ISAT's were a SUCCESS!!

The students in room #1 did an amazing job on their Math ISAT test. We were 96% proficient or advanced with most scores falling in the Advanced area. We are so proud of our students!!

Housekeeping:

Monday, April 29, 2013: Early Release, PLC

Thursday, May 2, 2013: IRI

Monday, May 6, 2013: ISU Children's Choir at 9:45 AM

Tuesday, May 7, 2013: Third Grade Smile Survey

Thursday, May 9, 2013: Art Fair

Friday, May 10, 2013: PTA Field Trip to the REEL Theater 

This week in Language we are doing several things. First of all, one of our vocabulary words for the week is PLAID. Mrs. Graham is going to pull out several of her PLAID outfits and wear them to school. They might not match, but she is going to wear them. I encourage all students that have something plaid, to wear it to school this week so we can learn the word plaid!!

The story of the week is Poppa's New Pants by Angela Shelf Medearis. It is a great story with a wonderful twist on the end. Our class is also working on a Unit Assignment called "Living in a Balanced World". We are creating the front page of a newspaper. Each student will create their own front page. Each front page will include 5 tasks. The students have already completed 2 of the tasks. Each task contains writing and keyboarding and printing.

On Monday, we will be selecting the parts for our rain forest play. We will share the play with parents towards the end of the school year. The play is in our room. It is one of the best events of the school year for our students.

Spelling List: Words that start with /a/ or /be/

• begin
• again
• around
• before
• away
• about
• alive
• because
• ahead
• between
• behind
• ago

Math: The students are learning how to transfer book problems to notebook paper in the proper format. We are starting with addition and continuing through with subtraction. The last 2 weeks of school, we will work on a fraction Unit.

Science and Social Studies:

Our room will receive its painted lady butterfly kit this week. The caterpillars are sent in a jar with food. The caterpillars form their chrysalis and transform into a butterfly. We let the butterflies go at the end of the school year. We will be learning about the rain forest and its different layers, animals and vegetation as we prepare for our rain forest play.

Question of the week:

If I were planting a garden in a rectangular area and the length of my garden was 12 feet and the width of my garden was 8 feet, how much square feet would my garden cover?  Remember, you are finding area not perimeter.

If there were 28 students in our class, how many students would make up 1/4 of our class?

How many pints are in 3 gallons of Kool-Aid?

Back on Track with the BLOG!!

We have been "rock"-ing the ISAT.
This is our last week of ISAT testing...so far, the results have been GREAT!! In Reading our students were 96% proficient or advanced, and in Language, our students were 86% proficient or advanced. All the third grade team at Ellis made a great video using the song "Dynamite" to pump the students up for the ISAT testing period. Following is the next week's agenda and any important events on the schedule.

Housekeeping:
Monday, April 22, 2013......PLC Early Release
Monday, April 22, 2013.......AR store open
Thursday, April 25, 2013.....Math ISAT
Thursday, May 2, 2013.......IRI reading (goal is 110 wpm)

Reading and Language:
On Monday, we will begin our last Theme of Study. It is called Smart Solutions. The first story in our Reading Anthology is Pepita Talks Twice. The story is about a young girl who speaks two languages. She is constantly asked to help translate or interpret for her friends and family. This becomes quite frustrating for her and she decides she only wants to speak English and not Spanish. The students always enjoy how she solves her problem of speaking twice.

Spelling List:

• summer
• winter
• little
• October
• travel
• color
• apple
• able
• November
• ever
• later
• purple

Math:
Last week we rotated through all of the third grade classrooms reviewing important skills necessary to do well on the ISAT math assessment. This week we will be practicing and reviewing more skills and then take the assessment on Thursday. The math ISAT usually takes 90 minutes to complete. Some students will finish earlier and some later. The important idea is to:
1) Read all the instructions carefully.
2) Use math strategies to help solve problems.
3) Take your time and do not rush.
4) Check each answer carefully.
5) Remember.....the test is not timed!!!! Do your best!!

Science:
We started a mini Unit on Nutrition and did some collaborative group work on Wednesday. The students had a great time. We will finish the Unit this week and then begin our Life Cycles theme.

Question of the Week.....
Fill in the blank in this Math Equation:

1)    7 x 24 = ______ x 7 (Remember to use the Commutative Property)!!

2)    In our story "Trapped by the Ice", how many of the explorers survived  the journey? What happened to their dogs?

3) What is the proper way to show possessive in this statement?
    The dogs of the explorers were getting very hungry after the boat sank. 

4) What are the 5 elements of a story?  

Short Week and AR Goal is due!!

Housekeeping:
Monday, February 25, 2013: Penny Wars start
Monday, February 25, 2013: Early Release/PLC
Wednesday, February 27, 2013: Homework due
Wednesday, February 27, 2013: AR Goal deadline
Wednesday, February 27, 2013: End of Trimester
Thursday/Friday, February 28 and March 1, 2013: Professional Days/No school
Monday, March 4, 2013 Dr. Seuss Day

Language Arts:
We have been working hard these last two weeks collecting data and information for our Animal Reports. This week we will complete our last paragraph and write our final copy. The students have been typing the report on the computer. We expect everyone to type at least their first paragraph. The report will include a written paper, a picture of the animal in its habitat, a 5 slide PowerPoint show, and a graphic organizer showing how the student organized their information.

The story of the week is a short story called Alejandro's Desert. It is another fictional story about a man living in the desert and how he makes new friends. The spelling test will be this Wednesday and the homework for the week is also due.

The students were given an information sheet on the Lion's Club Essay. The topic of the essay is "How I serve my Community". The essay will be written and typed at home. It is a homework assignment. We thought about completing it in class, but need to finish up the animal reports. The Lion's club essay homework assignment is due the middle of March or the week of the 18th through the 22nd.

Math
We took a short break from multiplication last week and completed a quick unit on measuring time. We are back in the saddle with multiplication and are practicing multiplication by 6, 7 and 8. We will continue to work on these new multiplication facts for the next two weeks.

Social Studies:
For the past two weeks we have been studying about the Arctic and the people and animals that live there. We will complete the Arctic unit this week and the students will bring their packets home.

Question of the Week!!
Good job on the question from last week!

1) 8 x 3 = 6 x ?    What does the question mark stand for?

2) Solve the following multiplication problems using the Associative Property of Multiplication and the Distributive Property of Multiplication:
(4 x1) x 4 = ?
3 x (4 x 2) = ?
5 x (5 + 1)

Everyone has selected an amazing animal to learn more about!

 Hello Third Graders!!
Hope you had a great 100's day. Your Water Cycle Projects were great!! This year every student had a completed project on time. Nice job!! We are going to do some other activities with our water cycles on the IPAD's.
Housekeeping:
Monday, February 11, 2013: PLC/Early Release
Thursday, February 14, 2013: Valentine's Day (We will make our bags in class this week and pass out Valentine's at our Thursday party. Each student will receive a class list so they can write out their cards at the party).
Friday, February 15, 2013: Students need to be at 62% of their Reading Goal!!

Reading/Language Arts:
This week we start our Research Reports on an animal of our choice. We will get our information from Websites, My Big Campus, lectures, and home. Much of the writing will be completed in class. There will be a rubric explained to the students so they know what our expectations are for the paper. The students may choose to do research at home and bring the information to school. The writing project will take at least 2 weeks. Their Solar System papers were so great, we thought we would try some more writing.

Math:
Room #1 just completed their Unit Seven Math Test on 0's, 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, 9's and 10's. We have been going over several strategies in class to help them connect that multiplication is simply repeated addition and that division is no more than repeated subtraction. This is a difficult concept to understand. Once they get that idea, then they can learn and memorize their multiplication facts. We teach them strategies along the way to help them if they can't remember a fact. We are testing for fluency on the following multiplication facts:
0, 1, 2, 5, 9, 10
The students are times for one minute and given 30 problems. As soon as they pass off zeros and ones, they move to multiplication by 2's and so forth. If they can pass off all of these families, they earn a pizza party!! We are giving them several weeks to earn their pizza party. Extra practice at home is a GREAT IDEA!!

Science:
The Water Cycles were such a hit and all students turned in and presented a project. We continue to learn about the surface of the earth and its characteristics. We will finish up Earth and its resources this week and then start our Arctic Unit.

Question of the Week:
What is the area of a rectangle that is 9 inches wide and 7 inches long? Write the multiplication equation to answer this question.

What is a good trick when multiplying by ten?

What is your favorite thing about third grade?

We are starting our Animal Research Reports!!

Housekeeping:

• Monday, February 4, 2013: PLC/Early Release
• Monday, February 4, 2013: Water Cycle 3-D models due.
• Monday, February 4, 2013: Begin our Animal Research Reports/Brainstorming
• Monday, February 4, 2013: Begin our "What Freedom means to Me" essay
• Tuesday, February 5, 2013: District Administrators visit Room #2
• Friday, February 8, 2013: 100's day....wear a sport's number jersey.

Language Arts:
We have several writing assignments coming up in class. The first writing assignment is the American Legion Essay "What Freedom Do I Enjoy Most"? We will brainstorm ideas beginning tomorrow. We will also start our study of Theme Four in our Literature Unit. All students will think about an animal they would like to learn more about. We will gather information in class and begin the writing process to produce an informative research paper on an animal of their choice.

Math:
Each day in class, we have been modeling multiplication strategies to help the students understand the multiplication and division process better. These are some of the strategies we have been using:

• multiplication arrays
• word problems
• Math the Fun Way (fun stories to help us learn the multiplication facts)
• Illustrations
• Rectangular area problems
• Math manipulatives and counters
• Multiplication mountains
• The finger trick for 9's
• The BEST trick is first to understand that multiplication is just repeated addition and then to memorize your facts.

The students have reviewed multiplication with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10
This week we will review multiplication and division, work with some more word problems and strategies, and have a Unit Test on Friday.

Science:
Water Cycle models are due on Monday, February 4, 2013. Several students have already brought their models in. Each student will have a chance to explain their models and then display them in the Library. This is a huge part of their Science Grade...so please make sure you complete your project!! In Science this week, we will study erosion and the breaking up and building up of the surface of our Earth.

Question of the week:
Trem has 28 marbles. He has 4 small boxes. He wants to put an equal amount of marbles in each box. Write an equation to show this word problem.

How would I show the correct way to make this sentence possessive?
The chickens of Summer were white and fluffy.

Identify the parts of this sentence. What are the Nouns, Verb, Adjective, and Adverb?

The pink flamingo gently lifted its skinny, rough leg.

Seven scrawny snakes slithered silently through the dark, thick grass.

It Warmed Up (a little)!!

Congratulation to our last six-week AR Winners!!
Hunter Ellis and Phillip Bayes were the first girl and boy in room #1 to reach their AR goal.
Housekeeping:
Monday, January 28, 2013: PLC/Early Release
Monday, February 4, 2013: Water Cycle Models due
Tuesday, February 5, 2013: District Board Visits
Friday, February 8, 2013: Ellis 100 day celebration!!

Stories of the week:

• Dinosaur Bob and the Family Lazardo
• Fugitives on Four Legs

Spelling list (it's a big one)

• word
• sound
• clear
• also
• soft
• crown
• crack
• lawn
• girl
• knew
• here
• turn
• dark
• north
• orange
• her
• skin
• hear
• squeezed
• gym
• second
• jeans
• our
• hour
• knew

Language Arts:

This week we will review several skills we have been practicing over the past six weeks (verbs, base words with endings -er and -est, and comma rules) just to mention a few. The students did very well on the Idaho Reading Indicator and each student improved from the Fall IRI. We have formed some new House groups which will remain until the end of the year. Students continue to go to SWITCH groups from 10:00-10:50 AM on Monday-Thursday. This is a great way to really individualize their education and give them what they need to keep them going strong. Please continue to let your children use Myon.com for reading. It is a great resource. This is the second week or their new AR goals. They should be at about 36% of their new goal by Friday.

Math:

Our students continue to work on multiplication and also make connections with division. We are having them work with Math manipulatives so they can see and feel how multiplication works. So far we have worked on these multiplication families:

• 0's
• 1'2
• 2's
• 3's
• 5's
• 9's
• 10's

They know strategies for all of these multiplication facts. We realize they are just learning and so the facts will not be mastered. We do want them to make the connection that multiplication is just repeated addition and give them strategies to learn their multiplication facts. The quicker they can learn the facts, the better off they will be as they advance into upper grades.

Science:

Last week we learned about how much of our Earth contained land and how much of the Earth contained water. We learned that about 3/4's of the Earth is covered by water and 97% of it is salt water, 2% of it is ice and 1% is fresh water. This conversation lead us into a discussion on the water cycle and its different parts. Each student made a model in class on a piece of paper. They need to take their paper model home and create a 3D model to bring back to class. The students will be graded on their participation and completion of the project. The project is due back in class on Monday, February 4, 2013. Ben Merrill has already brought his back to class!! Way to go Ben!!

Question of the Week:
Mia wants to plant a garden in the shape of a rectangle. The perimeter of the the garden is 24 feet. If the long sides of the rectangle each measure 8 feet, how long are the short sides of the rectangle?

To answer this question you will have to know 2 things:
1) What does perimeter mean?
2) What is a rectangle?

Write a multiplication word problem using this equation:
3 x 6 = 18........BE CREATIVE!!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!! Hope you had a fun day!!

Housekeeping:
Monday, Jan. 21, 2013: Martin Luther Kind Day
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013: Awards Assembly from 2:00 to 2:30

Congratulations to all students who have reached their AR goal for all of the grading periods!!



Congratulations to all students who have completed Fast Math addition.

Reading:
Last week all of the third grade students at Ellis took the Winter IRI. We had some amazing growth and great scores!! There will be some changes in our Title One groups and switch groups. We are gong to have a big push for the next 2 1/2 months as we prepare for the ISAT test and the Spring IRI. We have some great readers in our class. The new goals for AR have been set. The students need to be at 21% of their new goal by this coming Friday.

The story of the week is The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.  The students will be listening to the story and working on various skills. The spelling list for the week focuses on homophones or words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings:

• hear
• here
• new
• knew
• its
• it's
• hour
• our
• there
• their
• they're

The skill we will focus on is using verbs in the past and future tense. For example:
1) The small girl danced in the dance recital last night. (danced is past tense)
2) The small girl will dance at her practice tomorrow night (will dance is future tense)

Math
The students have learned the following multiplication facts:

• Zero is the KING
• One is like a mirror
• Two times a number means add that number twice (or make a double)
• 3x3=9
• 3x4=12 "One, two, three, four,....I like math let's do some more!!
• 4x4=16 "You have to be 16 years old to drive a 4x4 truck!!"
• 5 count-bys
• 10 count-bys

That is a lot of facts to know. We will continue to practice for several more weeks. We will also learn the basic concept of division along with the multiplication facts.

Science:
We started learning about Earth's resources last week. There are three things we cannot live without.

• air
• water
• food

This week we are going to learn about how much usable water the Earth has and how we can keep our water clean. We will learn about the Water Cycle and make a model of it in class. Each student will practice making a model in class, but will also be required to make a model of the Water Cycle at home. There have been some fabulous ideas over the past years. Water Cycles made out of cakes, candy, Lego's, terrariums, and wheel charts. This is a great science project for the students and helps them to learn the parts of the Water Cycle. I have already asked permission from Mrs. Whitehead to let our students display their water cycles in the Ellis Media Center. We will have some ideas to display for the students.



Question of the Week:
Make multiplication word problem for 3 x 6 = 18.
What are the factors (multipliers or partners) in this problem?
What is the product?

If macaroni and march were the guide words on a dictionary page, what word would be found on the page?

• marriage
• matchstick
• melody
• maps
• middle
• master