Happy Tuesday!
I wanted to let you and your families know that I have created a new page to our blog. On the right side of this blog, there are links to different pages. You will see the link to our class schedule, and one that contains my information. I recently created a page specifically for the educational links I have posted in previous blog posts.
The links are categorized by content area to make it easier for you to find resources. I also included a few other links that I did not mention in the previous posts. Every link should provide you and your student with helpful information about a particular subject area. If I find new resources, I will list them under this page; however I will likely make a new blog post about them as well to alert you.
Thank you for taking the time to look through these resources with your student.
Have a great week!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mock Rocks
Hello fellow Geologists!
Today in science we had a very interactive lesson! As we are just starting our Earth Materials unit, I felt that the students should get right to the hands on part. Our lesson today involved dissecting "rocks." For safety and preparation reasons, we cannot actually crack open real rocks, so we used "mock rocks." These are made using the materials in our FOSS science kits and produce fairly realistic representations of rocks!
The students worked with their science partners (these are new from last quarter) to crack open the mock rocks. After the rocks were in small enough pieces, the students wrote down observations in their science lab notebooks. Once enough observations were noted by the scientists, we used some "chemicals" - salt water - to separate the mock rocks into their different components. This helped the students determine what types of rocks they were working with. I also wanted the students to start thinking like geologists, which they all succeeded with! Here is a picture of some mock rocks to give you an idea:
Next week, our class is lucky enough to have a guest speaker come to our classroom. Mr. Jones is a geologist. He will talk to the students about his job and how he impacts the world we live in. We are all really excited about his visit and will be preparing questions for Mr. Jones later this week.
If you have time, please ask your child about his or her experience with the mock rocks. The students were really excited about their findings, so I am sure they would love to share their knowledge with you!
Today in science we had a very interactive lesson! As we are just starting our Earth Materials unit, I felt that the students should get right to the hands on part. Our lesson today involved dissecting "rocks." For safety and preparation reasons, we cannot actually crack open real rocks, so we used "mock rocks." These are made using the materials in our FOSS science kits and produce fairly realistic representations of rocks!
The students worked with their science partners (these are new from last quarter) to crack open the mock rocks. After the rocks were in small enough pieces, the students wrote down observations in their science lab notebooks. Once enough observations were noted by the scientists, we used some "chemicals" - salt water - to separate the mock rocks into their different components. This helped the students determine what types of rocks they were working with. I also wanted the students to start thinking like geologists, which they all succeeded with! Here is a picture of some mock rocks to give you an idea:
Next week, our class is lucky enough to have a guest speaker come to our classroom. Mr. Jones is a geologist. He will talk to the students about his job and how he impacts the world we live in. We are all really excited about his visit and will be preparing questions for Mr. Jones later this week.
If you have time, please ask your child about his or her experience with the mock rocks. The students were really excited about their findings, so I am sure they would love to share their knowledge with you!
The Chocolate Touch
Are you ready for some chocolate?!
On Tuesday, our class will be starting the Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling. This is one of my favorite read aloud stories for the year! The story is engaging, creative, and filled with great literacy skill practice.
Here is a quick synopsis of the story that you can share with your student this weekend:
The Chocolate Touch is a classic book written more than 50 years ago. This is a moral tale inspired by the legend of a greedy king whose touch turned all to gold. John Midas is a young boy who receives the chocolate touch after he finds a special coin and a unique candy store. John is first elated that everything he touches to his mouth turns to chocolate but he soon realizes that there may be a bitter side to this touch. He must do something before he loses everything he loves to the chocolate curse.
(Source: https://docs.google.com/document/preview?hgd=1&id=1UgJdKs4P0DxXWr7XLuKpuxfFE1-FilHbdhkT4RK9zOI)
We will be doing many activities to accompany this book. Although most of the assignments will take place in class, there will be a few short writing assignments that will be sent home for homework. Also, I would like to ask each of your families to please ask your student to summarize the story for you every few days. Here is a chart we created in class on Friday that showcases the key points to a summary:
Please use these points to check your child's summary for accuracy. Part of their final assessment for this unit will be to provide a summary of the story. I will be sending home a rubric for that assessment in a few weeks so that you and your child can be informed as to what will be assessed.
Thank you again for your continuous support this year!
On Tuesday, our class will be starting the Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling. This is one of my favorite read aloud stories for the year! The story is engaging, creative, and filled with great literacy skill practice.
Here is a quick synopsis of the story that you can share with your student this weekend:
The Chocolate Touch is a classic book written more than 50 years ago. This is a moral tale inspired by the legend of a greedy king whose touch turned all to gold. John Midas is a young boy who receives the chocolate touch after he finds a special coin and a unique candy store. John is first elated that everything he touches to his mouth turns to chocolate but he soon realizes that there may be a bitter side to this touch. He must do something before he loses everything he loves to the chocolate curse.
(Source: https://docs.google.com/document/preview?hgd=1&id=1UgJdKs4P0DxXWr7XLuKpuxfFE1-FilHbdhkT4RK9zOI)
We will be doing many activities to accompany this book. Although most of the assignments will take place in class, there will be a few short writing assignments that will be sent home for homework. Also, I would like to ask each of your families to please ask your student to summarize the story for you every few days. Here is a chart we created in class on Friday that showcases the key points to a summary:
Thank you again for your continuous support this year!
Multiplication Tips and Tricks
Hi Families,
This month we are really stressing the memorization of multiplication facts. I want each student to feel confident and knowledgeable when it comes to multiplication, as this is an essential math skill for the rest of the curriculum. To accompany the online math resources I posted earlier (also found in the page titled Educational Links) I thought I would post this classroom poster. We will be using these tips and songs in our classroom to help students review their facts. I strongly believe that integrating multiple learning styles will help more students be successful in the classroom. Please practice these tips and songs at home with your child to support their multiplication skills!
Thank you for your support!
This month we are really stressing the memorization of multiplication facts. I want each student to feel confident and knowledgeable when it comes to multiplication, as this is an essential math skill for the rest of the curriculum. To accompany the online math resources I posted earlier (also found in the page titled Educational Links) I thought I would post this classroom poster. We will be using these tips and songs in our classroom to help students review their facts. I strongly believe that integrating multiple learning styles will help more students be successful in the classroom. Please practice these tips and songs at home with your child to support their multiplication skills!
Thank you for your support!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Rocks and Minerals
Hello Families!
This week we started our new science unit on Earth Materials. For the next two months, we will be focusing on different types of rocks and minerals found in and around the Earth. This unit is lots of fun and really engaging! The students love making "Mock Rocks" and discovering more about the world they live in.
Although the Earth Materials unit is really enjoyable, it can also be really challenging. To make this unit as productive as possible, I am sending your families a few links to some fantastic science websites. Please take some time throughout these next two months to explore these websites and help your child build upon his or her knowledge of the science content.
Thank you for your support, and as always, if you have any questions about what is happening in third grade, please do not hesitate to send me an email!
Cool Science Lab
Cool science is a website created by another teacher. He provides his audience with a variety of activities for four different science units. We will only use the information for Rocks and Minerals, but feel free to access the other content areas for further science fun. I like the Rocks and Minerals links that this teacher provides because many of the links are for quizzes. These are a great way for your child to review the key concepts of different rocks and minerals before our final assessment in February.
FOSS Science
I love this website! At Woodridge Elementary, our science content comes from FOSS. This website has a database of every rock and mineral we will cover during the course of this unit. There is a link to specific vocabulary terms that your student will be learning, as well as links for pictures, videos, and audio stories to support your student's in class learning. One of my favorite features of this website is the Ask a Scientist link. This link poses a variety of questions that children have about rocks and minerals, and they are answered by real life scientists. Please take some time and explore this website with your student!
Island Trees
This website offers you and your family links to a variety of learning activities for multiple science contents. There are links for Rocks and Minerals, but also for the two other science kits we use - the Human Body and Ecosystems. For this unit, I recommend the Minerals and Gemstones A-Z, Rocks and Minerals - Smithsonian, and Rocks for Kids.
This week we started our new science unit on Earth Materials. For the next two months, we will be focusing on different types of rocks and minerals found in and around the Earth. This unit is lots of fun and really engaging! The students love making "Mock Rocks" and discovering more about the world they live in.
Although the Earth Materials unit is really enjoyable, it can also be really challenging. To make this unit as productive as possible, I am sending your families a few links to some fantastic science websites. Please take some time throughout these next two months to explore these websites and help your child build upon his or her knowledge of the science content.
Thank you for your support, and as always, if you have any questions about what is happening in third grade, please do not hesitate to send me an email!
Cool Science Lab
Cool science is a website created by another teacher. He provides his audience with a variety of activities for four different science units. We will only use the information for Rocks and Minerals, but feel free to access the other content areas for further science fun. I like the Rocks and Minerals links that this teacher provides because many of the links are for quizzes. These are a great way for your child to review the key concepts of different rocks and minerals before our final assessment in February.
FOSS Science
I love this website! At Woodridge Elementary, our science content comes from FOSS. This website has a database of every rock and mineral we will cover during the course of this unit. There is a link to specific vocabulary terms that your student will be learning, as well as links for pictures, videos, and audio stories to support your student's in class learning. One of my favorite features of this website is the Ask a Scientist link. This link poses a variety of questions that children have about rocks and minerals, and they are answered by real life scientists. Please take some time and explore this website with your student!
Island Trees
This website offers you and your family links to a variety of learning activities for multiple science contents. There are links for Rocks and Minerals, but also for the two other science kits we use - the Human Body and Ecosystems. For this unit, I recommend the Minerals and Gemstones A-Z, Rocks and Minerals - Smithsonian, and Rocks for Kids.
Magical Math Support
Welcome to the weekend!
We had another great week here in third grade! I am sure you have all heard about our five minute times tests. Our class loves the personal competition and each student has been making great strides in his or her knowledge of multiplication and division facts.
I would like to encourage your family to continue your work with flash cards to help your child with quick recall. Flash cards are a great tool to help your student, however I do understand that they can get monotonous at times. I wanted to provide your families with a few other possible resources to help your child continue to improve his or her math skills. Below I have posted a few websites that I highly encourage you and your family to explore!
Have a great long weekend!
3rd Grade Math Games
This website combines entertainment with math support. A variety of games are offered through this website to help your student improve his or her multiplication skills. There are also a few other games that you can use as a review for other types of math skills such as telling time, counting money, and adding two and three digit numbers. This website is truly fun for both parents and students!
IXL
Math IXL is one of the best math resources around. The website is very user friendly and there is material for Pre-K through high school geometry. I would recommend that this website be a resource you hang onto throughout your child's education. For third grade, this website offers support for 21 different math concepts, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions. Each concept has a variety of activities for your student to explore and learn from.
3rd Grade Math Skill Builders
I love this website because it offers more games that support math skills. Unlike the other websites, most of the activities on this website provide the students with word problems. Word problems will allow your student to think critically about the world. Also, many of the activities integrate a variety of math concepts, such as money and multiplication.
We had another great week here in third grade! I am sure you have all heard about our five minute times tests. Our class loves the personal competition and each student has been making great strides in his or her knowledge of multiplication and division facts.
I would like to encourage your family to continue your work with flash cards to help your child with quick recall. Flash cards are a great tool to help your student, however I do understand that they can get monotonous at times. I wanted to provide your families with a few other possible resources to help your child continue to improve his or her math skills. Below I have posted a few websites that I highly encourage you and your family to explore!
Have a great long weekend!
3rd Grade Math Games
This website combines entertainment with math support. A variety of games are offered through this website to help your student improve his or her multiplication skills. There are also a few other games that you can use as a review for other types of math skills such as telling time, counting money, and adding two and three digit numbers. This website is truly fun for both parents and students!
IXL
Math IXL is one of the best math resources around. The website is very user friendly and there is material for Pre-K through high school geometry. I would recommend that this website be a resource you hang onto throughout your child's education. For third grade, this website offers support for 21 different math concepts, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions. Each concept has a variety of activities for your student to explore and learn from.
3rd Grade Math Skill Builders
I love this website because it offers more games that support math skills. Unlike the other websites, most of the activities on this website provide the students with word problems. Word problems will allow your student to think critically about the world. Also, many of the activities integrate a variety of math concepts, such as money and multiplication.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Reinforcing Reading
Happy Wednesday Third Grade Familes!
We have been having a great week in third grade so far! Every one is working diligently on his or her travel brochures, division facts, and biography writing. As I am sure you have noticed, we are taking a short break from our reading curriculum to focus on some trade books. We have been reading more non-fiction this month, which has caused many of you to ask questions about reading support. I know it may seem daunting to support your third grader in non-fiction reading because there are no narrative plot elements. To relieve some of your stress and to encourage you to continue your support of your child's reading, I wanted to provide you with a few online resources. The following websites will help you find more ideas for supporting your child as he or she reads non-fiction texts!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns. As always, please email me if you have questions about what we are learning in third grade, or if you would like some other resources!
Happy reading!
Reading Rockets
This website is filled with many great tips for supporting your emergent reader. There are articles written specifically for parents like you, and strategies to try with your child. I love the extra extensions this website offers. I get many emails from parents asking for ways to extend their child's thinking about a piece of text. This site will help provide you with many new ideas to try with your child. The hotlinks on the left of the website will take you to almost any topic you want information about. For non-fiction, check out this article: Non-Fiction Reading
ReadWriteThink
As a teacher, I love this website! ReadWriteThink has so many great resources on a variety of content areas. The main focus is literacy, hence the Read and Write part of the name, but integrating the content areas is also abundant in their resources. This specific link will take you to extension activities for 3rd and 4th graders. There are some games to test your child's comprehension skills, printouts for you and your child to use to track his or her reading selections, and tips to help your child boost his or her reading skills. I highly recommend you use this website as a resource this year!
Spaghetti Book Club
This website is loved in our classroom! When the students are looking for a new book to read, they often visit the Spaghetti Book Club for recommendations from other students. The reviews are done by students all over the world and they are done for a multitude of books. All genres are represented, making it easier for students to find a new book they will enjoy. As a class, we are considering creating our own reviews of books, so this would be a great site to become familiar with this year.
We have been having a great week in third grade so far! Every one is working diligently on his or her travel brochures, division facts, and biography writing. As I am sure you have noticed, we are taking a short break from our reading curriculum to focus on some trade books. We have been reading more non-fiction this month, which has caused many of you to ask questions about reading support. I know it may seem daunting to support your third grader in non-fiction reading because there are no narrative plot elements. To relieve some of your stress and to encourage you to continue your support of your child's reading, I wanted to provide you with a few online resources. The following websites will help you find more ideas for supporting your child as he or she reads non-fiction texts!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns. As always, please email me if you have questions about what we are learning in third grade, or if you would like some other resources!
Happy reading!
Reading Rockets
This website is filled with many great tips for supporting your emergent reader. There are articles written specifically for parents like you, and strategies to try with your child. I love the extra extensions this website offers. I get many emails from parents asking for ways to extend their child's thinking about a piece of text. This site will help provide you with many new ideas to try with your child. The hotlinks on the left of the website will take you to almost any topic you want information about. For non-fiction, check out this article: Non-Fiction Reading
ReadWriteThink
As a teacher, I love this website! ReadWriteThink has so many great resources on a variety of content areas. The main focus is literacy, hence the Read and Write part of the name, but integrating the content areas is also abundant in their resources. This specific link will take you to extension activities for 3rd and 4th graders. There are some games to test your child's comprehension skills, printouts for you and your child to use to track his or her reading selections, and tips to help your child boost his or her reading skills. I highly recommend you use this website as a resource this year!
Spaghetti Book Club
This website is loved in our classroom! When the students are looking for a new book to read, they often visit the Spaghetti Book Club for recommendations from other students. The reviews are done by students all over the world and they are done for a multitude of books. All genres are represented, making it easier for students to find a new book they will enjoy. As a class, we are considering creating our own reviews of books, so this would be a great site to become familiar with this year.
Travel Brochure Resources
Hi Third Grade Families!
This week we introduced a very exciting project...Travel Brochures! I am sure that all of you have heard about this exciting project as we discuss a new section each day in class. The handout for the assignment went home yesterday with the math homework, so please be sure to read over the expectations with your child. Thanks!
I wanted to reassure each of you that this project will be completed mostly in class; however the students will be expected to do some outside country research for homework a few nights a week. To make this less painful, I wanted to send you all a few online resources that you may find helpful. Please look at the links posted with your child to help get the research started. Also, the local library, as well as the school library will be excellent resources as well.
Happy exploring!
CIA World Fact Book
This website is maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency, better known as the CIA. This particular link is for the World Factbook. This site supports the students' learning in many ways. Your child will have to select his or her country from a world region map, which will help foster a learning of geographic location in the world. Also, each country has a specific page, so your child can find detailed information about his or her country's people, government, economy, etc. This site will be great for finding reliable facts about each student's country.
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic for Kids presents similar information to the CIA World Factbook, but it offers more pictures and uses student friendly language. I like this website because each country's page has a short video to accompany it. This is a great tool for your child to use to build his or her listening skills. There is also an e-card feature where your child can send a post card from his or her assigned country. We will be doing a similar activity in class, but I highly encourage you to have your child send an e-card to other family members or friends. This will allow them to share their new knowledge!
This week we introduced a very exciting project...Travel Brochures! I am sure that all of you have heard about this exciting project as we discuss a new section each day in class. The handout for the assignment went home yesterday with the math homework, so please be sure to read over the expectations with your child. Thanks!
I wanted to reassure each of you that this project will be completed mostly in class; however the students will be expected to do some outside country research for homework a few nights a week. To make this less painful, I wanted to send you all a few online resources that you may find helpful. Please look at the links posted with your child to help get the research started. Also, the local library, as well as the school library will be excellent resources as well.
Happy exploring!
CIA World Fact Book
This website is maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency, better known as the CIA. This particular link is for the World Factbook. This site supports the students' learning in many ways. Your child will have to select his or her country from a world region map, which will help foster a learning of geographic location in the world. Also, each country has a specific page, so your child can find detailed information about his or her country's people, government, economy, etc. This site will be great for finding reliable facts about each student's country.
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic for Kids presents similar information to the CIA World Factbook, but it offers more pictures and uses student friendly language. I like this website because each country's page has a short video to accompany it. This is a great tool for your child to use to build his or her listening skills. There is also an e-card feature where your child can send a post card from his or her assigned country. We will be doing a similar activity in class, but I highly encourage you to have your child send an e-card to other family members or friends. This will allow them to share their new knowledge!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Everyone Smiles in the Same Language.
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