3B Blog News from Mrs. Kerian: January 2014

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Old Man Winter Must Not Be Happy!

I can honestly say that I feel like I have not seen much of my students since Christmas. Although we

have had school here and there since the holidays, it does not feel like it. Next time we hear there is a big snowstorm coming our way, I am going to plan on trying to still connect with the students virtually with the use of technology as I feel like we have lost so much time together! Everyone loves a "snow day" once and a while, but this is getting out of control. Someone needs to do something to cheer up Old Man Winter! Any ideas?

Well, during the past "mini" weeks, 3B students have started a new exploratory called "Technology" class. We do so much technology in the classroom that I hate saying it is a separate class. The instructor of Tech, Miss Klenke, is trying to correlate activities with the homerooms. So far, 3B students have been shown an online keyboarding site they can go to to continue building their keyboarding skills, as well as starting book-trailers using the app iMovie. This activity is in connection to reading done in the classroom. Students will be using a book he/she has read in the classroom/home recently and created a movie trailer with required information about the book. Our goal is to have the book trailers up and ready by the time of parent teacher conferences in February (if we ever have enough school).

I posting on my blog the link for students to work on keyboarding. Miss Klenke has shown the students the site or will be showing it soon. While we use the iPads primarily in the classroom, keyboarding quickly on a computer is still a part of our 3rd grade curriculum. Through this online site, students can log in and work on keyboarding at home. I will be sending student login and passwords home with the students so that they can continue to work independently.

I am unsure what tomorrow will bring, but I am hoping that I get to see the students' smiling faces. Here are some bits of information about upcoming events and activities:
1. Students will begin preparing for student led conferences. These are conferences held in February where the 3rd grade students leads the conference. While many students are very nervous leading up to the day of the conference, they are usually very happy afterwards. More information will be coming home soon about logging in to sign up for conferences as well. Stay tuned.
2. We are wrapping up our unit on multiplication and introduction to division. Please remind students to continue to work on multiplication facts. There are some great websites on the side of my blog page that students can do at home to continue to work on recognizing their facts faster.
3. We are working hard writing personal narratives. Along with this genre, students are focusing on adding detail, writing good beginning sentences, and building their ideas better through their writing. Students hope to have a personal narrative to share with everyone at conferences.
4. Students are reading like crazy at school in preparation for their book-trailers being made with Tech class. I love it!!! I hope they are sharing that "want" to read at home as well. Many students have been taking books home, reading, and building that love to read (that is what is most important). Students were told to try and have their book read or almost done by the end of this week, but we may have to push that back a week due to weather and missing school.
5. Our focus strategies in reading this week are to continue working on paraphrasing and questioning. Paraphrasing is a tough strategy and will be the focus of "Cadet Time" as well for many groups.

Stay warm!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Welcome to 2014! Changes in the Future….

I hope that everyone enjoyed their extended vacation for winder break. I know everyone says they would have liked to have another day off today, but I am glad to have the students back! I missed them! Hard to believe that the school year is already half over. It always goes by so quickly! I do not like winter, so I am hoping the next few months go very quickly! Not too fast though as I need more time with my 3B stars!

Just a reminder to return your December Book-It calendar! If your child has met his/her December reading goal, I will be sending home a coupon for a free personal pan pizza. I am very impressed with the number of students in 3B participating in Book-It! Yeah!!! So proud of all of you! The January calendar was sent home before break, with a goal of 350 minutes. Get reading!

Starting the week of January 13th, 3B's schedule will be changing. Before this, the students did not have a "special" on Wednesdays each week. Beginning next week, 3B's special schedule will look like this:

Monday: Library

Tuesday: Art

Wednesday: Technology (new!)

Thursday: Music

Friday: PE

We are adding a technology component to our schedules. Miss Klinke, the tech coordinator, will be teaching this class. She will be working with classroom teachers to integrate ideas and work on projects together. She will also be showing the students various tech skills and activities they can be working on at home so stay tuned for more information.

Report cards will be sent home Monday, January 13th. Remember that you can always contact me via email or phone if you have any questions or concerns about report cards.

Stay warm!

Big Blast was a Big Hit!

The students had an awesome time at the Big Blast held before winter break! From the looks of the pictures below, which are just a few that I took during the celebration, the students loved every minute of it!

Remember that the Big Blast is held as a celebration to our fundraising that is done in the fall. The money raised from this fundraising project goes towards the district's field trips. So a special thanks to everyone who purchased items this past fall and helped to put money in the school's piggy bank!

Wonderful Celebration of Caring and Sharing

I heard from my sub that the days spent creating ornaments and then sharing with classmates was a big hit! The 3rd grade teachers said the students were very prepared, did really well, and created some beautiful ornaments from the items given. Thank you to the parents who brought in snacks for the students to munch on while they worked. From the looks of it, the students had plenty to eat as they created their "masterpieces". I wish I could have been there to see them.

Here are a few pictures that the substitute took.

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Inferencing: Experienced readers make inferences as they read. Readers use what they already know and think about what they have read to construct meaning. The reader should ask themselves, "What I already know in my brain" and "What did I just read or see?" to make an inferences that is not stated by the author of person.

Determining Important Information: Determining important information is a strategy that helps us pick out the most important ideas we read. The first line of a paragraph may say the main idea of the page, but a reader should read through the details to decide what is the important information. The reader should ask themselves, "What is the author trying to teach me?"

Summarize: A summary is a paragraph or a statement in your own words that gives the most important ideas from what you have read. Readers determine important information, make inferences, and visualize when summarizing. We use the graphic organizer of "Somebody....Wanted....But....So.....Then....". "Somebody" is the character. "Wanted" would be the what the character wanted. "But" would be the problem. "So" would be how the problem was solved, and "Then" would be the resolution or end.

Predicting:When a reader predicts, they use information from the text along with their own knowledge and experiences to make thoughtful or informed guesses about what will happen in the text. When your child is reading at home, encourage them to stop and share predictions he/she may have as they are reading.

Identifying Text Structure: Recognizing how a piece of writing is organized can help readers understand what is happening. There can be different ways a text is structured.

* Sequential - in order

* Cause and Effect

* Question / Answer

* Steps in a Process

When reading at home, discuss how the text is organized and structure.

Ask and Answer Questions: Experienced readers ask questions about the text in order to understand what they are reading. Asking questions helps readers visualize, monitor comprehension and determine important information. Answers to these questions may be found in the text, or put together from the reader's own experience. At home, parents can encourage students to stop and ask questions while they read and recognize when answers are within the text or needed to be answered by own experience.

Paraphrasing: When readers paraphrase, they tell main ideas using their own words. This helps them check their understanding of what they have read. At home, parents can encourage their student to read a selection, flip the book over, and tell them main ideas from their reading in their own words. Flip the book back over and read another section or page before flipping it over again and paraphrasing his/her reading.

3B Blog News from Mrs. Kerian