Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Christmas Gift Exchange

Christmas Gift Exchange

In the spirit of generosity, out class will not be doing a gift exchange this year.  Instead, we will adopt a boy in need form the angel tree. 

We are asking for each student to donate $5 towards the gifts or to purchase gifts for the child in need.  If you would like to donate more, that would be wonderful.

The money needs to be brought in by December 4th in order for the gifts to be purchased, wrapped and delivered.

After the money is collected, I will go shopping for the presents.
Please see the child’s information if you would like to shop yourself and donate items instead.

P.S.
To reward the students for their kindness, we will be having a pajama and a movie on November 30th.
Thank you,
Mrs. Chapranda
Boy  Age 11
Pants:  10 slim (adjustable waist)
Shirt: 8/10
Shoe: Boys 4
Boot: Boys 4
Coat: 8/10
Christmas Wishes: Legos

Monday, November 7, 2016

This Week At A Glance 



Reading - We will be going back over Main Idea and Details this week.  The students definately need more work on this skill.  This skill can also be practiced at home.  Have your child log on to IXL Language Arts at work on skills YY.1 and YY.2.

Math - We continue with Unit 3 this week.  Specifically, we will be working on addition and subtraction.  Ask your child to show you the methods that they are learning.  We are learning both the traditional algorithm and a pull-apart method for addition and counting-up method for subtraction.

Health - The Saying No Unit continues this week.  The students should have the study guide complete by now. Remember, the test will be on the 27th.

Science - We have started a science unit on Sound.  The students will be doing some experiments at school and the unit will end with a student project. There will be more details to come soon.  This unit will probably take us a couple weeks to get through.

Social Studies - The students are learning about that Communities are Different Sizes. The students have received a Study guide and we are filling it out in class. This is a very short chapter and the test will be November 11th. The test will be about Rural, Urban and Suburban Communities, how they are connected and how they are different. 

Writing - We will continue to work on prompt writing this week.  The students are learning a strategy that involves using the acronum M.A.P.S.  It stand for Mode, Audience, Purpose and Situation. This will help them organize the information in the prompt and their thoughts.

Spelling - This weeks spelling pattern is th words.  Again, the challenge words are words that the students have been mispelling in their writing or asking me how to spell.  


The advanced list consists of words that have the long o pattern.  

This Weeks at a Glance 11/7/16

This Week At A Glance 


Reading - This week's focus is Realistic Fiction.  We will also be taking a Practice IRead test 3 days this week.  I will let you know what the results are by the beginning of next week.

Math - 
3-7 Exploring Bar Graphs
3-8 Scaled Picture Graphs
3-9 Exploring Multiplication Squares
3-10 Communtative Property of Multiplication

Science - We are doing lots of fun Sound Experiments this week.  The students have copies of the directions so they can try them out at home too.  Homemade Instrument Project information was sent home on last Friday.  Your child's instrument is due this Friday, Nove. 11th.

Writing - We will be moving on to writing realistic fiction this week.  The students will learn about developing a setting, characters and a plot.

Spelling - This weeks spelling pattern is sh words.  Again, the challenge words are words that the students have been mispelling in their writing or asking me how to spell.  

The advanced list consists of words that have the long u pattern.  

Don't forget to get out their and vote on Tuesday!  Your child will be participating in a mock election here at school.  They will be voting on Field Day shirt designs.  They have already filled out thier voter registration cards and will be casting their ballots tomorrow morning.  Take advantage of this opportunity to discuss how voting is a right and a reponsibilty or every citizen and what that means.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Week at a glance 10-24-16

October 24, 2016

This Week At A Glance 


Reading - We will be going back over Main Idea and Details this week.  The students definately need more work on this skill.  This skill can also be practiced at home.  Have your child log on to IXL Language Arts at work on skills YY.1 and YY.2.

Math - We continue with Unit 3 this week.  Specifically, we will be working on addition and subtraction.  Ask your child to show you the methods that they are learning.  We are learning both the traditional algorithm and a pull-apart method for addition and counting-up method for subtraction.

Health - The Saying No Unit continues this week.  The students should have the study guide complete by now. Remember, the test will be on the 27th.

Science - We have started a science unit on Sound.  The students will be doing some experiments at school and the unit will end with a student project. There will be more details to come soon.  This unit will probably take us a couple weeks to get through.

Writing - We will continue to work on prompt writing this week.  The students are learning a strategy that involves using the acronum M.A.P.S.  It stand for Mode, Audience, Purpose and Situation. This will help them organize the information in the prompt and their thoughts.

Spelling - This weeks spelling pattern is th words.  Again, the challenge words are words that the students have been mispelling in their writing or asking me how to spell.  


The advanced list consists of words that have the long o pattern.  

Sunday, October 16, 2016

This Week At A Glance 10/17/16

October 17, 2016

This Week At A Glance 


Reading - The students have been divided into groups according to their reading levels.  They will be meeting with me at least twice a week for about 20-25 minutes.    We will also be learning Fact and Opinion.

Math - Unit 3 starts this week.  This unit centers around operations.  This week the students will learn about number patterns and estimating cost.  I gave the students a pretest for this chapter to help me differentiate the lessons to meet the students needs.  This means that some students will be doing enrichment activties and some will recieve remediation as necessary.

Health - We will be starting a health unit this week.  The lessons are about saying NO to smoking, Drinking, and Drugs.  The students will get a study guide and the unit test will be October 25th.  

Science - At the end of this week we will start a science unit on Sound.  The students will be doing some experiments at school and the unit will end with a student project. There will be more details to come soon.

Writing - Last week's writing samples showed me that the studnets need more work with on demand writing.  Because of this, this week's writing focus is Prompt Writing.  The students will learn how to interpret a prompt and how to write according to the prompt requirements.

Spelling - This weeks spelling list has not pattern.  They are words that every 3rd grader sould know how to spell.  We call these NO EXCUSE words.  The challenge words are words that the students have been mispelling in their writing or asking me how to spell.  
The advanced list consists of words that have the long i pattern.  

Monday, October 3, 2016

This Week at a Glance 10/3/16

October 3, 2016
This Week At A Glance




Reading - Students will start Reading Groups this week.  Your child may be assigned to do some reading at home.  Make sure you look in their assignment book for Reading assignments.  These minutes can be used toward the Reading Log and Book-It.  While some students work in groups, the other students will be responsible for completing a Reading Packet for the Week and Reading Independently.  If students don't complete the packet in class, they may need to work on it at home.  There is plenty of time for them to complete the assignments in the packet as long as the students use their time wisely.

Math - This week, our work in Unit 2 focuses on division.  The students will be working on Division Models, Pictures and Arrays.  Our next Math Test will be October 12th and 13th.  If you ever need a reminder of test dates or any other class event, please refer to the calendar on the blog.

Social Studies - We start a new unit on Communities this week.  The students will be learning about Characteristics of Communities as well as the History and Characteristics of Lowell.  A study guide for the unit was handed out today and we went over a few questions and answers in class.  The students are not required to complete the study guide at home, but he/she may work on it if they like.  We will be filling in the answers together in class.  It's best if your child studies a little of this information each night.  The assessment for this unit will be on October 17th.

Writing - We are still working on Opinion Writing.  The students were asked to write in response to a persuasive letter last week and state their own opinions.  Many of the students struggled with this task.  The most common mistake was not answering the question asked.  This is one of the skills we will be reviewing this week.  
In addition, the students will be learning about Sentence Structure.

Spelling -  This week's spelling pattern is long vowel words.  The spelling list has been posted to the blog.  Please make sure your child completes their nightly homework to practice these words. 

Some students have been given an Advanced Spelling List.  This list is posted on the blog as well.  The homework for both lists are the same.


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Plant Project



Here's a Quick Reference Guide for the New Plant Project.  The following is required information for the project:


Life Cycle
  • Show, explain or describe your new plant’s life cycle.
  • How did your plant start off in life and how does it change?



Survival
  • Tell what your new plant needs to survive.
  • Tell where your plant is located.



Parts and Function
  • Tell the parts of your plant and what their job is.
  • Make sure you draw a picture to show what your plant looks like and label the parts.



Appearance
  • Show what your plant looks like as an adult.
  • Tell if it is big or small.
  • Describe its parts:  
      Ex.) leaves are smooth, stem is thick, roots run deep, etc.