Exhausted Students.....But Lots to Do!!!!

....I am sure I have some tired 3B students today after a busy night of trick-or-treating!  It was nice to see so many of my students stop by for some extra "treats" last night, but I can sure see that some of them are coming off their "sugar high" from last night.  We will trudge through today and make it a good one as we have many busy activities to start this week.

It was nice to see all of you at conferences last week!  We had some great discussions, and I appreciate you taking the time to be involved in your child's education.  I still have a few more conferences this week and am anxious to talk to those parents as well.  As I mentioned to many at conferences, keep your child reading at home as that is the "homework" I expect all 3B students to be doing every night.  Thanks again for your attendance.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email me any time!

This week we are starting something new, and it is student blogging!  The students will each be shown how to get to his/her blog page and make various posts throughout the year.  They are so excited, and some have already started.  After I show them how to get to their blog page and various other concepts about blogging, the students will be ask to make a post this week about a book they have finished.  We are calling it a "book review", and I will be modeling this at the beginning of this week.  Look for the students book blogs by the end of the week and feel free to comment!  You don't need an account or anything to make a comment, and students look forward to seeing who comments about their post!!!!  They think it is cool, and it also helps them realize they do have an audience when they are writing.  Students will be making the post by themselves, so there will be mistakes in punctuation, spelling, etc. for some and that is ok.  Our practice in keyboarding during the month of October is paying off now as students will hopefully be able to type a little faster than they would have at the beginning of the year.  So.....look for 3B's student blog pages to start soon and make those comments!!!!  We all appreciate it!!

If your child has not returned his/her "Book-It" calendar for October, he/she must return them by tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2nd.  I am sending home the calendar for November today as well.  Remember....keep reading!!!!

A few other comments about activities in the room:
*  Students are working on various map skills in social studies before we begin unit 1 in the book on communities.  This week we will be looking at the different continents and oceans as I have found that students in 3B are unfamiliar with these concepts.  I hope to start the unit on communities in our books by the end of the week.
*  With literacy, we will be continuing our strategy of "Tune into Vocabulary" and furthering our discussion on "connections" in reading.  Students are doing a great job with the Daily 5 and the routines of literacy.  I hope to introduce "Listen to Reading" this week as well through an online program called "Read About" that is wonderful nonfiction to listen to and explore!
*  In writing we are focusing on the trait of "ideas".  Students have practiced funneling down their ideas, sticking to a topic, "putting on binoculars" to look for details, and adding "show me" statements.  This is a big concept for many students so it is something we will be spending a lot of time on.  Students will be taught a song as well to remind them of the "ideas" trait and it's characteristics.  Busy! Busy!  Sometime next week we will also be having "Author Sharing" day.
* Our current math unit involves measurement......we need a little review on measuring to 1/4 of an inch so we will be doing some of that as well as going into perimeter and area.

That about sums up what has been going on and will be going on in 3B.  As you can see, we are busy!  Along with that, I am going to increase the amount of homework that will be sent home with the students compared to what it was in the 1st quarter.  We need to continue to build our responsibility, and the students have shown they are ready for more homework so be on the lookout for more to be sent home.

Enjoy the sunny November day!

Where did October Go?

What a dreary start to the week!!!!  It is also hard for me to believe that October is almost over!  Wow!! Where did the month go???

I am sure some of you were wondering where my newsletter/post was last week.   Sometimes the week just gets by me and I will not be making a "post" on the blog page while other weeks I will have 2-3 posts during the week.  That's the great part of using a blog page.....you can share information and pictures throughout week.   Last week, I did not have a post as it was a busy week.  That doesn't mean I don't have anything to share, it just means keep checking the blog page for an update.  I will be asking all parents at conferences if they check the blog page via the Internet as I would like to decrease the amount of paper for printing it out. If you don't have the internet or access, that is fine.  I will just be printing my posts out for those parents/students who need it on paper.  Otherwise, keep checking on the Internet.

A few reminders for the week as it is a crazy one:
     1.  Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held this week.  For most of you, they will be Tuesday or   Thursday from 3:00-8:00.  Others have conferences scheduled in the mornings or other days after school.  I am anxious to see all of you again and have lots to share.  Please try to be on time for your conferences as my schedule is pretty full with back to back conferences.  Thank you!
     2.  There is no school this Friday due to teacher compensation for time put into conferences.  Enjoy the three day weekend and prepare for Halloween.  :)
     3.  Report cards will be sent home with your 3B child today.  I like the students to have a look at them before the parents so your 3B child has seen his/her report card.  While I did not go over them individually with each student, I did go over the structure of the report card and the rating system. If they have questions about them, please bring those questions to conferences as well as your questions and comments.
     4.  If your child was writing a report for the "I Love America" essay put on by the VFW, please have that to me by the necessary due date.  I have received a few so that is super.  It was not required, but I would love to have more students participate.  If your child needs a new set of directions, please let me know.
     5.  Book-It for the month of October is due this Thursday or next Monday, either day is fine.  When your child returns his/her Book-It calendar for the month, he/she will be given a certificate for a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut! I am hoping many students participate because reading at home is very important!!!!!
     6.  If your child is entering the coloring contest for the Fire Station (drawing or printing out a picture and coloring it) please have that to me by the necessary dates as well.

We just finished up our assessments for chapter 2 in math.  I hope to be sharing those, along with various assessments from science, at your child's conference.  I also will be sharing your child's MAPs score from the fall this year as well as their DIBELS assessment results.  As you can see, we are going to have a lot to discuss.

I feel I need to make a comment about last Friday so that you, as well as the students, and myself are all on the same page.  Last Thursday night I flew to Texas for my nephew's baptism and was gone Friday.  (Had a super time but quick trip) I returned Monday to school from my substitute about the behavior of my class while I was gone.  Let's just say my heart was kind of broken by the behavior of some students.  Now, not all students were mentioned and some did behaved as expected, showing great character and respect.  Others....not so much.  We had a big discussion about it this morning during our Morning Meeting and students were very open.  They understood why I was disappointed.....So this week the students will be reviewing Cadet Pride and showing good character.  I know they can do it, as they do it for me, but they need to realize they need to show good character at all times, even when I am gone.  I wanted to mention it on my blog to give parents the chance to talk with their 3B child about the other day and let them know what you, the parents, expect as well when the teacher is gone.  I am rarely sick (knock on wood) but am involved in a lot of committees in which we meet various days during the month.  Students will have a sub once and a while due to the fact I need to be at a meeting.  I would like them to know that we, meaning them as students, the parents, and myself, all expect good character when I am gone.  Thanks for you help with this and have a great discussion with your 3B child. I appreciate it.

Have a great, short week.  Hopefully we will see some sunshine soon.  I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences.

Busy Start to October!!!

Wow!  What a gorgeous weekend!  I don't think the weather in October could get any better than that.  Hopefully you had some time to get out and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful temperature.  I was at a football game on Sunday, and I have to admit, it was a little too hot to be playing football.  But I am not complaining!!!  It was also a super week for Homecoming and a big win for the Cadets last Friday!  Go big blue!!!!

We have had a very busy start to October that is for sure.  Deals on Wheels did come around last Thursday to sell little Crestwood items to students who wanted to buy them.  Deals on Wheels is a group of students from the junior high who are supervised by their teacher.  It is a great life lesson on managing money and items.  Starting this week, Deals on Wheels will be coming to 3B at 10:30 every Friday.  If your child would like to purchase something, he/she should bring his/her money on Friday.  This will continue throughout the whole school year.  The items are listed below, but they are the same as the note I sent home last week.
     Magnets:  $0.25
     Pencils:    $0.35
     Tattoos:   $0.50
     Pens:      $0.50
     Wristbands:     $2.00
     Seat Cushions:   $4.00
All items are blue/white for school colors and have some type of Cadet log or name displayed.  The committee also hopes to have Cadet folders and water bottles soon.

The students were disappointed last week when they found out they don't get to go to the fire station or listen to firefighters present about Fire Prevention as they had in grades K-2.  Sadly, that stops in 2nd grade with the big wrap up of spraying the teachers with the fire hose.  I know all of you are aware of the coloring contest they held as well.  In grades 3 and up, the students can still participate in the coloring contest.  It is called the "open division" and includes students in grades 3 and up, faculty, and staff.  All a person would have to do to enter is submit a fire related picture, colored neatly by October 21st.  Each person who does submit a picture will be given a complimentary ticket to the Cresco Fire Department Pancake Supper held November 2nd.  A winner will be chosen from both the 3rd grade and up division, as well as an adult division.  So, if your child would like to participate, he/she should have a fire related picture to me no later than October 21st.  This is not required, but many students still enjoy entering the competition.  Good luck!

I am also sending home information about a writing contest titled "I Love America".  Again, this is a choice the students have and can enter the contest if they please.  The directions are stated on the sheet and entries must follow the directions carefully.  I am not requiring students to enter the contest but hope that many will as I have some very talented writers in 3B.  Students are to have their essay entry to me, Mrs. Kerian, by October 29th as they will be picked up on October 30th.  Remember to follow the activity listed for 3rd grade.

Book Orders - I am sending home book orders for October.  Please take some time to browse through them as there are really great books available.  If you decide to order, remember to send cash or check made out to me so that I can order them online.  Please return any book orders by this Friday, October 15th.

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great week!  Remember that if your 3B child still has his/her science book or picture dictionary at home, I would like them returned tomorrow.  Thanks and keep reading for Book-It!!!

Wrapping up Science Unit and Kicking Off Fundraiser!

Burr!!!!  Suddenly the weather is a lot chillier than before.  I just want to remind everyone that it is colder in the morning than in the afternoon.  Many students are outside before school waiting until 8:20, and today many came in cold!  I would suggest dressing your 3rd grader in layers so that he/she can be warm enough in the morning yet not too warm in the afternoon.  They can always leave the extra sweatshirt in their locker in the afternoon and take it home if it warms up that much.  Thanks you!

Last week we kicked off our fundraiser.  I am sure your child has brought his/her fundraiser packet home already as they were very excited to get started.  There was one change that was made that I wanted to let parents know.  On the envelope it states that each student must sell 35 items to ride in the limo.  That has been changed to 25 items.  Hopefully that will help more students be eligible for the ride in the limo.  Again, if we pass what we sold last year, the school will earn a Mega Party-which is always a great time!!!!  The fundraiser is optional so you do not have to encourage your child to participate, but it does help fill our school piggy bank for fields trips and fun activities.  If you have any questions, feel free to give the school a call or send me an email.

We are wrapping up our unit in science on plant and animal populations this week.  Look for your 3B student to bring home his/her science materials with a study guide to use to study.  I will be doing a big review on Thursday with the students as well.  Our tests covers different learning styles so there is a hands-on component, a visual component, and a critical thinking component.  Please encourage your 3B student to study over the weekend and return his/her science book next Monday.  Everyone has loved this unit and learned a lot.  After this unit, we will be moving into a unit in Social Studies. 

Your third grader should have brought a reading calendar home last Friday to kick off Book-It.  I wrote about it in my last post.  If you have questions, feel free to contact me.  The reading for Book-It must be done out of school hours but can involve reading anything; magazines, books, newspaper etc.  Students can also check out books from our 3B homeroom to read at home as well. 

Just a reminder there is a 3 hour early out this Friday for Homecoming.  It was great to see all the hats today for "Hat Day"!!!  The rest of the week is as follows:
     Tuesday:  Wear your Favorite Jersey
     Wednesday:  Wear work out Clothes (as we will go for a walk for fitness)
     Thursday:  Twin Day
     Friday:  Blue and White Day

The forecast for the week sounds fabulous!  That is an excellent word to describe 3B - FABULOUS!!!!

Pizza and Reading!!! YUMMY!

Looks like we have a great week ahead of us as the sun is out and the forecast is great!  The students have a busy week so it will be nice to have sunshine to perk everyone up.

We started MAPs testing last week, the first test being math.  I was so impressed with how hard everyone tried.  Wow!  This week we will be taking science on Monday, reading on Tuesday, and language on Thursday.  The test are all at 1:15 in the afternoon except on Thursday, which is at 8:45.  Please be sure your child is at school on time that day because we will be starting our tests as soon as everyone is ready.  I appreciate the parents switching appointments around so that students are not missing these tests.  It makes everything a lot easier so thank you.  Give your 3B child an extra hug each night this week because some of the questions on these tests are pretty hard!  They have been troopers and giving their best!!!  Very proud of my 3B kiddoes!

3B has caught the bug...yes, we have a little bug floating around....and it's not the bugs we have been studying in science.  Lots of students sniffing, coughing, and feverish....including the teachers.  Please encourage your child to get lots of rest, drink plenty of water, and wash their hands as much as possible.  I have already refilled our hand sanitizer bottle 3 times and decided to purchase a big one because of how fast we are going through them.  If you would be willing to donate a bottle of hand sanitizer, we would greatly appreciate it.  We know it will be put to good use!!!

Last Friday we also finished our first math assessment over unit 1.  There are a few people who need to finish the assessment, so please look for your 3B child to bring his/her home by the end of the week.  I will also be sending home a letter explaining the assessment and the ratings that go with it.  I am pretty sure most of you are familiar with (B) for beginning, (S) for secure, and (D) for developing as that is the same ratings that were used in 2nd grade.  By the end of the week, I hope to be moving into unit 2 on addition and subtraction facts.

October kicks off Book-It!!!!  This is a reading incentive program sponsored by Pizza Hut that a lot of students find pleasure in....who doesn't like Pizza Hut?????  A calendar will be sent home with your child October 1st stating the goal set for him/her based on minutes of reading.  Your child should record the amount of time he/she reads at home and return the calendar at the end of each month for their Pizza Hut coupon.  While I hope that all 3rd graders are reading at home, I do not require all students to participate.  This is a totally optional activity that runs each month October - March.  BUT.....and yes it is a biggy....those students who do participate all six months will celebrate by having a pizza party with me!!!!!  I will be supplying the pizza and drink in April for all the students who reach or surpass their reading goal ALL six months. Those that do not participate, will eat lunch in the cafeteria as usual with a different teacher.  So, I hope that you encourage your child to read and participate......now....GET READING!!!!

I also wanted to let you know that I will be starting guided reading this week.  3B has build our stamina up in read to self, read to someone, word works, and work on writing that we are ready to get rolling.  I have done various writing and reading assessments on students, held individual conferences, and am ready to begin guided reading.  Based on the spread of levels in our classroom, my goal is to meet with every student every day, but that may be through guided reading or individual conferencing.  The students are eager to start guided reading....so am I!!!!!

Hopefully your little scientists has shared all our findings and information about our insects and critters.  We now have aphids on our plants, fruit flies, an ant farm, daphnia, and damsel flies.  Friday we put the daphnia with the damsel flies.  This morning, many of the daphnia were gone!!!! Wonder what happened????? The students will soon find out. :)

Have a great week!

Wow! What are Daphnia? Take a Look!

The students were so excited today in science as we had a new visitor. So far we have done insects and land animals. Today we had our first water animal called a daphnia. The students were amazed that they looked transparent and you could see their digestive track AND eggs!! It was also very amazing that the daphnia have antennae that look like tree branches. Very cool!!! I thought I would share a picture of them so you know what they look like as well. The students also learned what an "exoskeleton" was, as daphnia have them. Do you know what that is???

Remember To Be Responsible!

Another week has quickly approached. I can't believe that it is October next week. Time goes so quickly. The students are amazed on how fast the day goes, let alone the month. I guess that is a good sign that we are busy as well as having fun.

My day started out a little disappointing as many students in 3B forgot their homework. They were to bring in a book in which they practice "reading the punctuation", a strategy we have been practicing to build our fluency. Sadly, almost half the class forgot their books. A reminder note was send home last Friday......so I think you understand why I am disappointed. Because this was homework, our "Character Counts" slips will have to be completed by each student who forget as they demonstrated lack of responsibility. I hope this isn't the sign of what the year will be like.....I know it won't! Let's just remember to try and be responsible students....we can do it!!!!

Your child should have brought his/her word works list of words home as well last Friday. The list shows how your child did on his/her word works test Friday. If there was a word or words highlighted on the sheet, the students missed that word(s) on the test. I was very pleased how well the class did as a whole. This shows me they are taking all five days of our word works very serious and using each mode of learning focused on. This week we are focusing on the sounds /ar/ makes. We called this one of the "Bossy Rs". Look for your child's list of words to be brought home Tuesday. I have enclosed pictures of some of the activities students do during the week with their words.

Tomorrow we will be having our first math assessment. There is no reason to study for this assessment so don't freak out on me looking for materials sent home to study. It is over a review chapter. There are two components to the assessment: an oral/dry erase board assessment as well as a written assessment. Hopefully I will be sending your child's assessment home by the end of the week with an informational sheet attached explaining the ratings.

My student teacher, Miss Twetten, is only with us 3 more weeks before she moves on to kindergarten. I just wanted to let you know that she will be teaching math and science the next 2 weeks (with my supervision of course). She needs to do some lead teaching as part of her student teaching. Up to now, she has been leading the Morning Meeting the last 2 weeks to start the day. I will still be in the room, participating, and monitoring the students as well as her teaching. I just wanted to let you, the parents, know.

Finally, I wanted to make you aware that your 3rd grade child will start the district assessment test called MAPS this week. The students took this assessment online last year and will be taking it again this year. The assessment is done in the fall as well as spring, with the hope of growth being shown. We will start by taking the MAPs test for math this Friday. We will then be taking science, language, and reading next week. I know we can't help it if our children get sick, but please try to schedule dentist or doctor appointments around these assessments. It is harder for the student to make them up than have them here taking it with the rest of the class. Also be sure your 3B child gets plenty of rest and eats a great breakfast. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!

I have also posted two pictures of students showing great reading stamina with Read to Self! Great job 3B!

Have a great week! We have more science critters coming so I know we will!

On the Hunt for Words

Today I read the book Max's Words to the class. The book is about a boy who wants to start collecting things like his older brothers, and he decides he wants to collect words. He ends up cutting single words out of magazines, newspapers, etc. until his room is covered. He then finds out that if he puts the words together, he can make wonderful sentences that lead to a super story. The class was so excited about it that we decided we wanted to start collecting words and see what we can create with them. So the students decided they would like to start cutting out individual words, all different kinds, shapes, and colors, to bring in. We will see how many we have by next Friday. If we need more, we will go for one more week. If not, we will see what kind of story we can create......simply from the power of words. (A valuable lesson for writers). So, please remind your 3B child to do his/her part hunting and cutting out words that can be brought in each day. I will have a container that they can put the words in every morning.

Thanks for your cooperation and support. This is a wonderful activity that pulls together our discussions about how writers get ideas and how words/sentences can be powerful (besides a little review on making descriptive sentences). The students are very, very, excited!

Have fun!

Gotta Keep Reading!

Check out this video made by students about reading to the tune of "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas!!! As the title states....."Gotta Keep Reading"! I showed the students this video Monday before we set off to build are Read to Self Stamina! They did incredible!!!!

Read to Self Stamina -Wow!!!!

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend! Let's cross our fingers that we have many more like that!

Last week was a great week for 3B as we had lots of wonderful activities and a super discussion about September 11th. I hope you had time to look at the Wordle the students all created about keywords connected to September 11th. If you did not, you can always check it out on the side of my blog page. We watched some great videos, read a super book, and did some writing about heroes to pull together everything we learned and talked about. The students were so eager to learn more as well as caring and empathetic. I hope they had a chance to share some of our learning with you.

We were also busy in science planting our seeds for our next visitors. Wonder what they will be? Students did an excellent job being scientist and using their eyes to go on a science hunt last week outside in the butterfly garden. We were looking for various plants and animals so that we could do a comparison of the two. I have some great pictures to share that I hope to post this week. Students were surprised to see how many "critters" they could find in the butterfly garden. This week we will be creating an ant farm as well as anxiously awaiting our next visitors? HMMMMM?????

I am also very pleased with the progress students in 3B are making with their Read to Self and Read to Someone in literacy. We have built our Read to Self stamina to 30 minutes and our Read to Someone stamina to 15 minutes!!! Wow! Excellent. Today I will be introducing another part of the Daily 5/literacy component and that is Word Works. Some people like to call it spelling, but it is a different routine than the traditional spelling. With Word Works, students are involved in various activities throughout the week that focus on different modes of learning (hands on, oral, visual, etc.) Today your child picked his/her words off a focus word list that the class created. He/she will be bringing those words home on Tuesday. While it is not necessary that you study the words at home, I have found that some parents like to see what words the students are working on and review them at home. So we will be sending the list of words home Tuesdays. Our focus this week is using the "silent e" rule with words to make the vowel long and say it's name. Our Word Works tests then are always on Friday, part of the 5 day routine. If you have any questions or concerns about Word Works, feel free to send me an email or call.

Within literacy, I just wanted to let you know that I am completing some individual assessments this week and will hopefully be starting guided reading next week sometime. Along with guided reading and various mini lessons, I will be starting individual conferences with students on their reading strategies and goals to work on while reading. As you can tell, we are a busy class.

Book Orders....the students are anxiously waiting for them. I am sending our first set of book orders home today. If you decide you would like to order some books, please return the order form with your 3B child by Friday. You can send cash or a check. If you are writing a check, please add all orders (if ordering from more than one book order form) together and make the check out to me. I order the books online so that they arrive quicker and use my credit card to make the purchase so if the checks are made out to me it is a lot easier to complete the order. There are many wonderful books in the book orders!

My last comment is not a positive one. It appears as if my digital camera has been taken by someone in 3B. The students have been taking digital pictures for various activities so it is often in use. Well, last week I set the camera on my desk when students were coming in in the morning. After the students arrived and I greeted them, I realize the camera was gone. This all happened in about 20 minutes time. I discussed it with the class and many saw it on my desk but no one seems to know where it went. If you have time, please discuss this with your child and see what he/she says. It saddens me to know someone in 3B would steal something that did not belong to them. We also lost a bunch of pictures we had taken for a book we are creating so now we have to take them all over. Bummer huh?

Have a wonderful week!