Keeping Cool

It was pretty cozy in our classroom today!  The fans help a great deal, but cool water is the best medicine.  Next week will be a delightful change.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Family Picnic. Have a great weekend! (I have 2 new cookbooks and I may do some diet damage!)

Testing...

Ugh! More tests tomorrow.  At least these are curriculum based.  The usual weekly spelling and ELA assessments plus a quickie math test on geometry is plenty for one day!  The kids will be allowed to have the  plastic shapes to help them answer questions.  We'll go over the practice test they're doing for homework before we do the real thing.

Today was our last book checkout day for the year so if you need to hunt up overdue books...

As of the end of school today there are only 16 more school days! I cannot believe it.  All of the 3rd grade classes will enjoy a picnic/playdate at Stanley Demming on June 14th if the weather cooperates. June 17th if we need a rain date.

Our end-of-the-year party will be on the 2nd to last day of school.  It's a half day.  I always do a luau theme and I'll send home a note about opportunities to support the cause, if anyone is interested.  Basically, it's fresh fruit (with pineapple of course),  breakfast food, games and fun.  Some limbo-ing and music, etc.

WISE BEHAVIOR EXTRAVAGANZA TOMORROW!

We had 2 classes visit the "museum" today and our class was wonderful!  I observed and listened in on everyone doing their presentations and I was amazed at how knowledgeable and well spoken our class was!   This is the only assessment I have enjoyed giving all year and I'm certain it's the only one the kids enjoyed!

NO SPELLING TEST TOMORROW!!!!   It's my contribution to the WISE behavior extravaganza the kids earned.  Pajamas are welcome, not required.  If you have a DVD that's appropriate for school, please think about sending it in for the celebration.  We are the only 3rd grade class to reach this level and only one of 3 classes in the whole school. Yay us!  The kids are also allowed to bring in a special snack of whatever you wish.

I hope everyone enjoys a great Memorial Day weekend!

Simple Machine Museum

Here they are! All rehearsed and ready to teach some 2nd graders a thing or two about simple machines! They have made notes and practiced with at least two other classmates.  Some have volunteered to do their little speech for the class. I was so impressed!  I know our 2nd grade friends are going to love it.

"Simple Machines Museum"

Today everyone practiced  their simple machine talking points with a partner.  I've invited some 2nd grade classes to come by and learn from our smarties.  I will take some pictures tomorrow but I'll have to check on whether or not I am permitted to publish them on this page.

The kids took their last end of year test to compare with the same test taken in the fall. This has to do with APPR, the new teacher rating system.  The two tests scores are compared to measure growth in ELA from fall to spring.

Friday is our WISE behavior extravaganza.  Kids can wear pajamas, bring a dvd to be voted on for viewing, bring a special snack, and bring a game from home to be played in the classroom in case our extra recess needs to be indoors. We're squeezing all this in to a half day!

What a Cool Assembly!

We attended a terrific assembly today entitled The Signature Project. It was a multimedia presentation by artist and musician Patrick Dunnigan.  Here's the link to his site http://www.signatureproject.com/

It was art and music, science, culture and much more.  A bit hard to describe, but very memorable.  When we got back to the classroom, there was just no way to go back to our regularly scheduled lesson with so many creative ideas bouncing around, so for a bit everyone did whatever drawing and coloring they were inspired to do.    I got to sign the board which will be part of the final artwork!

Tonight the kiddoes are preparing for our weekly spelling quiz plus a math quiz on comparing fractions.  We've practiced over and over how to check their comparisons using cross multiplication so I hope everyone will do well.  I'll do another review lesson before the quiz tomorrow just to make sure.
(We still have geometry, area and elapsed time to get through before summer. AHHH!)  

You'll receive a letter tomorrow asking for help with a simple machines project and the good news that our class has reached the next level in WISE behavior!

Got Simple Machines?

This week the spelling homework is just to review the list for the test on Friday.  All of these words have been part of spelling lists in the past few weeks so they should all be very familiar.

We have finished the next topic in math and we'll review tomorrow for the test on Friday.

  In science, we're learning about simple machines and the kids will be bringing home a letter asking to be allowed to bring a simple machine from home to be part of our Simple Machine Museum.

We've also started our study of China. Beginning with geography and some basic map skill review, we'll also learn about the government, economy, and culture of China.

Happy Mothers Day!

This week the class read Fly, Eagle, Fly, an African folktale that teaches about respect for the true nature of living things. We learned and practiced prepositions.  This is a new grammar skill for everyone.

In Math, we practiced a variety of strategies for comparing fractions: on a number line, using benchmark fractions, using models, and using numerators and denominators to reason about size. Another new concept for the year: reducing fractions to simplest form.  This has been a fourth grade skill in previous years but the new standards have moved it to 3rd grade.

In Science we have been studying physical science topics of force, motion, gravity and magnetism.  The class completed a small group investigation of magnetism yesterday.

We've begun a unit of study on China and there's so much to learn! We're beginning with geography and how it has affected China's history.  I'm looking forward to some fun projects!