Happy Almost Halloween

• 1st - Science with Ms. Galan
• 2nd period we went over the end of chapter test in the book problem by problem.  We went over tips and tricks to make sure that all the students were ready to attack the Chapter 3 test.  We really want them to understand the "PROCESS" of multiplication right now before start asking them to memorize the facts.  
• 3rd period - the students broke into "test mode" and slowly started working on their Chapter test.  After they were done, they were allowed to read quietly, take an AR test, check out a new library book, or study their multiplication facts.
• 4th period - the math test spilled over into 4th period.  Students for the most part did a good job checking out new books, taking AR tests, reading quietly, and studying flashcards while they waited for their classmates to finish.  We had just enough time to copy our "I Can" statements for ReadyGen Lesson 1B.8 and take the spelling test for week 5 before heading to lunch.
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th/7th  - We had a longer recess today in honor of a really good day and Halloween.  We came back and finished talking about 1B.8 just enough. For the rest of 6th we decorated cupcakes and read Jerry Seinfeld's book called "HALLOWEEN". At the end of the day I gave all the students a goody bag for the holiday!

Homework

• Math - Show What You Know Chapter 4 (189-190)
• Spelling - Write the words you missed on your test 3 x each correctly
• Reading - Read for 30-45 minutes each night - fill in reading log
• Have a SAFE Halloween - My favorite candy is Peanut Butter Cups and Mike & Ike's

Windy Thursday

The weather looked nice outside today,but it sure was WINDY!!!

• 1st and 2nd - We had a little "Make UP" day in ELA today.  Due to taking the STAR Reading test yesterday, we only did half our Lesson 1B.7, we had to finish it today.  We started our day with taking a look at the "Dear Mr. Henshaw" AR test.   Then we broke the class into two groups.  Two groups were taking AR tests, the other two groups were silently reading.  The group that was silently reading came to conference with me one at a time with their reading level cards to talk about their progress according to yesterday's STAR READING test.  Almost everyone showed progress.   A few students were encouraged to retake the test because I knew they were better than they tested!
• We then moved into the writing portion of Lesson 1B.7 focusing on linking words and taking notes using KEY DETAILS.  We read a fourth article on Sea Stars and practiced taking notes by highlighting or underlining ONLY important words.   Tonight for homework they have to finish the back side and add more details to their Informational 3 Column Chart from lesson 1B.4.
• 3rd and 4th - Math was also another split session.  1/2 of the students worked on their STAR MATH test, and the other half worked on their End of the Chapter 3 Test Review.  They had to be super quiet so the people testing could concentrate.  When they finished their STAR MATH assessment, they moved to the front and worked on their chapter review.  The teachers were there to answer questions, but students had to work super quiet so others could test.  
• The kids did so well during testing that I picked them up early from lunch to have recess.  The wind was BLOWING like crazy, but we still had fun!
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - Gym
• 7th - We went over the Math review so students could study for their Math Test tomorrow.  We then read from our new class novel.  The author of our new novel is coming to visit next week.  We want to get s much of the book read as possible before she comes to visit.

Homework

• Math Pages 183-188 (STUDY)
• Spelling - Practice Sheet (TEST TOMORROW)
• Reading - Starfish Facts - Read the Back and Find more key details to add to your information.

Rainy Wednesday

• 1st/2nd 
• Today in math we worked on understanding two new multiplication properties.  We worked on the Identity Property of Multiplication (any number times one is the same number or 1 x 5 = 5).  We also worked on the Zero Property of Multiplication (any number times zero is zero or 0 x 5 = 0)  We worked through the pages and did many many sample problems.
• 3rd/4th 
• Third period the students took their STAR Reading exam to see what progress they have made since September.   They also checked out new independent reading books and took AR tests if needed.
• 4th period we did ReadyGen Lesson 1B.7. It focused on looking at main idea and key details pages 13-19. We read the part today about different types of roots.   The kids really enjoyed learning all the new types of roots and the jobs they do.
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - Gym
• 7th - Mixed Wrap up
• We rapped up our ReadyGen Lesson and then finished our class novel "Dear Mr. Henshaw".  We also took some time to look at pictures of Hydroponic plants at Epcot in Orlando.  I told the students I would reach out to my cousin who works there for more information on it.

Homework:

• Math - Lesson 3.7 Practice Homework pp181-182
• Spelling - Right or Wrong - Practice the words
• Reading - Read for 30-45 minutes

What happened today????

Ok, So I told the students... What happened to you today?  It is literally like pulling teeth to get them to participate or work today.  It has been a complete struggle....

• 1st and 2nd period we worked on ReadyGen Lesson 1b.6.  The focus today was to use the text and the illustrations to gain information on a topic.  We used a t-chart to gather information from the second section we read in our text "At the Root of It" from pages 9-13.  We looked at Taproot plants vs. Fibrous plants.  They had to use the text and illustrations to jot down facts after we read it together, answered questions in teams, and then the third time, on their own.  I modeled a few samples and then they did 2 pages on their own.  This gathering of key details is the first step in learning to do research (and support the main idea.)   Our focus is still gathering key details and putting them together with like information (grouping it).  Our writing focus was to add more linking words and phrases to our writing tool kit.  They have order down, so we came up with some more words we could use.  

• 3rd and 4th periods we reviewed GoMath 3.5 and then warmed up by looking at number talks and the word problem of the day.  We then watched the On Demand Math video for Lesson 3.6 on using algebraic thinking in multiplication.   We finally did the GoMath Interactive Lesson for 3.6 where they explain each section and have students come up to the whiteboard and interact with the work.  The commutative property (or order property) was used to show that 4x6 = 6x4 and the students practiced making arrays to prove it.
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - Science with Ms. Gallan
• 7th - We finished our math groups and then had the students finish filling out their Chapter 1 Science Non-Fiction Chapter PREVIEW form and discussed what the main themes and words we would be working with in this chapter.  It is really nice to be able to see how much you can learn by just examining the text structure of the chapter.  

Homework:

1. Math Lesson 3.6 pp.175-176
2. Spelling Practice Sheet
3. Writing - Add Linking Words to your grouped paragraphs

Busy Monday

What a busy Monday!

• 1st and 2nd periods were our math block.  Today's focus was using arrays to solve multiplication problems.  We started with number talks and doing our problem of the day.  We then watched the on demand video that is a great "intro" to the lesson of the day.  We worked through unlocking the first two problems in lesson 3.5.  We then broke into groups and worked on creating various arrays based on the information given.   My small group used counters to practice making them using concrete manipulatives.  Mr. Jonny's small group did a mixture.  Mrs. Avalos's big group worked with using drawings to represent the arrays.   We ended with a review of the lesson and checking in to make sure the students had a firm grasp.

This is the array 3 x 5

This is the array 5 x 3

• 3rd and 4th periods - We started off copying the I can statements for today's lessons.   Then we immediately went into the spelling pretest for the week.   The focus this week is words that have either EW or OO  in them.  The list is already posted!  Then we went into chapter 2 of our text At the Root of It!   The focus was using the text features to better understand the content of the text.   We read pages 7-9 and then answered comprehension questions about the text.  We used the information to make a Main Idea and Key Details web.  
• In writing, they had to focus on main idea an key details to write effective paragraphs.  The main idea is the topic of the paragraph, the key details are your supporting information.  We practiced taking notes using a 3 column chart.  Each column was the MAIN IDEA of the paragraph, and the information they wrote down was the key details.
• 5th - Lunch 

• ( A few students are having issues at lunch.  They are NOT allowed to walk around the lunchroom.  We have an assigned table!   They are NOT, at any time, to throw food! Please remind your students that lunch time is not an excuse to forget your manners!!!)
• 6th - Dance - Mr. Nunez said the kids did real good today in Dance!  That is awesome news!!!
• 7th - Science - We have just finished our first unit in Social Studies, so now we are doing a unit in Science.  We will be switching back and forth between the two.  Our first topic is PLANTS!  Today we took the time to front load the information by looking over the text.   We looked at key words (vocab), headings and subheadings, the graphics used to support the topics, and finally made connections and asked questions.  We didn't quite finish, so we decide instead of taking home that heavy book, we would finish tomorrow!

Homework:

1. Math - Lesson 3.5 Homework pgs. 169/170 (10-15 minutes)
2. Spelling - Handout Write words 2 x Each (5 minutes)
3. Language - Irregular Verbs - Circle the best answer (10 minutes)
4. Writing - Use the three column chart to write three paragraphs using the main idea and details (15-20 minutes)
5. Read your Independent Reading (IR) Book for 30 minutes!!!

Week 5 Spelling List - EW and OO words

• Science with Ms. Galan
• 2nd/3rd - Math - The focus was using models and graphs to solve multistep word problems involving multiplication.  We spent the majority of the time making sure that students could read the problem and find out what steps they needed.  We practiced underlining important information and circling what processes they must do.
• 4th - ReadyGen Lesson 1b.4 The focus was asking and answering questions to understand the text as well as writing introductions.  We started by having our spelling test.  We quickly moved to asking for one volunteer from each table to share the introductions they worked on last night.  We looked for a HOOK, some details, and the last line that informed about the topic.  Only one person had it done, but we will keep working on it! 
• We read pages 3-5 of our new informational text and started asking questions. It was time for lunch so the small group work would have to wait until after lunch.
• I picked the kids up from lunch 20 minutes early and we went to the 3rd floor outdoor playground for recess.  Several people had to sit out for 5 and 10 minutes because of not doing work or behavior issues.  We ended recess with a fun game of Duck, Duck, Goose!
• We used the rest of 6th period to finish our lesson 1b.4 of ReadyGen.  After making sure they could see th HOOK, the details, and the Topic, I am sure that they better understand how to write an introduction.
• Last period we wrote down all the homework and then spent some time going over each part of it so they couldn't have any questions.  

Homework:

1. MATH Lesson 3.4 Homework Page
2. Social Studies - Take Home Test
3. Reading - Read your IR Book for 30 minutes.
4. Practice your 2 and 3 multiplication facts!

Thursday - All About the Intro

• 1st/2nd - Today we did a little bit of "catch up" work!  Over the past 3 days we have covered lessons 1b.1, 1b.2, and 1b.3 - but we didn't get to the "writing" part of the lessons because we spent so much time breaking down the text, using graphic organizers to build comprehension and meaning.  Since the text we used was about Moons, I thought we would do our writing focusing on another aspect of our Solar System - The Sun! 
• We read two texts about the sun and then we used the web organizer to take notes.  The notes were then used to work on creating an Introduction.  The introduction for an information/explanatory text should include three distinct parts:
• A hook that grabs the readers attention and makes them want to read more
• A detail or two about the topic that the reader might find interesting.
• The last line of the introduction will be used to INFORM the reader of the topic.
• We then made sure that we add a visual or graphic that allowed the reader to better understand the topic.  We are taking the time up front to make sure that each student understands the aspects of informational non-fiction.  
• 3rd/4th - Mrs. Avalos went to a meeting for one of our students so I went over the homework from 3.3 with the class.  I wanted them to realize that multiplication can be thought of how many jumps on the number line of a certain number.  We went over each question, stopping to check for understanding along the way.  Students discussed misconceptions and then we talked about how they have learned to draw groups, do repeated addition, and now use the number line to solve simple multiplication problems.   We took extra time to look at the word problems because as we move into the text, the word problems are becoming MULTI-STEP and they have to do more than one computation, so close reading is necessary.
• Students then worked on the mid-chapter check up.  When Ms. Avalos returned, I went to meeting.  When I returned they were going over the midpoint review and checking for understanding.  
• 5th - Lunch   I picked the kids up 20 minutes before lunch was over and we went out front for some stress relief.  During recess, the kids ran around and played and we spent the last 5 minutes playing my favorite game - Duck, Duck, Goose!
• 6th - Gym
• 7th - We read another section of our class novel "Dear Mr. Henshaw".  We then wrote down our homework and went over a few problems in all of them.  We passed out multiplication fact sheet and told kids that next Friday they would have to pass the 3 times tables.  After all the homework was gone over and passed out, we went over the Social Studies test, question by question so they would know what to study.  I hope they remember to study all the vocabulary words and big themes covered in Chapter 1!

Homework:

• Study for Spelling Test
• Study for Social Studies Test
• Spelling - Practice Sheet
• Writing - Introduction Paragraph and Graphic

10/20/2015

• 1st/2nd Period:  We started the day with ELA today.  Students wrote down their I Can statements for the day and then broke off to do their warm up activity - Word Ladder.  The kids worked by themselves and then we went over it together.  They learn new words and practice reading closely to solve each word up the ladder.  We did lesson 1B.2 on Main Idea.  We then broke into groups and continued our work in working with Main Ideas and supporting details.   Each group took turns reading the text again and then focusing on questions that dealt with main idea.  We ended with working on graphic organizers that made the students go back to the text to find supporting details for the main idea given to them.
• 3rd/4th -  Lesson 3.2 in math on connecting addition to multiplication.   The goal was for the students to focus on how multiplication is like addition and how it isn't.  Through the lesson they should be able to see that you can look at it in many ways:
• repeated addition 3 + 3 + 3 = 9
• skip counting 3, 6, 9
• multiplication 3 x 3 = 9
• Students worked to show examples of all three so they can see how they are related!
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - Science with Mrs. Galan
• 7th - Social Studies Chapter 1 Review.  We went over the end of the chapter questions and talked about what to study for tomorrow's test.

Homework:

1. Math pages 149/150
2. Spelling - Check or X if correct, write correct either way
3. Reading - Main Idea Graphic Organizer
4. Writing - Finish Writing PBA if you haven't already!!

Multiplication Time!!!

• 1st/2nd period - We have started chapter 3 in GoMath!  This unit is an introduction to multiplication and division.  Parents - go buy some flashcards and start practicing at home.  We are teaching them what multiplication means, you need to get them to start memorizing the facts.  Today we started with 3.1 which is all about "grouping".  

• 3rd/4th - We had part catch up day, part new starting new unit.  First, I am quite upset that out of 29 students, 11 students didn't do their Writing Performance Based Assessment.  I gave them an entire period on Friday to plan and start writing.  Their ONLY homework this weekend was to revise, edit, and publish.  On the state test, the will have 90 minutes read several texts, answer several short response questions, and one extended response question.  This is NOT a good first try when that many people don't do their work.  If they are not turned in by Wednesday, I am calling parents!  After having a long talk about this, we moved on and did a "B Module" overview.  We talked about the switching from narrative to non-fiction informational texts.  We then started reading our first text about the phases of the moon.  We got through the reading lesson of Lesson 1B.1.  I am going to have to try and combine to writing lessons tomorrow to catch up!
• 5th - Lunch 
• 6th - Dance with Mr. Nunez
• 7th - Today instead of Social Studies, we had a "catch up" Accelerated Reader" day.  Students took AR tests for books they have read, for the texts we have finished in class, and to read their independent reading books.  It takes the kids so long to get online because they are not used to testing or the laptops that the 35 minutes at the end goes by and many are still trying to get to the site.  It is frustrating but we are getting better each time. 

Homework:

1. Main Idea Web using "phases of the moon" text
2. Math - Grouping Worksheet
3. Spelling - Words 2 X each (NEATNESS COUNTS!)
4. Read your independent reading book for 30 minutes!

Parents:

Many of your children are not studying each night for their spelling test.  Please make sure that before the start their independent reading each night, they should practice their spelling words.   The more words they learn and know, the better their reading and comprehension will become.  Please do your part, make sure students are studying!

I am putting the next spelling list on here so that you can help them and make sure they are studying!

Friday, October 16

Howdy!

• The students had Science first period with Ms. Galan and Mr. Hoffman.
• Second period was about assessment.  Several students needed to finish their Chapter 1 Math test.  The other students used the ipads to take Accelerated Reading Book Quizzes on the books they have checked out for independent reading.   This was my noticing....

• Many students are not reading at home like they are supposed to.  Parents, if you want your students to improve in reading, they must read.  Please make it a priority to have your child read for 30-45 minutes.  I know life is busy, but please find the time to sit with them.  Listen to them read.  Ask questions about the book they are reading.   If it is important to you, it will be important to them!
• The students who are reading and taking tests on books that ARE in their reading level are still missing too many questions on the book quizzes.  That means they are not reading closely or being as diligent in their reading as they should.  Quiet areas with little distractions is a great place to crawl up with a good book and read.
• As with anything, if you want to get better, you have to practice.  That is why homework is assigned - FOR PRACTICE.  I would encourage you to check homework nightly because many of your children are not completing homework.  This effects their grades in multiple ways.  One, they have missing assignments so that lowers their grade.  Second, they are not getting the practice in the areas we are working with so they are not prepared for assessment.  And lastly, if we don't have work to assess, we can't tell if they need additional reteaching or help in an area.  We can't assess what we don't see.
• Finally - If you are absent, you are still responsible for the work you missed.  If you are absent one day, you 2 days to turn in mixed.  We don't expect it the next day, but two days is the max.  If you are absent two days, we expect it three days later.  We have to know where your child is.  That is the only way we can help them progress and move as learners.
• Third period was another assessment period.  This time we looked at Chapter 1's Performance Task.  We went question by question, step by step.  We discussed what parts of each questions were important.  We marked up our paper, underlining important numbers and phrases that allowed us to make a checklist of the steps we had to take to solve each problem.  We did all the "thinking" work and then allowed the students to do the computation and problems solving.  We want them to see that word problems are not difficult.   It means slowing down, reading the problem CLOSELY, and then making a mental list of steps to solve it.
• The performance task went into fourth period.  When it was done, we switched gears back to literacy.  We finished Unit 1A, so now it is time to see if they learned everything we covered over the last 18 lessons of reading and writing.  We went over the task.  Again, we went over it line by line and highlighted exactly what they were responsible for writing.  We talked about how it matched up to the different lessons we had learned.  We then went over the rubric that was going to be used to score their writing task.  We went over each section and showed them how easy it was to get a 4 if they just use all the aspects we had practiced over the last 18 lessons.  Finally we went over the two different graphic organizers they should use to plan their narrative. 
• Fifth period is LUNCH!
• Sixth period we returned to the class and got back in literacy mode.  We reviewed the task once more and then went over all the steps they would need to complete their task.  After a quick review of the steps to writing an amazing PBA - we passed out all the materials and turned on the nice soft classical music so students could start to work through the writing process.....
• Read and Understand Your task!
• Plan your writing using graphic organizers
• Draft your narrative
• Revise your writing to make it better
• Edit your writing for grammar, spelling, and capitalization
• Publish your final draft
• They had 40 minutes in class to plan and draft their work.  For homework they were told to read their narrative to an older sibling or parent and ask for feedback  and then revise, edit, and write their final narrative.
• Seventh Period we worked on Changing Communities.  The students have been reading about what makes a community, how they are different, and now how they change.  We will be having a Chapter 1 Social Studies test toward the beginning of next week!

Homework:

1. Writing PBA - work with an older sibling or adult to revise your draft, edit your draft, and write your final copy to be turned in on Monday.
2. Return permission to videotape and take pictures of your child.  We like to take lots of pictures of your children working hard in class, having fun at recess, or learning on field trips.  If we don't have permission, we can't take their picture and it gets hard to class class pics, etc...
3. Some of your children got letters from the ELL department that need to be signed and returned as well. 
4. Scholastic book orders were sent out last week.  We would like to place the order so students can have more books to read.  

Buddy Peer Editing of First Writing Piece

First Day of October

What a busy day we had today!  I can't believe how fast the day moved.  Let me give you a little recap of the day!

• 1st period we collected homework, did our warm up activity (Word Ladder) and then started reading our class novel "The Case of the Gasping Garbage."  We read Chapter 7 today where we were introduced to two new characters.  
• 2nd period we did team work to make a 4 sentence summary of Chapter 7 using our order words- First, Next, Then, and Last.  We then moved on and started talking about Point of View and using dialogue in our writing.  We worked together to look at the Point of View of the characters Drake and Bubba and then OUR OWN Point of View on the decision to collect pens in the story.  It was interesting to see how characters and readers can have different points of view. We ended with a writing activity where we had a "conversation" between Drake and Nell about Frisco joining their detective agency. We had to use dialogue to move the story forward and come up with either a yes or no result.  We wrote it together and the students copied it into their journals so they would have an example to go back to when writing their own stories.
• 3rd period - We spent the first period reviewing place value and going over homework.  After we were sure they understood rounding to the 10's place, we continued rounding to the 10's place, but introduced numbers up to the 100's.  Students who got it stayed up front with me, students who needed extra help went to the back to work with the other teachers.  
• 4th period - we did today's math lesson which was lesson 1.6.   It was all about taking numbers and extending them to have another way to add.   For example, the number 235 can be broken apart to say 200 + 30 + 5 = 235.  It is all about making easy, compatible numbers to work with so we can chunk our work and add smarter.  We also practiced rounding our numbers to the 100's place.  3/4 of the class has a really good grasp of these skills, where some of the students still felt the need to move to the back for small group help.
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - Physical Education with Mr. Hoffman.
• 7th - Wrapped up our math lesson by looking at final problems and then passing out all the homework for the night.  We had planned to read the next section of Dear Mr. Henshaw, but time got away from us as we went over all the homework assignments.

Homework:

1. Math - Pages 39/40 from Homework Practice (Lesson 1.6)
2. Literacy
1. Spelling Homework (1-15) (TEST TOMORROW)
2. Antonym Practice Sheet
3. Reading Comprehension (Short paragraph, 5 questions)
3. As always, Independent Reading for 30 minutes and fill our reading logs.  Students should be finishing their book, taking the AR test in class, and picking a new reader!

First Day of Recess

Friday - September 11th

Wow, Our first week together was a short one, but definitely a good one. I am starting to know everyone's name, so that is good!  I am still working on the correct way to say them, but at least I know!  

I wanted to let you know that Mr. Hoffman, the Gym Teacher, gave our students a great report on Thursday afternoon and said if they behave like this all year, they are going to get to do so much in GYM!  That is exciting!

• The students started the day with Ms. Galan, the science teacher. They went over policies and procedures for the science classroom.
• 2nd/3rd periods periods we had math.  The students worked on their STAR math test and then worked on number line/100 square activity.
• 4th period - Reading "Dear Mr. Henshaw" and working on questioning/answering the correct way for third grade.
• 5th - Lunch
• 6th - We finished our reading and then the students worked on the STAR Reading Test.  These test are very important because it gives us an understanding of the skills each child has so we can group them for specific, targeted instruction.  The kids had time to read independently and together as they finished their Online Testing.
• 7th - We passed out books!  We passed out their Class novel, "Dear Mr. Henshaw", their ReadyGen 3rd grade materials and their 3rd grade Go Math book 1.  Why did we pass out books?  Because on Wednesday we start regular instruction!  (Social Studies and Science books are coming, we are just missing a few and didn't want to pass them out until we have complete class sets!

Parents, each child has a book bag and a chapter book to read.  Please make sure you are reading with them nightly and that they are practicing their math facts.   Addition and Subtraction facts right now!  We will be starting place value and number sense next week!

Have a great long weekend and we will see you on Wednesday, September 16th!

DON'T FORGET - OPEN SCHOOL NIGHT is Friday, September 18th!

Welcome to Our Class

Day 2 : What a hectic schedule we already have.  I am going to start with just our schedule so you can understand how important it is that students are here each day, on time!

Third grade is the first year your child will be taking State Tests.  It is so important for them to be here. 

Some simple things we need you to do at home to help are:

1. Make sure your child is reading at home 30-45 minutes.  That can be independent reading, being read to, reading with an adult... They just need to be reading each and every day.  The better their vocabulary and word attack skills become, the more they will comprehend and be able to work with complex texts.
2. Ask them about what they have read.  Make them talk about it.  Make your child explain the characters, the setting, the action of the story.  Make your child write about it.  Make sure they are doing the work to become better readers!
3. Flashcards!!!  We notice that some students know their basic number facts, but others are still learning.  That is ok, but statistically, students who know their facts find math less difficult.  Pick up some addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division fact cards and practice them with your child.
4. Check students work,  but don't correct it.  Help them find the right answer, but PLEASE, don't do their homework for them.. you can help, but don't DO it!
5. Check the blog and make sure that your child is doing their homework.