Tuesday, February 18, 2014

February Newsletter


 February News

Math:
Parts of a Whole Can be Modeled and Represented in Different Ways

Our class is just beginning to develop an understanding of fractions as numbers. Thanks to the help of Mrs. Fleet’s 5th grade class, we began our exploration using egg fractions as a hands-on manipulative representing 12 parts that together equal one whole. Students used string to block off different parts and try to name different fractions. This led to a basic understanding that fractions can have many names, and it’s always important to think about each fraction as being part of a whole. As we continue our unit, we will solve problems, describe fractions as numbers on a number line, and explain equivalence of fractions. Through all activities, our class is using critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving. This requires them to interpret, evaluate, summarize and synthesize every day!


Literacy:

Reading- Determining Importance

Although we have already spent a few weeks focusing on this strategy, we are nowhere near done! We want to make sure we understand deeply how to recognize and clearly communicate what is important versus what is interesting and unimportant, and then show that understanding through summarizing and written explanation. We will continue to make meaning strategically by learning how to find the main idea of the texts we read and the events or ideas that are truly significant to what we are reading.

The students have learned how to use the structure of Name It, Verb It, Big Idea to help write a strong topic sentence. They have also learned that “Jot Dots” are great ways to capture big ideas and ensure that our summaries are written in our own words. Additionally, they are making sure to add transitions so their thoughts are organized and well written. We will continue working on this strategy for the next few weeks learning more about how to use information from illustrations (maps, photographs) and the words in a text to create deeper understanding, as well as looking at pieces of texts and considering author’s bias and point of view.

Writing- Informational Writing

What makes writing worth reading?

Each day we think about what we could include in our writing to make it worth reading. Our class is always trying to create meaning strategically with structure and craft. Through the study of mentor texts, we continually jot down inspirational words or phrases and are trying to figure out how to add our own unique craft to our informational pieces. Our class has almost made it through Bend II of lessons from our new Lucy Calkins curriculum. The second bend was all about elaboration, understanding how to include more than just facts, and how to make writing even better by continuing to add various structures, text features and paragraphs that link ideas together to make sense.  We’re making sure to use our checklists every day to see what specific areas we need to focus on, and what weekly goals we can set to improve in those areas. The students know that strong writing does not happen overnight, and it’s important to continue to analyze different parts of our writing (leads, transitions, spelling, etc.) to improve along the way.


Science:
Earth Systems

The third graders are finishing up their study of rocks and minerals. They have spent lots of time utilizing a variety of media sources to collect and analyze data around Earth’s materials and the processes by which they are formed. Our class will be coming back to this later in the year with a project that allows them to take an active role putting their science thinking to the test. Our final project will focus on the Pikes Peak highway and will help students gain a broader understanding of systems thinking by allowing them to analyze the interaction within and between systems, evaluate the relationship between cause and effect, and finally evaluate the relationship between decisions and the impact on available resources in the community.





Wednesday, January 15, 2014


January Newsletter

MATH:
Throughout the month of January the third graders will be investigating the make-up of two-dimensional shapes. They will learn to describe and classify these shapes based on their many features sich as: sides, angels, and vertices. They will study squares, rectangles, and triangles in depth and learn words such as congruent and symmetrical. As a class we will work to understand how knowing all of this can relate to the real world around us, and help us in our study of three-dimensional shapes down the road.

Student Handbook: 118-124


LITERACY:
The third graders will soon be beginning their new thinking strategy: Determining Importance. We will learn how to the find the main idea of the texts we read and the events or ideas that are truly significant to what we are reading. The students will learn what it means to summarize and how determining importance is key to writing a summary about something we have read or watched. We will discuss the difference between events that are significant and events that are just something we happened to enjoy the most in the story.

The study of Determining Importance comes at the perfect time as we begin to really dive deeper into Informative Writing. We are learning the features and structures of a non-fiction piece of writing, and how to write an organized paragraph. The third graders have already chosen a topic to write about...something they feel they are true experts on. We focused on thinking through our main, important ideas and creating a table of contents for our informative books. The students will now learn to support their main ideas and write using details, facts, definitions, quotes, and more.


SCIENCE:
The third graders will continue their study of rocks and minerals, and how the landscape of our Earth is in a state of constant change. The third graders will be able to truly see the important role a geologist plays in the real world, and will even see how some of our civilized structures would not exist today if not for rocks.

Monday, November 11, 2013


October Newsletter

Math:  
In math students will be working with multiplication and division.  They will explore the meaning behind these concepts.  Students will develop their mathematical tool belt with strategies when attacking multiplication and division problems.
Student Handbook: 39-46, 49-53    
Learning Targets: Multiplication and division are inverse operations and can be modeled in a variety of ways
Literacy:  
In reading we will focus on the strategy of sensory images.  Your reader will activate his or her senses to put themselves in the text to give meaning.  The third graders will recognize that their response of feelings and emotions can help them better understand the text.  

For Writer’s Workshop we will work on finishing up our personal narratives this month. We will also work on the structure of writing and how that helps the reader better understand, retain information, and gain meaning from our writing.
Learning Targets: Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types of literary genres. Comprehension strategies are necessary when reading informational or persuasive text    
Social Studies:
Students will explore the structure of a successful community.  We will study how civics within our personal, local, and national government is used and the benefits it provides to the community.  As responsible citizens students within our Colorado community, we will add to our background knowledge, analyze and take action on open space and environmental issues.  

Learning Targets: Respecting the views and rights of others is a key component of a democratic society. The origins, structure, and functions of local government.

Problem Solving: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.
Resilience and Adaptability: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.
Civic Responsibility: Analyze characteristics of effective citizenship.
Collaboration: Evaluate environment influence on sustainability.
Critical Thinking: Create knowledge through the process of inquiry based on multiple evidence.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

November/December Newsletter 

Dates to Remember:  
November 12th: Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 22nd:  Digger’s Family Feast
November 25-29th: Thanksgiving Holiday
December 20th- January 6th: Winter Holiday


Math:     
In math students will finish working with multiplication and division in Unit 5 and begin Unit 4,  "Inside, Outside, What's It All About" perimeter, angles & area: 2-D geometry & measurement.
Student Handbook:   
Learning Targets: Multiplication and division are inverse operations and can be modeled in a variety of ways. Geometric figures are described by their attributes.  Linear and area measurement are fundamentally different and require different units of measure.  Time and attributes of objects can be measured with appropriate tools
Literacy:     
In reading we will focus on the strategy of questioning.  Your reader will understand that good readers ask question before, during, and after they are reading and that some questions will not have answers provided within the text.   
For Writer’s Workshop we will work on finishing up our personal narratives this month. We will also work on the structure of writing a paragraph and what the main components of a paragraph are.  We will also begin our unit of Informational writing.  
Learning Targets: Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types of literary genres. Comprehension strategies are necessary when reading informational or persuasive text.  
Social Studies:
Students will explore the structures of government and the rolls within.  We will study how civics within our personal, local, and national government is used and the benefits it provides to the community.  As responsible citizens students within our Colorado community, we will add to our background knowledge, analyze and take action to make a difference.  


Learning Targets: Respecting the views and rights of others is a key component of a democratic society. The origins, structure, and functions of local government.


Problem Solving: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.
Resilience and Adaptability: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.
Civic Responsibility: Analyze characteristics of effective citizenship.
Collaboration: Evaluate environment influence on sustainability.
Critical Thinking: Create knowledge through the process of inquiry based on multiple evidence.






Monday, September 9, 2013

September 2013


MATH:    In math students are solving addition and subtraction problems with two and small three-digit numbers. Students are finding combinations of numbers that add to 100, and work with coins and coin values. Their understanding of place value develops as they add and subtract 10s to and from three-digit numbers, break three-digit numbers into hundreds, tens, and ones in different ways, and solve story problems involving hundreds, tens, and ones.
LITERACY:      
In reading we have focused on our schema with building our knowledge through different types of connections and making sure that we are choosing books that are at their level. Determining how much readers will comprehend and how well writers will be able to communicate about a given topic is their level of knowledge about that topic (interest in the topic is also important but often is related to prior knowledge). The importance of prior knowledge to comprehension and communication is the base to understanding stories.


For Writer’s Workshop we have been focusing on Personal Narratives. Students are learning to take the everyday events of their lives and make them into focused, well-structured stories--doing their very best to communicate those stories through creating a plan then applying that to their writing.

Social Studies: 

For our social studies unit we are starting our learning with a kick off to the Plains Conservation Center.  Students will compare communities from the past to the present and define what makes a community.  We will be exploring history trunks that will allow students to explore everyday life materials, and we will also be listening to a historian tell us about the “good old days”. 

Dates to Remember:  

September 2: No School Labor Day
September 3: Plains Conservation Center Field Trip for Shepperd and Nelson
September 12: Math Night 4:30-5:30
September 13: Picture Retakes
September 20: Digger Dash
September 27: No School Professional Development

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Welcome to 3rd Grade!


Welcome to 3rd grade!  I am so excited to meet each and every one of you.  I would love to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about myself.  I am married with three children.  There is my husband Greg, daughters, Emma (14) and, Kaitlyn (11), and my son Aidan (10).  We spend most of our free time watching/playing hockey, soccer, and volleyball.  The five of us moved to Colorado 8 years ago from the Phoenix area where I was born and raised.  I earned my BS in Biology from Arizona State University (Go Devils!!!) and my Master’s in Education through the University of Phoenix.  This summer my children and I have began a new adventure raising chickens and we are loving it!!!  I am also an avid reader, play tennis, and love to spend time with my family.

My Family
I am looking forward to getting to know each of your children.  Teaching is my passion and I believe that each year brings new adventures and challenges.  This year will be a special year for your child and I am blessed to be a part of it.  Please know that I have an open door policy and want to hear what your thoughts and feelings are concerning your child and their learning experience.  I am convinced that it takes a village to raise a child and that the cooperation between teacher and parent is imperative for a successful education.