A Week of Opinions.....

This week is a writing week. We are writing our opinion on something, or how we think or feel about something. When we have an opinion, we have to back it up with specific details and examples of why we feel or think the way we do. This past week we formed an opinion on two types of muffins we sampled in class. We had to observe the differences in the muffins and also tell how they were alike. The we had to taste the muffins and tell which muffin we liked the best. Then we had to give specific examples of why we chose a certain muffin. We did the same thing again with cereal (Trix and Corn Chex). We are practicing writing our opinions as we prepare for writing our in-class Opinion Piece. Mrs. Shore is working on a piece called Heroes. She will be working on the Hero piece next week as the students continue to write their Opinion paper.
For example:
     Every year Mrs. Shore's family and Mrs. Graham's family go on a wonderful week long camping trip. We do all sorts of fun things while we are there. We play games, we sing songs, we explore and swim, but best of all....we go on fabulous, long hikes. Last year, we hiked up to an icy cold glacier lake. It took us all day to get there, and we have some marvelous hikers.
     Two of the hikers are Ryan (Mrs. Graham's youngest son) and Anthony (Mrs. Shore's oldest son). They are true friends. They work together all summer for a farmer. They help him irrigate his pasture and take care of his hay. They love to camp and hike and are excellent hikers.
     I want to tell you why they are such good hikers. First of all, they are in very good shape. Their legs are long and they have a lot of strength. Secondly, they love to hike and explore as they go. When they hike they may get ahead of the rest of the group so they can go and check out other interesting points along the way. Third, these boys are great hikers because they have hiked so much with their Scout Troop and learned to enjoy hiking and the outdoors. We have so much fun trying to keep up with them as we hike to different spots each year.
     As I have already stated, Ryan and Anthony are hiking enthusiasts. Our families anxiously wait for this summer when they can lead us to some undiscovered mountain top we have never visited before. I can't wait to go hiking again!!

Housekeeping:
Monday, October 28th: PLC/Early Release
Monday, October 28th: "Say BOO to Drugs" (Wear Orange and Black for Red Ribbon Drug-Free Week).
Tuesday, October 29th:"Sock it to Drugs" (Wear Crazy Socks)
Wednesday, October 30th: "Team Up Against Drugs" (Wear a sports jersey)
Thursday, October 31st: "Ready to be Drug Free" (Wear Red)
Thursday, October 31st: Halloween Party starts at 12:30 pm. We will have games and healthy snacks!

Language Arts:
As I have previously explained, the students in Jurassic Park room #1 will be engaged in writing an opinion piece next week. Following are the English Language Arts Learning Targets for the next 6 weeks:
I can read accurately and fluently on a third grade level.
I can spell third grade words correctly. (Studied words, and words when I write).
I can capitalize and punctuate correctly when I write.
I can describe the 5 parts of a short story (setting, character, plot, conflict, theme)
I can compare the author's point of view from my own.
I can write a 3-paragraph opinion piece with supporting details.
I can write short opinion pieces (1 well-written paragraph)
I can revise and edit my writing.
I can gather information by taking notes.

Spelling List for this week: Please refer to the list which was sent home.

Math:
This is our last week of subtraction. After this week, we will begin multiplication facts through 10 x 10. We have some great ideas for helping the kids memorize these facts, but first of all, they need to understand what multiplication is. Here are the basic subtraction concepts we have been working on for the past 2 weeks:
Subtract when ungrouping the tens.
Subtract when ungrouping the hundreds.
Subtract across zeros.
Subtract numbers through 999.

Following if a list of the Learning Targets for Math. These targets will be in place for the next 7-9 weeks.
I can correctly solve multiplication problems using the different symbols. 

I can correctly solve division problems using the different symbols. 

I can solve multiplication and division problems using fact families. 

I can use the inverse operation of multiplication to find the missing number. 

I can solve a variety of multiplication and division problems by using the different properties of multiplication. 

I can use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve word problems and then use mental math to decide if my answers are reasonable. 

Social Studies:
Next week the students will read the selection "Aurora means Dawn". We will discuss the 5 parts of a short story. We will take notes to gather information. We will discuss the story as a class. We will answer questions referring to the text. We will use correct punctuation, grammar, spelling, and capitalization when we write.It is a wonderful story about a family who is moving out West to settle land that no person had settled before. This story takes place many years ago during the westward expansion.

Short Opinion piece of the week: (See my example at the top of this BLOG)
Choose your favorite ice cream to write a short (1 well-written paragraph) opinion piece.
These are the things I am looking for:
An interesting introduction about what the topic is about.
Choose your favorite ice cream.
Back up your opinion with well-written detailed sentences. You need a minimum of 4 well written details to back up your opinion.
Concluding Sentence to summarize your paragraph.

**Tommy and Blaykley and all other BLOG readers, if you bring me your well-written paragraph, you can earn 5 tokens!!! GOOD LUCK....

Second Six Weeks....First Kids to Meet their AR Goal.....These Students are SPEEDY!!

Blaykley 

Claire

Easton

Housekeeping:
Monday, October 21st: Early Release/PLC
Wednesday, October 23rd: PE
October 21st-October 25th: Ellis Book Fair in the Library
October 23rd and 24th: Grandparents and Granola
October 24-October 31st: RED RIBBON WEEK...activities will be announced in class.




Wednesday 23rd: "Put a cap on Drugs" (wear a cap)
Thursday 24th: Wear something bright
Friday 25th: Get into the spirit of Red Ribbon Week (Wear Ellis colors)
Monday 28th: Say "Boo" to drugs (Wear Orange and Black)
Tuesday 29th: "Sock it to drugs" (Wear crazy socks)
Wednesday 30th: "Team up against drugs" (Wear a team jersey)




Language Arts:
Grades are up on Infinite Campus. Each 6-week grading period we will always be working on these three "I Can" statements in Language Arts:

• I can spell third grade words correctly.
• I can use proper capitalization and punctuation when I write.
• I can read and understand books on a third grade level.

Other Language Arts Learning Targets for the next 6 weeks include:

I can identify the main idea in text I read and the supporting details.

I can write my opinion on a topic and support it with details.

I can discover if my point of view about a story is different than the authors'.

I can edit my paper with the help of an adult.

I can write a short organized opinion piece.

The story we are studying this week is called "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco. This is a true story about Patricia Polacco and her ancestors. Patricia Polacco narrated the story and illustrated it. We will be watching a video of another story written by Patricia Polacco and compare and contrast the two stories. We will write a short opinion piece about the stories starting next week.

The spelling words for this week's list are as follows:

• paint
• clay
• feel
• leave
• neighbor
• eight
• seem
• speak
• paid
• lay
• need
• weigh

MATH:
Place Value: Check

Addition: Check

Rounding to the Nearest 10: Check

Rounding to the Nearest 100: Check

YAY!!!! We are finally starting subtraction and regrouping!! We will spend 2 weeks on subtraction with regrouping and subtraction across zeros. We also started FAST Math on Friday and this will give the students another option as we are at our computer time. Keep working on those addition and subtraction facts because they will really help with multiplication and division!!

Social Studies:

The third graders at Ellis continue to learn about communities and how they started and where they are located. We are relating the communities we study back to our own community of Pocatello and Chubbuck. This week we will learn how rules are made in our community and why it is important to have laws.

We will be thinking about these questions:

• Why did the city of Pocatello start?
• Why are laws in our community important?
• What are some of the laws we have in our community?
• Why is it important for the citizens of Pocatello to follow the laws?

Question of the Week:

Read the following passage about crocodiles and alligators. Identify the Main idea and three supporting details:

    

     Suppose you happened to walk by a crocodile and an alligator at the same time. Did you know the alligator and the crocodile look very much alike? How can you tell an alligator from a crocodile?

     The alligator has a long, lumpy, bumpy body. So does the crocodile. The alligator has four short legs, sharp teeth, and a long, strong tail. so does the crocodile.

     But alligators and crocodiles are not exact look-alikes. They have different noses, or snouts.

     An alligator has a wide, rounded snout. It looks like the letter U. A crocodile's snout comes to a point. It looks more like the letter V.

     There is another important difference. You can see it when the animals' mouths are closed. alligators just show their top teeth. Crocodiles show both top and bottom teeth.

     Crocodiles are usually longer than alligators. They can also out swim alligators. Most crocodiles weigh more, too. That may be why crocodiles are better fighters.

The First AR Party was a HUGE HIT!!t

We Had Some Special Visitors at the AR Party!!

Housekeeping:

Wednesday, October 9, 2013: New Reading Goals Started

Monday, October 14, 2013: Early Release/PLC

Monday, October 14, 2013: AR Store

Tuesday, October 15, 2013: McDonald's Night

Wednesday, October 16, 2013: Music with Mr. O'Brien

Language Arts:

Last week, we had a great week of POETRY study. The students wrote the following poems:

• Free Verse (I Wish...) Please come and see our bulletin board display in the hallway!!
• Chant Poem (I'm Tired)
• List Poem (Ouch)
• Limerick

This was a really fun week of exploring different ways to write Poems. The students did an amazing job on all of their poems!!

This week in Language Arts we are writing a paragraph relating ourselves to a character in a story we read. The story is called "Radio Rescue". It is a true story about a young boy who uses his Ham Radio to notify rescue workers in a Florida Hurricane. The paragraph will be graded on the following items:

• A Title
• A "Catchy" Beginning
• Indentation
• Sticking to the Topic
• Relating the character in the story to themselves
• Punctuation and Spelling
• Neatness

**A Rubric will be attached

The students will also be reading short informational passages and identifying the main idea and supporting details. 

The following words will be included on the weekly Spelling Test. This is a large list because it is a review of all of the spelling patterns we have studied for the past 6 weeks.

• drum
• huge
• last
• drop
• class
• left
• wide
• mix
• send
• save
• smell
• mix
• note
• thick
• hunt
• thin
• grade
• lot
• cube
• pond
• life
• sock
• luck
• shut
• smile

Math:

We feel the students have a good grasp of addition strategies and adding numbers through 999. We are concentrating on rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100 this week. Next week we will begin subtraction of numbers through 999. At the end of our 9 week Math Unit, the students will work on a Performance Task utilizing addition, subtraction, rounding, and place value.

Social Studies:

The following topics will be discussed in Social Studies this week:

How we get what we need in a community.

A community has history.

Many people, many ways of life.

A community guidance card on how to be a good citizen.

Questions of the Week:

The 5th graders and the Third Graders at Pomroy Elementary have recess together. There are 238 third grade students. There are 322 fifth grade students.

How many students are there altogether?

How many more 5th graders are there than 3rd graders?

Rounding to the nearest 10, how many third graders are there?

Rounding to the nearest 100, how many 5th graders are there?

For an extra token, make an arrow string or number line and show how YOU would add 238 to 322?