Back to the regularly scheduled program

Welcome back!

I hope you have had a good 5 day break. I know I did! I rested, ate, shopped, slept, and ate some more. Isn't that the great thing about Thanksgiving?

Remember that school is back in session tomorrow. We are counting down 3 weeks until Christmas break begins! Here are some things to remember for this week:

1. Science Fair part #2 is due on Wednesday.
2. Christmas Trees are due on Friday.
3. There will be regular homework - Spelling and Math - this week.

Have a great night's sleep and I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!

Science Fair

I've been reviewing Science Fair Assignment #1. So far they look good! I'm impressed by the ideas you've come up with. There is more information on the BCES homepage if you are looking for it. I'll try to get it printed and sent home before Thanksgiving. Assignment #2 will also come home before Thanksgiving.

Here are some interesting things to look at while you are enjoying your time off:
The Mayflower

Plimoth Plantation

Life on Plymouth Plantation

Thanksgiving Games at Kaboose.com

Have a great, SAFE Turkey day! I'll see you at school on December 1! Remember to do your Reading Log DAILY!! I'll give you a special extra page so you have room for all your reading.

More Cool Websites

Here is a website you can visit to practice your grammar skills.

Grammar Blast

Just click on 3rd grade and have fun! You can try some of the stuff from other grades, but it may be too hard or too easy!

Updates

This has been a fast week! We've done a lot, even though we were out Tuesday. Next week will be just as busy.

We will be moving on to study Thanksgiving and Colonial America. You will read Molly's Pilgrim and Thanksgiving on Thursday. We'll read some books about life in Colonial America too. In Math, we are moving on to Geometry. We'll continue to talk a little about multiplication - but we will also come back to it in January. In Writing, we will work on parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.), friendly letters, cursive, and sight words. We will also have a Spelling Bee on Friday! We will use basic sight words and some "Spelling Demons" that are kind of tricky!

And the best news?!?!?! No spelling homework until after Thanksgiving!!! Hooray!

Happy Friday!

Great Math Website

Hi Kids!
Today in the computer lab we are going to a COOL math website. It is called ThatQuiz.com. Click the link below to go to the site.

http://www.thatquiz.org/tq/classpage?0014f74deeb34C9

You will click your name and then enter your lunch name for your password.

You will see a list of quizes you can do.

Have fun!!

Wow!

The Bone Healthy posters look great! There were a few kids who didn't turn one in. Make sure to get it done this weekend! You won't be able to get a 100%, but a 90% is better than a 0%!

Here are some COOL websites to keep you busy this weekend. We'll be studying individual muscles next week - this will keep you fresh!

Muscles Game

Skeleton Game

Skeleton Match-Up

See you Monday!!!! Remember to fill out those reading logs!

Thursday, November 6th

Today was a busy day! We learned more about having interesting beginnings in our stories. We learned that there are 3 main types of beginnings: sound, action, and thought/question. We practiced identifying them and tried our hand at writing one for an old story. In Math we worked with a partner to go over the homework and try some more subtraction with borrowing. There will be a helpful sheet in STAR Binders tomorrow to help know when to trade/borrow. In Reading we are learning about non-fiction conventions. Conventions are certain ways of doing things. When we read non-fiction books, we need to know about different things. Things we pay attention to are headings, captions, labels, charts, tables, cutaways, and indexes. There are many more things too! Next week, each student will be working on a "Nonfiction Conventions Notebook" where they will document the examples of nonfiction conventions they find. To help this study, everyone will be asked to check out 1 nonfiction book when they go to the library next week.

Thanks for a great week! Remember, there is no school next Tuesday, November 11! Call a veteran and say, "Thanks!"

Great website!

Here is a GREAT website to practice the subtraction with borrowing. Go here:
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives - Base Blocks Subtraction
Students have seen this used in class and it is always good to get some personal practice.

Thanks parents, for coming to conferences! Students, I had some VEEEERY interesting conversations with your families today! Can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

Just call me Mrs. No Voice

What a Monday! All our kids were great - dealing with another day of a teacher with no voice. No worries - I went to the doctor and have an asthma flare up/bronchitis. I'm on some powerful medicines and I'm sure I'll be better soon.

Tuesday is a work day. I'll be having more conferences with parents. I really enjoy meeting you and sharing what our kids have accomplished. They are just so smart!

FYI - We will be out on Nov. 11th as well. That will be a holiday for Veterans' Day.

The Spelling Contract has changed somewhat. I hope you find it has been modified for the better. The highlights are:

• Students need to earn at least 80 points, instead of 100.
• There are more options for each level of points.

Please keep the contract in the Spelling Notebook. I use it as a reference when I check the contracts on Fridays/Mondays.

Another important note for 2nd quarter: Reading Logs will be given a WEEKLY grade for participation. Students will be given a grade of 100, 80, 60, 40, 20, or 0 based on how many entries they completed (out of 5 possible). Students have had a full 9 weeks to get used to the routine, so this should not be a big deal. Also, look for a list of "ideas" for summaries/responses to be included in the reading log sometime late this week. I may also "upgrade" all students to a new Reading Log folder if I can find something suitable in the closet.

Have a great day off tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you as I work on our room! See you Wednesday!