Math/Science Week of Sept 30th-Oct4th

Dear Parents,

We have made it to October where things start to slow down a bit!

In Math: 
We will move in to our study of addition and subtraction with and without re-grouping.  Students will add 2-digit and 3-digit numbers in the beginning of the week as a 2nd grade review, and then we will move on to subtracting two and three digit numbers towards the middle and end of the week.  This is a challenging skill for third graders so any extra practice at home is wonderful.  We will practice the very important skill of recognizing when a problem solving situation requires addition or subtraction.  We will use the table below to help guide our mathematical decision to add or subtract in order to solve a problem successfully.  This week we will be really focusing on Combining, Take Away, and Comparative Subtraction Word Problems.

Combine 2 or more groups of things	Addition
Compare 2 groups of things	Subtraction
Take some things away from a group	Subtraction
Find a missing part of a group	Subtraction

Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will consist of subtraction problems only and will be graded this Friday the 4th. Please see your student’s Tuesday Newsday folder for the Fast Fact quiz from last Friday the 27th of September.  This can help guide your studies at home each night.  Your child is also keeping up with their Fast Fact grades by graphing their scores on a graph in their  green binder each week.  Ask your child to show it to you!   As we begin working with addition and subtraction of large numbers, correct re-call of math facts will be incredibly important.  Students should be studying facts every night for at least 5 – 8 minutes. 

In Science:

This week we will continue investigating matter by experimenting with the changes of matter.  Students will learn about “physical changes” and “chemical changes”.  We will look closely into changing from a solid to a liquid and vice versa this week. Last Friday we conducted a fun experiment called The Great Ice Cube Race to observe one of these changes and discover what a physical change needs in order to happen.  We will assess the students knowledge of the states of matter through an end of unit exam in the coming week.  Students will receive flash cards and a study guide this Monday, so our Science test on Matter will be the following Monday, October 7th.

Don't forget about Open House this coming Thursday night!  It starts at 5:30.  Tickets for the dinner can be purchased online on the PTA's website until this Monday.  After that, tickets can be purchased in the cafeteria on the night of Open House!  See ya there :)

Ms. S

Update from Mrs. Ford

Language Arts
Reading
In Reading this week we will be diving into the word of character traits and character development.  Good readers notice how a character may change throughout a story.  We will begin the week by brainstorming a list of character traits.  What words can we use to describe how the character is acting and feeling?  Then, we will review some books we have read to see if we can find text evidence to support a character's personality trait.  As the week progresses, students will look for this text support in their DEAR time (independent reading) book. 

Writing
 This week we will introduce our first writing genre study, personal narrative.  We will spend the next few weeks sharing examples of personal narratives and noticing and naming the parts of a narrative.  This week we will focus on learning the vocabulary for those parts (setting the stage, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution).
Spelling
Please remember that your child is responsible for completing 8 points and turning in  his or her homework on Thursday mornings.  Students may complete any assignment on the menu they wish.  If they choose to write their words 3 times this week, they may only use that assignments once this week to get 2 of the 8 points.  

Social Studies
In class, we will learn and discuss the words rights and responsibilities.  Students will also participate in a debate to determine if he or she thinks it would be best to live in FREEDOM TOWN (where anything goes) or LEADER TOWN (where one leader tells everyone how they can live.  It's always a great time to hear kids thoughts and watch them come around to understanding how our country decided on its form of government.  

This week we will discuss LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.  We will discuss qualities needed in a leadership council representative and the duties and responsibilities that go along with this leadership position.  Students will be allowed to nominate candidates.  A rubric will then be filled out and accompanied by the nominations to determine who will represent our classes this year.


 

Math/Science Week of September 23rd

Dear Parents,

This week in Math we will be taking what we have learned over the last five weeks with place value, and applying it to rounding. On Friday,I introduced rounding two digit numbers to the nearest ten.  We used a fun roller coaster flip chart to introduce rounding and the kids really enjoy it a lot.  The roller coaster theory is pretty simple to relate to as well.  We talk about "THE POINT OF NOOOOOOO RETURN," when rounding.  Once the roller coaster reaches the top of the track (5,15,25,35,45,etc...), it has reached "THE POINT OF NO RETURN," and must swoop down to the bottom, thus rounding to the nearest ten ahead.  If the roller coaster doesn't quite make it to the top, it will fall backwards and we will then round to the nearest ten behind.  Towards the middle of the week, we will be rounding three digit numbers to the nearest ten as well and then move on to rounding to the nearest 100 at the end of the week, with 50+ being "THE POINT OF NO RETURN."   The students will have a quiz on rounding to the nearest ten and hundred on Thursday.  Friday we will dedicate to Problem Solving.  

Last week's fast fact score was recorded in the grade book, and now we are moving on to Subtraction Facts.  Please change gears and study subtraction facts only with your child for at least the next four weeks.

In Science this week, we will continue our unit study on Matter and its properties.  The kids performed a Solids Lab last Friday and made observations and conclusions about objects that are solids.  We will have a gas demonstration this week, and the kids will practice making predictions and conclusions in their journals again.  At the end of the week, we are scheduled to complete a liquids lab.  We will be practicing estimating ML and measuring our liquids in the liquids lab.  

This Wednesday we will have a long library lesson from Ms. Moore and a Counselor lesson from Ms. Clifton. It should be a fun week of learning!

Love, Ms. S 

Math/Science Week of September 16-20

Dear Parents,

Next week is going to be fast and furious!  We have so much going on between a regular lessons, Curriculum Night on Thursday, AND Progress Reports going home!

In Math this coming week we will still be working on Place Value.  We will focus on five and six digit numbers for most of the week.  I will teach the students several Math Station games to reinforce learning in the classroom on Place Value.  Ask your child to teach you the Skeleton Place Value Game or Hexa-Digit Roll at home.   In the later part of the we will be taking what we have learned over the last five weeks with place value, and applying it to rounding.  Early in the week, I will introduce rounding two digit numbers to the nearest ten.  We use a fun roller coaster flip chart to introduce rounding and the kids really enjoy it a lot.  The roller coaster theory is pretty simple to relate to as well.  We talk about "THE POINT OF NOOOOOOO RETURN," when rounding.  Once the roller coaster reaches the top of the track (5,15,25,35,45,etc...), it has reached "THE POINT OF NO RETURN," and must swoop down to the bottom, thus rounding to the nearest ten ahead.  If the roller coaster doesn't quite make it to the top, it will fall backwards and we will then round to the nearest ten behind.

In Science this week, we will be diving deeper into Matter and focusing on the Three States of Matter.  Our main objective for the week is for each student to observe and evaluate a substance/object, and then determine if it is a solid, liquid, or gas based on the properties/characteristics that it contains.  They will discover that the particles in each state of matter are different and how that affects the properties of that object.  Does it change it shape?  Does it pour?  Etc....

Above are the particles first a solid, then a liquid, and last a gas for visual reference.  

Looking forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Thursday!

Ms. Skrivanek

Visualization, Connections and Community

Language Arts

Reading
I have been pulling your children in class to have them read for me.  I will be completing each child's reading assessment by the end of September. I am so thankful for the families who could meet with me last Saturday.  If your family did not meet with me last Saturday, then I will be pulling your child during class for him or her to read for me.
Our classes have been working on extending our ability to read independently during DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read)! 

Please know that your child's nightly homework is to read for 20 minutes. Then, he or she should write the title of the book and the book's genre in his or her planner.  I check everyday!  

In class we have started working on visualization.  Students have been asked to think about what images they see when they read or have words read to them.  We often refer to this as the movie in our mind.  They have been drawing their images for me and sharing them with the class.  These images that students create help solidify the meaning of the text.  If you can't picture it, you probably don't understand it!

We will review the idea of connects as the week closes, and work more closely with this next week.  Connections fall into three categories:  text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to world.  We will begin this week to create text-to-self connections.  
We will read and then work together to think...
What about this story reminds me of something I have done?...something I have experienced?...someone I know?These connections draw us closer to the text while building comprehension.
Writing
Over the summer I kept a gratitude journal.  I would journal each day about something I was thankful for.  I've discussed my experience with my classes and we have taken on a gratitude challenge.  Our goal is to write down 300 things we are thankful for by the end of the year.  Each day during our journal time, students add to their gratitude list.  Then, they either select a topic, or I provide one for them to journal about.  Our journals are not a place where spelling, punctuation and capitalization are important.  They simply serve as a place for us to get our thoughts and ideas out of our heads and onto paper.  It's been a great experience watching your kids share their thinking and their thanks.

Spelling

This was our first week for students to receive spelling words.  
Starting next week (this is a practice week), they should practice spelling and sorting the words each night using the activities found in the menu.  We will write the words in the correct sort inside their spelling spirals for them to have as a reference tool all week. 
I will collect spelling homework on Thursday mornings.  Thursday night your child's only spelling homework is to prepare for the spelling test on Friday. 
During the spelling test on Friday, students will be asked to spell and sort the words correctly.
This process will become routine and familiar with time.  Take deep breaths, and feel free to email me with any questions.  REMEMBER, this week is practice and NEXT week is our first week... so we will GO SLOW! 
Social Studies

We are continuing to focus on citizenship.  This week we have talked about Jane Addams, Ruby Bridges, Helen Keller, and Clara Barton.  These women made HUGE contributions to their communities.  We also took some time this week to focus on community heroes in honor of 9/11.  Students will have lunch with these heroes on Friday and present them with thank you notes and bookmarks.

Math/Science for the week of September 9th

Hey Parents,

This is your weekly Math and Science update that I will be writing weekly to keep you updated on what's going on in Ms. Skrivanek's class.  We have had a great first two weeks, and now its really time to get down to this learning business!

In Math this week we will be focusing on four digit numbers.  Your student was required to master three digit numbers in 2nd grade and we spent last week reviewing them as well.  We will first build and discover four digit numbers with digital base ten blocks on the Activboard.

 We will then be ordering the four digit numbers from Greatest to Least and Least to Greatest as well as comparing them.

We will have a quiz on these objectives on Friday, September 13th.  Look for it in NEXT week's Tuesday Newsday to see how your child did on the quiz.

In Science this week, we will start the week reviewing the last two weeks of Science Tools and Safety and we will have a quiz.  This will be their first Science quiz in the grade book.  Then we will be beginning our unit on Matter.  We will first review our five senses and how we use them to observe different properties of matter such as color, texture, hardness, shape, size, and mass.  Students will practice using this vocabulary by playing a mystery object game.  We also will be writing some notes in our Science journals this week by writing definitions that will help the students get prepared for their first Science test on our Matter Unit.

Also this week our kids will have a long library lesson on Wednesday over the upcoming Bluebonnet books and a counselor lesson as well.  Picture day will be this Thursday and Lunch with Heroes this Friday.  Be sure to put your kids in thier red, white, and blue!

Love,
Ms. S

An update from Mrs. Ford

Parents and Families,
Welcome to our blog.  This will be a great site for you to use for information about what is happening in the classroom.  Ms. Skrivanek and I will do our best to update the front page weekly.  Please use the "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" box to join our blog.  When you join the blog, you will be alerted by email each time we change the front page.  You may also wish to save the URL in your bookmarks.  Students will also need to reference the blog for homework.
We have had a marvelous first week of school.  It was wonderful to get to meet and get to know your children.  You must have fun in your homes!!!
This week in Mrs. Ford's class (Language Arts and Social Studies) we will start getting more into academic work.  Students will begin practicing routines for daily independent reading.  We call this special time in our day, DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read).  During this time, students will be allowed to read a book they have self-selected.  They will be asked to apply reading strategies we have learned as a class during their DEAR time.
We will also continue to brainstorm and journal in writing.  At home, please help your student think of things her or she knows much about. One of the hardest parts of writing is thinking of an idea.  We will work this week to create different lists and try different brainstorming activities to get our ideas moving from our brains to the paper.
Students completed a spelling inventory for me last week.  It gave me some great information to know what they KNOW about words and how they work.  This week, we will review vowels, consonants and syllables.  We will also learn about synonyms and antonyms and how to use a thesaurus and a dictionary. Later this year, each third grader will receive his or her own personal dictionary.  These ideas will help us as we work towards creating spelling groups.
Our focus for social studies this 9 weeks is Community and Government.  Last week we worked on building our classroom community.  This week we will look at famous Americans who helped change his or her community.
Homework will begin this week.  Students will be asked to read NIGHTLY for 20 minutes.  They will record the title and genre of their book in their planners.  I will check each morning to see that they have this recorded.  Homework is a study habit that will be recorded and reported on your student's progress report.

Parents

Parents,
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Omi and Angela