Happy Monday!
The spelling has changed this week. I will be testing the students on their word card words only.
We have begun our Ocean Unit and this week we are studying Sea Turtles. Their word card words are related to sea turtles. We started to trace images onto their shirts. All of the boys will need to bring in a red handkerchief. They are lobsters. Please continue practicing their poems. I will be sending home their speaking parts on Wednesday in their Reading Journal bags. Please keep everything in a safe spot, so they can practice daily. They will be bringing home their Sea Turtle book to read on Wednesday with an activity to complete in their Reading Journal. Our reading and writing is now focused on nonfiction throughout the remainder of the year.
In Math, we are working on fractions. They are bringing home a spring fractions book. We have talked about the denominator being how many parts make the whole. The numerator is the number that tells how many of those parts you are talking about. Please review the pictures. We have not talked about reducing the fractions. Some of the pages, they have to look at to tell that 1/2 is what is being asked.
Don't forget Celebrate the Arts on Friday. Our performance begins at 11:00. The students have been asked to wear green shirts with their jeans or jean shorts.
A few Reminders: snack needs to be sent to school daily. All papers returned to school must have your child's name on it.
Have a great week. We will!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend.
These photos show our new island formations. The students are working very hard on earning pennies for their collective penny banks. They are really learning how to work in a group, rather than just being accountable for themselves.
I sent home the last book order on Thursday. It is due back to school by Thursday, April 19th. One check for the total amount is fine, since all book clubs are now owned by one company. Please look over them carefully and think about books that your child may be interested in reading throughout the summer. They are still expected to read daily throughout the summer. We have been working on our Florida study. So far, we have learned about Ponce De Leon, alligators, peninsula's and our capital Tallahassee. I will be sending home by the end of this week, a challenge homework that will require the students to look up even more information about Florida.
In Writer's Workshop, we have begun learning about writing "How To" books. This is their chance to share their knowledge. They are sharing their expertise with each other.
In Reader's Workshop, they have compared the character traits and continue working on the various graphic organizers in their Reading Journals.
In Math, we have begun Unit 8. They are learning how to buy more than one item at a time. They are adding up the amounts,(below one dollar) to see how much money they need to purchase those items. For example; a pencil costs 23 cents and a candy bar costs 68 cents. How much money do both items cost? Have them write out the coins needed for each item then add the coins all up. 91 cents. Then ask them, if they paid $1 how much change would they get?
We are really working on place value and solving number riddles. If I have 3 flats, 7 longs and 8 cubes, what number am I? 378...... Practice these riddles at home.
There has been some confusion over the lunch form for Celebrate the Arts on Friday, April 20. The only sack lunches being ordered will be for students. Parents are checking "joining for lunch" for head count purposes only - not lunch. You may want to clarify to those parents who think they are ordering lunch that they will need to bring in their own. Thanks!
Have a great week, we will!

Happy Monday! What a busy week we had last week. Relay for Life, Dali Museum, and Writing Celebration. Enjoy the pictures. I am sending home the unit 7 Math Assessment today. Please pay close attention to the coin amounts and being able to show the coins needed. the students were quick to draw coins without thinking about their value. Unit 8 is completely independent. They will be required to read and follow the directions independently.
We began our nonfiction writing unit today. The students were shown about writing HOW TO books. Teaching others the specifics on how to do something.
My Teacher's Appreciation Day was fabulous. Thank you for my beautiful flowers and cards. My door is terrific, and I do believe I could pull off a mustache if necessary.
The principal of the day next Monday, April 9th has challenged the lower division to all wear hats. So next Monday is officially Hat Day.
Enjoy the American Symbols Book. We are now studying about Florida for the next couple of weeks.
Have a great week. We Will!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend. We looked at the baby eaglets through a telescope, thanks to Mr. Schiaparelli. We studied about the bald eagle and created a page about them in our American Symbols book.
In Math, we have a giant number collection box on the floor that we practice putting all different
kinds of names in. A great activity at home is to get a small empty notebook and use each page for a different number collection box. Practice, Practice, Practice writing and thinking of different addition and subtraction number models, coin combinations, number stories and Tally marks.
In Reader's Workshop, we are focusing our studies, on the characters. What are we learning about them and how are they adding to our understanding of the story. We are studying Marc Brown as our Spotlight author. We learned how he has used the same character throughout many of his stories. Arthur has many adventures and situations that we are learning about.
Spelling Word families this week are: _unny, _urry, _urried, _ies(endings after you change the y to an i and add es)
In Writer's Workshop we are finishing up our Revision Unit. We will be celebrating Thursday March 29th at 2:00, if you would like to join us. Come and look at our messy revisions and the power of the purple pen.
This is Relay for Life week. All students may wear purple shirts all week. Our purple paper chains will be collected on Wednesday. So bring in those quarters, to contribute, before Wednesday. Friday will be our special day and night to support the Relay.
Our Celebrate the Arts Dali field trip is on Friday March 30th. We will begin our tour at 12:00 noon if you would like to meet us. The cost is $21.00 for adults.
Have a great week. We will!

Happy Monday! I hope all of you had a wonderful Spring Break! Well, we have hit the ground running. I am sending home the Unit 6 Math Assessment and Unit 7 Family Letter. I didn't want them getting misplaced, so I held them until today.
We are going to All Childrens' Hospital on Thursday. We will be having lunch at 12:30 that day. I will be giving the students bagels and juice before we leave. Thank-you to Debbie Allen for bringing them in. If they do not want that, please provide a larger snack that day. I will not be taking any chaperones because we are watching a show and immediately coming back to school.
The Cash for Trash committee is encouraging the students to bring in plastic wrappers from home. Any napkin, paper towel, or toilet paper plastic outside packaging will be collected.
We are finishing up our American Symbols books soon and they will be sent home.
Readers and Writers workshop is continuing on. Look for our next celebration date on my blog.
Have a great week. We will!

Reading Week Video

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It is almost Spring Break. Do not forget Field Day on Friday, March 9th. Students wear their team color. I sent the letter home last week telling each child what their team color was, so they would know what color to wear.
Report Cards are on line to view. Just like last time, with your user name and password.
A great big thank-you to Dr. Samuelson for kicking off our "Spotlight on Science"! We also had a wonderful time sharing our Solar System projects with third grade. I will be sending home Unit 6 Checking Progress this week in math. Who says you can't review Math skills on the sidewalk? Their will be no Reading Journal work this week. Have a restful and fabulous Spring Break.