Mrs. Loppnow's News & Notes
Week of November 5, 2018
Thank you for your patience over the last week as I have battled illness. It sure is not fun, or easy, to be out of the classroom. Especially when there are so many AWESOME things happening at school!
Halloween, Buddies, Glow Run...we had a fun-filled week last week. Thank you so much for all of your support with Red Rock's newest fundraiser. I was able to take a peek into the gym during the actual run and the students sure were working hard to meet their goals. It was fun to see the "tallies" on the back of their shirts and to see their hot, sweaty faces after accomplishing their goals!
This week we got back to business and made several huge steps in our work together in the classroom. Today, I had to go get another teacher to "show off" our Flexible Seating success. I then snapped some pictures to show YOU! See below for flex seating, "in action". It may not quite be the ACTION you are thinking...
Thank you again for your patience. I look forward to seeing you next week at conferences!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Loppnow
FLEXIBLE SEATING AT ITS BEST!
A Peek into this Week and Next!
Math: MULTIPLICATION! YAY! The curriculum we use is called Contexts for Learning: Mathematics (Multiplication). This week the students worked on making connections between counting cubes, measuring strips, and the number line. We are learning to represent our mathematical thinking using Pictures, Words, and Numbers. This foundational learning is helping to build the students number sense through the use of conceptual activities. We will get to the point of using more "procedures" as we continue to build the base of number sense.
Social Studies: We have wrapped up our unit on Mapping and I am excited about the students progress! We had a lot of fun sharing our map ideas and applying learned skills to this project based activity. Thank you for your support, at home, with this activity. This week, we prepared to begin...
Science: (Sorry Brixton) Our math time sometimes eats away at our science time!! We will formally begin lessons on ENERGY: Light and Sound next week! Stay tuned...
Reader's Workshop: This is a fun one...FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE! This week we began our hunt for finding figurative language in our reading. We began with HYPERBOLE and PERSONIFICATION. During our read aloud, The One and Only Ivan, students are hearing many examples of figurative language. Students are learning to identify the literal meaning and also the figurative meaning. It is fun to compare the meanings and to begin using the examples in our own writing. Next week we will look at similes, metaphors, and idioms.
Standards Based Instruction
Third grade is new to the standards based approach to grading. I will be honest, there have been some growing pains along the way. We are doing our best to navigate the changes and document the best information to share with you regarding your child's grade. As such, I have been creating student portfolios to share with you at the upcoming conferences. I know it is tough to know what is going on in math when there are not a lot of "papers" that come home. For this first reporting session, I have kept most of the evidence in these portfolios.I look forward to sharing them with you soon. I am hoping the information in this weekly update will provide you with enough information to know what we are working on in the classroom, and ideas for at-home practice.
Please see the video below for a short explanation of the new grading process. In the meantime, THANK YOU for your patience with me. I look forward to sharing with you at conferences in November.
Dear Mom and Dad,
If you see a ONE, please don't panic! It means I simply have not learned that skill...YET! I have the year to perfect it for all to see, I know you will be proud of me! A TWO might show up here and there, that's actually really GOOD! It means I am making steady progress to get where I should. A THREE is rare for this time of year, but in some areas I may have done it. It means I already know a bunch thanks to you and my genes to just "get it"! A FOUR, well, a FOUR just isn't possible quite yet. It's because my awesome teacher is still working to get my challenges set! She's working to get to know me and going to great lengths, to provide activities to stretch my brain so I can show my strengths!
Thank you for honoring my hard work with a high five or a pat on the back. I love that you take care of me and help me stay on track! This is going to be an awesome year for me in Grade Three, together we can accomplish anything...Mrs. Loppnow, you, and ME!
Love,
Your Amazing Third Grader
Battle of the Books Titles 2018-2019
Don't forget to send in some fun pictures!
MATH SPOTLIGHT STRATEGY
This week's SPOTLIGHT STRATEGY is...MULTIPLICATION: "ARRAYS"
REMINDERS & REQUESTS:
- Reading Logs: Rocky's Reading and Writing Club sheets are due on MONDAY! Please make sure you have recorded your minutes AND received a parent signature. Thank you! Writing notebooks should be returned each Monday for an opportunity to SHARE.
- VOLUNTEERS: Unbelievably, December is sneaking up on us! We will be having our annual CRAFT DAY on December 20. The plans are not set in stone quite yet, but take a peek ahead at your calendars and let me know if you might be available!
UPCOMING EVENTS
11-15 & 11-20: Conferences
11-22 & 11-23: NO SCHOOL
12-3: WENDY'S NIGHT: THIRD GRADE TEACHERS HOST!
12-8: Barnes & Noble Day
12-20: Craft Day
12-22: Winter Break Begins