Iowa Assessments Are Done! Report Cards Were Sent Home!

We are done!!!!  The students finished up all the parts of the Iowa Assessments, even with so many students missing days for being ill.  I was very pleased with the effort most students put towards the tests.  We reminded ourselves every day of the Little Engine that Could and told ourselves, "I think I can.  I think I can!".  Nice job 3B!  I think we are all pretty glad to have them all done!

I am assuming that the scores will be returned by the end of the school year, but there is no guarantee.

Report cards were also sent home on Monday.  If parents have not returned your envelope with a signature on it showing that they have read/seen their child's report card, please return it as soon as possible.  I do not need the report card itself, just the envelope.  The envelope will be sent home again at the end of the year with the child's final report card.

Again, if parents have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.

An Unwanted Visitor….The Flu Bug!

We have a visitor making the way around the 3B classroom.  It has already hit many, including myself, and has a few survivors yet to conquer.  Who is it you ask.  IT IS….The Flu Bug!!!

I have to say, it has been a rough month of illnesses in 3B for everyone, including myself. Wow!  I am hoping that once we get through this month, April will start out healthier for everyone!  At least the flu bug is short lived, meaning only lasting a few days, but it is nasty!

Just a reminder that if your child is showing symptoms of the flu (fever, dizziness, throwing up, pale complexion etc.) please keep them home.  We don't want to spread everything around.  Also remember that if your child does throw up, he/she should not return to school until they have been feeling better and have not throw up for at least 24 hours.

We are also on our last bottle of hand sanitizer if anyone would like to send an extra one to school with their 3B child.  Thank you ahead of time!

The Next American Idol Winner in 3B?????

Did you know there were so many talented singers in 3B???  I knew we had some great dancers in the room but I was not aware how awesome each one was at singing!  :)  Maybe we have some future "American Idol" winners in the room?

Just a quick shout out to the students on a wonderful performance last night at the Crestwood 2nd and 3rd grade music program.  We had a few students who were absent due to illness, but those who were there did a great job!  I am very proud of each of you!  Just remember me when you become famous….hahaha.

Focusing on Fiction - Dialogue - Comic Strip Makers

The students have been working hard the last few weeks building a better understanding of the types of fiction as well as some elements when it comes to writing fiction.  Besides reading and listening to many wonderful fiction stories, the students have discussed plot, "showing" character traits instead of writing them through physical description/actions, as well as writing with dialogue.

Many students have started to publish their fiction stories on their blogs!  We would love to have some comments posted so take a look at them (they will be posting them all within the next week).

Along with this, the students are taking their fiction piece and modifying it to create a comic strip.  This is being done in collaboration with TECH as well as building an understanding of what "dialogue" means.  I am excited to share those with you as well.  Look for the student comic strip post sometime within the next week or two as well.

It amazes me when I compare the students' writing at the beginning of the year to this point in the year! So much growth!  #proud

Math Assessments

The students finished up our unit 5 math assessment Monday on decimals and we are moving into geometry (yes, geometry)!  I have had 2 students gone so they will be finishing their unit 5 assessment so I will hold the other's and send them home towards the end of the week.

Today some students are bringing home Unit 5 Review Packets.  Even though we are moving on, it is a good idea for many to review and keep practicing place value into the millions as well as decimals.  If your child brings a review packet home, please work with them to complete the packet by next Monday.  Return it to school completed.

I will also send home a Student Reference Book for students to use as needed.  There is a place value chart inside.  Please return that along with the packet next Monday.

It is great for parents to work with the student through the review - checking that they are understanding and applying the concepts that we have worked on.

Thank you!

Iowa Assessments Start Today!

Well, the students had their first taste of Iowa Assessments as we took one part of the Reading test today.   A letter about this was sent home last week.  Most students worked very hard and tried their best on the assessment.  I will be sending home a copy of our 3B schedule for parents. Please try to schedule appointments around this schedule as it is hard to make up Iowa Assessments one on one.  Thank you!

Just a reminder to make sure your 3B child gets a good nights rest as well as eats a healthy breakfast every night/day for these test.  The school does supply a snack for the students each day as part of our "brain food", but it is important that students also get enough rest the night before as well as eat a good breakfast.

We watched the video of the Little Engine that Could this morning to encourage the students to tell themselves, "I think I can..I think I can!" when feeling like they are unsure or nervous.  As I watched them working today, many were whispering to themselves " I think I can!".  Awesome!!!

Short and Sweet

Here are some quick comments about the activities this week:

1.  We will be celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss's birthday by kicking off Monday with some jr. high students.  Miss Kerian is bringing her class down to our classroom. Together, we will be reading favorite books together, doing a Dr. Seuss scavenger hunt, and kicking of a fun week of activities for Read Across America.

2.  No school Tuesday due to the Cadets girls basketball team playing at the State tournament at 11:45! Hope to see some of you in Des Moines!!!

3.  We will be finishing up a project based activity students were working on in library.  Students will finish working with their partner or small group to create a Keynote presentation on their learning.  Look for students to post these projects on their individual blog pages soon!

4.  Students jumped right into writing fiction!  We are exploring the different types of fiction.  Students have also learned that they can work on adding detail to their writing by asking "What if…..????".  Writing is becoming a favorite with many 3rd grade students, and that is so exciting to see!  Compared to the beginning of the year, all 3B students have grown as writers in so many ways!

5.  Decimals….yes….decimals.  Last Friday we launched into our study of decimals.  The students grasped onto the idea of what a decimal is and how we show decimals and fractions.  More exploration will be done with decimals this week in math as well.

That just gives you a quick run down of what we are working on and will work on this week in 3B!  I am excited also to say that it looks like the weather might be warming up soon!  We deserve a little warm up and time for students to get outside!!!!  I think we have had enough of this stuff called "winter".