Getting To Know Ourselves As Readers

Today in Readers' Workshop, students reflected on their reading lives, getting to know themselves as readers.  In order to learn, grow,  and make reading the best experience it can be for us, we first have to know ourselves as readers.  In their readers' notebooks, the kids jotted down their truths about reading (see below).

In Writers' Workshop, students started their DWA (Developmental Writing Assessment).  This is a pre-assessment (not graded) to see what students know how to do as writers already.  Essentially this guides my instruction to capitalize on students' strengths and target growth areas.

During Math, students finished their pre-assessment.

In Word Study, we identified and explained people who were "accepting".  Ask your child for an example of an accepting person.

In Read Aloud, we read the first voice from Voices in the Park, by Anthony Browne. We used our schema (prior knowledge) and text clues to make inferences about character traits.








Homework:

• Read 20 minutes

Reminders:

• Please return all papers in the "Return" side (right side) of students' Beaver Folders at your earliest convenience.
• Signed classroom library contract
• Signed Class Blog Permission Slip and Subscription Form (yellow, double-sided paper)
• Parent Survey

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Important Papers Coming Home

Today in Readers' Workshop, we spent time creating and practicing our workshop norms, and identifying "just right" books.  Next week, we will learn a few strategies to help us select just right books.

In Word Study, we used characters from The Dot to explore the meaning of excel.

Towards the end of the day, we spent time getting to know our classmates a little better through our "Bag It!" presentations. If your child forgot their "Bag It", we can still do some presentations on Monday; no worries!

In Math, students took a math pre-assessment.  This is not graded; it is simply a tool to help me identify what students know and don't know yet so I can best teach to each kid's specific needs.

Notes in Folders:  Coming home in students' Beaver Folders today are some important papers for our classroom. Specifically, when you have time, if you could please go through the Class Blog Permission Slip and Subscription Form (yellow, double-sided paper) and the Parent Survey. Please return these at your earliest convenience.  Thank you!

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes
• Bag It! (if not turned in yet)
• Signed classroom library contract
• Signed Class Blog Permission Slip and Subscription Form (yellow, double-sided paper)
• Parent Survey

Reminders:

• Please return all papers in the "Return" side (right side) of students' Beaver Folders at your earliest convenience.

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you for a fantastic first two days of school,

Mrs. O'Neill

Welcome Back!

Hi All!

We had a great first day!  The kids learned and practiced our expectations in third grade. The kids also created a Mission Statement for our class to set our purpose for being here at school.

We also read The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes and The Dot.  Ask your child what they learned from each book.  Additionally, we reviewed one of our EAGER words, "excel".  Ask your child for an example of some who excels at something.  The person can be real or fictional from books, TV, and movies.

As some of you may already know, we have a wide variety of books in our classroom.  Students are encouraged to take books home; however, before they can borrow books from our library, they need to return their "Classroom Library Contract".  This is coming home today with the kids (yellow paper).  Please be sure to read and go over our expectations, and sign and return at your earliest convenience. Again, the kids can't take books home until I get this signed paper back.  Thank you so much for your support!

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes
• Bag It!
• Classroom library contract, signed

Reminders:

• Please return all papers in the "Return" side (right side) of students' Beaver Folders at your earliest convenience.

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Welcome!

Class Blog:  http://11RES.blogspot.com

Communication between school and home is crucial. This blog is the primary avenue of communication I will use to keep you up-to-date on what's happening in our room. The purpose of this website is to keep you informed about what your child's learning and doing at school, and provide you with opportunities to support your student's learning outside of school. Here you will find helpful resources, information regarding curriculum, important classroom news, as well as an updated blog. With our class blog, it is my intention, to keep you updated regarding our current goals, learning, and progress throughout the year. Each day you can expect to see homework posted as well as upcoming reminders. Please visit our blog frequently for the latest information on what we're doing in Room 11!

• To Follow Our Blog: Have posts sent straight to your email by following 2 easy steps!  After you've completed these two steps, you will receive an email with a copy of my post, each time I post to the blog (once a day just before dismissal).  This makes it so you never have to visit the blog to see a post; i.e., you don't have to remember the web address.
1. Enter your email address in the "Follow by Email" box.  Click "Submit", and type the given code to confirm you're not a robot.
2. In your inbox, you'll receive a confirmation email from "FeedBurner Email Subscriptions". Click the link in the email to confirm your subscription. Done!

I'm looking forward to a wonderful year of learning!

Thank you for your support,

Mrs. O'Neill