Congratulations to Cole Duncan, Keegan Watson, Ben Coker, and Asher Mauck for reaching 25 miles in the 100 Mile Club! These students received t-shirts to commemorate this first club milestone. A special shout out to Cole Duncan who has already reached the 50 mile mark in this short amount of time. Congratulations, athletes, on your determination and perseverance in reaching your goals!
Happy Fall, Y’all! We are nearing the end of first quarter and that means fall conferences are right around the corner. Thank you to the parents who have already signed-up via www.signupgenius.com and to those who have sent emails requesting a particular day and time. In the Monday folder tomorrow, you will see a hard copy of the conference schedule. Please confirm your appointment by signing the bottom of the paper and returning it in the Monday folder on Tuesday. This lets me know that I have marked you down correctly. Also, if you have not signed-up yet, please select TWO time slots that work for you by marking a #1 and #2 next to the day/times that could work for you and send it back. I am requesting this in the event that two parents send back the schedule with the same time requested. I will try my very best to accommodate you! If none of the times work for you, Mrs. Payne and I would be happy to meet with you before school at 7:30 am or add onto the schedule and meet after 8:00 pm. Mrs. Payne and I will both be present at all conferences since we are sharing students this year. This will allow you the opportunity to hear from both of us about your child’s progress. THANK YOU so much for being willing to hold conferences two weeks early due to the pending arrival of my first grandbaby in the next two weeks. Reading Logs With the beginning of a new month upon us, September reading logs will be due this week. Please make sure your child’s name is written at the top so I can accurately attach a Pizza Hut Book It coupon for a free personal pan pizza. You will find the October reading log in the Monday folder. Quick reminder: Students are asked to read 25 minutes a night four times a week making a minimum of 100 minutes. This practice is crucial to reading improvement. There is no writing component involved—just read to enjoy. Parents, you are allowed to read with or to your child. If some nights you want to read aloud the entire 25 minutes from a chapter book that you are sharing together, please do. Talk about the text when you are finished: What is happening in this chapter? Summarize what has happened to this point. What predictions can you make for the next chapter? Can you use your schema to make any connections? How is the setting affecting the character? Is there a problem? How are the characters attempting to solve the problem? How would you solve the problem? Are there any words that the author used that strike you as interesting? Why do you think the author chose that word? Alternating between students reading independently and students reading with someone are both beneficial to building episodic memory. Learning to enjoy reading is a lifetime gift you are giving your child. And while we are on the subject of reading…the midquarter progress report listed your child’s DRA score and iReady Lexile score. These scores give me a starting off point for small group instruction. They also help students self-select books for independent reading periods. Below is an explanation of how I use the Lexile score in our classroom. Reading Range Your child was given a wide band of reading levels to choose books from to help promote the greatest reading growth. This can be considered his zone of proximal development. I set this range with your child. They are not magic numbers. I wanted to give them leeway for choice. If your child scored way above a third grade level, the reading range was set a bit lower so the student would remember to look at books that are age appropriate when in the library. To help with book selection, we teach students to read “just right” books. These are books where they can read most words on the page easily and experience comprehension. “Vacation” books are books that are below their reading range that are great for fluency practice (reading smoothly with expression). “Challenging” books are books above their reading level where students have to apply reading decoding skills often and read slower (or reread to clarify) in order to comprehend. All three book levels are valuable. Students understand that a challenging book today may become a “just right” book in a few weeks or months. You might ask, “Does my child have to read a book in his/her reading range?” No. Freedom to choose is the greatest motivator. You will have to decide if the book is age appropriate for your child. Just because a third grader can read above his grade level does not mean the child is interested in more mature themes. Suggestion: Have your child read the “classics.” Books that you read at age eight and nine. Newberry Award winners. Show Me Award winners. Authors that you know are not going to push the limit on appropriate word choice or content. Also, encourage your child to read a variety of genres. Just like food, too much of one thing is not always the best. My philosophy on choosing books: Students should be allowed to read what interests them. Can you imagine an adult being told he/she must read books in their reading level based on a one-time computer test? The DRA and iReady assessments are pieces of a larger puzzle when looking at how your child reads. The DRA breaks down how a child reads into his fluency rate and comprehension. When looking at comprehension, I evaluate the responses they make. A higher level student writes his/her response. A lower level student responds orally to questioning. When reading, I am looking at your child’s word attack skills. What strategies does this child utilize when presented with a challenging word? Does he/she chunk it? Sound it out letter by letter? When a word is said incorrectly, is it a visual problem, structure problem, or meaning problem? Where did the error occur? Beginning, middle, or end? Is there a pattern on how the errors are made? Does the child omit words or add words when reading? Does the child remember to stop at end punctuation? Does the child read in long phrases or short choppy ones? Does the child read with expression or in a mechanical way? Does the child notice when an error is made and then go back and retry the word again? Does the child recognize that what he read did not make sense? Does the child have visual problems tracking from left to right and then moving down a line? Lots to think about. Of priority along with the ability to read is the ENJOYMENT factor. Does your child enjoy reading? My goal is to make reading interesting by providing students with various genres and topics to read about. I want to spark an interest in reading to KNOW and reading to ENJOY. I will be supporting, encouraging, and celebrating their reading endeavors! Reader’s Workshop During the month of September, we set guidelines for reader’s workshop that included the following:
Next up will be a short “Visualization” unit. We will learn that good readers create mental images. They visualize what they are reading to create “mind movies.” As good readers read, they adjust the mind movies in their heads as various events take place. Our mind movies help us infer, too. Our read alouds this week will focus on great imaginations. Two of my favorite books, Miss Rumphius written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Roxaboxan by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Barbara Cooney will serve as mentor texts. We will squeeze in Oxcart Man by Donald Hall since it is also illustrated by Barbara Cooney so the artists in our room can examine the style of her paintings. Looking ahead the following week, we will begin an intense “Narrative Elements” study which will take us through the month of October. Each reading group will begin a fantasy chapter book. Vocabulary Development In addition to vocabulary that is pulled from read alouds and guided reading texts, we are completing an intense vocabulary development program. I participated in a webinar this summer by a teacher who studied with Irene Fauntas, a well-respected, prolific literacy writer/trainer, for a year before she began writing curriculum for teachers of reading. I’ve participated in two previous webinars a year ago so I am familiar with her philosophy of language arts instruction. I agree with her philosophy on why teaching vocabulary is important:
Phonics and Spelling Patterns We are systematically reviewing letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns. We’ve covered closed syllables (cvc pattern) which have short vowel sounds, the cvce pattern which has long vowel sounds, and ew/oo as in new and zoo. This month we will move to /ou/ and /oi/, /ai/ and /ay/, /ee/ and /ea/, and /i/ and /igh/. We will move to the morphology of words second semester. Writer’s Workshop We have been busy this month learning to write different kinds of sentences, stretching sentences to include more detail, and doing Power Writes to build writing stamina by increasing the length of writing time allotted. We’ve shared many read alouds to support our writing focus of the day. Students have also enjoyed sharing their writing with classmates. In our writing (seeds) journal we have generated topics by creating a heart map, likes/dislikes chart, four-square topics, and memory map. We learned how to harvest a seed and apply a questioning strategy to make sure our writing covers the 5W’s and 1H along with including sensory details. Students then did Power Writes over seeds of their choice. During the next two weeks we will move to paragraph writing beginning with descriptive paragraphs. We’ll talk about paragraph format for the descriptive paragraph: topic sentence, sensory details, and wrap-up sentence. We’ll start off looking at a few mentor texts that include sensory imagery and figurative language. We will look at figurative language in both prose and poetry to help us in our writing. We will take our descriptive paragraphs through the writing process—prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish. We will continue the use of mentor sentences to look at grammar and author’s craft. We take one sentence a week from a book we’ve shared and color code the parts of speech. We revise the sentence keeping the author’s meaning but using different word choice. Finally, we write our own sentence imitating the style of the mentor sentence but using our own content. So far we are able to spot nouns, verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions. We will continue this practice all year. We will also focus on nouns and adjectives with activities during this month of descriptive writing. Technology Students have access to chromebooks during Liberator Time. I’ve uploaded several links to the class website for easy access during Liberator Time and at home. If you go to the Home heading at the top of the screen, use the drop down box and click on a subject area. Students can access Scholastic News magazine online. Our password is explorers. Please do not encourage your child to read the upcoming issue but ask him/her to read a previous issue such as from the 2016-2017 school year. There are additional articles and videos that go with each magazine. These articles are engaging! Also under Reading, you will see a link for readworks.org. This is a site that has articles assigned by me for them to read each week during Liberator Time. I am requiring one article or story to be read each week and the comprehension questions to be answered and submitted by Friday. These articles/stories will be on a theme that goes along with a unit of study or a topic that the class is interested in learning more about. Students are welcome to do the assignment at home if they would like, but it is not required. Under the Math box, you will see links to a multiplication website and a link to xtramath.org where your child can practice basic math facts. Under Social Studies, I’ve added two links for practicing naming the states and then matching state capitals. I will continue to add websites for your child’s enrichment and enjoyment as the year progresses. Right now we are mastering how to visit readworks.org and complete an online assignment. Thank you, parents, for your continued support! I look forward to seeing you at conferences the second week of October!
Joyfully, Mrs. Endres Happy September! We’re off to a great start in Room 314! Our focus for August was routines, organization, and attitude. We did quite a bit of reading, viewing, and talking about “Growth Mindset.” Please take a peek at some of what we’ve accomplished in August!
Growth Mindset Students viewed a short series of five videos from the people at Class DoJo about MoJo who learns that his brain is like a muscle that needs to be exercised by working through new challenges. He learned mistakes are powerfully good. (Our class read a poster on positive self-talk that said: If Plan A doesn’t work, there are 25 more letters of the alphabet. Keep trying!) MoJo also learned the Power of Yet…he might not be able to do something now, but given practice and determination he will get there one day. He also learned to seek help from someone who has skills that he can learn from. MoJo, Katie, and Bruce will visit with us again throughout the year. Students were introduced to the book Ish by Peter Reynolds. In the book, the main character likes to draw but when he is told that his drawings don’t look like his intended objects, he crumples up his work after each try and throws his works of art into a trashcan. Later, his sister comes to talk to him inquiring about why he’s stopped drawing. When he confesses that his work is not any good, she takes him to her bedroom where he discovers that she has decorated her walls with his crumpled up “mistakes.” His sister leads him to understand that his works of art are like an “ish.” His painting of a vase looks “vase-ish.” This term is how we are referring to our first attempts at mastering new objectives or creating what we see in our mind’s eye. Our attempts might not be perfect at first, but with practice and effort, we will improve and reach our goal. To support all the budding artists and writers in our room, each student was given an “ish” journal where they can create and record their personal thoughts. These “ish” journals are very popular with the class. During our chapter book read aloud at the end of the day, students are invited to draw their mind movies. Students are eager to visualize, create, and annotate their thoughts. Research shows that our cognition and ability to learn is linked to what we believe about our ability--students have to believe in themselves to unlock their full potential. My goal this year is be an encourager and a promoter providing many diverse opportunities for personal and academic growth. I want all my students to achieve their goals and more importantly, leave third grade feeling confident with a positive self-worth. Another book which hit home with several students was The Girl Who Made No Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubenstein. A girl is pressured by her reputation of being perfect—she never makes a mistake. Her parents even reinforce that label telling her she doesn’t have to worry about performing in the school talent show because she never makes mistakes. She limits her new experiences to ensure she doesn’t make her first mistake. Finally, she does make her first mistake and the pressure to be perfect is off! She is able to try new fun activities with friends and express herself creatively which brings her much joy. This is probably one of my favorite growth mindset books. So many parents feel the need to put their personal inclination for perfection onto their children causing their children to feel needless anxiety at an early age. Children should be allowed to discover their own passions and interests. If they do this, they are going to make mistakes, but these mistakes lead to finding a path that will ultimately lead them to personal success and enjoyment in life. Something I would want to share with helicopter parents—let your children fall down and pick themselves up on occasion. It builds confidence in their own problem solving abilities. It helps them think creatively. It helps them become resilient. The world is a tough place—they are going to need grit and determination to achieve personal and professional success in life. Love them unconditionally. Support their interests. Give them positive self-talk by modeling it and feeding it to them. Your kids are going to do amazing things and more importantly, they are going to be amazing PEOPLE. Your children are precious!! Procedures Students have been working on learning procedures. There is a procedure for everything in order to keep the classroom running smoothly. Students have learned how to get from the gym to the classroom, take time at the comfort station (restrooms), visit their lockers, pull out needed supplies, come to the room to make a lunch choice, get pencils and library books ready, and procure their reading bucket so it is ready when we begin. We’ve practiced hallway behavior—keep a short, straight, and silent line so learning can continue for students still in their classrooms. We’ve learned how to go through the cafeteria line, put items on our tray, use the salad bar, and then punch in our lunch pin when buying a tray lunch. Students found out that our seating in the cafeteria changes day to day. We sit at a different table each day which gives us different views of the cafeteria and outside. Students have learned so many academic procedures: how to keep a record of their reading, take a Reading Counts test, put a heading on notebook paper, and create entries in their reading and writing journals. Students have learned how to save and organize their incomplete work in a “ketchup” folder or mail their work into the appropriate trays. Academically, students have learned guidelines for running reader’s workshop—we respect others who are reading or responding to their reading by being quiet and whispering when needed. We are always productive. We may choose to read at our seat or on a mat in the room to ensure that we are comfortable as we enjoy our book. We take turns at the computer to RC test. We are on the path to becoming self-regulated learners. Organization We have all our journals/notebooks in order for organizing our learning this year. We’ve learned how to use each component and we’ve learned the reasoning behind each piece. Our reading journal is divided into two sections: “Mini-lessons” and “Reading Responses.” Our writing journal (also called our “seeds journal” for gathering ideas) is divided into “Author’s Craft” and “My Thinking.” We will add our writing process notebook when we begin our first project in the near future. We have a Reading Counts log for keeping a record of our reading and tests. We have a “ketchup” folder for work in progress and a daily take-home folder for assignments that need to be completed at home. Whew! Who says third grade isn’t busy! Positive Behavior Support (PBS) in All Settings We have completed seven lessons on positive behavior in various settings around the school and bus. Students learned how to be respectful, responsible and safe in the classroom, hallways, restroom, cafeteria, playground, bus, and all settings. Together we created charts of what positive behavior would look like and sound like in those places. We also discussed earning DOJO points to save for personal rewards and earning class letters from other teachers to spell “BIS Liberators!” so the class can choose a group reward. We have already earned our first group award! Students will be playing dodgeball with Mr. Smith next week. ELA Assessments This past week students completed the fall writing prompt and taking a diagnostic spelling test. Both of these writing samples will be used for me to tailor instruction to meet the needs of individual students. Coming up this week, I will continue giving the fall DRA (Diagnostic Reading Assessment). Students will meet with me individually to determine which reading level to begin small group instruction. Students are timed as they read a short passage from a booklet. Oral questions are asked requesting students to make predictions or use the text features to show understanding. Later they are invited to finish reading the booklet and complete the written response. Students are familiar with this testing procedure since they have been taking this style of assessment since kindergarten. On Thursday this week, students will be taking a new assessment to our district, the iReady. This computer-based reading (and math) assessment will help determine Lexile reading levels and provide another piece of the comprehension puzzle. In addition, what’s exciting about this new test is the information we will receive about students’ word attack skills (phonemic awareness/phonics), vocabulary development, and specific comprehension skills. Grandparents Day Grandparent’s Day is coming up on Tuesday, September 12 at 9:00 am. Grandparents will meet in the lobby before being escorted down to our room. We will visit with grandparents in the classroom for thirty minutes before adjourning to the cafeteria for cookies and punch. The entire event lasts about an hour. If your child’s grandparents are unable to attend, you may invite a family friend or neighbor to be an honored guest. We understand that some grandparents live out of state or aren’t physically able to attend. Students who do not have a special visitor will be paired up with another grandparent and classmate so he/she may receive that special attention. Scholastic Book Orders Our first Scholastic Book Club orders are due this Friday, September 15. Please remember to put your child’s name on the order form and make checks out to Scholastic. I will complete the orders after the due date. We should receive our books in just over a week from that date. If you prefer to order online, our class still benefits by receiving points that can be redeemed for new books for our classroom library. Our class code is L7BC2. Reader’s Workshop Last week besides our read alouds focusing on Growth Mindset, we learned how to make three different kinds of responses to our reading. Students have completed a story hunt, filled out a graphic organizer, and have written a letter to me in their reading journals. Students took several Reading Counts tests on the computer. Mini-lessons included how to write a friendly letter, how to write a five-finger summary, and guidelines for reader’s workshop. We’ve also learned 14 vocabulary words and used them in meaningful sentences. This week we will prepare for the iReady assessment practicing how to navigate on the chromebooks and we will take the assessment on Thursday. Coming up is our first nonfiction Wednesday using Scholastic News to look at nonfiction text features and practice reading informational text. Students will have a personal copy to follow along as we use the interactive website on the Smartboard. Students will read independently from library books and make reading responses. I hope to conclude the DRA’s so we can begin guided reading next Monday with a comprehension focus on making connections. In the next weeks we will read books with the following themes: grandparents, individuality, and perseverance. Word Work We’ve concluded reviewing the basic cvc pattern (short vowels) and will move on to focusing on the cvce patterns of /-a-e/, /-i-e/, /-o-e/, and/-u-e/. Following this pattern, we will begin vowel digraphs starting with /-ea-/. Students have been enjoying the word activities Making Words and Boggle. Vocabulary words have been pulled from our mentor texts. Students created a motion for each word to help them associate meaning. After we begin guided reading, vocabulary will be pulled from guided reading books. In September we will practice dictionary skills and learn how to use a thesaurus. Writer’s Workshop We will be stretching sentences this week by asking questions (what kind, how many, which one; where, when, and how) to add more description and by using conjunctions to create compound sentences. Next on our agenda is asking “Who is a Writer?” and discussing guidelines for writer’s workshop. We will be exercising our writing muscles by doing Power Writes. Students will write in short spurts choosing between two topics and building from two minutes to ten minutes duration. Pencils must be constantly moving even if the writer can only write “hum.” After, students count up how many words, hums, and sentences. These exercises help boost confidence and work to achieve writing stamina. Students enjoy sharing their short pieces on a variety of topics. This month we will work in our writing journals collecting seeds (ideas), write interactive paragraphs, and work on descriptive writing. Social Studies In August, students learned the difference between a globe and map. They learned to identify and name the continents and oceans of the world. They learned about the lines on a globe and map. They also created a world map. This month we will continue our geography unit focusing on map skills—using the compass rose, legend/key, scale, and map grids. We will also look at different kinds of maps. We will use map skills the entire year as we look for places in the news and discuss people/places we encounter in books. THANK YOU, Parents! Thank you for providing support for students to complete their nightly reading homework. The Pizza Hut Book It program will begin October 1. I will attach a free personal pan pizza coupon to completed September reading logs. Until then, I have added DoJo points for each student completing the August reading log. We made it, Parents! First quarter is in the books and we are scampering along through this beautiful fall season of second quarter. Second quarter is a treat with a fun-spirited, spooktacular candy holiday and a special family holiday of thanks tucked into some busy academic work weeks. I am so thankful for the seasons we have in Missouri and the seasons we have in life. Change is good. This quarter’s units are perfect for this time of year and I embrace them all with a cup of chai tea by my side. Here’s what we have to look forward to:
Reading: We are in our last week of narrative elements. We’ve talked about characters (including external and internal character traits) and setting (How does the setting affect the character?). We know that every story has a plot—all the events—and can be retold using the beginning-middle-end to sequence events. This last week we will focus on problem and solution with students looking at how they would have chosen to solve the problem if in the main character’s shoes. We will conclude with theme—what is the author’s underlying message? Is there something to learn from this story? We build our schema everyday as we share a read aloud to match our focus while on the carpet. Our class has shared 56 books so far this year! You should see your child’s face when I say, “Please come quietly to the carpet.” The energy level is palpable. They love to share their thinking and their background knowledge. It’s meaningful and purposeful. It also draws us close as a community. (Did I mention how much I love your children?) In guided reading our chapter books are supporting our mini-lesson focus. I’ve also included vocabulary work and comprehension questions to help readers not be just “word callers” but read to understand the text. I confessed to the class that when I was their age, I could read any book in front of me, but I never let the teacher know that I didn’t understand the challenging text she gave me. I’ve told them that it doesn’t matter how fast we read, how large the words, how small the print on the page, reading is thinking. We read to understand. It comes together faster for some people but everyone grows at their own rate. That’s why we are different physical sizes, too. Understanding will come with practice and perseverance. With Health Fair and no school this Friday (not to mention my absence last week with a stomach virus), we need a few more days to finish our books. The good news: the class is enjoying their chapter books! For some of our class, these are the first they’ve read. For others, they needed a reminder that a diet of picture books is unhealthy for a growing reader. I’m requiring everyone to pick at least one chapter book each week when we go to the library. I’ve met with each of your students and set new goals and new ZPD Lexile bands to choose from. These numbers are posted in the back of the student planner and in student Reading Counts logs here at school. I’ve already shared with you previously my view on reading within the assigned Lexile bands. Desire is the greatest motivation. If your child wants to attempt a challenging book outside their reading range, let them. The ZPD range is a suggestion on easy, just right, and challenging books for them to choose from. What’s next in reading: We will focus on sequencing text beginning next week. I will also throw in some holiday-like nonfiction reading/writing to celebrate fall. We will look at some Close reading passages where students will annotate text. They are learning how to make reader’s marks to help them understand nonfiction text. We’ve used color coding for some science texts this past month and we will try again to use the actual marks. I’ve also printed off some fluency practices for partners to time each other as they do first, second, and third readings using some social studies texts to support our government unit. We have some new digital stopwatches with our math materials that will serve perfectly in reading. I am excited for this practice! Several students in our room need practice with reading longer phrases instead of short choppy ones. They need practice with sight words. These should be practiced until automaticity if they didn’t master these in the primary building. If you want to support sight word mastery or check to see how well your student knows common sight words, you can google Dolch sight words or Missouri Basic Sight Word lists. As you can see, we are busy beavers in third grade! The clock becomes my adversary so often, but our class is quite efficient at procedures so minimal time is wasted. Spelling: We will continue with pattern work. We worked on vowel diagraphs (-ea, -ee) for a few weeks, moved to endings (-ies, -ied), and will return to vowel digraph (-oa), unusual spellings of /j/ and /s/, r-controlled (oh, that bossy “r”) vowels, and contractions. Students are required to write spelling sentences each week to practice sentence structure, usage and mechanics. Writing: Your children are fabulous writers! We wrote two descriptive paragraphs along with the rest of our neighbors this quarter. Our class also read nonfiction text to support our science unit. Students researched about the earth, moon, or sun, gathered facts, and then wrote an expository paragraph. I can’t wait for you to read these paragraphs at conferences! They are amazing! If we would have had more time, we would have made an illustration to go with them, but we could not squeeze that in. We did create a diagram of Earth’s seasons which came out looking fantastic. You will see these at conferences as well. Poetry is where we will be parked for the next few weeks and then we will move on to personal narratives. We will also squeeze in holiday writing and writing about our reading whenever we get the opportunity. Grammar: We are piloting the use of mentor sentences to teach grammar. I’ve mentioned this to you before. It is going very well. We take a sentence from a book that was shared previously in reader’s workshop and paste it into our writing journals. We color code the parts of speech. On another day, students are invited to revise the sentence. They can’t change the meaning but make word choice changes. We share these orally. The next day, students are invited to imitate. They create their own sentence about their own topic but use the format of the mentor sentence. If the mentor sentence was a compound sentence using the conjunction “and” then students write a compound sentence. If the sentence had an article-adjective-noun-verb phrase-conjunction-verb phrase, then students follow that pattern. It is helping students in their writing to write more than simple sentences. We also have to address particular writing needs with skill sheets such as the sheet about possessive nouns. We sometimes need direct instruction on a particular part of speech and then specific practice. This will continue all year. Next up, additional focus on adjectives and then verbs. Math: We are nearing the end of Module 2: Place Value and Problem Solving with Measurement. I’ve taken several pictures of students measuring using digital scales and working with partners on the Smartboard or with their personal whiteboards. Check out our class photos for October. Our next end-of-module assessment will be this Thursday, October 27. Next, we will be moving to Module 3: Multiplication and Division with Units 0, 1, 6-9, and Multiples of 10. This is the perfect time to step-up your multiplication practice at home to support our unit at school. Fourth grade teachers tell us every year that one of the greatest gifts we can give them is to send students to fourth grade who have mastered the multiplication facts 0-10. Besides having your child write out the facts and using flashcards to practice, there are several fun multiplication game sites on the computer. Have your child practice multiplication facts nightly as part of their nightly homework routine. Practice in the car. Practice as a family after dinner. Play games such as multiplication war with playing cards. Flip two over and the first one to find the product correctly takes the two cards. You can use dominoes in the same way. Go to www.multiplicaton.com for some fun games. Your child can also go to www.mobymax.com or www.sumdog.com to play math games. Your child knows his/her password and how to log on for both of these websites. I am so pleased with our new math program. I’ve seen math reasoning being used by third graders at a deeper level than ever before. I have no complaints about this program but see only benefits for students. Thank you for the confidence and support you have shown as parents as we’ve chartered new territories in math. Our class as a whole has been extremely successful with Eureka math. Now it is time to put forth extra effort and memorize the multiplication facts as that will be our focus for the next several weeks. Memorizing facts is something that every child can do with support. Social Studies: We are immersed in our government unit at the moment. It coincides perfectly with what is happening in the news. Our class created picture book candidates (posters) and will vote tomorrow on our candidate for the primary election which will be held on October 31. From there, the top two candidates for third grade will be on display until our national election on November 7. There will be voting booths set-up on that day for students to imitate the right and responsibility of all U.S. citizens to vote. Students will mark their ballots and cast their votes into the ballot box. It is going to be a fun culmination to our government unit. Science: After our government unit, we are heading to Matter. Students will enjoy learning about the different states of matter and how they change. Liberator Time: We completed our state brochures which we will share with you at conferences. Students enjoyed their state fact research. We also wrote letters to national parks across the country in hopes of receiving free materials. When these materials arrive, we will create posters of these national parks to share with our buddy class in a gallery walk presentation. I’m hoping that the contact persons of these national parks come through with brochures, maps, and free materials for our students. In the meantime as we wait, students will begin researching about a favorite author and then create a scrapbook of that author’s life and their famous books. During Liberator Time, students also enjoy language and vocabulary practice on the chromebooks by visiting Moby Max. Students also practice basic math facts by “flying their bug” which means taking a turn drilling facts at www.xtramath.com. CONGRATULATIONS TO MICAH THOMAS, for being our first student to master basic addition facts in under three seconds on xtramath.com. Micah was awarded a certificate this past week! Three snaps for Micah! Snap, snap, snap! You can see Micah’s picture with his certificate on the photo page. CONGRATULATIONS to the following students for making their Reading Counts first quarter goals: Anakin, Andrew, Luke, Madison, Micah, and Miles. These students will be recognized in class with a surprise from Mrs. Endres. Way to go, Explorers! Final thoughts from Mrs. Endres: As we get ready to meet for conferences tomorrow, a lot of thoughts are running through my head. Things I want to share about your student’s progress—both “stars” and “wishes.” The need to communicate with you how wonderful your child is because this year’s class is extremely special. My wish to invite you to partner at home in giving your child that extra academic boost that will ensure success not just in third grade but as a lifelong learner. And lastly, my desire as a parent to remind you to cherish every single moment—easy and challenging. Parents, that relationship you have with your child gets even sweeter as the years go by. Thank you for sharing your children with me! See you soon! Mrs. Endres Happy September! We’re off to a great start in Room 314! Our focus for August was routines, organization, and attitude. We did quite a bit of reading, viewing, singing, and talking about “Growth Mindset.” Please take a peek at some of what we’ve accomplished in August! Growth Mindset Students were introduced to the book Ish by Peter Reynolds. In the book, the main character likes to draw but when he is told that his drawings don’t look like his intended objects, he crumples up his work after each try and throws his works of art into a trashcan. Later, his sister comes to talk to him about why he’s not drawing anymore. When he confesses that his work is not any good, she takes him to her bedroom where he discovers that she has decorated her walls with his crumpled up “mistakes.” His sister leads him to understand that his works of art are like an “ish.” His painting of a vase looks “vase-ish.” This term is how we are referring to our first attempts at mastering new objectives or creating what we see in our mind’s eye. Our attempts might not be perfect at first, but with practice and effort, we will improve and reach our goal. To support all the budding artists and writers in our room, each student was given an “ish” journal where they can create and record their personal thoughts. These “ish” journals are very popular with the class. During our chapter book read aloud at the end of the day, students are invited to draw their mind movies. Students are eager to visualize, create, and annotate their thoughts. Research shows that our cognition and ability to learn is linked to what we believe about our ability--students have to believe in themselves to unlock their full potential. My goal this year is be an encourager and a promoter providing many diverse opportunities for personal and academic growth. I want all my students to achieve their goals and more importantly, leave third grade feeling confident with a positive self-worth. To go along with the growth mindset focus, our read alouds focused on the theme “Teamwork.” Everyone on a team has something to contribute. Sometimes a task just requires one dedicated individual while other times it takes a partner or group to achieve success. Pop’s Bridge by Eve Bunting, Frederick and Swimmy by Leo Lionni, The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens, and Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann were a few of our read alouds. This week we are moving on to the theme, “Believe in Yourself.” Read aloud books will focus on celebrating our uniqueness. In guided reading, we will be using the mentor text Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman to begin our connections unit. Grace is a perfect example of a talented individual who believes in herself and perseveres to achieve her goal. Organization We have all our journals/notebooks in order for organizing our learning this year. We’ve learned how to use each component and we’ve learned the reasoning behind each piece. Our reading journal is divided into two sections: “Mini-lessons” and “Reading Responses.” Our writing journal (also called our “seeds journal” for gathering ideas) is divided into “Author’s Craft” and “My Thinking.” We will add our writing process notebook when we begin our first project in the near future. We have a math journal to work problems and record our thinking for daily math warm-ups. We have a Reading Counts log for keeping a record of our reading and tests. We have a “ketchup” folder for work in progress and a daily take-home folder for assignments that need to be completed at home. Whew! Who says third grade isn’t busy! Brain Breaks Our morning schedule is ripe with learning opportunities. While we are fresh, we tackle two main content areas: math and reading. Between these two subjects, we make ourselves comfortable by taking a restroom and drink break followed by physical movement to get our blood pumping. The class enjoys dancing/exercising with Go Noodle.com or our growth mindset song “Try Everything” from this summer’s animated movie, Disney’s “Zootopia.” Lunch at 11:30 followed by recess sneaks up on us most days. Thank you to parents who send a water bottle with their student during this warm season. Students return from their mid-day recess hot and thirsty. We are trying to keep hydrated. Thank you, parents! Books We’ve Shared Our class is keeping a record of the books that we share on the carpet. We read content related books throughout the day as a way to build schema, initiate meaningful conversation, and imitate author’s craft. We use mentor texts for reading comprehension strategies, grammar, writing modes/author’s craft, social studies, and math. Reading builds our episodic memory, increases our vocabulary, stirs our imagination, and helps us articulate our thoughts with partners and in small group situations. I can’t begin to tell you the benefits of taking time to read orally. Last year my class read 161 books together not counting the books that were read in guided reading or independently. So many rich conversations! It is a joy for me to search for new books that build character, provoke thought, and add to our schema. Besides using these mentor texts across subject areas, we will always be reading a chapter book at the end of the day. Currently, we are reading an oldie but goodie--Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary. Even though Henry is a boy from Washington state in the 1950’s, his desire to seek adventure, get along with his neighbors and classmates, and avoid embarrassing moments are much like any kid no matter the era. Sometimes it seems that trouble comes looking for Henry, but in the end, his problems get solved in a positive way that brings him an unexpected boon. Scholastic Book Orders Our first Scholastic Book Club orders are due this Friday, September 9. Please remember to put your child’s name on the order form and make checks out to Scholastic. I will complete the orders online this weekend. We should receive our books in just over a week from that date. If you prefer to order online, our class still benefits by receiving points that can be redeemed for new books for our classroom library. Our class code is L7BC2. Grandparent’s Day Grandparent’s Day is coming up on Tuesday, September 13 at 9:00 am. Grandparents will meet in the lobby before being escorted down to our room. We will visit with grandparents in the classroom for thirty minutes before adjourning to the cafeteria for cookies and punch. The entire event lasts about an hour. If your child’s grandparents are unable to attend, you may invite a family friend or neighbor to be an honored guest. We understand that some grandparents live out of state or aren’t physically able to attend. Students who do not have a special visitor will be paired up with another grandparent and classmate so he/she may receive that special attention. Mid-Quarter Progress Reports Mid-quarter progress reports will be coming home on Friday, September 16. These reports are a great way for you to initiate with your child a conversation about his/her work habits at school during independent work periods and the ability to follow instructions for work completion. Missing assignments or no name papers are usually the culprit for lower grades. One of the procedures we have in place to take responsibility for assignments is a check-off chart where students see the assignment due and then check off when they have turned in the paper. It is a great visual reminder. I also conduct private conversations with students who have missing work offering to answer any questions they have regarding that assignment and offer help for them to finalize completion. My motto on assignments: No student left behind. I reminded a student recently that making no effort is unacceptable. This community of learners doesn’t leave anyone behind and the work is not going to just “blow away.” Not even Mike Wazowski got to let his paperwork blow away in "Monster’s, Inc." His supervisor Roz made him do it. Same here. (Just give me a few more years and I’m probably going to look like her.) Oh, joy. Math Three cheers for Eureka math! Snap, snap, snap! Our class is having great success on daily lessons, quizzes, and our first assessment. I am impressed with our class’s math ability! We are math superstars! We are currently working on basic multiplication and division word problems using arrays, number bonds, and tape diagrams. I know that parents want to help. It would be beneficial for your child to begin practicing basic multiplication facts. You can do this a variety of ways: skip counting on paper, practicing with flashcards, or doing drills on the computer. Our class uses the website xtramath.org to practice basic math skills. We call this “flying our bugs.” Each student has a bug with his/her name on it. The goal is for each student to complete a three minute drill each day. The program begins with addition before moving through subtraction and multiplication. Students must achieve mastery before the computer moves them up a level. Students can practice at home. Another website that we will begin to use after we receive chromebook training this week is Moby Max. Moby Max is great for both English language arts and math practice. We will utilize Moby Max on the chromebooks during Liberator Time. I will be sending home a sheet in next week’s Monday folder with your student’s login/password and instructions for use at home for xtramath and Moby Max. Just an FYI: Reading Counts tests are not allowed to be taken at home. Your student has already been busy reading and taking tests on the computer here at school the past two weeks. Math Update: The BIS Leadership Committee met last week to discuss what math policies are to be implemented by all grade levels building wide. It was determined that teachers will send home math sprints (timed tests on math facts that we do with some of the lessons but not all), topic quizzes (these are the teacher-made quizzes after every three-four lessons), and assessments. Students who do not receive an 80% or higher on quizzes or assessments will be allowed to retake the quiz/test for a higher grade after receiving additional instruction. I will be pulling students who need additional help during Liberator Time. Students who receive Title I Math services will receive additional instruction from his/her Title I math teacher. Social Studies and Science The Leadership Team at BIS has determined that third grade will receive pass/fail grades for social studies and science. Since our schedule has shortened the social studies/science blocks, we will be implementing this content during reader’s workshop as well as the shortened period. The pass/fail marking alleviates the pressure of attaining grades and puts the focus on learning the content. You may still see a percentage and grade on some papers that your child completes. Those grades will go into SIS to help determine pass/fail. PBS Rewards Our class has earned two PBS rewards for respectful, responsible, and safe behavior in all school settings. We earned the letters B-I-S L-I-B-E-R-A-T-O-R-S-! from various teachers and administrators in the building. The class chose an indoor recess so they could see what was in the game closet along with stacking cups from coach’s closet. The second reward was dinner theater in the room. The Explorers are doing a wonderful job following school-wide expectations! Congrats! Upcoming Events September 7 Class STUCO elections September 16 Mid-quarter Progress Reports sent home September 13 Trenton’s Birthday September 13 Grandparent’s Day for 3rd Grade September 16 BHS Homecoming Parade at 2:40 September 22 Picture Day for Gold Team (that’s us) J THANK YOU, Parents!
Thank you for providing support for students to complete their nightly reading homework. The Pizza Hut Book It program will begin October 1. I will attach a free personal pan pizza coupon to completed September reading logs. Until then, I have added DoJo points for each student completing the August reading log. Happy May Day! We are rolling down the last big hill on the roller coaster of third grade. Our hands are up in the air and we are yelling, “Wheeee!” Pretty soon we will be pulling into the station. It seems like it’s been a short ride filled with the thrill of twists, turns, drops, and loop de loops. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of riders! This group has been exceptional in every way--I’m going to miss them something fierce next year! May News and Reminders
MAP Testing Schedule Our schedule will look different the week of May 2-6. Our specials times will move to the morning from 10:00-10:50 Monday-Wednesday to accommodate MAP testing in other grade levels. Third grade will test Thursday and Friday, May 5-6. We are very fortunate in that our class has been assigned the computer lab for our testing location. This gives our students the advantage of being in a familiar setting when they take their tests. Thursday will be devoted to ELA-English Language Arts and Friday will be focused on Math. We will test 8:30-10:30 and then again 12:30-2:30. In between, we will have an extended recess outside (weather permitting) including a sack lunch on the playground. Students will also have a testing snack from PTA. I will try to keep things low-key and encouraging so students don’t feel stressed. I will have some special read alouds and small brain break activities planned to make the day enjoyable. Students in the past have told me that they like testing. I am confident this group is ready for success! May Dates to Remember May 5-6 MAP Testing May 8 Mother’s Day May 10 Second Grade Visit May 12 Field Trip to Bennett Springs May 13 Third Grade Dodgeball Tournament May 16 MAP Buddy Class Movie 8:30-10:00 May 17 Multiplication Party at 2:00 May 18 Field Day May 19 Career Day May 20 Last Day of School HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANTHONY CULBERTSON ON MAY 1ST! Happy Mother's Day to all our wonderful mothers! All that you are doing does not go unnoticed even if we get busy and forget to say "thank you!" The sacrifices, patience, grace, kind words, and unconditional love is being stored away in our hearts. You are making us feel secure, special, brave, and worthy. We are going to do great things some day and it's because of YOU! Right now we are learning from your example. We see the good in others and we are kind. We know how to share. We are willing to take chances and we strive to meet our goals. We are confident that no matter what, you will love us. Thank you, moms, for all you do to give us joy! We love you!
A Note from Mrs. Endres… Today is an overcast, windy April day as I sit in my kitchen overlooking the woods in our backyard. The scrubby, bright green bushes are swaying quite elegantly and a few of the bare trees appear to be budding. There’s a pop of white color here and bright pink there. Some trees are ahead of the game. Winnie the Pooh would no doubt be helping Piglet stay upright in this wind on this blustery spring day. Spring is such a wonderful time for renewal. We are blessed to have four seasons in Missouri. Right when we get tired of one, another one equally as pretty arrives. There is a new season in my family as well. Last weekend we celebrated the marriage of our third daughter, Gretchen, to her handsome Army sergeant, Seth. As we were doing the anniversary dance where all the married couples take the dance floor to reveal through elimination who has been married the longest, I looked over and there was the doctor who announced, "It's a girl!" twenty-two years ago dancing with his lovely wife and dear friend of mine. How did the time go so quickly! A house full of noise and mess lasts only for a short season…relax, embrace it, and enjoy it! Believe it or not, you are going to miss it! -Mrs. Endres Upcoming Dates to Mark on Your Calendar April 10 Cade’s Birthday April 15 Geometry Test April 27 Mile Run in PE—wear tennis shoes and bring a water bottle April 29 MAP Rotation Lessons—change classes on Gold Team for communication arts lessons--Fun! April 29 Watch Dog Dad—Mr. Douglas May 5-6 MAP Testing for Third Grade (Comm. Arts/Math) May 12 Field Trip to Bennett Springs (permission slip to go home soon) May 18 Field Day at BIS (be saving DoJo points for the dunk tank!) May 19 Career Day at BIS May 20 Last Day of School April Curriculum Reading: The Explorers recently finished a cause and effect comprehension unit the end of March and first week of April. Folktales were used as a review of narrative elements, sequencing, and determining cause and effect relationships. Explorers discovered the author’s purpose for oral traditions of the past: to entertain, teach a lesson, or explain something about nature. We enjoyed several folktales from West Africa, Japan, and China. Last week we began a nonfiction unit on determining the main idea. We read quite a few science texts to support our plant unit. This week we will begin an Underground Railroad unit where we will focus on main idea in both nonfiction and fiction texts. We will then make a link from main idea to theme. We will build our vocabularies while exploring the quality literature on this topic! Spelling: The past three spelling lessons have revolved around prefixes. As an extension, the class also practiced recognizing base words with two affixes--prefix-base word-suffix. We will continue working with suffixes the next few weeks. Writing: March saw the completion of our five-paragraph essays on Austria. The class did an exceptional job writing these nonfiction pieces. Right after the essays, we moved to persuasive writing. We are currently writing persuasive letters following the OREO approach to opinion writing. We also reviewed RAFT (role, audience, format, and topic) in preparing for our piece. Students will all have the same role which is to persuade the reader to action and the same format which is a friendly letter. Students had choice on choosing their audience and topic. While studying persuasive techniques, we learned that repetition and appealing to the emotions are part of persuasive author’s craft. There are several transitional phrases which also help drive a point home. The students are enjoying this writing activity. Next up, poetry! We will begin by reading poems looking at poetic devices and then move on to creating our own poetry anthologies. Math: We are nearing the end of our Geometry Unit. During this unit, we created a geometry “burrito” book where all important vocabulary has been kept. We will finish up on 3-dimensional shapes and their nets early this week before beginning a unit review. The test will be Friday, April 15. Our next unit will be Graphs. Students will work on collecting, charting, and analyzing data. It is a fun unit of high interest to students. Science: Last week we took our Plant Unit test and everyone was successful! It was a hands on unit with several plant experiments taking place in the room. Students kept a plant journal for our “Plant Needs Experiment” data to be collected and then analyzed. We conducted a celery experiment to witness the path that water takes in a plant, and we watched lima been seeds germinate in the window. We will revisit living organisms in May when we study our Missouri ecology unit called “Nature Unleashed.” Social Studies: This week we will begin our Economics Unit. Students will learn how are economy operates and the part that the U.S. plays in a global economy. Students will be taught about banking, budgeting, and marketing. The unit is rich with vocabulary and for many students, the first time they have really thought about being a consumer. We will read quality literature during reader’s workshop to support our economics unit. These stories will begin with bartering and trading and move to boom towns of the wild west—how businesses begin when there is a need and/or natural resources nearby. This will lead to a cowboy unit complete with armadillo stories suitable for a campfire. MAP Testing May 5-6 Third grade students will be taking the MAP test Thursday-Friday, May 5-6 online in the math lab (it has student computers). The communication arts test will be on Thursday followed by the math test on Friday. We have already taken a MAP diagnostic test online as a practice so students are familiar with the format. Students are also receiving MAP test taking computer instruction from Mrs. Wilson in the computer lab. Her mantra is, “Tools are not toys.” The test will be administered in the morning with a long break for lunch and extended recess before resuming in the afternoon. We will not have specials on those days. For those parents who signed up for water, thank you! I will send a reminder home closer to the date. Also, on the first day of MAP testing I will place the encouraging letters that you wrote during spring conferences on student desks. If you did not have time to write a note in March, please send in a note to your student with the envelope marked with his/her name and MAP on it. I will add it to the pile. Student Achievement Student Completes Xtramath.com Cy Douglas has completed all levels of xtramath.com, a website which practices basic math facts through three operations: addition, subtraction, and multiplication. He is the first student who has mastered all levels with speed and accuracy. Congratulations, Cy! Students Meet Reading Counts Goal for Third Quarter Jaxon Dublin, Avery Duncan, Derek Cox, Aaron Ashley, Stella Scowden, and Garret Cook reached their Reading Counts goal and were rewarded with a $7 trip to the Scholastic Book Fair in the library. Congratulations, readers, for making your personal goal! Multiplication Timed Tests Astin Brown, Cade Raney, and Derek Cox have all completed multiplication timed tests twice from 0-11. That’s 50 problems in three minutes! They are currently working on division facts. Congratulations, boys, for a job well-done! Happy March! Is Easter really around the corner? With the warmer temperatures last week and the sunny recesses we've enjoyed, it felt like a whisper of spring. Today March lived up to the old adage, "March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb." It was chilly! Before warm weather becomes a constant companion, we have a busy month ahead. Please note the important dates below. Also, please take a virtual walk through the Photo Gallery where there are several new photos of classroom happenings during the month of February. The Explorers were up to their usual standard of excellence while learning, creating, and making new friends. Thank you for dropping by! March Dates to Remember March 4: End of 3rd Quarter March 7: MAP Diagnostic Testing March 10: Math Test--Fractions March 10: Gold Team Spring Pictures (that's us!) March 10: 3rd Grade Concert at BHS at 7:00 pm March 11: Read-In Day in our classroom March 14-18: Spring break March 21-22: Student-Led Conferences March 21-24: Book Fair in the BIS Library March 25: No School--Good Friday MAP Diagnostic Testing--What is that? Students at BIS will participate in MAP Diagnostic Testing during the week of March 7-11. Our class is scheduled on Monday, March 7 using computers in the Math Lab. Each class will take the test which will last approximately 60-90 minutes. This online assessment is designed to measure student strengths, areas of need, and provide information to guide instruction. This is a great opportunity for third grade students to practice using the computers for testing. It also allows them to see the rigor of MAP questions and practice testing procedures. Our actual state assessment (MAP) will be administered during the weeks of May 2 and May 9. Spring Pictures Our class will be taking spring pictures with Stephens Photography on Thursday, March 10. All students will be photographed individually and with the class. A proof envelope with individual proofs and pricing information will be sent home with students. You do not need to send money at this time. Also, there is no obligation to purchase. Third Grade Concert The third grade concert will be held Thursday, March 10 at the high school auditorium. The program will begin at 7:00 pm. Students should wear their best red, white, and blue dress clothes. They will meet at 6:40 pm in the high school music room. This year's program will have a patriotic theme. We have several students from our class with speaking parts and we have one student with a solo! It's going to be awesome! Read-In Day The Explorers are going to celebrate reading by having a Read-In Day on Friday, March 11. Students will be allowed to bring in a blanket or sleeping bag, pillow, and a stuffed animal (reading buddy). It will be a fun-filled literacy day! Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences When we return from spring break, it will be time for student-led parent-teacher conferences. Conferences will be held Monday, March 21 and Tuesday, March 22. Your child will need to attend with you so he/she can share progress made in attaining academic goals. Each conference will last for 20 minutes. It is a wonderful time for us to acknowledge your child's achievements together. An email was sent out on February 17 to sign-up for a conference time using Sign-Up Genius. If you have not had a chance to sign-up yet, you can access our sign-up sheet by going to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4eafad2fa13-studentled. I will also send home a conference confirmation slip in the Monday Folder on March 7 so you have a paper copy to hang on the refrigerator. I'm looking forward to seeing you then! Classroom News Welcome to Rachel Cohen and Ms. Cindy Gann! Rachel recently moved to Bolivar from China. She is the new daughter of Eric and Lori Cohen. Rachel's English is fantastic! We are enjoying getting to know her with her bubbly personality. Ms. Gann is Rachel's personal assistant and a wonderful addition to BIS. Mrs. Colleen Appleby is Rachel's visual interpreter. Mrs. Appleby visited our classroom to share information on what it means to be visually impaired. She showed us what a Braille typewriter looks like and explained how the Braille alphabet is based on six dots. She also Brailled our names which Rachel is using now to learn all of our names. We have to learn only one name, but she has to learn 24! Congratulations to Garret Cook and Cade Raney who have mastered all their multiplication facts! Garret and Cade will now begin working on division timed tests. Great job, guys! Congratulations to Kalina Richey and Astin Brown for being chosen as the third grade recipients of the Kindness is Contagious Award. Both Kalina and Astin received the most entries submitted by their peers (the entire third grade) for showing acts of kindness. We are so proud of Kalina and Astin! They really are role models of kindness! Happy March Birthdays!
Ayden-March 7 Cheyenne-March 24 Cierra-March 29 |
AuthorHello! My name is Heidi…I love my family, the Lord, and chai tea lattes! I’m a wife to an amazing husband, mama to four wonderful kids, new Grammy to a cute baby boy, and a chubby 3rd grade teacher. (I've eaten too many birthday cupcakes!) I love people, learning, and creating. Thanks for stopping by! May you be blessed today as you bless others. Archives
March 2020
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