December 12-22

Reading:  This week I had to assess the students for their report cards (can you believe it's that time already).  The students worked on their edmodo assignments and did a Latin/Greek creation.

The students also took a Latin/Greek test on Thursday.  They will receive new words after the break.

Writing:  The students chose a writing prompt and write a narrative based on the prompt.

Projects:  We are at the end of our projects.  The students have worked really hard getting their slide shows and maps ready to present.  I am so proud of all the hard work they have put into this.

They will be presenting to parents on Tuesday December 20 at 2:30 in cafeteria.  I hope you will be able to come in and see what a fantastic job they have done!!

Misc.  Thanks to all your generous donations of canned food our class has won a doughnut party!!  

Don't forget to have your child send in their Secret Santa gift by Wednesday.  

December 5-8

Reading: On Monday and Tuesday we read Fables and determined the theme using evidence from the story.  On Wednesday and Thursday the students learned about literal and figurative (non-literal) language.  They then received idioms and drew the literal and figurative pictures of their idiom. 

The students took a spelling test.  I was quite pleased with how well they did as a whole.  They will not receive new spelling words until after the break.

The students will have a Latin/Greek test on Thursday. 

Writing:  The students finished up their winter versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Projects:  The students continued working on their 51st state projects.  They are turning out so good.  We will be presenting them on Tuesday December 20th.  I will send out more information later this week.

Misc:   We will be drawing names for Secret Santa on Monday.  Please remind them keep who they have a secret from everyone in the class. They may start bringing in their gifts anytime until the 21st (this ensures they are all there in time).  Write who the present is to on the bottom, but keep the from section blank. Remember to keep the gifts at $5.    

November 28- December 1

Honor Society is having a canned food drive for the Out of Egypt food pantry.  Each class that exceeds 150 cans will get donuts.  The food drive ends December 15th so be sure to send those cans of food in! 

December 22nd will be the last day before Christmas break.  We will be having a fun filled day that includes exchanging Secret Santa gifts, watching a movie and having popcorn and hot chocolate!  

I haven't told the kids about Secret Santa yet but we will talk about it soon.  I will have them draw names and we will brainstorm ideas of what to buy as a group.  Each student is to only spend $5. Please do not spend more than this.   If for any reason you cannot purchase a gift let me know.  Also if your child will not be at school on the 22nd please let me know ahead of time and I will not have your child's name be drawn. I will send out more information at we get closer. 

Reading:  This week we practiced writing summaries.  This is a very hard concept for the students because they want to put in every little detail. We will continue working on this throughout the year.  

We also took a Latin/Greek test.  They will be receiving new words on Monday.  

Third graders will be having a spelling test on Thursday 12/8.  This will be the last spelling test until after the new year.

Writing: The students are writing their own winter version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 

Grammar: We worked on writing complex sentences using subordinating conjunctions.

Projects: They continued working on their 51st state project. 

November 14-22

Reading: The students finished presenting their projects.  They received their new Latin/Greek words and will test on Thursday December 1st.  They will receive new spelling words after Thanksgiving break and test on those December 8th

Writing:  They are finishing up their fall version of The Three Little Pigs.  We will be reading these to the kindergarten on Tuesday.

Grammar: The students learned about using coordinating conjunctions to make a compound sentence.

Projects: They continued working on their 51st State project.

Misc: I will be sending home the last book 
order before Christmas.  It will be due by November 30th which is a Wednesday.  If you are ordering books that you do not want your child to see let me know.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

November 7-10

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving already?!?

Reading: Both 3rd and 4th grade finished their projects and began presenting.  They also had a Latin/Greek test.  They will be getting new words on Monday. There will be a spelling test for 3rd grade on Thursday 11/17.

Writing:  The students continued writing their fall versions of The Three Little Pigs. These are turning out super cute!! 

Grammar:  We learned about simple sentences.  The students had to identify the subject and predicate in the sentence, along with the simple subject and simple predicate.

Projects:  The students continued working on their 51st State project.

10/31-11/3

Thank you to everyone who came to conferences on Friday.  I looking forward to meeting with the rest of you this week.

Reading:  Both 3rd and 4th grade worked on their projects. They received new LG words and will test on those 11/10.  Please make sure they are studying. 

The 3rd graders had a spelling test on Thursday.

Writing:The students are writing a fall version of the 3 Little Pigs.  They are turning out really cute!

Grammar: We learned about simple sentences.  Each sentence has a subject and predicate. We practiced finding the subject and predicate in sentences.

Projects: The students are making up their own 51st state.  

 

10/24-10-27

You should have received an email from sign up genius about conferences.  Please be sure to sign up for a conference time. If you did not receive the email please let me know.

Reading: The 4th graders started their literature study assignment.  Each student received either two fables, myths or legends.  They will compare and contract and discuss the theme, characters and traits.  They will complete their assignment by making a slide show showing all of these things.

The 3rd graders started an author study.  In partners they are reading 2 books by the same author.  They will compare/contrast and discuss the theme, characters and traits.  They will will complete their assignment by making a slide show showing all these things.

They took a Latin/Greek test and will receive new words on Monday.

The 3rd graders will have a spelling test on Thursday 11/3.  Make sure they are studying.  Remember they have to be able to write the word in context.  They must also start their sentence with a capital and end with the correct punctuation. 

Writing: In order to prepare for writing dialogue in narrative stories, we learned about correctly using quotation marks, commas and capital letters in dialogue.  We also created sentences that use words for effect (mood, etc).  

Grammar: We introduced regular and irregular verbs.  We filled out a chart about past, present and future regular and irregular verbs. We then learned about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs. The students each created a foldable about a different adjective or adverb.

Projects: The students completed their Nevada symbols book in order to get ready for our next project which will be introduced on Tuesday.

Misc:  The students can wear their Halloween costumes on Monday.  No masks can be worn in the classroom. Also please do not send in a weapon with your child's costume. We will be having our Halloween party on Monday afternoon.

Please make sure your student has a water bottle at school.  This will cut down on the amount of time they are out of the classroom getting a drink.  If you want to send a water bottle on Monday they can refill it at school and keep it here all week. They can then bring it home on Thursday to wash it. 

The end of the 1st quarter

I hope everyone had a wonderful fall break! I know I did!  

Conferences: Be on the lookout for a sign up genius this week to sign up for a conference spot.  Conferences will be on Friday November 4th.  

Reading:  A lot of groups finished up their books before fall break.  When we come back I am really going to be pushing restating the question when answering and using evidence based terms when answering. They will be taking a Latin/Greek test on Thursday.  Please make sure your child is studying for this test. 3rd graders will be receiving their new spelling words on Monday.  

Writing:  We finished up our last opinion writing.  The students wrote about whether they think store bought or homemade costumes are better.  We will be doing narrative writing in the 2nd quarter.

Projects:  We finished up our catapult project.  This was such a great project thanks to the help of so many parents!  The students all did such a great job, from planning, to making a prototype, to building the big catapult.  

Flashlight reading- pictures

October 3-6

Reading:  We continued to review this week.  

We also had a Latin/Greek test. They will receive their new words on Monday. I was disappointed with how many students said they did not study and they received 1s on their test. There are only 4 roots that they have to learn every 2 weeks.  If they practice just a few times they should be able to easily learn them.

Third graders will have a spelling test on Thursday Oct. 13th.

Writing: We finished our opinion writing on whether candy corn is one of the best Halloween candies or not.  They started off with tasting candy corn, although a few knew they already did not like it so they refused.  Then they sorted facts about candy corn as to whether they supported that it is the best or supported that it is not the best.  They then formed their own opinion and used the facts to support their reasons.  The class has become quite good at writing opinion papers!

Grammar:  I worked with a small group of students who needed review on parts of speech.  The other students did MadLibs to practice their grammar skills.

Projects: The students worked on their catapults.  Thanks to all the awesome help we had this was a great experience for everyone!  All catapults are built, now on to testing and adjusting.

Book Orders:  I sent home a new book order form.  I will submit the order on Thursday 10/13.  This is a great way for our class to earn free books.  Last order I was able to get a ton of new books for our class!

This is the last week of the 1st quarter!  Time flies when you are having fun!  This will be the last week before fall break. 

Catapult plan this week:

Monday-Wednesday 2:30-3:20 making adjustments as needed.

Thursday we will have the official launch at 2:15. The students will present information about their catapults first, then we will begin the punkin' chunkin' fun.  

On Monday and Tuesday if you are available to help the students make adjustments, we'd love to have you. 

Wednesday we'll be wrapping things up and preparing for the launch/presentation the next day; no volunteers are needed (as of right now).

Thursday we will hold the official launch. Last year I had several parents who marked the landing spots of the pumpkins with tape. If you'd like to volunteer to do this, please let me know. 

​Thank you again - this project would not be nearly as successful without all of your help. ​

9/26-9/29

Reading:  This week we reviewed all the vocabulary we have covered so far this year.

 The 4th graders are working with their time management and using their time wisely.  

The 3rd graders had a spelling test this week.  I was quite pleased with how well they did!  They will receive new spelling words on Monday. 

3rd and 4th graders will have a Latin/Greek test on Thursday 10/6.

Writing: We finished up our opinion writing paper on the best animal. 

Grammar:  We learned about adverbs this week.  We then took an assessment on all the parts of speech.  Some of the students are still struggling with the different parts of speech, so we will be reviewing next week.

Projects: We are in the process of gathering all the supplies for our catapults so this week we learned about magnets.  The students had fun exploring with their magnets. 

We are going to start building on Tuesday 10/4 from about 2:30 to 3:30 each day.  If you are able to come in and help please let me know.  Mrs. WindRiver sent out an email about parent helpers. 

Misc: Ask your student about reading with flashlights with Mrs. WindRiver's class.  They had so much fun.  This is something we plan to do weekly. 

Fall Break is the week of October 17! 

9/19-9/22

Reading: This week we learned about 1st and 3rd person point of view.  The students received new spelling words on Monday.  They also took a Latin/Greek test on Thursday.  They will take their spelling test on 9/29.  

Remember to check your child's Edmodo.  This is where you can check to see how they are doing on their reading assignments. 

Writing: The students continued working on their best animal papers. They have had to do research on the best animal.  They are using their research to support their reasons of why their animal is the best. Once they have worked through the writing process they are going to type the final.  I am quite impressed with all their hard work!

Grammar: This week we worked on identifying verbs.  Each group was given a "busy" picture.  They then had to come up with all the verbs that were happening in the picture. 

Projects: The students finished up their catapult prototypes.  On Wednesday and Thursday they took turns demonstrating how their catapult works.  The class then gave feedback on ways to improve or how they could make it big for the final catapult.  The students then gave us a list of the supplies they will need in order to build their big catapult.  Mrs. WindRiver sent out a signup genius to all the 3rd grade parents.  Many of you had expressed that you had supplies you could donate for this project.  We need a lot of wood that is 2 feet or 3 feet long.  We need pvc pipe, bungee cords, rope, nails, screws, etc.  If you have anything you could donate to help us with this project that would be great!  

  

9/12- 9/15

Our classroom is slowly making the transformation to being a Star Wars room! Thank you to Carrie Sheldon for buying some fun Star Wars things for our room. Also a big thank you to the Hockenberry-Grimes family for your coming in on Friday to help make our room look awesome! I can't wait to see the kids' reactions when they see all the fun changes that have been made so far. 

Reading:  This week we leaned about the story plot, including exposition, climax and resolution.  We also talked about the protagonist and antagonist.

We also had a spelling test this week.  Overall the students did great! The students will be receiving their new words on Monday. 
  There will be a Latin/Greek test on Thursday 9/22.

Writing:  We finished the ant writing and have moved on to writing about our favorite animal.  The students are working more independently on this writing.  They are having to research about their favorite animal and come up with 3 fact categories.  Next, they will transfer the information onto a graphic organizer and start their draft.

Grammar: This week we reviewed nouns, pronouns, regular and irregular plural nouns and adjectives.  I pulled small groups based on need.  

Projects: The students continued working on their prototypes for their catapults.   They are also making a list of supplies they will need to make their big catapults.  I told them that if they had certain supplies at home that their parents said were okay to bring in that would be fine.  However, they are not to ask you to go out and buy anything!  Be on the lookout for an email about supplies and volunteers needed.  Again, I'm not asking for you to go buy supplies only sign up to send in if it's something you already have at home and are willing to donate.

Sept. 5-8

We are already half way done with the first quarter!  

Reading: This week we learned about theme.  I read several books and we discussed what the theme could be for each of the stories. 

The students also continued working on their edmodo.  I am going to have them work on putting more details in their answers.  They also need to be restating the question when answering.  Remember you can check their edmodo from home, just have your student sign on for you.

The students had their first latin/greek test.  Overall they did great!  They will receive their new words on Monday.

Don't forget to have your student study for their spelling test.  The next test is on Thursday 9/15.

Writing: The students continued with their ant writing and going through the writing process.

Cursive: We have learned all the lowercase letters and are now working on the capital letters.

Grammar:  We learned about adjectives this week.  Next week we will review nouns, pronouns, plural nouns and adjectives.

Projects: The students were partnered up for their catapult projects.  Some students have a partner from our class and some have a partner from Mrs. WindRiver's class.  It's always fun when we can mix up the two classes!  The partners then researched, planned, sketched and are now building a prototype of their catapult.  I am very impressed with what they have done so far!

8/29-9/1

We made it to September! One step closer to fall!

I am having so much fun with this class. They have great little personalities which makes our day so much fun!  I love that they know how to joke around and have fun, but when it's time to do our work they stop and get right to attentive listening and doing their work!  

Reading:   This week we learned about inferences.  We watched a funny commerical and a pixar short and talked about the inferences we could make with each.  If your student brought home a inference paper titled For the  Birds, could you please return it.  One of the students thought our turn in basket was the basket of papers that needed to be put in the mail boxes so it accidently got sent home before I could grade it.

We took our first spelling test this week.  If your student received a 1 on the test please sign it and return it so I know you have seen it.  The students are getting used to taking a spelling test in 3rd grade where they have to write the whole sentence.  They also have to remember to start the sentence with a capital and end with the correct puncuation.  Mrs. WindRiver and I are putting together the spelling groups for next week.  On Tuesday your student will receive a differentiated spelling list at your child's specific ability level. 

During bookclub this week the students learned how to use Edmodo.  This is the site where your students will submit their reading assignments each week.  You can check their edmodo at home, however I do not want them working on their edmodo at home unless they are absent a day and need to catch up.  

Writing: 
In cursive we are almost finished with learning all the lowercase letters.  Next I will introduce all the capital letters.  Once I have introduced all the letters the kids will each receive their own cursive book to work through.

In writing we started a new opinion paper.  First we read the story Hey, Little Ant and came up with reasons why the boy should squish the ant and reasons why the boy should not squish the ant.  Next, we read non-fiction ant books and took notes.  The students then came up with their opinion on what the boy should do. They will use the ant facts to support their opinions.

Grammar:
We reviewed regular and irregular plural nouns and took an assessment.  We then learned about abstract nouns.  The kids learned a catchy song about abstract nouns. :)

Projects:
During projects the students learned about simple machines.  This will get them ready for making their catapults! 

Reminders

Just a couple of reminders, book orders are due by Thursday. Also, if your child didn't bring in their scrapbook page please send it in ASAP. 

Thanks!

August 22-25

We had another great week!  This class is awesome! Everyone works super hard and we have so much fun together.

Reading:  The students learned about context clues.  They created a made up word and put it in a sentence containing context clues.  The class then had to use the context clues to determine the meaning of the made up word.

We also learned about character traits.  We read a few books and talked about what the traits were for the different characters.  They had to use evidence from the text to support their trait. 

The students received their first spelling list on Monday.  They will have a test on these words on Thursday September 1st.  The students will have to write the entire sentence given during the test.  They will be graded on spelling the spelling word correctly and using the correct form of the word, starting the sentence with a capital and ending the sentence with the correct punctuation.  The words should be in a sheet protector in your child's binder. 

Writing:  This week we went through the entire writing process for an opinion paper.  We started off by taste testing Cinnamon Bun Oreos and Chocolate Chip Oreos.  We took notes on how everyone felt about each cookie.  We then voted on which one we liked the best.  Cinnamon Bun Oreos won!.  We filled out our organizer and  wrote the rough draft together.  The students were also taught how to skip lines for their rough draft and not to write over the red lines on the side of the paper. 

We have also been working on cursive every morning.  The kids love to write in cursive!

Grammar:  We are learning about pronouns and regular and irregular plural nouns. The students created a note taker to help them spell the irregular plural nouns. 

Projects:  We learned about force and motion and simple machines.  The students created pulleys on Wednesday.

First week

We made it through the first week.  I think we were all exhausted by the end, but it was a great week!

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the back to school night.  If you haven't returned all the paperwork (including the About Your Child) please send it in with your child on Monday.  Also if you didn't return the blue binder send that in Monday as well.  We need those binders for our writing this year.


Reading:  This week in reading we reviewed Read to Self and how to pick a good fit book.  We then started building stamina while reading.  They did a great job at this!  

We also worked on context clues.  We read a book that had some made up words in it.  We used context clues to help us figure out the meaning of the words.  The students then were put into partners to come up with their own made up words.  On Monday they are going to write sentences that contain context clues so the class can figure out the meaning of their word.  

Writing:  This week the students wrote one piece that was an opinion writing and one that was a narrative.  This was to help give me an idea of where they are at with their writing.

Grammar:  We reviewed nouns.

Projects:  We reviewed the different Tribe agreements.  We also did a lot of fun team building activites.  

Pencil box

Hello,
I was just at Target and noticed that the pencil box size there is called small (at Walmart it's called large). The size of the pencil box should be approximately  8"(length) 5" (width) and 2" (height). If you have any questions please feel free to email me at tmoon@oasisacademyfallon.us

Enjoy your last weeks of summer break!

Family Scrapbook

Hello 3rd Grade Parents!

At Oasis Academy, families are a key to our success.  We love our families!  That being said, this year third grade will be sending home a blank scrapbook page. Please help your child create a family page for our classroom scrapbook. This page will be sent home on the first day of school along with more details.

Thank you very much!!

Last Week!

First I want to thank all the parents who came to watch the kids recite their poetry on Thursday.  It takes a lot of courage for them to get up in front of their peers and parents.  They all did a wonderful job!!

This is it! We have a very busy week ahead us.

Monday: We are presenting our animal adaptation projects in the cafeteria at 2:30.  The kids have worked very hard on these and have done a great job being creative. 

Tuesday: Mrs. Windriver and I have a surprise for the kids (pizza!) so no lunches are needed unless your child does not like pizza.  Please just send a morning snack.

Wednesday: We will watch the 8th grade graduation then come back and clean our classroom!  Please send an empty backpack so there is room for everything that needs to come home.

Thursday:  FIELD DAY!!  An email was sent home already about field day but here are some things to keep in mind.

     *We will be outside most of the day.  Make sure          you put sunblock on your student.  I will have            some just incase someone forgets or they need          to reapply.
     *There will be a lot of water activies along with            bounce houses and a dunk tank.  It is best to            wear shoes that slip on and off that doen't                require socks.  Flip flops or water shoes work            great!
     *It is easiest to have your child wear their swim          suit under their clothes in the morning.  Just              pack something for them to change in to once            they are finished in the water.
     * The kids usually get hungry before lunch.  Send         a small snack and some water to get them                 through the day.
     * Don't forget to send a towel!
     * School is over at 2:00! 
     * Check your email for other important field day           information. 

2 more weeks!!

We finally made it through all of the testing!!  I am so proud of the students for all of their hard work!!

We had another crazy week that was filled with testing and schedules that were off.

The students are working hard on memorizing their poems. Most of them have their poem memorized and are just working on saying them with expression and movements.

The students have alway been working on their projects.  They are coming out really good!  I am amazed at the creativity!! 

Here are some important dates to remember:

Wednesday May 11: Code Red drill.  The school will be sending home detailed information about this.  It will happen sometime after 2:00.  If you do not want your child involved then you can pick them up after 12:00 and they will still be counted present for the whole day.

Thursday May 12:  Poetry Slam @ 2:30 in our classroom

Monday May 16: Project presentations @ 2:30 (location TBD)

Wednesday May 18: 8th Grade graduation

Thursday May 19th: Last day of school! Field Day!  Field day is an awesome day for the kids, but it requires a lot of volunteers to make it happen.  Please look for the emails being sent out and sign up to help if you are available.

Thanks for a great year! I can't believe it's almost over!

Only 3 more weeks!

I am so proud of the kids and how well they are doing at taking their time during testing!  These are long days for them but they have handled it like champs!!

The students are working on memorizing their poems.  Most of them either have their poems memorized or are getting really close.  Now they just need to keep practicing so they will remember their poem if they get nervous infront of an audience.

In projects they are working on creating the ultimate animal for their habitat.  They are being super creative and doing a great job!

Thank you to everyone who has brought in snacks for our testing days.  The kids have loved it!  The tests this week are much shorter so that will be nice for them.  

Can you believe you almost have a 4th grader!

April 4-8

If you child has not brought in headphones for our upcoming SBAC testing please send them in ASAP.

Check your email for breakfast/snack signups for testing days.

Don't forget to buy a yearbook.  There won't be any extras so if you don't buy one now you will be out of luck.


Reading:  The students received their last spelling list.  We also reviewed inference and other literature standards as well as continued working on non-fiction.

Writing:  We started a new writing assignment.  The students were given an article and the directions to a writing assignment.  Some students were given directions for an opinion writing while others got narrative or informational.  They had to read the article and the directions independently to determine which kind of writing they were going to have to do.  

Grammar:  We reviewed grammar standards during centers.  Some students worked with a parent to review areas they needed extra help with. Others worked with me on reviewing literature standards while others worked independently on IXL.

Projects: We finished up our project and practiced presenting.  We will present to the 5th graders.

The downhill stretch!

These last few weeks of school are going to be crazy!  The students will be receiving their final spelling lists this week!  They all have high frequency words.  Please make sure you help them study for their test which will be on April 14.

We will be doing a lot of review over the next 2 weeks, then the SBAC testing will begin.  The testing will be spread over a 3 week period.  Be on the lookout for a sign up genius sign up for snacks and breakfast items for the testing days. We like to make this as stress free as possible for the kids by starting out with a breakfast each morning of testing.

Here is our testing schedule:

4/18- 3rd reading Part 1
4/19 3rd reading part 2
4/27 3rd math part 1
4/28 3rd math part 2
5/3  3rd ACT Aspire Language Arts
5/4  3rd ACT Aspire Math

After testing is finished we only have 2 weeks left of school!! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break!  

March 7-10

Reading:  We continued learning about text structure.  They did a good job deciding which text stucture each article was and defending their answers.

The students received new Latin/Greek words on Monday and had a spelling test on Thursday.

Writing:  The students continued their expository writing on Native Americans.  We will finish up next week and move on to a different style of writing.  

Grammar:  We reviewed possessive and plural nouns.

Projects:  The students continued working on their continent projects.

Misc:  If you have not signed up for your conference time yet please make sure you do.  You should have gotten an email with a link for signing up.  These are student led conferences so your child must attend with you. We will be practicing this week so they will be ready on Friday.

February 22-25

Reading:  This week in reading we started learning about text structure. This is how the author organized the text.  We will continue with this next week.

The students received new Latin/Greek words this week.  They also had a spelling test.  They will receive their new words on the 29th.  Some of the groups will have the same patterns or words because the students did not do well on the test this time.  Remember to help them practice their spelling words and new pattern.  

Writing: The students continued working on their country reports.  We are almost finished with these.  They have learned a lot of interesting information.  The students also worked on an opinion piece throughout the week to help bring up their opinion writing score.

Grammar: We reviewed the different types of sentences: simple, compound and complex.  We also reviewed coordinating and subordinating conjuntions.

Projects: The students continued working on their country project.

Misc:  It is already almost the end of the 3rd quarter!  Be on the lookout for information about conferences.

Don't forget to order a yearbook!  

Feb. 15- 18

Reading:  The students received 2 articles and together we highlighted important information.  Then independently they each took the information to write a paragraph.
They received their new spelling words on Monday.  I gave them the challenge again that if even gets a 3 on the test I will bring in a treat.  They also had a Latin/Greek test on Thursday.

Writing:  They continued researching and writing on their continent.  They are still having a hard time determining the difference between a continent, country and a state.  As we continue our writing and our project I'm hoping they grasp this topic more.

Grammar:  This week they learned how to correctly capitalize a title and where commas go in an address.

Projects:  We finished up the autobiography maps and now are returning to the continent research.

MISC:  I am going to be sending home a bookorder on Monday.  It says I will submit on Thursday.  I can wait until Monday 2/29 if anyone needs me to.

In reading, as a whole, the class is not going back into their text to find their answers and therefore they are getting them wrong.  I am making them redo their papers when this happens.  Some are having to go back a third time.  Will you please stress to them the importance of always going back and finding the answers and not just guessing.

February 1-4

I can't believe it's already February!  This year has flown by!! 

Reading: In reading this week we continued reading non fiction text using Scholastic News.  I love how these are current event articles that really capture the students' attention.  We looked at text features, found the main idea and supporting details, and talked about author's purpose.

The 3rd graders are also learning how to pull information from 2 texts to write one piece.  We did one together this week about being a fit kid.  The 4th graders are working in partners to pull information from two articles on the same subject.  They will then put their information together and present it to the class.

We have a spelling test this week.  I told the students in both classes that if everyone in their class received a 3 on the test I would bring them a treat!  Let's hope everyone is studying!! 

Writing:  We started a new writing project this week.  The students each chose a country to research.  The research for this writing assignment is much easier than our last one.I can't wait to find out all the fun things they learn about their different countries.

Grammar: We finished up with possessive nouns and took an assessment.  We then worked with collective nouns.  

Projects: We presented our severe weather projects to the 2nd graders on Monday.  Then we started our new project.  The students are working in groups learning about the different continents.  They will then create maps to represent each continent.   

Jan 25- 28

Reading:  We have been reading Scholastic News and focusing on the text features.  We have also been determinig the main idea and supporting details, and the author's purpose.

A fun new things we have started is Debate it! The students are given a questions and come up with their own opinion from that of the author.  The class then has a discussion on how they feel.  We discussed using accountable talk to ensure everyone is being respectful.  There is a a bulletin board outside our classroom with the newest Debate It question.  The students will be posting their opinions on the board during the week.

We had a spelling test this week.  Next week we will have a Latin/Greek test.

Writing:  The students finished up their deep sea creature writing and foldable.  This is always such a fun writing to learn about all these strange creatures.

Grammar:  We learned about when to use an apostrophe.  There are only 2 times.  When the word is a contraction and when a word is possessive.  The students then practiced making words possessive.  They need to break the habit of putting an apostrophe everytime they add an S to a word!

Projects:  We finished up our severe weather projects.  They students will be presenting them to the 2nd graders on Monday.


** The class as a whole has been having a problem with behavior since coming back from Christmas.  I think part of the problem is everyone is very comfortable in the classroom so they are forgetting to follow the rules. This week I had to be much more strict. Usually if a clip gets moved down to the bottom I send an email to parents, but I let them know ahead of time I was having them move their clips this week just so they could become aware of their behavior. On Tuesday there were a lot of clips moved down but by Thursday there were only 1 or 2. Hopefully by Monday we will be back on track! If you could have a chat with your child about the importance of following the classroom rules and being respectful of others, that would be great!

Jan. 11-14

Reading:  We have moved on to reading non-fiction text.  The third graders are working on finding their answers in the text and highlighting.  Then they have to restate their questions when answering.  The fouth graders need to also use evidence based terms when answering.

We took a spelling test on Thursday.  Look for new spelling words on Monday.  We will be taking a Latin/Greek test on Thursday 1/21.

Writing: The students continued working on researching their deep sea creatures.  Most finished up on Thursday and are moving on to writing their paper.  These creatures are so much fun to learn about!!

Grammar: We finished up learning about simple, complex and compound sentences.  The students also know about coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.  We took an assessment on this on Thursday.  

Projects: The students are coninuting working on their severe weather projects.  They have finished up their presentations and are now working their models to go with their projects.

Misc.

* The students received new book orders.  I will be submitting on January 21st.  If for any reason you would like to order and need me to hold of on submitting the order please let me know.

*  We are out of paper towels.  I have the students wash their hands ever day before lunch to help prevent sickness so we go through a lot of papertowels.  If you would like to donate a roll or two that would be great!