Ms. Arnold's Weekly News
Week of 3-15-14
March Is Reading Month
12 DAYS LEFT TO MEET THEIR AR GOAL!!!!!!
Help us celebrate reading throughout the month of March! Students have each set an independent Accelerated Reader Goal for the month of March. Every student who meets his/her individual reading goal by March 28th will go roller skating (if our entire school reaches 9,000 AR points). Please help encourage NIGHTLY reading as well as THE TAKING OF THE ACCELERATED READER QUIZZES. They should be reading books within their reading range. We are not aiming for books way below or way above their comfort zones. It helps to have "family reading time" of a book or two, and then log onto the Accelerated Reader site to take their quiz. Books your students finish in and out of school can be taken at home on the AR website. We hope to make reading month fun. With our spirit days, reading activities, the assembly, and the goal setting, our hope is to help encourage reading. We hope to inspire them to become life long learners by loving reading!
Our Learning Time
Our math block...
Students have been hard at work, making connections between multiplication and division, solving various word problems, and continuing fact practice of all four operations. We are now in unit 5 AND 6. Students are focusing on place value with whole numbers, decimals, and the different ways to represent numbers and their values AS WELL AS identifying different polygons and geometric lines.
The VIDEOS ATTACHED are great for reviewing adding/subtracting/multiplication/division practice, place value, and geometric concepts (our yearly or unit "buzz words"). I ENCOURAGE students to sing along and watch AND rewatch the videos as many times as they can.
Other points of focus are: Adding and Subtracting within 1,000 and Multiplying and Dividing within 100; Being our own problem solvers by...deciphering meaning, critically showing and discussing reasons, using various strategies and/or tools to help solve, and apply math concepts and important vocabulary (BUZZ words) at a deeper level.
Our reading block...
Students continue to work hard on their comprehension, awareness, fluency, and expanding their vocabularies. Through ongoing independent, partner/group reading or conferencing, students are working hard each day on their independent goals, questioning, discussing, responding to, and making connections to their reading. Students will be recording books read on their "genre" graph. They rotate through daily rotations that offer time on task to read many different genres including one-on-one time with me to review their goals and current strategy focus.
Strategy focus: Fix It Ups; Syllables; Prefixes and Suffixes
Skill focus: Making Text-to-Self, Text-to-Text Connections, and Text-to-World Connections; Genre Characteristics; Compare and Contrasting different genres, purposes, and audiences of texts
Our writing block...
Students are working on brainstorming and drafting a realistic narrative on "THE WORST DAY EVER". We continue to discuss AND compare the characteristics of different narratives to help build a strong awareness for how to build their own narratives. We began reading about hyperboles and will be discussing how to use "hyperboles" when drafting our narratives to enhance our details and examples.
Other points of focus are:
-beginning cursive structure of upper and lower case letters in the alphabet
-parts of speech
-sentence fluency; sentence stretching
-grammar: use of commas, verb tenses, and prefix and suffixes
-writing strong leads/endings
-editing
-journaling
-blogging (Kid Blog)
-types of comments: in responding to other student's blogs
Our social studies and science block...
Students have been reading about different aspects of the world map. We have started labeling the U.S. map as well as learning about "opportunity cost" and how that applies to current spending and the choices we make. They are also reading about Michigan's first people. Gathering new information and presenting it in different ways. In science, we continue to track daily weather patterns. We will be comparing our weather on a map to the weather differences around the world as well as comparing different weather hazards that occur around the country/world.
Other points of focus are:
-Michigan
-Early Michigan and its people
-Economy
-Map skills
-Our government
-Writing an opinion statement/paragraph
Math Unit 5: Place Value
Math Unit 6: Geometry
This Week: List #17
1. misfile
2. unwanted
3. recycle
4. undone
5. presale
6. misread
7. recall
8. precut
9. unload
10. misnumber
11. unfair
12. mistreat
Our Upcoming Week...Independent AR Reading Goals Are Due 3-28-14
Throughout the week, I encourage students to interact with multiplication and division facts either with flash cards, hand held games, on Apps, or various websites like www.multiplication.com. Time spent studying will help all students on their weekly fact tests as well as prepare them better for fourth grade. We study facts 0-12. The goal is to study repetitively in order to memorize them. Another website I highly encourage students to use consistently at home throughout the week is www.studyisland.com. All third grade math concepts can be practiced here all year long until proficiency. Once they pass all the third grade concepts (85% or higher) they can begin the next grade's standards. Ongoing practice of these concepts builds confidence, consistency, enhanced skills, and their retention. All of which boost independence and success!
Tuesday 3-18: "Read my Button" Day; special is: gym; work on math homework; study spelling words; study multiplication facts; 3rd grade Music Concert 2:30pm and 7pm (Students need to arrive dressed up by 6:45pm); See you there!
Wednesday 3-19: Be a Reading Jean-ous: Wear jeans to school; Special is: computers; work on homework; study multiplication facts; study spelling words; Credit Union Day
Thursday 3-20: Cuddle up to a good book: wear PJs to school; Special is: gym and library; math homework due; study spelling words (test tomorrow); study multiplication facts (test tomorrow)
Friday 3-21: Show your Spirit: Wear an MC shirt; Friday folders sent home; spelling test #16; Keicher Parents Night Out/Keicher Lock-In
Team Lego Power
Once it's built they celebrate together for meeting the goal and working together each day!
My Contact Information
MC Office 517-764-5200
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