Curriculum UpdateMath - Our work with multiplication and division will continue this week. Students will also be introduced to the concept of area, though it will not be a large focus until later in the school year. Please be sure that your child is studying facts each night. As we move forward with math, that fact fluency will be essential!
Reading - This week we will be continuing to build our reading life by focusing on comprehension skills. We will specifically work on predictions this week. We are also working on becoming 3rd grade readers. This means that our behaviors during reading workshop should be that of a third grade student. During meetings with me, we will be discussing observed reading behaviors using notes collected during reading time. Our goal is that students will be able to stay focused and reading for 30-40 minutes during reading time. Writing - We are deep into the drafting process of our stories. Now we are working on adding in essential dialogue and revising our endings. Social Studies - This week we will be wrapping up our work on Michigan Geography! Reminders * PE will be on Wednesday! * Color Run will be FRIDAY! Food begins at 4:30! * 5th grade can drive this week! Send in cans! *October 12th - Skating Party at Terry Hall * October 13th - Early Release
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Well, we had the greatest week last week! It feels great to have our routines down and to be getting to know each of these kiddos a little bit better. I can't wait to see how far we go this year with our learning! These kids are determined and bright! We are coming up on our color run. If you still have forms or donations to turn in, please bring them in on Monday. We will accept late turn ins! This is a wonderful event that is the primary fundraiser for Park Parent Club. The Parent Club works hard to fund different things throughout the year such as popcorn Friday, box tops competitions and parties for winners, and the also assist with funding our classroom libraries. We are so lucky to have a strong parent club! I am looking forward to seeing you all at the run! Students are getting quicker and quicker with their math facts! Keep up that practice at home. I would aim to practice for 5-10min. each night to solidify those facts and learn them in a snap. Please feel free to be inventive with your fact practice. If you are searching for some ideas on how to spice up practice time once in a while, click on this link for some suggestions! Curriculum Update
The students did great with their first (almost) full week of school! We are ready for those full 5 days now!
Last week we took our first mad minute test. This test always takes a few times for students to get used to. The pace is very fast since we are working to know our facts in a "snap." Take a look at these mad minutes and celebrate the problems that they got right! How awesome that these third graders are already knowing some of their multiplication and division facts so early in the school year! To start, we will be taking one of these tests every week. As we get further into the year, and the kids are picking up new facts faster, we will be doing them twice a week. We will take the 100 question (5 minute) test once every 6 weeks. This data we will keep track of on a graph in individual data folders. Please remember to take a peak at your child's genius hour idea that came home on a purple piece of paper. Once you have had a chance to look at this paper and talked over their plan with them, please sign it and send it back to school. Reminders & Curriculum: Math: We will be continuing our work on multiplication and division this week. Students will be spending time exploring the relationship between multiplication and division. Writing: We will be working on drafting strong leads and developing our personal narratives. Reading: This week we will be working on setting strong goals and using reading partnerships to help us to support our goals. Social Studies: We will be continuing our work on Michigan Geography. PE days - Monday & Friday Tuesday - Mrs.Gitler out at Michigan Math Educators conference Week two was spent getting everything in order to start our curriculum up. We are officially up and running with our curriculum and the kids are doing great! This week I also spent a little bit of time researching something called "genius hour." As I am getting to know this group of kids, I am realizing just how creative and innovative they are. I wanted to find a way for them to be able to think creatively and explore. I happened upon some research about "20 percent time" that was used within the Google corporation and how people have begun to implement it in their classrooms. You can read a little about that www.20time.org/here. I would like to encourage that innovative thinking within our classroom in the form of Genius Hour every Friday. Students will be able to explore questions that they have about the world around them and explore new ideas. This will not result in any more homework at home. If a student chooses to explore further at home, it would be completely optional. This time will be set aside so that students are able to do all of the exploring they need. At the conclusion of their findings, they will create something to present to the class. More information about Genius Hour will be coming home shortly. In the meantime, check out this video that explains it a little bit more! Post Card ChallengeThis year we will be working to collect post cards from all 50 states! As we collect these post cards, we will learn about the state that it came from and learn the capital! In order to collect all 50 states, we will need your help! If you know someone who is in another state, or will be traveling to another state, please ask them to send our class a post card! They can write a little message on the back that we can read to class. Please have them address it like this: (Student they know) & Mrs.Gitler's Class 5525 Park ave. Hudsonville, MI 49426 We can't wait to get started on collecting these post cards! Thank you so much for your help! Curriculum update and remindersMath: This week we will be diving into our multiplication and division units. We will be focusing on the idea that multiplication means "groups of." We will also be recognizing the relationship between multiplication and division. Students will also be taking a "mad minute" this week on their 2s. If they pass their 2s, they will receive the next set (5s) of flash cards to add to their bag! Remember, it may take a few times to pass the test! That is perfectly fine! Just keep practicing so that we can know them in a "snap!"
Writing: We brainstormed some awesome ideas for our personal narrative stories last week. This week we will be focusing in on how to make sure we are writing a "small moment" story. Students will also know this as a "seed" story. Social Studies: We will be continuing to work on our Michigan geography this week. We will be learning about physical and human characteristics in Michigan. Reading: This week we will be working on building up our reading stamina. I will be working with students to be sure that the books that they have pulled are a "good fit" book. Students know how to use their fingers to check if a book is just right. If they miss more than 5 words, the book is too hard. If you are not sure if your child has a book that is a "good fit," encourage them to do the good fit check with you. Reminders: Monday - GYM day Friday - Early release (ART special) Mrs.Gitler out at a literacy training. September 19 - Mrs.Gitler out at a Michigan Math teachers conference
Reminders & Curriculum UpdateReminders:
* Please be sure to sign your child's agenda each night. This is how they receive their Michigan dollar in the morning. * Starting this week, your child will be expected to read the same book to completion. Their reading book should come back and forth to school and home each day. * Sept. 15 - Early release day! * Gym - Tuesday Curriculum: Math - This week we will be working on setting up our math workshop routines. We will also be inputting our first pieces of data into our data folders. Writing - We will be starting our first writing unit, personal narrative, this week. Students will be brainstorming ideas for small moment stories. Reading - We will be working on building our reading life this week by learning the workshop routines, setting goals, and exploring our reading lives. Social Studies - We will be starting our Michigan Geography unit this week. Students will be talking about absolute and relative location, as well as Michigan's location in the United States. |
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