Don't forget that we are starting our NWEA testing on Monday. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and a good breakfast.
The students are bringing home a card with a username and password for a new site that we will start using this fourth quarter. This site is called Edmodo. It is a secure social learning network for teachers to connect with their students. The students will be asked to use this site as tool for responding to literature, math, fun polls, and many other things. Assignments that are completed using a computer can be handed in using this site. The file will just need to be uploaded and then I will receive notification and I will be able to view and grade it. Students may log-in to this site at home and use it to view videos and other content that we have been using in the classroom. I encourage parents to have your child give you a tour and take a peek. I do have special parent codes to hand out so that parents may access this site and communicate with me as well. I still need to complete the learning curve for this though. Stay tuned!
Don't forget our culture projects are due Friday and all students should bring in a dish that represents the food from the culture they chose to research. We are looking forward to sharing all our amazing findings!
We will be doing the NWEA MAP testing for Reading, Language, and Math during the week of March 28-April 1. This test is computer based and is designed to increase of decrease in complexity according to the student’s ability to answer the questions correctly. Each test is approximately 50 questions in length. Our room has the following preliminary schedule: Monday, March 28, 8:30-9:30, Tuesday, March 29 12:30-1:30, and Wednesday, March 30, 8:30-9:30. This schedule is subject to change. Please make sure your child is well rested, has a healthy breakfast, and is at school each day this week because the testing schedule could change at a moment’s notice. Remind your child of the importance of always trying his/her best and discuss ways to eliminate stress and anxiety if he/she were to become frustrated during the test.
Mrs. Tolan and I look forward to meeting with you next week during Conferences. The students will have an early release time of 12:00pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I am so happy with the students' progress this quarter and I can't wait to share it with you.
Have a great week!
I can't believe that we are almost at the end of the first quarter. We have been working hard getting our literacy circles going and learning how to discuss literature in meaningful ways. The students have started working on independent reading contracts during our reading block time. Students are asked to check out three library books on Monday. One book should be an Accelerated Reader (AR) book in their correct level, one to practice and prepare for reading to their Kindergarten buddy, and one is their choice. The AR and Kindergarten books should be left at school and the third book should be taken home. Students should be reading each night for 20-30 minutes. We have started the Book It program and each student should color in the clock for the number of minutes they read. For October, the reading goal is 100 minutes. The goal will increase each month and students that meet the goal will earn a free personal pan pizza. I am also encouraging the students to take AR quizzes on the books they have read for AR.
In math, we have been working at rounding numbers and estimating sums and differences. Students are finally getting the hang of this skill, but many still need extra practice. Look for opportunities to round numbers at the grocery store and add to find the sum or subtract to find the difference between items.
I hope the children are using Spelling City to study their spelling words as well as using other links from this website. Keep the Jungle Challenges coming in. Remember that it needs to be the students' work and they need to be able to present it to the class. Some students have been including pictures, which is a great visual for the class. Make sure the information is presented in a way that is meaningful and shows that knowledge has been gained.
Remember to sign up to be a Mystery Reader in our room on Fridays. Thank you to Amber's mom, Sarah and Mackenzie's mom, Heidi for being our first two Mystery Readers. The class really looks forward to this time and are anxious all day to find out who our reader will be. Don't miss out on this opportunity
Look for a sheet with your conference time coming home soon. I look forward to meeting with everyone the first week of November.
Welcome to our Jungle! I'm excited to finally have my class website up and going. I have been busy working to make it appropriate for 3rd grade. Thanks for being patient! I ask that you take the time to look around and I encourage comments on the Jungle Blog that are meaningful to the students. This site is meant to be an interactive tool to be used inside and outside the classroom. As the year progresses, I will be creating another interactive site that the students will be able to present their work on, which will be an online, interactive portfolio. I will use this site to post links for topics we are learning about and tools to reinforce skills. I have set up our spelling units on Spelling City. I have never used this site before, but I'm excited to dive in. Please let me know if there are any issues getting the spelling lists and activities. The Jungle Challenge is in place, but some of the links are dead. I will be working to fix this problem very soon. I already have videos of the students ready to post, so check back soon. I'm not able to upload videos directly to this website, but I've created a video blog on another site and have provided a link.
It was great to meet everyone at Open House last week. I'm looking forward to a great year! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me. My email link is on the Home page of our 3rd Grade Jungle Site. I always use this blog to post class news and reminders. Please check it often. To make it easier to remember, there is an RSS feed on the blog to add it to your Google Reader or any other RSS service you may use.
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