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.