November

What a busy few months we have had. I'm very proud of what our kids are doing in class, they are really working hard and doing such a good job!

Believe it or not, the holidays are just around the corner! Check our class calendar (link below) for important things going on in our classroom. I will continue to add dates as events get scheduled.

Our school will be hosting the Crane Book Fair next week. Look for information to come home in the next few days.

Just a little bit about what is going on in class:

Reading-We have been practicing making mental images as we read in order to help us understand what we're reading. Talk to your kids about your mental images, even if you are not great at making them! We have also learned what inferring in reading means, and how to infer to help us understand. Right now we are switching gears from studying about strategies, to learning about the non-fiction genre. Continue to make sure your child is "sticking with a book", understanding and enjoying the book and reading on his/her just right level.

Writing-We have collecting ideas for writing in our binders and adding detail to our writing pieces. Sticking to a topic will continue to be a focus. Next week we will begin collecting memories to put into a memory book. We will explore different ways to write about these memories. Please help the kids send in memories as often as possible starting next week. They will be glued into a book so if you do not want to part with original pictures, just print a copy and send that in. No bigger than about a 4x6.

Math-We have begun our study of the concept of multiplication. The kids have compiled lists of things that come in groups and made multiplication riddles with them. We have made our skip counting charts from 2-12 and studied the patterns that we see in multiplication. We are now working with arrays and investigating how they can help us with multiplication: For example the array 4x6 can be cut in half to make 2, 2x6's, or as we remember it: the distributive property of multiplication, 4x6=(2x6) + (2x6). Arrays give children a mental model to help them understand difficult concepts. Another example below shows: 7x9=(7x4) + (7x5)


Have fun using arrays with your children and keep the conversation about multiplication going as they play the array games.

Content-We have finished up our study of plants The last few weeks we have been learning about the muscular system and skeletal system of the the human body in science. The kids are having fun learning the names of the bones this week and using online programs to "put Annie back together" and "make no bones about it". The kids are ending their study by creating a Power Point presentation on the human body.


 Thanks to everyone who commented on our write board during our study of Maps and Globes. If you have not read all of our responses the password is constantine, go check it out! And it's not too late to add to our board if you haven't yet! We had a great time talking about our family and friends and learning about where they live.

Technology-We have been very busy in technology! The kids are using Spelling City to practice their spelling words, they have started their very own web pages, saved files,  used online editing software to work with photos, built their "wild selves", blogged and yes, doing the old fasioned keyboarding practice on Dance Mat Typing, and that's just the beginning of what we will be doing in technology this year! Designing slide shows and embeding html code to their web sites is next on the agenda.  If you have not seen all of this, have your child show you around our web site and remember to keep talking about online safety!

My web site has gotten rather large and difficult to keep up with, so please do not hesitate to let me know when you see a link that no longer works, or anything I need to change.

*Check our calendar for important dates.

I will be out tomorrow and since school is closed on Thursday, signed papers will not come home until next Wednesday.

Site of the month:

 United Streaming(username-tanyaconstantine, password-united): http://www.unitedstreaming.com/ - A great site to learn more about just about anything that your child wants to study. You can go to our “content folder” for things that I have saved specifically for my third graders. Or, your child can search other topics. Just be careful that they stay with grade level videos if they search on their own. If you type in Magic School Bus in the search area, your child can watch ANY Magic School Bus video that he/she wants to.