Special Events week of May 21st

May 23rd-Look to Learn open house at the BSU Art Museum, 5-7, food and treats included!
*Invitations were sent home with students on May 17th.  A cd with your child's digital book was in this envelope.

May 24th- Elementary awards program at 8:10 A.M. in the auditorium, strings concert at 6:30 P.M. in the auditorium,

May 25th-Doggie picnic with special events in the afternoon, see note sent home on May 18th for details of the schedule.

This Week's Topics May 21, 2012

Due to numerous interruptions in our schedule last week, the topics for this week are much the same as last week. Some changes noted below:

Spelling for my reading class is words with patterns of; /y, ie, ey final sounds/, and /ge,dge,ce final sounds/

Science and social studies quizzes on plants and midwest will be this week.

Reports on dog breeds will be completed at school this week.

Special Events This week 5-14-12

NWEA testing for our class will be Monday and Tuesday 2-3.

Several things are happening this week in honor of our Young Authors Conference this Friday, May 18th.

• book swap each day after school, bring a book-take a book
• book collection all week for MOMS
• food drive: Monday-soups, Tuesday-pastas, Wednesday-mixes, Thursday-misc.
• Friday 8:15-10:00 is our Young Authors' Celebration

This Week's Topics 5-14-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• skills test over "Marven of the Great North Woods" on Tuesday
• begin new story "Last Dragon"
• drawing conclusions
• prefixes "pre, con, com"
• suffixes "ful, less, ness"
• adjectives
• spelling- vocabulary words from last 2 stories

Math

• finish chapter 8 test on Monday
• begin chaprter 9 on multiplication and division
• mental multiplication
• number stories
• arrays

Social Studies

• wrap up "Midwest",  quiz sometime this week, watch planners
• begin study of dog breeds,  how dogs help humans

Science

• review plant topic, quiz sometime this week, watch planners

Writing

• continue journal writings
• begin research on dog breed  (taking notes, paraphrasing and summarizing)

Math Class Change 5-8-12

I am moving the math test over chapter 8 form Wednesday to Friday to allow more time for review of chapter content.
A study sheet will be sent home on Wednesday, that will give the class 2 days to prepare.

This Week's Topics 5-7-2012

Reading/Grammar/Spelling -new story, "Marven of the Great North Woods" -problem solving -prefixes review- re, mis, ex -irregular verbs -spellinig words with preix inter Math -fraction story problems -mixed frations -chapter 8 test on Wednesday -review sent home on Tuesday Science -continue plants Social Studies -presenting projects on Midwest region

Money Due

The K-8 yearbook orders are due May 1st.  Cost is $22 and the books will be delivered before the end of the school year.  Envelope for orders were sent home last week.

This Week's Topics 4-30-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• review skills of last 2 weeks
• test over these skills on Tuesday
• spelling/vocabulary words with the prefix "inter"
• Wednesday and Thursday reading time used for ISTEP

Math

• equivalent and mixed fractions
• fraction number stories
• continue practicing multiplication facts for accuracy and speed

Social Studies

• researching/presenting topics on "midwest"

Science

• review topic "plants" taught by college teachers

Writing

• cursive practice
• thank-you notes, journals, and paraphrasing for research

ISTEP Testing This Week!

Our third graders will be ISTEP testing this week in the mornings.
Monday- practice test
Tuesday- math test
Wednesday- language test
Thursday-language test
*A detailed schedule was sent home last week.

A good night's rest and healthy breakfast are essential during this time frame.

Important Reminders for this week!

4-23   Field trip to City Hall, 12:30-2:30, riding MITS

4-26   Family Literacy Night, 6:00-7:00
          Our class will be doing Readers' Theater at 6:15.  If your child cannot participate I need to know by     
          the 23rd.

This Week's Topics 4-23-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• continue/review last week's content
• inflected forms
• writing an opinion
• commas in introductory phrases
• spelling/vocabulary words with prefix "dis"

Math

• introduce chapter 8 on fractions, family letter sent home 4-23
• naming parts of fractions
• fractions on number lines
• continue working on memorizing multiplication facts

Social Studies

• map study of Midwest
• begin research projects on Midwest

Science

• last week with college science teachers on plant and animal life

Writing

• This month's poetry writings are posted outside our classroom
• continue practice and review of cursive, (neatness stressed)
• more journal writings

Field Trip[ 4-23-12

The permission form for our trip to City Hall on 4-23 was sent home today.  Please return by Thursday, April 19th.   At this time we have two parent chaperones attending; Kelly Shrock and Irene White will be going with us. We have room for more if anyone wants to go along.  MITS is sending a special bus just for us, so there is plenty of seating.  We will leave school at 12:30 and return by 2:30.

This Week's Topics 4-16-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

-continue story "Maria Isabel"
-predicting outcomes
-suffix ible
-irregular verb be
-spelling/vocabulary words with the prefix "un"

Math

-finish chapter 7
-extended multiplicatin and division facts
-chapter test on Thursday, April 19th, study sheet will come home Wednesday

Social Studies

-begin study of the midwest region

Science

-continue plants and soil with college teachers

Writing

-continue review of cursive
-poetry writing in honor of April being "Poetry Month"

Class Pictures 4-11-12

Class "group" pictures will be taken Wednesday, April 11th.  An order form was sent home today.

Field Trip Friday 4-13

Several Burris classes are walking to Emens Friday to see the University Singers perform.  We will leave around 9:00 and return by 10:45.  I could use at least 2 chaperones if anyone can join us.  Let me know by e-mail if  you would like to attend.

This Week's Topics 4-10-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• begin new unit/theme, "Problem Solvers"
• predicting outcomes
• inflected endings and suffix "ible"
• irregular verb "be"
• spelling and vocabulary words with prefix "pre"

Math

• fact families for multiplication and division
• number models with parentheses
• practice multiplication facts

Science

• continue plants and soil with college teachers

Social Studies

• review and correct "early history"  quiz
• more map study
• weekly Scholastic News articles

Writing

• continue review of manuscript and cursive with stress on neatness
• various journal and response writings

Extra News

Our classroom needs tissues, donations welcome!

Two trips are planned for April.  We will walk to Emens on April 13th in the morning to see University Singers.  On April 23rd we will visit City Hall in the afternoon.  Parent chaperones are welcome either trip.

A permission slip will come home for City Hall, not needed for Emens.

Confernces

I am holding parent/teacher conferences on April 5th.  Most families have chosen a time.  I will meet a few on other days to accommodate work schedules.   If you do not have a time yet, please contact me.  I can meet after school next week if needed.

This Week's Topics 4-2-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• read "Lord of the Fleas"
• review skills from recent theme
• correct and go over test for "Heat Wave skills"
• action verbs and verb tenses
• NO spelling list or test this week.

Math

• begin chapter 7 on multiplication and division, family letter sent home Tuesday
• product patterns
• multiplicatIon and division tables
• PRACTICE FACTS, X 3 TEST ON WEDNESDAY

Science

• college teachers finish unit on energy

Social Studies

• Make corrections on test on "Early History".
• current events in Scholastic News

Reading Test Change

The skills test for "Heat Wave" will be Friday instead of Thursday.
Reminder- no spelling test this week.

More News

This Friday, March 30, we will have our mini-economy store. This will be our "rummage sale" store. I am asking studetns to bring in one item to donate to the store. It can be any gently used item they (or your family) no longer wants or uses.


Also, this Friday we will celebrate Adriana's birthday wih pizza for lunch. Your child will not have to buy or bring lunch unless they do not like pizza.


Our classroom is running out of tissues. Donations are welcomed!

Concert tonight! 3-27-12

Third graders should be in their classrooms by 6:15 to prepare to go on stage at 6:30!

This Week's Topics 3-26-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• continue with last week's skills for "Heat Wave"
• writing a summary
• spelling review week, no test on Thursday
• Thursday will be test over "Heat Wave" skills
• begin next story, excerpt from The Borrowers

Math

• review chapter 6 skills
• test on Tuesday
• begin chapter 7: product patterns, multiplication/division fact tables, parentheses

Social Studies

• wrap-up city government/review
• review of early history, quiz (probably on Friday) Students will have a study packet.

Science

• college teachers will begin unit on energy: heat, light and sound

Writing

• continue cursive review for neatness/confidence
•  continue response and letter writing experiences

YAC Update 3-25-12

On Friday, March 23rd, all 3rd graders brought home a note for parents to see and sign.  It is for students to let us know if they wish to have their YAC story read for competition for the city-wide YAC.
Students need to indicate "yes or no", get signatures, and return to school on Monday, March 26th.

Math test postponed!!!!

My math class will not take the chapter 6 test until next Tuesday, March 27th.  A study sheet will be sent home on Monday, March 26th. We will complete the chapter on Friday with test review on Monday.
Enjoy the beautiful weather!

This Week's Topics 3-19-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• review and correct skills tests over "Cendrillon"
• continue with story "Heat Wave"
• fantasy/realism
• ed and ing endings
• syllables
• present, past, and future tense
• unusual spellings

Math

• congruency and angles with college teachers
• review symmetry, slide, flip and turn
• review of whole chapter 6
• chapter 6 test on Friday, March 23rd
• continue to practice multiplication facts for speed and accuracy

Science

• continue with Discovery Science materials on simple machines

Social Studies

• continue with college teachers on city government and services

Writing

• cursive is now review and practice, prepare for more daily use
• creative writing continues in journals, response writings, pen pal letters and various classroom assignments

Multi Media Project

Our class will be having a work session for the multimedia books on Wednesday, the 21st, from 2-3.
If your child is planning to use props in a video or picture, they need to bring them on the 21st.  Examples would be:  stuffed animals, dolls, action figures etc.  It is not necessary, some are just using their own art work on finding pictures on the internet.

IREAD testing this week

All Indiana third graders will take the IREAD test this week.  Our scheduled testing times are:
Monday the 19th  9:00-10:30  practice test and session 1
Tuesday the 20th  8:00-9:00  session 2          9:45-10:30  session 3

Your child may bring a small, healthy snack to eat before testing on Monday and between testing sessions on Tuesday.

As always, a good breakfast and restful night's sleep prior to testing is so important.

This Week's Topics 3-12-12

Reading/Gammar/Spelling

• continue with "Cendrillon"   (skill test on Wednesday)
• suffix "able"
• using a pronunciation key
• writing announcements
• more with verbs/helping verbs
• spelling words with silent letters

Math

• sllide, flip and turn and symmetry with college teachers
• more with polygons and angles
• continue working on multiplication facts

Social Studies

• local government lessons with college teachers (mayor and city council)
• women's history month

Science

• continue with simple machines

Cursive

• all letters have been taught, continue review and working on neatness and connecting letters

This Week's Topics 2-27-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• begin new story "Cendrillon"
• using a Venn diagram
• compare/contrast
• pronunciation keys
• suffix "able"
• main verbs/helping verbs
• spelling words with 3 syllables

Math

• more with turns and angles
• review line, line segment, ray
• continue memorizing multiplication facts

Social Studies

• finish topic "Early America"
• wrap up discussion of presidents and Black History Month

Science

• more with simple machines

Cursive

• review and more practice with words and sentences

Tissues Needed

With so many sniffles lately, our class is running short on tissues.  We would appreciate any donations of tissues that can be made to get us through to the end of the school year.

This Week's Topics 2-21-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• finish "The Stranger"
• review possessives
• writing explanations and for an audience
• spelling words with schwa sound +l
• Depending on how ISTEP testing goes, we will test over "The Stranger" skills and start new story.

Math

• review lines, line segments, rays, parallel and intersecting lines
• turns
• explore triangles, quadrangles, polygons
• continue with memorizing multiplication facts

Science and Social Studies

• continue with last week's topics as time allows during testing

ISTEP testing begins this week.

Third graders will be doing the applied sections  of ISTEP for math and writing starting this week on the 22nd. We will test in the mornings on the 22nd, 23rd, 28th and 29th.  It is very  important your child be at school for these times since spring break starts March 2nd and our time frame for doing make-ups is limited.
Of course, if a child is ill we want them to stay home.  We will work hard to get all testing in before spring break.  There will also be testing in late March and  late April into early May

Students are allowed to bring a healthy snack to school on testing days.  We usually have the snack before or after a testing session, whichever is needed.  It also puts a little fun into our week!

As always, a good night's sleep and healthy breakfast will help our students be better testers.

Homework will be very limited during the testing window.  Routines like studying spelling words, the monthly poem and reading for Book-It will still be encouraged.

This Week's Topics 2-13-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• continue with story "The Stranger"
• synonyms
• compound words
• action verbs
• spelling words with schwa + r sounds

Math

• We will review chapter 5 Monday for test on Tuesday (2-14)
• study sheet sent home 2-13-12
• begin chapter 6- geometry
• lines, line segments, rays, angles

Social Studies/Science

• These two subjects are being taught sparingly now as we spend more time in preparation for ISTEP testing.  We will continue with Early America, Presidents, Black History Month and simple machines as time allows.

Cursive Writing

• upper case Z
• review and practice of all letters will continue

Special Dates

Monday, February 13th,  from 2:00-3:00, BSU journalism students will be in our classroom to help get the multi-media stories project started.  My students should have some ideas ready for how they want to use media in their stories and our mentors will guide us through the process.  This project will go on for weeks, probably finalizing in April.

Tuesday, February 14th, we will celebrate Valentines' Day with a pizza party during lunch in our classroom.

Wednesday, February 15th, students' reports on their assigned president is due and should be accompanied by a speech they will give on February 17th at 2:00 in the Burris auditorium.

ISTEP testing will start February 22nd and run through February 28th.  This portion of testing will include the writing prompt and applied math, requiring students to solve multiple step problems and explain answers as needed.  More testing will occur later in March and April.  More detailed notes will come home before each testing window.

Approaching Deadlines

Students' Young Authors' stories and the recitation of the January poem are due January 31st.
All students should have the poem in their OWLS folder and a note about the story writing project was sent home on 1-18.


If your child does not have set of headphones at school, try to have them this week.  So many things we do on the iPads requires this feature.  Ms. Funk, our technology coordinator, has some for $10.00, or you may purchase elsewhere.  If buying at school, send cash or make the check to "Burris".

This Week's Topics 1-30-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• characteristics of plays  (We'll be reading "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing")
• using graphic organizers
• suffixes er, or, ist
• homophones
• details about nouns
• spelling words with vcccv patterns

Math

• continuing with large numbers
• comparing population numbers
• estimates and polygons
• continue with fact practice, concentrating on x4 this week

*All students are expected to practice multiplication facts on their own time as well as at school.

I will be quizzing the class with flash cards and they must pass each level to move on.  Most are working on memorizing 3s and 4s right now.

Science

• We are still having difficulties with the technology in science, but are moving on with natural resources and the college teachers will be introducing simple machines this week.

Social Studies

• continuing with the topic "Early America"

Cursive

• upper case X,Y,Z

This Week's Topics 1-23-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• test Monday on skills from"A Very Important Day"
• theme wrap-up
• graphic organizers
• sequence of events
• review generalizations and possessives
• test taking skills

Math

• chapter 4 test on Tuesday the 24th, review sheet sent home Monday the 23rd
• place value through ten-thousnads and to one million
• reading, writing, and ordering numbers
• continue with multiplication facts

Science

• continue with natural resources

Social Studies

• early America, preparing for presidents' projects in February

Cursive

• upper case U and X

*Story Writing Project*

All students are working on a story which is due January 31st.  On Feb. 1st, college students from BSU

journalism will share a digital book they have made for us and will then coach the class through creating their own digital book with the story they have written.

This Week's Topics 1-17-12

Reading/Grammar/Spelling

• Wrapping up "A Very Important Day"
• classifying and categorizing
• The 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why)
• multiple meaning words
• plural and singular possessives
• spelling words with VCV patterns

Math

• continuing with multiplication, focus on x3 and x4
• review x 0,1,2,5,10
• multiplication arrays
• review of area and measuring line segments

My math class students need to practice basic math facts on their own time whenever possible.

We continually review addition and subtraction facts and will now be focusing on multiplication, even as we move through the other chapters and cover other new content.

Science

• New unit on natural resources

Social Studies

• introducing new "take to your seat" geography centers
• wrap up on history of MLK Day

*We also enjoy a variety of science and social studies topics during the week with our subscription to Scholastic Newspaper and our iPad app "Brain Pop".

Cursive

• upper case T and U

*Notes of Interest

We are enjoying our pen pal writing with a fourth grade class in Jupiter, Florida.  We are hoping to be able to do "face time" with our pals on the iPads in the future.

The class is now able to access more educational items via iPads on our science website from Discovery Education with some recent tech updates.

I still have not been given a date for sending home report cards, but it should be soon!

New college teachers will be starting this week.

Stay warm!

This Week's Topics 1-4-12 (short week)

Reading/Spelling/Grammar
Reading for these 3 days will be in the Junior Great Books Series, "Ooka and the Honest Thief", a Japanese folk tale. We will do discussion of the story concentrating on vocabulary, issues of justice and fairness, and having a conscience.  Spelling words will concentrate on suffixes "full, ness, less, and ment". For grammar we will review plural nouns.

Math
We are starting a new unit on multiplication and division.  Family letter for unit 4 was sent home on 1-1-12.

• equal groupings
• multiplication diagrams
• number stories
• arrays
• reviewing perimeter

Science and Social Studies

• no new topics for this short week

Cursive

• review of previous upper case letters, introduce Q and R