3B Blog News from Mrs. Kerian: August 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Tentative Schedule

Once we get rolling and get into a routine, we will be following the schedule below (with modifications as needed throughout the year). I need to add in a time for "Genius Hour" yet so there will be some changes coming. Just wanted to keep everyone informed.

Friday, August 22, 2014

How Can I Keep Up With 3B's Fun?

I wanted to send a quick post about the different ways you can follow activities, receive important information, or just simply see what is going on in 3B. Here you go:

1. One way is to read my 3B blog, which is what this is posted on. One to two times a week, I post information, pictures, and activities to show what is going on in 3B. I will also sometimes share important information about activities that may be approaching. Checking this blog site is a great way to stay current on what is happening in our classroom. I also have strategies, contact information, and links to many online activities along the right side of the blog that we use throughout the school year. Students may also use these links from home as well.

2. Another way is to "like" our 3B Facebook page. The link is https://www.facebook.com/Mrs.Kerians3BLearners. Simply "like" the Facebook page to see pictures and great things from 3B.

3. We also have a class Twitter account. (I have posted some things on Twitter this week but students will start doing it with me next week.) Our class Twitter account is @Kerian3B. Please follow us for updated information and pictures as well. We use our class Twitter account to connect and collaborate with students and professionals from around the world! Very exciting!!!

4. The students each have their own blog pages as well. (Some students told me today they shared their blog pages with their parents already. Super!) The link to the student blog pages is on the right side of my blog page. We would love comments from parents, family members, and friends.

So there are many ways to keep current and connect with 3B. Hopefully one or more of the above modes of communication will work for you.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Great First Day!

I am going to quickly try and make a blog post while the students are at PE today for 20 minutes. So it may be short and sweet but here are some key points:

1. We are having a fabulous day! The students are wonderful, polite, and have shown me that they will be fabulous 3rd graders! I think I shocked them by starting the day with a fun activity in which they got to throw a koosh ball at the smart board, which they thought was great on the first (couldn't believe I would have them throw something at smart board). I am getting to know each of them very well. We also spent some time getting to our student blog pages and starting to blog. Lots of great things happening in 3B.

2. Please remember to return all papers that were sent home at Open House as soon as possible. Remember your 3rd grade student will not get his/her iPad until he/she has an apple ID and password.
3. Remember that your child will be taking home a folder titled "Important Papers Folder" every night and is expected to return that every morning.

And finally, I will send information home tomorrow on how to follow 3B on my blog, the students' blogs, Twitter, as well as Facebook. Stay tuned!

Thanks for a great start to the year!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Open House…Success!

It was wonderful to see so many smiling and excited 3rd grade faces (as well as parents) last night for

Open House! Thanks to everyone who attended! I am very excited for the new school year as well and can't wait to see everyone Thursday!

If you did not get your Apple ID and password made, remember that your child can not have access to the iPad he/she is given to use in 3rd grade until that is done. Please contact the elementary office with questions concerning that or help completing the process.

Thanks to the parents who completed the process last night. I know it was frustrating and took a while, but the school district appreciates your help as this is something new this year!

Enjoy your last 2 days of summer!

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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