This Week in 3R

We had another busy week in 3R!

Here is a summary of curriculum covered this week:

Lanuage Arts:

The students really enjoyed writing about their Pet Rocks during writer's workshop this week.  Please watch for our Pet Rock Traveling Book to be coming home soon.  Don't forget to share your comments at the back!

During Daily 5 this week I continued to conference with the students on their individual reading strategies.  Please ask your child to identify their reading strategy and to demonstrate it for you.  As a class we discussed how to increase reading fluency by rereading text.  This strategy is excellent if your child reads slowly, choppy or if he/she often loses track of his/her place when reading.  The following are a few ways you can help your child with this strategy at home:

1.  Have your child choose a different paragraph form the story they are reading each day.  Have them reread that paragraph until they can read it smoothly, with expression, and read all the words correctly.  This practice doesn't take long, only 5 to 8 minutes each day.
2.  Remind your child that he/she must be reading from a good-fit book.  If the book is too difficult, your child's energy will be spent on decoding words and not on fluent reading.
3.  Model what fluent reading sounds like by reading aloud to your child.  Then, have your child reread a paragraph they have heard you read.  As always, be sure to continue to offer your child support and encouragement.

The students really seem to be enjoying our Words Their Way spelling program.  As we have 4 spelling groups, I find it very helpful for the students to write their tests using Spelling City.  That way I can have all of the students writing their tests at the same time, although they have different words.  Here is a picture of the students writing their tests.  They all did awesome!

Math:

We began our Numbers to 1000 unit this week.  Our focus was on Counting Large Collections of Items and Modeling 3-Digit Numbers using Base 10 Blocks.  This week I began using a Math Workshop format to teach math called TIP, which the students really seemed to enjoy.  This stands for Teacher Time, Independent Work and Partners or Pairs.  

How Does Math Workshop Work in Our Classroom?

  

Developmental Grouping:  Before each unit, I pre-test the students to determine their prior knowledge about the concepts in the unit I am about to teach.  Using that information, I create three groups (high, medium, low).  The students obviously are not told what group they are in, and the groups do change throughout the year as we move through each new unit.  Students are assigned to a group with a name that goes along with our theme. I am careful to make sure that the group names change after each unit so that, for example, the high group is not always "The Titanic."

Daily Lessons:  I use Math Makes Sense to teach the Grade 3 Math Curriculum.  It is a great program because it includes lots of math games for the reinforcement of new concepts, and it provides me with materials to differentiate instruction.  I teach the lessons in the order that they are introduced in the book.  However, I alter the lessons when necessary to meet the needs of the students.
Math Rotation Stations: Once the students are divided into three groups, they rotate through three different stations during our daily math period.  Students are typically at each station for 20 minutes.  Below are the descriptions of the three stations. 

• Work With Teacher:
 At this station, students sit close to me and engage in an interactive lesson that is geared to their needs. I use a small dry erase board, and the students sit at the back table with me so that I can see exactly what they are doing. Students often use portable dry erase boards to practice the concepts we are learning, or we may work together on pages in the math journal.  

• Independent Practice:
 Students are at their desks during this rotation, working on pages in their math journal.  They may also be working on teacher-created worksheets or math packets.

  

• Math Games: At this rotation, students play games that help them practice the concepts they are learning in each unit.  Students usually play the games with a partner in their group.  However, there are times when the games can be played as a whole group or in larger groups of three to four students.  This rotation can also be a time for students to work on math projects and/or investigations that span multiple days.

Social Studies:

We finished our Mapping Unit this week.  The students will be writing a Continents and Oceans quiz on Monday. They do not need to be able to spell the different continents and oceans, however they will need to be able to place them in the proper place on the map.

Art:

One afternoon while I was marking the SLA's, Mrs. Duperron did a wonderful "Scream Blow Painting" with the students.  The mentor text used for this art project is called Monster Mama written by Liz Rosenberg.  The student's paintings are on display in our hallway in preparation for Halloween.

    

                                  

                 

   

The students are getting very excited about Halloween.  3R will be having our Spooktacular Halloween Party on Friday, October 31st.  The students may come to school dressed in their costumes in the morning, however the party will be in the afternoon.  The Parade of Costumes will be in the gym at 1:00pm.  Our classroom party will follow and go until 3:00pm.  Family members are always welcome to join us for the afternoon fun  Just a reminder that the following students will be bringing food for the party:  Ava, Elliot, Eric and Ethan.  I will be providing drinks for the class.