Encounter

In Readers' Workshop, we read Encounter, by Jane Yolen.  In this text, she writes about Christopher Columbus from the Native American's point of view.  Have your students reflect on what they think about Columbus; have them say, "I used to think Columbus was  ___________, but now I know Columbus is ______ ."  Ask them about the illustration below and what it makes them infer about Columbus.  Encourage them to use evidence from the text and illustration to support their thinking, their claim.

Reading Week Schedule (March 14-18)

• Mellow Monday: Wear your pajamas and cozy up with a good book.
• Twilight Tuesday: Bring in a flashlight to read with!
• Wear Your Words Wednesday:  Wear a shirt with words.
• Telling Tales Thursday/ St. Patrick's Day: Read with our kindergarten buddies and wear green.
• Book Character Day:  Dress like your favorite book character!

Homework:

• Math homework
• Practice multiplication facts
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Picture Day: Thursday, March 31

Classroom Supplies:  Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to families who continue to keep our classroom stocked with supplies so we can focus on learning.  Your generosity is so appreciated.  Thank you!

• Whiteboard markers

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Book Week Coming Up!

Reading Week is coming up! Next week, students will celebrate reading;  they will come home with the schedule on Friday.  For those who like to plan ahead, I've posted the schedule below.  I'll have this posted on the blog each day until next Friday.


Reading Week Schedule (March 14-18)

• Mellow Monday: Wear your pajamas and cozy up with a good book.
• Twilight Tuesday: Bring in a flashlight to read with!
• Wear Your Words Wednesday:  Wear a shirt with words.
• Telling Tales Thursday/ St. Patrick's Day: Read with our kindergarten buddies and wear green.
• Book Character Day:  Dress like your favorite book character!

Homework:

• Practice multiplication facts
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Picture Day: Thursday, March 31

Classroom Supplies:  Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to families who continue to keep our classroom stocked with supplies so we can focus on learning.  Your generosity is so appreciated.  Thank you!

• Whiteboard markers

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Free Fraction Online Games

The website "Sheppard Software" has a ton of great free online math games.  For extra practice at home, students can go to the link below and play some fun fraction games.

Sheppard Software: Fraction Games

Homework:

• Practice multiplication facts
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Picture Day: Thursday, March 31
• Unit 5 Assessments:  Signed and returned at your earliest convenience.
• Report card envelopes:  Please return at your earliest convenience

Classroom Supplies:

• Sticky Notes: Very low

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

March Book Madness!

Ask your child tonight about "March Book Madness" (MBM). Ask them what books they want to read and what books they want to win the tournament/ bracket.  Find out more about MBM by clicking here.  I encourage you to play at home too! The purpose is not for every child to read every single book, but to get kids excited about reading and wanting to read more.

Homework:

• Math homework
• Practice multiplication facts
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Picture Day: Thursday, March 31
• Unit 5 Assessments:  Signed and returned at your earliest convenience.
• Report card envelopes:  Please return at your earliest convenience

Classroom Supplies:

• Sticky Notes: Very low

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Early Dismissal Tomorrow

In Readers' Workshop, students read with "lenses" to skim articles and look for evidence that supports their claim.  With their imaginary glasses on, they looked for shocking facts/ really persuasive parts, this is their supportive evidence. We cut out our evidence and attached it to our claim.  We talked about how our evidence needs to MATCH our claim, comparing it to matching shoes with our outfits. You can support at home by asking your child to make a claim (their opinion about a topic, idea, etc.) and have them identify evidence that matches.   For example, ask if students should have homework.  Have them make a claim ("Students should/ should not have homework.") and encourage them to come up with evidence/ a reason.

Homework:

• Multiplication Facts: 20 minutes
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal: Tomorrow
• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Picture Day: Thursday, March 31
• Unit 5 Assessments:  Signed and returned at your earliest convenience.
• Report card envelopes:  Please return at your earliest convenience

Classroom Supplies:

• Sticky Notes: Very low

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Field Trip

On Wednesday, March 30 the 3rd grade will be taking our class field trip to Herr's Potato Chip Factory.  A permission slip with additional information is coming home with students today.   Thank you!

Today students visited each classroom in the school and voted for their favorite Dr. Seuss themed doors to celebrate his birthday.  Ask your child which door was their favorite, and why!

In Math, we have started our unit on fractions.  I'm sending home a double-sided parent note outlining some key concepts we'll be working on.  

Homework:

• Math homework
• Update:  In our "scoreboard game" students voted to now play for homework problems rather than recess minutes.  This means some days your child will come home with 0-3 homework problems crossed out or 0-3 homework problems added.  
• Multiplication Facts: 20 minutes
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal: This Friday
• Herr's Field Trip:  March 30, 2016
• Please return permission slip ASAP.
• Unit 5 Assessments:  Signed and returned at your earliest convenience.
• Report card envelopes:  Please return at your earliest convenience

Classroom Supplies:

• Sticky Notes: Very low

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Unit 5 Grades

In Math Workshop, students explored fractions.  Specifically students studied numerators, denominators and their respective meanings.  Students created flowers using "total numbers of petals" (denominator) and colored petals (numerator) to create word problems.  Check it out!

Homework:

• Math homework
• Update:  In our "scoreboard game" students voted to now play for homework problems rather than recess minutes.  This means some days your child will come home with 0-3 homework problems crossed out or 0-3 homework problems added.  
• Multiplication Facts: 20 minutes
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Unit 5 Assessments went home yesterday.  Please sign and return at your earliest convenience.  Thank you!
• Report card envelopes:  Please return at your earliest convenience

Classroom Supplies:

• Sticky Notes: Very low

Kidblog Link:  

• https://kidblog.org/class/RES11/login

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill