Tuesday, April 9

In Math, we played some Mangahigh. I even got in on the games and challenged some students. Boy--some of these kids like to cheat! We also worked on fixing some of our misconceptions with the fraction and decimal things we worked on yesterday. We didn't get to read too much of Puddlejumpers but Ernie arrived in Circle, Illinois and said that the town looks parched, like it hasn't seen rain in quite a while... Hmmm... maybe he is the Rainmaker?! In Reader's Workshop, we continued our work with What's the Word? (both on my iPad and using class created ones) as well as clueless crossword puzzles. We also read more Chris Van Allsburg books so that we can better assess our opinion of him as an author and illustrator for Writer's Workshop. In Science, we finished up with our penny experiments... I'm not sure how many kiddos now want to eat at Taco Bell considering we shined up pennies using their Hot Sauce and it worked! Eek!

Monday, April 8

A great start to the week! In Math, we practiced applying our knowledge of fractions and decimals. Students seemed to struggle with this and we will be continuing our work with fractions and decimals this week. Maybe they could help you in doubling or halving a recipe one night? In Read Aloud, Ernie was given one final chance to change his fate of heading to the Juvenile Detention Center. In Reader's Workshop, students worked with Clueless Crossword puzzles, What's the Word? as well as meeting with me, reading independently and/or reading books by Chris Van Allsburg. For Writer's Workshop, we started learning about the non-fiction writing of responding to an author. We've completed book reviews and discussed opinion writing but now they will be writing about authors. We are also looking at what makes up a dictionary entry and what these things mean and are useful for. In Science, we looked at our pennies and how green they became! We also checked out our pennies we were trying to shine up and found that ketchup and vinegar came out the best. Tomorrow, we are going to do another trial to see if it is truly the case or if there are any other variables involved.

Friday, April 5

TGIF! We tried to complete our Yahtzee tournament today without success--only a few more games to play and we'll have a Yahtzee Champion! I guess double elimination makes it longer than I thought. While we were waiting on our game or if we had been eliminated, we were working on angles and geometry. It's amazing to me that although I KNOW that I taught something this year, some kiddos acted like they had never seen this information before in their lives. I'm so glad that we have these couple weeks to review! In Read Aloud, Ernie was able to finally see Wrigley Field! He also got an autographed baseball. That is until the security guards caught up to him and hauled him away. I wonder how the two parts will end up connecting... In Reader's Workshop, we read, finished up any work that hadn't been completed from workboard and worked on vocabulary with Hink Pinks. Ask your child what a "person who chooses the best chocolate" is called. We continued our spelling focus in Writer's Workshop with some playing spelling games and others free writing. We ended our fabulous day with Science and setting up an experiment to show chemical change. We also hypothesized some ways to shine up a penny. I'll be trying them out and taking pictures this weekend so if your child asks for ketchup and a dirty penny (ketchup was a suggestion by someone) they might be experimenting themselves. How cool!!

Thursday, April 4

In Math today, we discussed topics that we would like to review. Some of them are geometry, measuring angles, measurement conversions, word problems and application of skills, and vocabulary. Over the next couple weeks, we will be practicing and reviewing in preparation for the upcoming OAA's. We caught up with Ernie in Puddlejumpers where his best friend has been adopted. We felt torn because we were happy for Nate but sad for Ernie... In Reader's Workshop, we worked with vocabulary, read, some worked in Guided Reading groups, some visited the library... Our spelling and finding the spelling of unknown words was our focus in Writer's Workshop and I'm noticing that since I've been handing out Spelling Tickets, our spelling has improved! Go figure! :) Finally, we ended our day with Science and learning about Physical Changes. Students used sandpaper on wood, put food coloring in water, tore apart cotton balls, etc. to demonstrate their understanding.

Wednesday, April 3

We continued our Yahtzee tournament today and with a double elimination, it is taking a little longer than I had thought but we should be into the finals tomorrow. I will also be working in small groups on some review skills with those already eliminated. We read Puddlejumpers and are finally into the present which helps us to understand a little bit more. In Reader's Workshop, we worked more with What's the Word? for vocabulary as well as reading a TFK about standardized testing and reading. In Writer's Workshop, some kiddos received Spelling Tickets for misspelling of words within their writing. This will be a focus for this week as we've talked about HOW to use resources to find spelling of unknown words.

Tuesday, April 2

I was out today to take Adison to the doctor (asthma and pneumonia again...) but Mr. Martin was in for me and he does amazing with the kiddos... We began our Yahtzee tournament today! I'm anxious to see who won and for them to share any strategies that they are using with us. The students worked on vocabulary, read and read about testing in an issue of Time for Kids during Reader's Workshop. In Writing, they wrote a short story but also continued their focus on spelling words correctly by figuring out the spelling of unknown words using resources. They then used scholastic.com to learn a little more about some young immigrants.

Monday, April 1

Welcome Back! In Math today, we went over our Measurement Assessment with a fine tooth comb. Students asked questions, I explained common mistakes, we kidded about some nonsense answers (ask about the width of a 3rd graders finger) and they circled the question with either a green mark (they made a silly mistake or didn't read the question completely but UNDERSTAND the concept) or blue mark (they DO NOT understand the concept). Please go over this assessment with your child, sign it and have them return it so that we can secure any misunderstandings within measurement. Tomorrow, we will be competing in a Yahtzee tourney! We tried to catch up with Puddlejumpers in Read Aloud but we are still a little confused right now. We are in the Down Below or Underneath and this world is very surreal. Hopefully, in the next few pages, we will grasp what is going on. At least we can appreciate the fantastical vocabulary! This week's focus in Reader's Workshop is to solidify our concepts of reading in our Guided Reading groups, increase our vocabulary and just read independently. In groups, the Red and Blue groups worked on a basketball article about the sad defeat of the Buckeyes. We talked about background knowledge needed to understand the article and all the information gained from this non-fiction resource. (They did awesome with this and taught me some things other than just appreciating Aaron Craft!) The Purple Group read a recipe for Gazpacho Soup and answered some questions about it. We discussed that although in life you don't answer questions after reading, you still go through the questions in your mind while reading. They enjoyed this but I think most were turned off by all the vegetables the soup contains. :) The Green and Yellow groups read about Dads, Greek God Style. Thankfully, a few kiddos are really up to date on their Greek Mythology and were able to help us with a few pronunciations and to keep our Greek Gods straight. We were able to have great discussion and answer questions pertaining to this passage. A week or so before break, I gave the students a benchmark assessment on words that contained generalizations we have learned this year. Today, they corrected their mistakes. We discussed how and where we can find and check spellings of unknown words. Then, they practiced this and 'fixed' their mistakes. Tomorrow, they will be writing a short story while paying attention to the spelling of words and not just the ideas. Finally, in Social Studies, we read about more recent immigrants and how, why and when they came to America.