Unit 1 Assessment Next Week

In Readers' Workshop, students are learning that "reading is thinking"; when we think about what we read, we're less likely to get bored, abandon books, etc..  The anchor chart below lists a few of our strategies that help us think while we read.  Encourage your child to use these at home!

In Writers' Workshop, we used "time chunks" to plan and order ideas for our personal narratives.

In Social Studies, students acted out possible scenarios, and acted as police officers, using Maryland's Bicycle laws to decide when laws had been broken. 

Students will have their Unit 1 Math Assessment Wednesday, October 7.  We will spend time reviewing in class, and I will also send home a review next week.

In Word Study, students engaged in an "open sort" where they grouped words based on their meanings.  In doing so, students discovered and explained the meaning of "discouraged".

Homework:

• Math homework
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal this Friday
• Unit 1 Math Assessment: Wednesday, October 7
• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Connections!

In Writers' Workshop, students identified time and place of their settings to start planning their personal narratives, in their text maps.

In Readers' Workshop, students continue learning and applying comprehension strategies; we use sticky notes as a vessel for these strategies.  Encourage your child to use stickies at home the same way we do at school! Our new strategy is: I can use sticky notes to make and explain connections (see some samples below).

In Word Study, students played a vocabulary game using all of our Tier II words so far.  Students used synonyms and antonyms to define and explain words' meanings.  Ask your child our fastest time yet.

In Math Workshop, students used spatial reasoning to make mathematical claims about rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred.


Homework:

• Math homework
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal this Friday
• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Word Study At A Glance

A part of our daily schedule is Word Study. While recently we have been working with the vocabulary component, in the future, Word Study will also focus on spelling. Because this approach to spelling and vocabulary may be new to some students and parents, I thought I'd put together a "Word Study At A Glance". Please see below. Thanks!

...

Word Study At A Glance

What is Word Study?

Word study is a learner-centered, conceptual approach to phonics, spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary instruction.  Through active exploration, word study teaches students to examine words and discover specific regularities, patterns, letter relationships, etc.  In addition, word study also increases word knowledge--spelling and meaning, or vocabulary.  Research shows that the number one indicator of reading achievement and growth is a student’s depth of vocabulary.

• Word study isn’t about memorizing spelling words but about understanding spelling patterns.
• Word study encourages students to manipulate groups of words and compare them to words that are phonetically similar.
• Word study is a research-based, purposeful look at word analysis.

Purpose of Word Study

As a component of balanced literacy, word study achieves two goals; first to help students become fluent readers with a strong vocabulary, and secondly, to give students the opportunity to fully explore and manipulate words.

How Does Word Study Work?

Through discovery and exploration, students notice specific letter patterns and concepts in the spelling of words.   Word study involves problem solving in the form of developing hypotheses, searching for patterns, predicting outcomes, and experimenting to find out if they’re right.  Using hands-on, engaging lessons, students compare new words to words they already know and look for similarities.  Through word study, students use and apply what they discovered about letter relationships, patterns, etc. to spell words they may be unfamiliar with.  

The basis of word study works toward current research that indicates when students build on their prior knowledge to construct new learning and have ownership in that learning (i.e. when they create knowledge themselves rather than being explicitly taught by a teacher), they are more likely to retain and apply their knowledge across time and subject areas.  Furthermore, ownership yields a significant conceptual, critical understanding of language, and fosters a real world application of knowledge.

Homework:

• Math homework
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal this Friday
• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Stickies at Home!

In Writers' Workshop, we read a mentor text, Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen. We read as writers, noticing writing elements authors use when writing personal narratives.

In Readers' Workshop, we read City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems.  We used sticky notes to jot down our inferences about character traits as we read. Again, encourage your child to use stickies (or a notebook) when they read at home. They now have 3 strategies under their belts:

1. Make predictions
2. Wondering
3. Inferences about character traits

In Word Study, students learned the meaning of "deceptive".  Ask your child what this means and for an example (A: someone who is sneaky and misleading to others).

In Math Workshop, students used number sense and spatial reasoning to solve real world problems money.

In Social Studies, students engaged in a Chalk Talk regarding rules.  Specifically students made connections with others' ideas to identify traits of effective rules.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you for another great week!

Mrs. O'Neill

Food Drive

Homework:

• Math homework due tomorrow
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!
• I will be checking planners tomorrow.  Please make sure you've signed for this week! Thanks!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Chalk Talk

In Writers' Workshop, students engaged in a "Chalk Talk" to show and build on each others' thinking about seed and watermelon ideas (see below).  It's critical students take ownership of these ideas as all personal narratives are based on seed ideas (small moments).  Ask your child about seed ideas from their life.

In Readers' Workshop, students used sticky notes to stop, think, and jot down what they're wondering.  Sticky notes are great tools to support comprehension and encourage readers to slow down and critically think about text.

In Math Workshop, students noticed and noted relationships between numbers to help them solve problems in money.  Specifically, we can use "counting on" to help us make change, rather than regrouping.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• No school tomorrow.

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Seed vs. Watermelon

In Writers' Workshop, students collaborated with peers, using technology to learn about seed vs. watermelon ideas for our personal narratives (see below).  Ask you child the difference between a seed and watermelon idea (A: seed = small moment, small amount of time; like when I learned how to shoot a basketball.  Watermelon = long period of time; like a vacation).

In Readers' Workshop, students learned that reading is a lot like watching a movie; we have emotional responses to what we read, i.e. we laugh, cry, question, etc.  Today we used sticky notes to jot down predictions while we read as a way to respond to our reading (see below).  Feel free to encourage your child to jot down predictions while they read at home!

In Math Workshop, we used regrouping to solve real world problems involving money.

In Social Studies, we used our schema to define and explain effective rules.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Museums!

In Writers' Workshop, students learned their last two pre-writing strategies to help them generate ideas.  One strategy (below) is called the "Museum Strategy".  We pretend we're making a museum about a noun then use a web to jot down these details that tell about our noun.  After we do this, we can use the web to help us write.  Students also learned that they can make "Scary Lists"; jotting down times when they were really, really scared.  These ideas often make for great writing!

In Readers' Workshop, students used 3 steps to identify meanings of unknown words: 

1. Read 
2. Reread and Lean In (visualize the story to help you generate a synonym that makes sense)
3. Read with synonym

In Math Workshop, students applied their knowledge of money to make mathematical.  They used words, pictures and numbers to defend their thinking.

In Word Study, students learned "considerate".  Ask your child an example of someone who is considerate.

Near the end of the day, we had two drills: Lock Down and Fire.  Thank you students for rocking these drills! 

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• I will be out of the building tomorrow.  Please direct any changes in dismissal, etc. to the office.  Thank you for your cooperation!
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Out Of Building Friday

Homework:

• Math homework
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• I will be out of the building this Friday.  Please direct any changes in dismissal, etc. to the office.  Thank you for your cooperation!
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

FREE Online Math Games

In Math Workshop, we used laptops to engage in free online math games.  The links are below.  For future reference, you can also find them in the "Educational Games" tab.  The kids basically practiced getting on laptops and accessing the games.  For the rest of the week, we will have a "technology station" during Math Workshop where students will use these same games.

• Math Man: Rounding
• Money Fruit Splat
• On Time!

In Writers' Workshop, students "lifted a line" from the writers' notebooks to write a whole new story.  Ask your child about this strategy and what they wrote about.

In Readers' Workshop, we used context clues to identify meanings and synonyms of unknown words.  We read Baloney to do this.

In Word Study, we created a Frayer Model for the word "relationship".  To make a Frayer Model, we write the meaning of the word, draw a picture, list synonyms and antonyms, as well as use the word in a sentence.   

In Social Studies, students took a pre-assessment.

Homework:

• Math homework: Students can play an online math game (above) for 10 minutes OR complete the worksheet sent home
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Homework Policy & Grading

The following note went home in kids' Beaver Folder today:

Homework Policies/ Grading

• Policies/ Nightly Homework
• Homework is marked with a star in students' planners.
• Independently read: 20 minutes each night.
• Please sign your child's planner to indicate that your child is reading.
• Math homework is always due the next day, unless indicated otherwise.
• Math homework should take no more than 30 minutes.
• Homework is to reinforce concepts and foster accountability and responsibility; it should not be difficult and frustrating.
• If your child is spending more that 30 minutes on math homework, please write me a note at the top of the paper, and I will work with them in the morning one-on-one, for full credit.
• Unfinished work: If students are not completing work during school, it will be sent home as homework.
• Grading
• Check:  Full credit.
• INC. (Incomplete): Partial credit, dependent on how much was completed.
• Late: For each day late, score drops by 10%, never dropping below 60%.
• Accuracy 
• While I check students' homework for correctness, I do not mark them down if they gave their full effort and arrived at the wrong answer.  I will, however, address this misconception one-on-one, as necessary. 
• Make Up/ Absences
• Students will be given a fair and appropriate amount of time to complete any work and/ or homework they missed.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• No School Monday
• Ice Cream Social and General PTA Meeting: Tonight at 6:30 in the Cafeteria.
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Early Dismissal Tomorrow

In Readers' Workshop, students learned that the same way we have yearly check-ups for our body, readers use "check-ins" to ensure we're comprehending.  To do this, we put a sticky note at the bottom of our page.  Then once we get to that sticky, we paraphrase, or say what the page said in our own words, to make sure we understand what we read.

In Writers' Workshop, we again worked on building our stamina by writing from a word for 20 whole minutes!  Ask your child what word they wrote about (A: crayon).  What ideas came from crayon?

In Math Workshop, we noticed patterns to come to understanding about addition and subtraction.

In Word Study, we explored the word "respect".  Ask your child for an example of someone who is respectful.

Homework:

• Math homework (due tomorrow)
• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal tomorrow
• Ice Cream Social and General PTA Meeting: Tomorrow at 6:30 in the Cafeteria.
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Writing From A Word

In Readers' Workshop, students learned a visualization and inferring strategy, "Leaning In".  Periodically when we read, we press pause on our mental movie and lean in really close to the character to help us visualize the setting, the character's body language, etc.  This visualization then helps us make inferences about how characters feel on the inside.

In Writers' Workshop, students learned to "write from a word".  This strategy helps us build on writing stamina; it aims to encourage students to write for long periods of time, regardless if they get off topic (see below).  We simply want them writing.  Ask your child what word they wrote about, how much they wrote, for how long.

In Math Workshop, students used regrouping to help them accurately subtract.

In Word Study, we It's Hard To Be A Verb.  This text demonstrated one of our EAGER Beaver traits, "engage".  Ask you child what the main character was frequently engaging in.

Homework:

• Math homework (due tomorrow)
• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Red and white Parent Permissions Form: Due ASAP
• Early Dismissal this Friday
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Readers Hold Tight!

In Readers' Workshop, students learned that readers hold tight to meaning to help them visualize the story.  When your child is reading tonight, encourage them to draw a picture of their "mental movie", or discuss what their mental movie looks like.  Ask them to identify what in the text helped them create that movie.

In Writers' Workshop, students learned another pre-writing strategy.  Students learned that they can use the List Strategy to generate ideas for writing (see below).

In Math Workshop, students used spatial reasoning to make sense of and explain telling time on analog clocks.  Students have homework coming home tonight, due tomorrow.

We also began our first Read Aloud today, Goblins in the Castle, by Bruce Coville.  The purpose of Read Aloud is to model effective comprehension strategies, encourage accountable talk, and foster critical thinking about text.  Ask your child if they would like to be William, why or why not?

Homework:

• Math homework (due tomorrow)
• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Red and white Parent Permissions Form: Due ASAP
• Early Dismissal this Friday
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Follow Up Newsletter

The following newsletter is in students' Beaver Folders today:

September 4, 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians,                                                                                                    

Our school year is underway!  It has been great getting to know the children the past couple of days.  We have spent a lot of time learning classroom routines and getting familiar with each other.  We have a wonderful class!

To help you better understand how things are working this year, I’d like to share how we will be doing a few things in our third grade learning community.

…

Beaver Folders:

All students have a white school-issued folder that they will bring home with them every day. Inside the folder you will find homework that needs to be completed, notes from myself and the office, as well as any finished homework your child may have done.  Please take a moment to check the folder each week, and make sure your child brings it back to school every day.  It is important for us to communicate and this is a great way for us to keep in touch.

Unfinished & Absent Work:­

Any work not completed during the day will be sent home to be finished and returned the next day.  If your child is absent, he/she will need to complete the work that was missed.  Students will have a fair and appropriate amount of time to finish any assignment they may have missed. 

Math/ Homework:

Riverside Elementary utilizes the Everyday Math program for math instruction.  Specifically, third grade’s math curriculum involves group work, hands-on activities, problem solving, logical thinking, and decision-making lessons. You can expect your child to have math homework every week.  Math homework is intended to help reinforce concepts learned in class.  I will always explain how to do these assignments before students are sent home.  Your child should not be spending more than 30 minutes on math homework.  If this is the case, please jot me down a note at the top your child's homework, and I will work with your child one-on-one in the morning to complete the work.  It is important to also note that students can, and are encouraged to, bring home their math notebook to help them in completing their homework.

Independent Reading:

The amount of free reading done outside of school has consistently been found to relate to growth in vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency, and general information (Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding 1988; Greaney 1980; Guthrie and Greaney 1991; Taylor, Frye, and Maruyama 1990). Students who read independently become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have greater content knowledge than those who do not (Krashen 1993; Cunningham and Stanovich 1991; Stanovich and Cunningham 1993). Please set aside at least 20 minutes each night for your child to read independently or even better, aloud to you. 

Planners:

Planners are another way that we communicate with each other on a daily basis. At the end of each day, we will fill out planners together with brief information in each subject area so as to communicate what was learned each day. Please check and sign their planner every day. By signing your child’s planner, you are communicating to me that your child is completing their homework (this includes their 20 minutes of independent reading each day).  On occasion, I may write you a note in your child's planner.  Likewise, feel free to jot down a note in your child's planner for me to read, as well.  Students know to show me their planners in the morning if they have parent notes.  Every Friday I will check to see that planners are signed.   I will always let students know a day ahead of time when we will be checking planners.  Students who have more than two signatures missing will lose a ticket (for every 2 signatures missing, 1 ticket will be taken away).

Behavior & Classroom Management:

Clip Chart 

As a part of our school wide Positive Behavior Support initiative, each class will use a clip chart to encourage positive behavior.  This is a fluid chart that travels with students throughout the day.  Please see below for an outline and description of the chart.

• Role Model (RM)
• Our qualification for Role Model have changed this year.  At the end of each day, students on Super Star may be moved up to Role Model, if homeroom teacher deems appropriate.
• Super Star (SS)
• Way to Go (WTG)
• Ready to Learn (RTL)
• Students begin here every day!
• Make Better Choices (MBC)
• Stop and Think (SAT)
• Parent Contact (PC)

Clip Hall of Fame
Our qualifications for Clip Hall of Fame have changed this year.  This year, to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, students must be name a Role Model 20 times.

Tickets 
In addition to our clip chart, each class will also continue using our ticket management system.  I have found this behavior management system to be the most effective in third-fifth grade classrooms.  Please read below.

• Each child will begin each week with 2 tickets on Monday. Students can also earn tickets by exhibiting positive behavior throughout the week.  If your child turns in all homework and has all signatures in their planner on Friday, they will keep all their tickets throughout the week.  On Friday, we will check planners and have our weekly raffle for classroom rewards and incentives.
• Students will lose a ticket if they...  
•  ...do not complete homework on time
• ...are missing more than 2 signatures in their planners on Friday. For every 2 signatures missing, 1 ticket is lost.

...

As always, please feel free to email or call with questions or concerns. 

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Red Parent Permissions Form: Due ASAP
• No School: Monday, September 7.
• Picture Day: Tuesday, September 8.
• World's Finest Chocolate (PTA): There are still plenty of boxes of World's Finest Chocolates left.  Please sign out a box and help your PTA earn money for your school.  Each box contains 60 items ($60). Money will be due 2 weeks after you check out candy.  Sign out sheets are available in the lobby on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 8:30-9:00 AM, or you can see Donna or Cara in the office for a box.  Main Office: 410-612-1560

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Parent Permissions Form

Coming home in students' Beaver Folders today is the Parent Permissions Form.  We just received these today, and they are due back tomorrow.  Please be sure to go through your child's folder and return.  Again, I thank you for your time and cooperation regarding start of school paperwork.

In Readers' Workshop, students learned how to preview books the same way we preview movies.  We use these previewing strategies to help us find a "just right" book that we can stick with!

In Writers' Workshop, students learned how to use the heart map to help them generate writing ideas. These were cute! Take a look below.

In Math Workshop, students used base ten blocks to defend their mathematical claims about values.  Students then visited four stations (one of which is me).  At stations, students engage in tasks or play purposeful games to apply, reinforce, and extend math concepts.

In Read Aloud, students used setting to infer ideas about who characters are on the inside; i.e., character traits.  Ask your child which "voice" they'd want to be friends with; have them defend their thinking using evidence from the text and illustrations.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Red Parent Permissions Form: Due tomorrow
• Picture Day: Tuesday, September 8.
• Candy Bar Fund Raiser (PTA): If your child is interested in selling chocolate bars for our fund raiser, parents can sign papers and pick up the chocolate box in the morning, by the main office.

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Homework

Hi All,

Just a quick reminder that homework will be indicated with a star in students' planners.  Everything else written in planners is simply a way to establish and build routines and responsibility and communicate what we're doing at school each day.  Again, I only check planners on Fridays; however, "ideally" parents sign off each day to communicate that your child has completed their homework (this includes their daily 20 minutes of reading).

Thank you again for your continued support!

Below are snapshots from Writers' Workshop.  Today students identified what Writers' Workshop should look like and sound like in our classroom.  We then practiced these expectations.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes 
  

Reminders:

• Picture Day: Tuesday, September 8.
• Candy Bar Fund Raiser (PTA): If your child is interested in selling chocolate bars for our fund raiser, parents can sign papers and pick up the chocolate box in the morning, by the main office.

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill