakfast. I can speak for all of us that we will be glad when we are done with the tests and can get back to normal, but I commend each 3B student for working hard and trying their best.

Remember that tonight is the pick up night for fund raiser items. You should have received a phone call last night reminding you to pick up your items tonight between 3:00 and 6:00.

Book blogging continues to be going at a slow pace but going well. Students are focusing on recording their thinking while reading to self (we call it using "reading tracks") and these tracks then help them complete their book blogs. Podcast are also going well and we will be putting up a new reading podcast this week for our Luther students. Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to their suggestions and compare our first reading to our second. You can tell that there is great importance in practicing reading and the second podcast was done after practicing. Hopefully our 3rd podcast will be up this week and there will be many different passages read by different students that are appropriate for his/her reading level. This week I hope to start some students on an online discussion through "Edmodo" (which I talked to some parents about at conferences) as well as continuing to build reading strategies, moving into "summarizing".

Enjoy the sunshine while it last!

Parent Teacher Conferences - Great Discussions

I am almost done with my last parent - teacher conference. Thank you to all the parents for taking time out of their busy schedules! It was nice to see everyone again (since Open House)! The discussions were great! Always remember that you, the parents, do not need to wait until conferences to chat with me about your child. My phone and email are always open to each of you! Anyway, thanks again for attending parent teacher conferences. I was very pleased with the turnout and wonderful "conversations" I had with many of you! Your children are wonderful, and I totally enjoy working with each and every one of them. The video that was showing while you may have been waiting in the hall will be continued the rest of the year by adding pictures. Each child will get a DVD of the video at the end of the year as a 3rd grade keepsake of memories. They know this and are very excited!!!

Even though we only had 4 days of school this week, it was a productive one! We started a keyboarding program called "Keybo" that we will be attempting to do each week. The students were WAY excited about starting! For the first meeting, we discussed posture and home row before starting to type. Their fingers were just itching to get going. . . . The reason we are starting this now is that it is a required part of the 3rd grade curriculum (usually I don't start it until later), and I feel it would help them with all the computer "stuff" they are doing, especially their book blogs. Which leads me to my next comment,

Book Blogs are going great!!!! Oh my! The students are so anxious to do their book blog that we can't get them done fast enough. Most students made one blog within the last week. I apologize that not all did, but because the students can't type real fast, the first blogs went slower than planned. I really like the aspect that students are sharing their thinking about what they are reading. This will help when we get into book clubs and have deep discussions about what we are reading. Our tech person is still trying to figure out why we can't comment through iWeb. Hopefully, as I said before, we will get that figured out and we can pose questions to the students about their blog post.

Our Luther podcast pals finally made a podcast giving suggestions to our 3B students. We didn't have time to listen to them today so that will have to wait until next week. The students will listen to their podcast suggestions, practice, and then make a new podcast of the same passage. Rereading is a powerful strategy to build fluency and expression so that is the purpose of rereading, applying the Luther suggestions, and creating a new podcast. I think when the students each listen to their first podcast (where there was no chance to practice) and then listen to this one (after practicing) they will notice a huge difference. I did apply for a grant to get some iPod Touches in the classroom to use for recording reading as well as listening to podcast so that the laptops we have are available for other activities (such as blogging). I don't know when we will find out who got the grants but cross your fingers!!!!! iPod Touches are becoming a very popular resource for education as they can be equipped with many "apps" to be used for educational purposes. They are almost like a mini computer which I think is exciting!

Moving on. . . .we will be starting social studies this week by looking at a map of Iowa and then moving into discussion on "Communities". With that, we will be taking a little break from science (I know, many of the students will be saddened by that because it is a favorite) but we will be back at it in a few weeks. In literacy, we will be learning about tracking our thinking while reading, summarizing, and various other fluency/accuracy activities in our mini lessons. There are always so many other things being covered in literacy as it is very individualized, but those are the main "mini lessons" we will be covering.

My last comment (yes, it is fairly long I know) revolves around ITBS. We will be starting ITBS this week, and I don't want the students to worry or get uptight about them. We have done various "test taking tip" activities and I know they are ready. The most important things you can do as parents is make sure your child goes to bed early enough every night and eats a good breakfast every morning. The school has supplied "brain food" for the students to have before the test, which is always very nice. Otherwise, all the students need to do is try their best. That's all we ask. Done deal. :)

Have a great 3 day weekend with your 3rd grader! Enjoy the sunshine - I heard it is suppose to be a great weekend!