Welcome Everyone!!!!

 Welcome to my School Notes page for the 2009-2010 school year! Please make sure you join the "notify me" list so that you will be informed of when I have updated my school notes.

 

****OURSHININGSTARS****

• The Character Word for the month of November is cooperation. Cooperation means working together with others to meet a common goal. Cooperation is a very important life skill that should be used on a daily basis.
• Our Special Person of the Week is Jon Kraatz. We look forward to learning about what makes Jon special!
• Everyone in my class is a SHINING STAR. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach and be part of your life's journey. Have a wonderful. and safe Thanksgiving!

Week of Nov. 16- Nov. 20

We need the following items for our classroom. If you can help donate any of them, we would be very grateful:

1. Rabbit Food-" Kaytee Fiesta Max Rabbit Food"- available at pet supply store
2. Guinea Pig Food- "Kaytee Fiesta Max Guinea Pig Food"
3. Kaytee Timothy Hay- available at pet supply store 
4.  Aspen Bedding and Litter- available at pet supply store
5. "Febreze" Dual Scented Oil Refill
6. Arts and Crafts Supplies- (glitter, ribbon, beads, glitter glue)

Addition/ Subtraction Facts: I have noticed that some children are not recalling their facts as fast as they should. The children should be reviewing their basic addition and subtraction facts to 12 with flash cards at home each night. You can go to www.edu4kids.com. This site is a great way to review all of the addition and subtraction facts. Once you are there, use the menu at the top and go to Flash Cards-easy-addition (subtraction; addition/subtraction). Students can practice independently using this site. I have listed other sites that will help you practice under my favorite links. Try it out! Your child must be successfully master their addition and subtraction facts so that the transition into multiplication and division will run smoothly. I will be giving timed tests over their basic facts each week. 

3rd Grade Read In/ Ticket Reward Party: We had our Read In and Ticket Reward Party this past Friday. The children enjoyed wearing pajamas and reading. We watched "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" while having our ticket earned refreshments. This was a much welcomed day for the children.

**** Reminders:

Turkey Feather Sales

Turkey feathers will be on sale for $1.00 from November 16^th through November 20^th. Buy as many turkey feathers as possible to complete your class turkey and keep it warm. The class that has the turkey with the most feathers in the following grade levels will win an ice cream party! The money raised will go towards our school. 

v  Kindergarten and 1^st Grade

v  2^nd and 3^rd Grade

v  4^th and 5^th Grade

2. CCA Holiday Food Drive takes place November 13th-20th.

We will be conducting an experiment next Wednesday known as the “Pumpkin Caper.” The experiment involves us using the scientific process along with math skills. Your child will need to bring 1 pumpkin (any size) to school by Wednesday, November 18th. We will have a pumptastic time!

Math

Topic 6: Time

1. Time to the Minute
2. Time After the Hour
3. Roman Numerals
4. Pilgrim Math: 3 digit addition w/ regrouping
5. Squirrel Symmetry
6. Pick a Turkey: Probability
7. Pumpkin Pie Pieces: Fractions

English

1. Computer Lab
2. Thanksgiving Read Around

Reading

Thanksgiving Read Around 

This week the 3rd graders are participating in the 3rd Grade Thanksgiving Read Around. Each class will be rotating to each 3rd grade teacher where they will read a Thanksgiving story, work on a 3rd grade TAKS Reading skill, and complete a craft based on the Thanksgiving story. 

1. Fact/ Opinion Cornucopia
2. "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving" by Dav Pilkey
3. "The Great Turkey Race" by Steve Metzger
4. "Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation" by Diane Stanley
5. "Scarecrow Pete" by Mark Kimball Moulton

Science

 Forces and Motion

1. What is work?- Discuss what work is and what force has to do with work.
2. Discovery Education Video: "Discovering Simple Machines, Work, and Energy"
3. "The Pumpkin Caper" Lab- learn pumpkin facts; using measuring tools students will find the weight, circumference, no. of lines, height, and boyancy; graph data collected and see whether hypothesis was proven.

Social Studies

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities, Graphing Coordinates on a Grid

Spelling

Unit 13 "Vowel + r Sounds"- Test Friday

Writing

1. "Turkey on the Run" Writing

Homework

Monday : Spelling Packet, Flash Cards, 100 Minutes

Tuesday : Spelling Packet, 100 Minutes, Flash Cards, Math WS:Time to the Nearest 5 Minutes and Minute

Wednesday : Spelling Packet, 100 Minutes, Flash Cards

Thursday : Spelling Packet- study for test, 100 Minutes, Flash Cards, Reading: Scholastic News: Turkey Trouble (School Notes Ticket Bonus: Tell me 3 things you are most thankful for and why. Complete this and receive 3 Good Time Tickets.)

Friday : 100 Minutes, Flash Cards

 

• Cat Stuff This site has everything you need to know about cats.
• Houghton Mifflin Kids Place This is a great site for kids to help reinforce skills in reading, spelling, math, science, and social studies. Just click on the Kids Place link and choose the subject area. There are lots of fun games. Have a good time! :)
• A Plus Math This is a great site for the children to practice their math skills. The children can practice their facts and have fun at the same time!
• Enchanted Learning This is a great site featuring a wide range of activities for children.
• Scholastic Great books and plenty of games.
• The Eye The human eye gives us the sense of sight, allowing us to learn more about the surrounding world than do any of the other five senses. Learn about the eye at this site.
• Zoobooks From Aardvarks to Zebras, you'll learn about the fascinating animals that share our planet.
• Farm Animals Meet the people working on this real farm out in Colorado. Lots of animals and activities for you!
• The Autobiography of Squirmin' Herman The Worm There's a lot of fascinating information at this site. Make sure you check this out.
• Koko The Gorilla Koko, the gorilla, lives in Maui, Hawaii, understands sign language, and likes to talk to people. Visit Koko at this cool web site.
• Kids Domain Visit this site and explore for hours. This has everything from cool clip art to games for every subject. Enjoy!
• Animation Grove Great site to find lots of animated gifs.
• Christmas Gifts and Clipart This site features great holiday gifts and clipart!
• Space Today Great site for the exploration of outer space.
• NASA Explore the galaxy and the nine planets!
• Maxie's Magnificent Guide This site has great clipart for every occasion.
• Multiplication Practice This is a fantastic site suggested by one of our class moms. This site allows you to practice your facts while having fun at the same time!
• Anne's Place Holiday, Special Occasion & Theme Gifs Great site for holiday findings
• Billy Bear 4 Kids Nice children's site for worlds of fun!
• MillanNet Great free clipart for all occasions