As you may have heard, the Falcons are going to the Super Bowl and we are having Falcons Spirit Week next week. Each class is decorating their door and each hallway is also going to be decorated. It was so much fun to watch the creativity, planning, and teamwork that took place as the students got to work! Everyone is involved in some capacity, so ask your child what he/she is doing. Some even gave up recess today to work on it (supervised by me, of course, while Mrs. Mahnich took the others outside). The door will be finished by Monday afternoon. I'll take a picture for the blog.
We also had a garden lesson with Mrs. Stone which was lots of fun. Due to the temperature we had it inside and the students planned gardens, determined the fractions of which type of vegetable they planted, as well as, the area and perimeter of the garden. Our next lesson will be in 5 weeks and hopefully, it will be warm enough to go outside and plant. REMINDERS: - Falcons spirit week is next week. Monday wear Falcon shirts or their colors and hats. Friday is our Super Bowl day. Wear your gear again and students may send in a snack to share with the class. REMEMBER we have a PEANUT ALLERGY - thanks!! - Penguins are due Feb. 2. Please make sure your child has all the components finished on time. -All book tests should be taken by Tuesday, Jan. 31. -Help your child pick out a new book for February/March. It will be due March 16. Please make sure that it is a book that will challenge them some. NEXT WEEK: Math - Students will learn to measure to 1/2 and 1/4 inch. Then they will use the data to make and interpret line plots. Also, they will have a test including the 8s, so help them study, please. Reading - What will happen at the end of Mr. Popper's? We will finally find out this week as we finish the book, write summaries, and have fun with all the new vocabulary words we learned. Writing - After a lesson about developing a strong ending, some revising for stronger verbs, and editing students will finish their narratives and we're off to the computer lab to type/publish. Science - We will begin studying the regions of Georgia, the plants and animals that live in each, and the adaptations they have that make it possible for them to survive there. Have a great weekend!
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Part of a whole, fair shares, equal shares, numerator and denominator are a few of the terms your child heard in the first part of our study of fractions. See if they can tell you what they mean and how they are related. This week we began talking about comparing fractions and finding equivalent fractions. We even had a snowball fight in the room to help increase engagement. The way we do this in third grade is to use 1/2 as a benchmark. Students learned that 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, etc. all equal 1/2. This enables them to look at 3/4 and see if it is smaller or larger than 1/2. We will continue to work on this concept all week.
We also had a great time when our book buddies visited making one-of-a-kind snowmen. They are in the hall by our room if you have a chance to come take a look. Your children are wonderful mentors and I love watching them work with little guys. Once I make sure all the Ks have permission to have their photos posted I'll put them on the blog next week. REMINDERS: - The penguins are due Feb. 2. and I can't wait. They are always so cute and creative. - Many students have taken a test on their Jan. book! Please help your child pace out how much of the book is left to make sure it is finished on time. - Please check your child's folder nightly to review any papers. Immediate feedback is the best form of reinforcement at home. NEXT WEEK: Reading: We will continue reading Mr. Popper's Penguins and practicing reading skills such as cause/effect, summarizing, and finding the main idea. The vocabulary word the students are introduced to is excellent! Writing: The students are well into writing a winter narrative. I think all but one, chose to write fictional narratives over a personal narrative. They love being creative! This week they will revise adding descriptive winter words, dialogue, and finish writing. Math: As described above, we'll be exploring equivalent fractions. Science: Our class was introduced to animal adaptations using a Mystery Science lesson. Mrs. Love's class will also complete this lesson this week. Ask your child about Lizard Island and what happened to the green anoles. Hint: their survival depended on how many sticky toe pads they had. Social Studies: We finished up our study of the levels of government(local, state, and national) on Friday with Mrs. Dean and the IPads. Instead of a test students were able to show what they know using the graphic organizer app, Popplet. This week students meet another American hero, Mary McLeod Bethune, Let's see if we can make it to Friday and have our first 5 day week! :) I've had so much fun this week as we've read Mr. Popper's Penguins! The giggles that were heard as Captain Cook pecked the ice box serviceman and when the people at City Hall didn't understand Mr. Popper confirmed my belief that even though this book was written in 1938 it is still relevant! Ask your child what clues his group used to infer that this book takes place in the past. Together we discussed the telephone with a cord :), but then they came up with some other great ideas....he only paid the serviceman $5, they called the refrigerator an ice box, they listened to a radio instead of watching TV ...They are always disappointed when it's time to stop and they have to wait until next week to see what happens next.
REMINDERS: - Help your child pick out a chapter book to read in the month of January and take a comprehension test on in class. Some have already shown me their titles, but the rest need to by Wed. of next week. If your child is struggling with this decision Mrs. Blackburn and I will be glad to help them, just let us know. - One -of-a-Kind Penguin Projects are due Thursday, Feb. 2 . Of course, your child will need some help, but please, make sure the ideas are theirs! - The talent show is next Thursday, Jan. 19. I'll be up there in the teacher dance....hmmm..should be entertaining! NEXT WEEK: Reading - We'll continue to read Mr. Popper's and apply reading strategies in small groups. Writing - Students have completed prewriting on both a winter personal narrative and fictional narrative. Next week they'll pick which piece they want to develop. Ask them about the snow dog! Math - We'll continue to explore fractions and learn to compare them. Students will learn how to use 1/2 as a benchmark number to determine which fractions are smaller or larger. Also, help your child with those multiplication facts up to 7. We will add the 8s week after next. Social Studies - This will be our last week studying the branches and levels of government. See if your child knows the difference. We will end it on Friday with Mrs. Dean coming in to teach us how to use Popplet on the IPads to show what we know. Science - In the science lab, the computer lab, and ILC students will begin learning about the regions of GA as habitats for various plants and animals. Enjoy another long weekend with your family! After a day and a half 2017 is off to a great start. In true new year's tradition everyone wrote goals about how they'd like to improve at home, at school, and personally. Good news for you all! Some want to improve by helping at home more with the dishes, some are going to be nicer to their siblings, and some even want to try and pick up their room/toys more. My favorites were the ones that said they are going to watch less video games to play outside, be with family and READ! Each child shared one of the goals at the end of the day today and what he/she did to make it happen. Ask your child about the goals set in all three areas!
REMINDERS: This Monday night is Chick-fil-a night. Second and third grade teachers will be there, so come by and see us. My shift is 6-6:30, but come by whenever you can to support Tritt, enjoy dinner, and have some free ice cream w/sprinkles, of course! -The report cards came home today. Please sign the envelope and return it Monday. You keep the report card. -Looking ahead - On Monday your child will bring home a paper describing our January project - making one of a kind penguins! NEXT WEEK: Reading: I hope your child has mentioned our new novel study, Mr. Popper's Penguins. We've read 2 chapters so far and already learned new vocabulary words and how to write the main idea. We'll be using the novel to review/learn reading strategies over the next several weeks. Each child has a copy to use in class and occasionally may have a chapter to read that night for homework. It is a fun, engaging novel to help develop comprehension and increase excitement about reading (our #1 goal)! Math: For the next couple of weeks we will study fractions - equal parts of a whole. The first activity involved sharing brownies so that everyone has fair shares - equal parts. Look in your child's folder for that paper. Today they started making paper pizzas with 1/8 piece having mushrooms, 2/8 green peppers, etc. Writing: Students will finish paragraphs explaining how they will Shine Brightly in 2017 using their resolutions as their prewriting. Then they will begin a new narrative using the winter season as inspirataion. I'm hoping this weekend will help! Social Studies: Our government unit will continue as students learn about the 3 levels of government - local, state, and national and who leads those levels. Science: This quarter's main emphasis is on the regions of GA as different habitats and the plants/animals that live in each one. Have a great weekend and enjoy playing in the snow with your family (if it ever arrives)! The photo is from the fall, but it is too fun not to share! |
AuthorMrs. Amy Benson Archives
December 2018
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