Happy Holidays! We wish you a wonderful WInter Break!!

JUST A FEW OF OUR GREAT STUDENTS!!

By the way.....did you know how much we LOVE our class?

We have bright kids!

We have students who get their work done all the time!

We have SOOO many students with a perfect Homework and Reading Log Record!!

We have kids who love to reach their AR goal!

All of our students have reached their AR goal for the past two 6-week grading periods!!

We have well-behaved students!

We have wonderful volunteers!

We are so lucky to have such a GREAT GROUP of KIDS!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

House Keeping:

Monday, December 19, 2011: Early Release PLC

Wednesday, December 21, 2011: Holiday Polar Express Party, Awards Assembly

Language Arts:

This week we are going to review Mountain Language, Take a test on "Dogzilla", and do some writing. We will not have a story study this week due to the shortened Holiday Schedule.

Math:

To start things off, we are gong to make some great geometric snowflake ornaments for your Christmas Tree.

We continue to work on Math addition and subtraction problems with more than one step.

Science:

Wrap of of Unit C: Matter, Mass, Heat, and Energy.

Question of the Week:

How did the mice in Mouseopolis do to scare Dogzilla away?

What word in the above sentence is a special plural?

What words in the above sentence are proper nouns?

Comparisons:

Tomato: Red Carrot:__________

Hippopotamus: Herbivore Alligator: _______________

We started our PowerPoint Presentations!

Congratulations to the first two students to reach their AR goal.

Jae'Lei Tendoy--first girl

Kaleb Demuzio--first boy

They will both be inducted into the Order of the Phoenix at the end of this week.

Remember to bring a warm hat, gloves, and coat to school every day. It is very cold outside.

Housekeeping:

Monday, December 12, 2011: Early Release, PLC

Thursday, December 15, 2011: "Dad's and Donuts"--8:00 AM with your Dad in the school cafeteria.

Friday, December 16, 2011: Magic Show

Reading:

We loved reading Trickster Tales and finding out how the main characters played tricks on each other. This week we re starting a new Theme. It is usually the favorite reading Unit. It is a unit of Incredible Stories.

Our first story is Dogzilla. The spelling words concentrate on the vowel sound /ow/ and /aw/

lawn

clown

talk

sound

cloth

would

also

mouth

crown

soft

count

law

We are going to have fun writing a sequel to the story and working on a good Beginning, Middle and End

Math:

Today we will start to use tables and graphs to locate information. We will use our addition and subtraction skills to fill in any information on the tables and graphs.

Science:

Get ready for a fun experiment to learn how heat travels through certain materials: wood, metal, and plastic. Come ready to make some predictions on an outcome. We continue to learn about matter and energy.

Question of the Day:

Look at the following sentences. Which part is the Subject?? Which part is the Predicate?

Aly wore a fluffy white bow in her hair.

Easton wants to start reading The Sorcerer's Stone today.

ABC Order...Keep at It!

animal

answer

antler

anteater

apple

Aaron

Our clickers are finally working!!

Housekeeping:

Monday, December 5, 2011: Rehearsal for Christmas Program.
Monday, December 5, 2011: Room #1 starts serving for lunch.
Monday, December 5, 2011: Early Release PLC
Tuesday, December 6, 2011: Christmas Program: 9:30 and 1:30 (Eat lunch in room)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011: Christmas Program: 9:30



Congratulations Kaleb Demuzio.....first boy to reach his AR goal. That kid can't stop reading!!!!

Language Arts:

The clickers are finally working the right way, which allows our classroom to use them to take quick quizzes in any subject. We are really happy they are working right. So make sure when you take a quick quiz you are really sure of your answer before you send it!!

The story this week is a Genre Study. The students in Room #1 will be reading some Trickster Tales. These are much like Fables. Animals are the main characters and a moral is given at the end of each story. There are three Trickster Tales we will read this week. The spelling list concentrates on the /oi/sound found in join:

join

joy

boil

noise

spoil

choice

soil

point

foil

voice

coil

broil

Math:

Hooray! We have completed Unit 3 and started Unit 4. The students are learning how to Round to the nearest 10 and to the nearest 100. We will practice for a few more days before we begin to read and interpret charts. Nice job on Unit 3!!

Science:

We wrapped up our Native American Unit. Some students are still finishing up their weaving. We should be able to pick up our clay pots by the end of the week. The students brough a packet of extra sheets home if they want to complete at home. We were not able to get through all of the material. Last week we started our new Science Unit. It is about Matter, Mass, and Energy.

Question of the Week:

Round these numbers to the nearest 10:

56, 89, 118, 447

Round these numbers to the nearest 100

78, 129, 456, 987

Hope you had a nice Holiday!!!

House Keeping:
Monday, November 28, 2011: Second Trimester begins here.
Monday, November 28, 2011: NEW AR GOALS START HERE!!! WE WERE ALL AT 100% last six-weeks!!!
Monday, November 28, 2011: Early Release...PLC
Wednesday, November 30th to December 3rd: Festival of Trees
Monday, December 5, 2011: Dress Rehearsal for Christmas Program
Tuesday, December 6, 2011: Program: 9:30 and 1:30
Wednesday, December 7, 2011:Program: 9:30

Language:

This week our story ties right in with our Social Studies Curriculum. Our story of the week is Dancing Rainbows, a true picture story of a Pueblo Boy. We will learn about how this boy learns to dance as part of his cultural tradition and what the dancing stands for.

Spelling Words: Long /i/ sound:

wild

bright

die

sight

child

pie

fight

lie

tight

might

mind

MATH

This is a busy Math Week. On Monday, our class will take a Unit Test on comparison problems, finding a difference or a total. On Tuesday and Wednesday we will learn about shapes and their lines on symmetry. We will also learn what congruent means. On Thursday and Friday, we start Unit 5 which focuses on rounding to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100. Good Luck on the Unit Test on Monday!!

SOCIAL STUDIES/SCIENCE

On Tuesday we will finish up our Native American Unit. On Wednesday, we begin our Science Unit on Matter and Motion. This should be a fun couple of weeks as we learn and do experiments in the classroom.

Questions of the Week:

Change this phrase into a possessive:

1. The pond of the alligators.

Types of Sentences: Declarative, Exclamative, Imperative (Command), Interrogative:

A. Please help me clean out the car.

B. The stove is really hot and can burn you!

C. How many pieces of candy did you get at the party?

D. I really like the way the snow glistens in the sun.

Proper Noun or Common Noun?

chicken

Texas Roadhouse

ornament

Santa Clause

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!!!

House Keeping:
Monday, November 21, 2011: Early Release PLC
Tuesday, November 22, 2011: End of Second 6-weeks
Tuesday, November 22, 2011: AR Goal due
Tuesday, November 22, 2011: AR/Marvelous Medicine Party
(Note on Marvelous Medicine Party....We are having George's Marvelous Medicine in SOUP form served with rolls. The kids can bring a sandwich bag full of their favorite snack....fishy crackers, marshmallows, raisins, M&M's, pretzels, chocolate chips, etc...and we will mix it up and make some of our own Marvelous Medicine. We will ladle it out into baggies for a snack after the party.)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011: RECORD DAY...NO SCHOOL
Thursday, November 24, 2011: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Language:
Our story this week is Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. There will not be a spelling test because of the short week. We will take a clicker test of the Vocabulary from the story on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, we will be painting some flowers from the story to be placed in our Memory Books. The skill we have focused on the last week and also this week is summarizing a story. We summarized an extra story last week called: Flat Stanley and the trip to the Firehouse. Great Job on summarizing. Remember...pick 5 main points and back them up with 3 different details.

Math:
Unit 3 Lesson 7 and 8. These lessons both focus on multi-digit comparison problems. After the students read the word problems, they can use comparison bars or Math Mountains to help them solve. Remember when you compare...look for the larger number, it goes in the largest comparison box. When you do a Math Mountain, the top of the Mountain is the total. The bottom of the Mountain is the 2 partners.

Social Studies:
The third grade students in all three rooms are weaving mats for our Native American Unit. It is lots of fun. We have learned about three different Native people who live in the forest, the grasslands, and the desert. This week we will learn about 1st Mesa and the Sun Kachina.

Questions of the Week:

Prefix, Base Word, Suffix

Below are five words, identify the prefix or suffix and the base word

• unstable


• disagree


• wonderful


• understandable


• unbelievable

Word Comparison Problem:

Jaxsen got a new baby sister at his house this week. Jaxsen's dad changed 38 diapers this week. Jaxsen's mom changed 12 more diapers than Jaxsen's dad. How many diapers did Jaxsen's mom change? Hey Jaxsen????? Help change baby Lucy's diapers!!!!! (You can use comparison bars to help you solve).

We are Almost There!!!

It is a wonderful week in Room #1. All of our students are right where they need to be with their AR Goals. Please look below for a great week full of learning.

HOUSEKEEPING:

Thursday, November 17, 2011: Title One Math Night from 6:00-7:00

Tuesday, November 22, 2011: End of Six-Week Grading Period

Tuesday, November 22, 2011: AR Goal Deadline

Tuesday, November 22, 2011: AR/George Marvelous Medicine Party

Story of the Week: The Talking Cloth by Rhonda Mitchell

Spelling List:

spring

knee

throw

patch

strong

wrap

three

watch

street

know

spread

write

The spelling words have consonant clusters that come in groups of three like STReet and SPRead. The spelling test will be on Friday of this week. Study Hard!! Our story this week is about a wonderful lady that collects lovely things as she travels throughout the world. One of the special things she owns is some colorful cloth from Africa. This is the story about this cloth.

MATH:

Bravo on Unit 2 Math Test. You did a great job with measurement, lines, perimeter, and recognition of quadrilaterals. Last week we started on word problems with comparisons and unknown starts. This is a fairly long unit....so keep pushing through.

Social Studies:

We were able to make our clay pots on Friday. We will start our weaving sometime this week. If you have special yarn you would like to use...you are welcome to bring it to class. We have quite a bit left over from last year because one of the moms donated it to us. We will continue to learn about the Native People of our country and their traditions and ways of life.

Questions of the Week?

Claire has some beads. She gave 23 beads to Jenna. Now Claire has 14 beads left. How many beads did Claire have to start with?

BRAINSTORM: List 5 things you could do in the Ocean.

ANALOGY:

Farmer:Field

Doctor:_______

Farmer is to Field as

Doctor is to ______________?

It Was A GREAT HALLOWEEN...Thanks for Visiting!!

First of all, we want to thank all of the parents who helped out at are Halloween Party on Monday. Thanks Mrs. Hyde for running the show and helping us with our Halloween Craft Cans. The kids had a blast!!---and the food was delicious!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ORDER OF THE PHOENIX READING WINNERS:

Claire-Marie and Jaxsen were the first boy and girl to reach their AR GOAL. Nice Job kids!!!!

Housekeeping:

Monday, November 7, 2011: PLC Early Release

Tuesday, November 8, 2011: Elections--Media Center Closed

Wednesday, November 9, 2011: Visiting Author of "Levin Thumps"

Tuesday, November 22, 2011: AR Goal Deadline

Our story this week is called "Grandma's Records". It is another story from our Unit 2 Theme Traditions. Get ready to learn some fun new vocabulary words and read a great story. The spelling words this week, are the ones I put on the BLOG last week. It was a mess-up on my part. I apologize. The spelling list in your homework is the one you will be taking this week.

• now


• off


• for


• almost


• also


• can't


• cannot


• about


• always


• today


• until


• again


• February


• Wednesday


• Saturday


• January
  

This week we will finish our quick unit on measurement and shapes and begin our Unit on Story Problems with comparisons. Remember to label all of your work. If we are measuring in centimeters, use the abbreviation (cm) for your label.

Social Studies:

We will begin our Unit on Native Americans. There are three groups of people we study. We will also start to weave our Native American mats. It is a lot of fun.

Question of the WEEK:

Carlos has some legos, Easton has 23 more than Carlos. Altogether they both have 36 Legos. How many legos does Carlos have? You are finding a DIFFERENCE......What do you do?

What kind of noun is Red Lobster? Common or Proper?

Have a great week....we sure think you are GREAT. Good luck to Jaxsen's mom as she is very close to having her new little baby. And a warm wish out to Aly's mom who just had her appendix removed. Hope you feel better soon. Thanks for all you both do in our classroom to make it successful.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HOUSEKEEPING:
Monday, October 31, 2011: Halloween!!! Class Party begins at 12:30
Monday, October 31, 2011: Early Release PLC
Monday, October 31, 2011: WEAR RED DAY
Tuesday, November 1, 2011: Red Ribbon Wear Pajamas Day
Wednesday, November 2, 2011: Red Ribbon Crazy Hair Day
Thursday, November 3, 2011: Red Ribbon Backwards/Inside Out Day
Friday, November 4, 2011: Red Ribbon Extreme Spirit Day (wear Ellis colors)
Friday, November 4, 2011: Deadline for bringing money in to order Special Class Book
Wednesday, November 2, 2011: McDonald's Night

LANGUAGE:
This week our class is going to work on writing instructions on how to do something. We will learn how to use time order words such as:
first
then
next
finally

Spelling Words for the week are:
now
off
for
almost
also
can't
cannot
about
always
today
until
again
February
Saturday
Wednesday
January

Math:
We just finished up our unit on addition and subtraction and now it is time for a little Geometry. We will measure lines and learn how to recognize more complex shapes.

Social Studies:
As we finish learning about the organization of a community and its leaders and people, we will begin to study about several different Native American Communities.

Question of the Day......
How many sides does a rectangle have?
How many sides does a circle have?
Who is the mayor of Chubbuck, the community where we live?

Of course we are looking for good spelling, neat penmanship, and proper punctuation.

The BFG Party was a HUGE SUCCESS!!

Housekeeping:

Thanks to all the parents who were able to make it into Parent Teacher Conferences and the Conference Open House. We feel it was a huge success. The students are off to a magnificent start with their Reading Goals. Keep on bringing the Reading logs back!!

Friday, October 28, 2011: Kick-off Assembly for Red Ribbon Week

Friday, October 28, 2011: Fall Pictures

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: McDonald's Night

Monday, October 31, 2011: Halloween Party-First Day of Red Ribbon Week (Wear Red Day)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: Pajama Day

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, November 3, 2011: Inside Out Day

Friday, November 4, 2011 Extreme Ellis Spirit Day

We start a new Reading Unit this Week. It is called "Traditions". The first story is a non-fictional (true) story byPatricia Polacco. It is called "The Keeping Quilt". It tells the story of a Family Heirloom passed down from generation to generation. The spelling words for the week concentrate on the long vowel sounds /a/ and /e/.

*paint

*clay

*feel

*leave

*neighbor

*eight

*seem

*speak

*paid

*lay

*need

*weigh

Please keep bringing your Reading Logs Back and Reading each Night!!

Math:

We are almost at the Unit End. This week we will review for the Unit Math exam, practice how subtraction relates to addition, practice more subtraction, and then take the test on Friday.

Social Studies:

Room #1 is learning about communities: a community's History, the people who live and work in a community and help make it successful.

Question of the week:

Subtract over zero to find the correct answer:

604

- 339

What kind of sentences are the following:

Would you please shampoo the baby's hair tonight in the bathtub?

I like to drink hot chocolate on a cold winter morning.

Let the Games Begin

The above video clip is of a college marching band performing their show at a football game. I showed this clip to the kids on Friday because we are learning the song with different lyrics...."Harry Potter's in the house tonight". They loved the clip so I included it on the Blog for this week.....ENJOY!! I am a huge marching band fan.

Our new Quidditch Quest for Gold will begin on Monday, October 17, 2011. The students will begin their new AR Goal Reading Challenge. The goal deadline is November 22, 2011. So start reading and testing. All goals will be a little larger than the previous 6-weeks....because now we know what your potential is.

Housekeeping:

• Monday, October 17, 2011: Beginning of 6-week grading period. New AR Goals start here. PLC early release.


• Thursday, October 20, 2011: Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-6:00 pm scheduled conferences. 6:00-8:00 pm Open House. Come and see what your kids have been doing.


• Thursday/Friday, October 20-21st: Grandparent's Day 8:30 AM in the cafeteria


• Friday, October 21, 2011: AR/BFG Party--Our whole class made it!! Way to go!!

Language:

This week is a genre study. The students will be learning about different types of poems and will be writing some poems in class. We will begin re-copying our Personal Narrative stories so we can prepare to send them into the publishers. They will make great Christmas gifts. The spelling list is as follows:

stand

rest

plate

clock

white

stuff

spoke

bend

frame

twist

June

mile

Math:

This is the week we have been waiting for. We think the kids are really grasping the idea behind ungrouping for subtraction in the tens and hundreds place. This week will really test their subtraction skills as we begin to subtract across zeros.

Social Studies:

This past week we began to study" about communities...how they began, how they grow, and how they function. What is the history of a community? What are the roles of citizens in a community?

Questions of the Week:

Lucky for you guys and gals, there are three questions this week but you still get to earn only one red token for providing the answers. The first question is a math question......

• What is 845-389? Yes you will have to ungroup in the tens and in the hundreds....Good luck!!


• What is a synonym for the word "SCARY"? (Please don't write Mrs. Graham)


• What are the 5 parts of a friendly letter....we have been doing this each morning on the Promethean Board.

End of 6 Weeks!!!

Class #1 wants to congratulate the first boy and girl who were able to join the "Order of the Phoenix"...first boy and girl to reach their AR goal. The lucky winners are:

Kaleb Demuzio and Jenna Hedstrom. We start the contest at the onset of every 6-week grading period. So READ-ON!!

Housekeeping:

Monday, October 10, 2011: Early Release PLC

Thursday, October 13, 2011: End of First Six Weeks

Thursday, October 13, 2011: AR Goal deadline

Thursday, October 20-21: Grandparents Day (8:30 AM)

Thursday, October 20: Parent Conference Open House 6-8 pm

Language: The story for next week is Lost and Found by Mark Teague. The students will love this silly, action-packed adventure. It is one of their favorites. The spelling words for this week focus on the long vowel and silent e pattern:

smoke

huge

save

life

wide

come

mine

grade

smile

note

cube

love

Don't Forget.....The AR Goal Deadline in Thursday, October 13, 2011!!

Math:

On Monday, the students will begin learning how to subtract multi-digit numbers. We will spend a few weeks on this because subtraction over zeroes gets a little tricky!! Keep working on your math fast facts. Remember those strategies. Subtraction is just undoing those strategies.

Social Studies:

Also on Monday, the students will start our Social Studies Unit on communities. We will discuss what makes up a community and the important roles people play in the communities they live in.

Question of the Week:

BRAINSTORM:

Things that go really fast....... ( I need at least 5 items)

Correct this sentence:

me and mrs shore are gonna exercise every morning this week from 530 to 615

CARNIVAL WAS GREAT!!!

THANKS PTA!!!! The Carnival was sooooooo much fun! You did a great job!!

Housekeeping:

Monday, October 3, 2011: Early Release PLC

Monday/Tuesday, October 2011: Special Visitors into Room #1 from ISU Technology Department

Wednesday, October 5, 2011: Spelling Test

Thursday/Friday: Professional Inservice Days

Thursday, October 13, 2011: End of First Six Weeks....AR Goal Deadline

Language:

This week is a short week. We will do a two story review. The two stories are

"The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington" and "Radio Rescue". We will take a clicker test on the correct way to take tests. Please keep reading this week even though we are out of school for 2 days. It is almost time for our AR goal deadline.

Spelling List:

drum

huge

drop

last

class

left

wide

mix

send

save

smell

stick

note

thick

hunt

thin

grade

lot

cube

pond

life

sock

luck

shut

smile

MATH

The students in room one have been reviewing addition strategies for double and triple digit numbers. Remember when you are adding money, you need a dollar sign and a decimal point. This week we will start with subtracting. Keep working on those math fact strategies:

*Make a 10

*Doubles

*Doubles plus one

*Plus one

*Plus two

We have learned "New Groups Above", "New Groups Below" and "Show all Groups". These are just a few methods we have learned when adding which help the students to understand the idea behind regrouping numbers.

Social Studies

Our class wrapped up the Science Unit on the Moon, Earth, and Sun and will begin learning about communities this week.

Question of the Week:

What is the antonym for the word "smooth"?

If STEADY and STICKER were the two guide words on a dictionary page, which word below could belong on the page?

*stitch

*stump

*stack

*steak

*staff

FACT or OPINION???? Spiders are the coolest scary things at Halloween time.

CARNIVAL WEEK!!

Housekeeping:
Monday, September 26, 2011: Ellis PTA Fall Carnival---5:30-7:30 pm
Thursday, September 29, 2011: "The Standards" Vocal Group 1:30 pm in cafeteria
Friday, September 30, 2011: Family Adventure Story due--polished and ready to publish
Friday, September 30, 2011: Library Day
Friday, September 30, 2011: Homework Due
Thursday, October 13, 2011: AR READING GOAL DEADLINE
PLEASE KEEP SIGNING AND READING YOUR CHILD'S AR READING LOG!! WE CHECK EVERY DAY

LANGUAGE
The story of the week is the Ballad of Mulan, the story of a brave young girl who goes and fights for her country. We will do some fun Chinese Character Writing and learn great facts about the country of China. It is in the continent of ASIA. Following is the spelling list for the week. The Spelling Test will be Friday, September 30, 2011. The spelling pattern is short vowel sounds.

pond
luck
drop
lot
rub
does
drum
sock
hunt
crop
shut
won

MATH
The students in Room #1 are just beginning to work on addition and subtraction with numbers containing more than one digit. There are several strategies to learn which will make it more understandable for each student. Decide which adding strategy you like best.

Science:

This week will be the conclusion of our Unit on the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Be prepared to review for a Unit test by the end of the week. Next week we will start our Social Studies Unit on Communities.

Question of the Week.....

1) Name the seven continents

2) Write this number in EXPANDED FORM: 2,469

Have a great week!!

"We are Responsible and Always Learning"

We Are Sorted!!

READING/WRITING WORKSHOP
Housekeeping:
Monday, September 26, 2011: PTA Carnival....It will be a great time for all!!

Language:
Our students have been sorted into Harry Potter houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. They can earn points during class time rotations and instructions to be added to their house points. The points will be posted at the end of each week above the white boards in the classroom. Let the battle begin!!

Accelerated Reading also began last week. Your child has a goal to work for. This being the first 6-week grading period, we are getting a feel for what our students can do. Some of the goals may seem a little low....this is because we were delayed in our starting of AR due to new computer
operating systems. Thank you for your patience. The goal end is OCTOBER 13, 2011. Mark it on your calendar.

Reading Logs will come home on Monday. Your child should be reading between 20 and 30 minutes each evening. We will check reading logs each day in class during rotations. Please bring them back.

Homework is due by this Friday. Nice job on getting it done last week. You are amazing!!

This week our focus is on writing a Personal Narrative. Each personal narrative will be published and sent back East to be "Hard Bound" by Student Treasures Publishing Company. We are asking the students to write the story in class and then polish at home with parent help. These make nice gifts for Christmas and run about $19 dollars for each book.
Writing we will work on in class:

• Amazing "catch your attention" beginning


• 3-star sentences


• color words


• complete sentences with correct punctuation


• organization

The spelling words for this week came home in the the Friday Folders.

have

haven't

found

around

one

than

then

them

before

because

other

mother

MATH

For the last 2 weeks we have been working on addition strategies:

Make a ten

Add one

Add two

Doubles plus one

Doubles plus two

Add ten

We are hoping the review of these strategies will provide a more stable foundation for the students as they move forward in adding greater numbers with regrouping.

SCIENCE

The students in third grade continue to learn about the Sun, Earth, and Moon and our neighboring planets in Space. A chapter test will be given at the end of this week.

Question of the Week:

Put these words in ABC order: snow, sneak, snout, snicker, slope

Fact or opinion?: Carrots are a vegetable.

Write this in possessive form: The shoes of the girl

GOOD LUCK YOU SMART LITTLE HARRY POTTERS

IRI Week....Read Like a Cheetah Runs

Important Dates:
Monday September 12, 2011: Third Grade IRI
Monday September 12, 2011: Grandparents' Day
Monday September 12, 2011: PLC---Early Release
Friday September 16, 2011: Constitution Day


Language:
Our story of the week is called Cliff Hanger by Jean Craighead George. The setting takes place in Idaho--in the beautiful Teton Mountains. This story is REALISTIC FICTION. This means it really could have happened. Get ready to learn some cool "climbing words" and start on our first reading adventure of the year.

Spelling Words:

• mix


• milk


• last


• smell


• head


• friend


• class


• left


• thick


• send


• thin


• stick

Study the words hard this week. Listen to each sound. We will also be studying sentences. What parts does a sentence need in order to be a sentence? Some of you already know the answer to this because you learned it in First and Second Grade.

Math:

For the next week, we will continue to review strategies for addition and subtraction of numbers to 20. We will use our Math notebooks. Don't forget to skip a space between each number or problem. Work neatly and PLEASE include your name on your paper.

Science:

We hope you have enjoyed your Science lessons at the end of every day. Learning about space, the earth, the moon, and the sun can be a lot of fun. We hope to provide more experiments and in-class participation so we can really learn the concepts.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK: Headmaster Graham and Headmaster Shore

Question of the Week: In our "Mountain Language" we have been learning all sorts of different language skills. Please do the following:

What is the plural of dish?

What is the noun in this sentence?......The Pacific Ocean is aqua blue.

What two words make up this contraction? .......won't

Yes!! Good luck in answering these three questions for a lovely RED TOKEN....Good Luck!!

Welcome to Ellis School of Cooperation and Learning!

Welcome Back Students and Harry Potter Fans!!
Mrs. Shore and I have been working (and playing) all summer dreaming up great ideas for our Harry Potter classroom. We want all of our students to have a fantastic and fun experience as they learn and grow in Room #1. We are so excited for school to start and anticipate meeting each of our new students on Thursday, September 1, 2011. School starts at 8:25. Bring your Back to School Supplies so we can get then organized in your desk and the learning can begin.

Here is a glimpse at some of the things you will see in our classroom this year:

• Tournament of Champions (5 gold medals to be awarded at the end of every six weeks for the 5 top AR readers).


• Goblet of Fire (drawing at the end of the year for those who have 100% on returning Homework Assignments and 100% for returning your Reading Log. You will earn a token at the end of every 6-week grading period....there will be a fabulous prize awarded).


• Collection of the Deathly Hallows: Passing off addition, subtraction, and multiplication in the Fastt Math Program


• Order of the Phoenix (We will induct the first boy and girl to reach their AR Goal into the "Order". There will be 2 winners at the end of every 6-week grading period).


• O.W.L.S. (Outstanding Writing Language Samples) Our students are going to do lots of fun writing this year. Be prepared to read some cool stuff!!

We just can't wait to meet all of you. Ellis Elementary is strongly emphasizing Safety, Responsibility, and Respect at our school this year. Be prepared to hop on your broomsticks and let the magic begin!!

Question of the Day: How old was Harry Potter when he got his invitation to attend Hogwart's School of Magic? (You can post in the comment section)!

ISATS are finished!!!

We finished the Math ISAT test with a bang. Our percentages were really great. The number of students who scored ADVANCED was significantly higher than previous years. Way to go students!! This Tuesday we take the IRI state reading test. We are hoping for great reading scores:
House Keeping:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011: IRI Reading test
Tuesday, May 10, 2011: ISU Children's Choir Assembly
Friday, May 13, 2011: Individual Class Talent Show

Language Arts:
The story of the week is the last in our Reading Series. It is Romona Quimby, Age 8. Next week we will begin our Magic Tree House Series book studies, complete with activities and fun learning. The three books we study this year are:
Afternoon on the Amazon
High Tide in Hawaii
Tonight on the Titanic

The spelling list for this week goes as follows:
I'm
he's
aren't
couldn't
won't
o'clock
wouldn't
weren't
she's
wasn't
shouldn't
I'd

MATH:
We will review for the rest of the year. We are going to show the third graders how to set up math problems on lined paper. Because we have been working in a consumable book all year, they haven't got the chance to learn this skill. It takes a few good times to do it correctly.


Science:
We will continue our study of the Life Cycle and Living things.

Question of the week?
What is the Math Order of Operations? Or what comes first in a chain of operations? Addition? Multiplication? Division? Subtraction?

WOW!! On the Reading ISAT

Congratulations to all of the students who completed the Reading ISAT testing. We will conclude this week with our Math ISAT on Thursday, April 28, 2011. Also a BIG THANK YOU to those parents who have brought in snacks for the testing. This gives our brains a big boost. There was a lot of reading on the ISAT this week. Way to go students!!! Thank you also for coming out to Parent Teacher Conferences. We had a wonderful turnout and the students loves sharing their slide shows with you.

Upcoming Schedule:

• Wednesday, April 20, 2011: Last 6-week grading period begins


• Thursday, April 28, 2011: Math ISAT test


• Wednesday, May 3, 2011: Sping IRI testing window


• Tuesday, May 10, 2011: ISU Children's Choir Performance


• Wednesday, May 11, 2011: Yo-Yo Assembly


• Friday, May 13, 2011: Individual Third Grade Class Talent Show

Language Arts: Poppa's New Pants

Everyone wear something plaid this week. We are going to read a great story!!

The spelling list concentrates on words that begin with the first syllable /a/ or /be/:

began

again

around

before

away

about

alive

ahead

because

between

behind

ago

Math:

This is it......this is it.....The last ISAT is this Thursday. We feel our students are so prepared for the Math portion of the ISAT testing. We work on it so hard all year long. And we have some amazing Math students in our class. This next week will be a review week for many important curricular areas in math. After ISAT we will review addition/subtraction, rounding, regrouping, multiplication, and measurements.

Science:

Our last Unit of Study will be The Amazon Rain Forest and Life Cycles of Living Things. These last two subjects are two of the most memorable activities we do in the 3rd grade.

Questions of the Week for anyone who wants to post their answer:

How many teeth does an Adult have (if all of their teeth were there?)

What is the order of Math Operations we learned in class?

LANGUAGE ISATS........AWESOME SCORES!!

Just to let you know, our class did great on the Language ISATs. Our percent proficiency was very high. Thanks for being great students and great parents. We have two more ISATs to go and then the IRI.

Dates to remember:

April 19th-29th: Parent request for teachers are available in the office

Tuesday, April 19, 2011: End of Fifth 6-Week grading period

Ongoing popcorn fundraiser

Thursday, April 21, 2011: Reading ISAT

Thursday, April 21, 2011: 5:30-7:30 Parent Teacher Conference Open House

Friday, April 22, 2011: Earth day field clean-up as a school

Thursday, April 28, 2011: Math ISAT test

Wednesday, May 4, 2011: IRI

Friday, May 13, 2011: Individual class Talent Show

Our Literature Selection of study this week is Pepita Talks Twice.

We are excited to have a new student in our class who used to live in Mexico when she was a little girl. It will be great to have her help us with some of the Spanish Words in the story. She speaks Spanish very well.

Spelling list focuses on words ending with /er/ or words ending with /le/

summer

winter

little

October

travel

color

apple

able

November

ever

later

purple

Math:

We are finishing our Unit on customary and metric lengths and measurements. We will finish the this Wednesday. We will then start reviewing for the Math ISAT test. These are some really great things to be working on at home:

rounding

subtraction over zero

multiplication

basic addition and subtraction

associative property

commutative property

customary lengths and measurements

multiplication

subtraction over zeros

subtraction and addition with

regrouping

money

time

***Did I mention subtraction over zeros and multiplication???????

Science:

This week will also conclude our study of health and nutrition. We will end the year learning about life cycles and even grow butterflies in our classroom from a kit.

Have a lovely week!! (Exclamatory sentence)

Questions of the week:

Why was Jay Berry finally able to catch the monkeys in Summer of the Monkeys.

Name a story we studied that is non-fiction (one that really happened)