Keep the End in Mind

By March the students will have completed several math goals. The students should have quick recall of the multiplication facts for 5 thru 9. The students should be able to complete division problems. The students will begin to practice division problems for multiples of 2s, 5s, 9s and 10s. The students should be able to complete correctly 4 out of 5 multiplication problems such as 36x3.  Many of the students are already able to do this.  Practice on the math program IXL will help the students achieve these goals.

The students continue to work on individual writing goals that will help them to become excellent writers.  Students should be able to correctly use capitals and periods in 4 out of 5 sentences.  The other writing goal is students should be able to spell at least 75% of the words in the sentences correctly.

Effective Spelling Strategy

At times spelling can be a challenge.  For many, spelling strategies can help with the learning of new words.
Word Sorting Strategy
This is a very powerful spelling strategy.  Brain research demonstrates that our brains learn well when they are asked to organize and identify patterns.  Using the spelling list, have your child correctly write down each new word on an index card.  Make sure the words are spelled correctly.  As they write, have them spell the word out loud. After the cards are made have your child find organizational patterns.  For example, they might sort them by syllables, vowel patterns, words that begin with consonants, parts of speech, or by prefix or suffix.  Have them give the sorting rule.  After the categories are sorted, have them  spell out each word.

Paul Goble, Author Study

The students are reading  the Native American legends written by Paul Goble.  His stories and illustrations of the Plains Indians culture is authentic.   The students read the book, Lost Children.  This legend explains the origin of the Pleiades stars, or as the Blackfoot call them the Lost Children. 

Passage:
You can see the Lost Children in the Above World.  We call them the Pleiades because they are close together, just as they always were on Earth.  How beautiful the children look!  And yet, how very far way they are now.  If only people had remembered that all the little children are gifts from God...

Storyteller

Last Thursday, Gail Froyen, storyteller, kicked off our unit on Native American legends.  She had the students spellbound as they listened to her Native American stories.  Here are the students' comments from their thank you notes to her:

I loved your stories.  My favorite was the one about the raven.  You used a  lot of expression.  It helped me to think about what the story meant.
Alexis

I enjoyed your story because of your expression.  I enjoyed the stories about the turtle, sun and the big rock.  I like the turtle one because of the turtle falling.  That explains why turtles have designs on their shells.  I like the sun story because of the fox mouth being black from the sun being in his mouth.  I like the story about the big rock because the talked to the boy.
Leah

I love all of your stories, especially the turtle one.  You are the best and only story teller I have heard.  You made it exciting to hear.  I wish I could hear them 1,000 times.  I bet you love to tell stories.  I want to be just like you.
Jada

I liked the story about the turtles because I have a turtle named Bubba.  I like the raven story because I liked your expression in that one.  I liked the sun one because I like how the spider held the sun in her web bag.
Sophie

Thank you for telling us all the amazing stories.  I have a question.  The stories that you told us third graders, did you write them?  I liked all your stories.  They are so unique.
Alyssa

Thank you for the stories.  My favorite stroy was the turtle story.  I also liked your dress.  I liked your expression, too.  And I loved the sun story.
Milo

Thank you for telling us stories.  I really liked the turtle story because it teaches the turtle a lesson that turtles don't fly south for the winter.  They go under water and hibernate in the mud.  I also liked the raven story because sunshine makes everybody really happy.
Abby

I enjoyed your stories.  They were great.  I love stories a lot.  The stories you told us were some of the best I have ever heard.  I have a favorite story.  My favorite part about the turtle story is how he got a pattern on his shell.  My favorite part about the raven story is how the sun came to be.
Zoe

I loved all the stories you told us.  My favorite story was the gift one.  It was funny when the raven stuck  the thorn in the seagull's foot.  I liked the turtle one, too.  It was funny when the turtle fell from the sky.  And then he sat in the mud at the bottom of the lake.
Jack

I like the seagull story when the bird pushes the thorn in.  And the bird says sorry.  I can't see.  Can you open the box a little bit?  Then the seagull says now can you pull out the thorn.  The bird pushes it in a little bit.  The bird says sorry I can not see.  Can you open the box a little bit more? So he opens the box and the sun comes out.  I really liked your expression.
David

IXL Learning Award

The class received a certificate of achievement from IXL.  The class has spent over 20 hours practicing math.  Impressive!  Continue to practice today.  It definitely will make a difference in your math achievement.

To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy
Stephen Covey

Update

We are off to a great start to the new year. The students continue to set goals that are important and appropriate for each individual.  There is much to cover this last half of the year. The Moon Unit is next.  The students have started observing the moon either in the evening or the early morning.  The students have also been learning cursive.  They have completed the letters a, b, and c.  They took their work home last week to share with their families.  The students have completed math Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.  They are working on Unit 5. The students' goal is to have quick recall of multiplication facts for 6, 7, 8, and 9.  The students are using computer program IXL, flash cards and games to achieve this goal.  This is a challenging goal for the students. In math the students also have learned that polygons are shapes with straight sides that enclose a space and are classified according to the number of sides they have. They have also learned that squares, rectangles, parallelograms and trapezoids are special kinds of quadrilaterals.  Other vocabulary learned were pentagon and hexagon.  This week the students will also be making rotating designs.  This activity integrates art and math and provides the opportunity to discuss the geometry vocabulary of vertex, perimeter, angle and rotation.

Supplies Needed

The students are creating a data notebook.  They will use their data notebook to record personal and academic goals and to chart their progress toward the goals.  The notebook  will provide the students with ongoing feedback.  These formative assessments are known to help students improve their academic achievement.  Each student will need a three ring notebook and a set of dividers.  Thank you so much.

When success in the classroom is defined in terms of competitive status with others, only a few students can be successful. However, when individual growth is the criteria for success, then all students can experience success regardless of their comparative status.
Robert J. Marzano

Geometry

Before Christmas the students began their Geometry Unit.  The students learned the definition for line segment and end points.  They made a cube and a pyramid out of gumdrops and tooth picks.  The gum drops were the end points and the tooth picks were the line segments.  The students wrote in their math journals to analyze the number of end points and line segments.
Here is the entry they completed in their math journal.
How many line segments does a square have?
How many line segments does a cube have?
How many endpoints does a square have?
How many endpoints does a cube have?
How many line segments does the star have?
How many endpoints does the star have?

The geometry vocabulary:
line segment  endpoint   parallel  intersecting

Similarities and Differences Reading Research

Research shows:
Presenting students with explicit guidance in identifying similarities and differences enhances students' understanding of and ability to use knowledge.  This is accompanied with great deal of discussion and inquiry on the part of students.

Representing similarities and differences in graphic form enhances students' understanding and ability to use knowledge.  The students often use Venn diagrams to compare information.

This is a research-based strategy for increasing student achievement.

This week the students finished the Mexico Unit.  The students used a Venn diagram to compare the traditional Mexican Christmas holiday to their Christmas celebrations.  They also used a chart to help them organize the information comparing the Mexican government to the United States.  Both governments are a Federal Republic.  Both also have the three branches, executive, legislative and judicial.  The vocabulary words for study were executive, legislative and judicial.

Fiesta

Dear families,
      Thank you so much for the food items for our fiesta.  It was greatly appreciated by all involved. The students had a great time!  The class invited Mrs. Griswold's class and other elementary teachers to the fiesta.  In the morning, Senora Blanco taught the third graders how to make tortillas and cheese quesadillas as part of our fiesta.  The students turned our classroom into a festive place for a fiesta. We had table cloths and deorative paper plates and napkins.  Each student also had  a candy cane, chocolate candy and an orange at their place setting.  In the afternoon the students made Mexican yarn art pictures.  Another Mexican craft they made was God's Eyes.
Here are the students following comments about the fiesta:

I enjoyed the punch and the chocolate.  And I enjoyed well, pretty much everything.  I saw my favorite teachers, Mrs. Hoffman, Miss Decker and Mrs. Guenther.
Emma

I enjoyed tracing the stencils for the Mexican yarn decorations and eating the oranges and chips and tacos.  I liked inviting the other class.  I sat with Josie, Alexis, Maddi and Jada.  I really liked the candy canes. I helped with chips and napkins.  People signed my shirt.
Sophie

I enjoyed inviting the other class over to have the fiesta with us.
Treyvon

I enjoyed the chocolate. I enjoyed the oranges.  I enjoyed the food. I enjoyed Mrs. Griswold's class coming over.  I enjoyed making the tortillas.
Jack

I enjoyed the yummy food, inviting friends to the fiesta and making tortillas.   I noticed that some teachers came.  They were Miss Decker, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs.Griswold, Senora Blanco, Mr. Guenther, and last but not least Mrs. Guenther.  I sat by Leah, Jack, Julia, Emma and Beenie.
Alyssa

I liked the dark chocolate Hersey  candy because I like dark chocolate and I love Herseys.  I loved the tacos.  I got to sit by Emma and Miss Decker and Senora Blanco.  I helped pass out fruit juice and candy canes.  I enjoyed inviting over Mrs. Griswold's class.
Zoe

I enjoyed seeing my old teachers.  And I got to have good food.  And I saw my other friends like Collin, Abby, Ian and Sam.
Milo

I enjoyed inviting Mrs. Griswold's class to our fiesta.  I also enjoyed the tacos.  I also liked the punch. I set up the napkins and juice.  I sat by Abby, Zoe, Jashon, and Jack.  I liked seeing Miss Decker, Senora Blanco and Mrs. Struck.  My favorite thing was the punch. I liked the oranges.
Abby

I enjoyed the chocolate and tacos.  I enjoyed sitting by Jada and Madi.  I also enjoyed setting up the fiesta.  It was fun. 
Alexis

I enjoyed the food, friends and making the tortillas and especially inviting Mrs. Griswold's class.  I sat with Alyssa, Emma, and Jack. I helped with passing out plates and chips.  The food I liked at the fiesta was the cuties, salsa and chips.
Leah

I enjoyed making tacos. I liked the candy canes.  I sat with Milo, Treyvon, and Collin.  I brought the chocolate.
David

I liked everything about it, especially the food and that we got to talk to our friends.  I sat by Madi,Josie, Sophie and Alexis.  It was very fun.  Oh and I sat with Mrs. Struck.  So that was nice.  I loved the punch and the chips and the salsa.  I liked doing the stencils.
Jada