The Last Weekly Update :(

While I am very excited for summer fun, I am getting so sad thinking of not seeing my Team 38 friends. This week we will focus on having fun, making memories, and celebrating all our hard work!

Word Work: Yellow group test today. Green group test Tuesday.
Science: We completed our final health switches, learning about the skeletal system. If your child has not turned in the Hygiene checklist from last week, please turn it in tomorrow to receive points.
Social Studies: Students have been working on a "glogster" board presenting all their learning about a Native American tribe. Check out our blog to see their presentations (click link "Glogster Projects")! We will wrap up the Native American unit on Tuesday with a test.
Writing: As a final project, students will write their own versions of "Diary of a 3rd Grader."
Reading: We are staying up to date with current events in TFK reading. We will also set goals for summer reading!
Important Dates: Tuesday: Ice Cream Party celebrating multiplication mastery. YOUR CHILD MAY BRING IN ANY TOPPING THEY WANT!! We will share toppings and students will pile on as much as they want....sorry in advance for tummy aches!
Wednesday: Suson Field Trip with Kindergarten Buddies 12:45-3:10. Students need to bring a snack and wear appropriate clothing (tennis shoes, hats, etc.)
Thursday: Last Day of Third Grade!! Dismiss at 11:40.

I can't say this enough....Thank you for making this year extra special. I LOVE my group of students and wish you all were moving with me, so I could teach them 4th grade. I know, completely unrealistic! I'm confident that each of these amazing children will grow to be kind and exceptional adults! Keep me updated along their journey :)

2nd to Last Weekly Update

I know you have missed my weekly updates!!!  I can't believe there will only be 2 more and the year will be complete.  I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have such a wonderful group of students this year.  Every day your child makes me smile with their caring hearts and blooming personalities.  I have had so many lasting memories with this class. 

Thank you for raising such great kids!

This is what we will be doing this week:
Word Work:  Blue group (sort 32)- Test on Thursday
Yellow group (sort 19)- Test next Monday
Green group (sort 25) - Test next Tuesday
Math:  We are completing the fractions and decimals chapter (28) and will test this Tuesday.  Then we will spend the last week of school to review our learning and prepare a bit for 4th grade math.  Continue practicing multiplication facts with your child, as they will need to know all facts by memory in 4th grade!
Writing:  We are completing our poem books.  These are nice 3rd grade keepsakes (I made one when I was there age, and still use it every year to show my students)!  Then the students will be writing their own "Diary of a 3rd grader" book, another keepsake!  I'm excited for you to see how they've grown into interesting authors!  We are also typing our final pen pal letters this week.
Science:  We will discuss good hygiene this week.  The students are going to use a checklist this week to document how well they are taking care of their bodies.  Then we will study the skeletal system and make have health rotations on Thursday.
Social Studies:  We are researching various Native American tribes and presenting our learning to the class.  We will have our unit test next week on Tuesday.  
Reading:  We continue to work on our independent reading.  I am assessing each student's ability to comprehend the material they read.  Last Thursday at library, the students heard from a St. Louis county librarian.  She told them all about the various reading incentive programs the library offers this summer.  I highly encourage you to offer these to your child, as this will help your child prepare for 4th grade....and for life, in general!  The more they read, the smarter they will be!  I will be sending home a bookmark with the information printed on them...please look it over and visit the library to sign your child up!
Important Dates:
Wednesday, May 16th:  Living Museum!  Students need to be ready to share information about their historical figures.  They also need to dress like them.  Please don't go out and buy costumes...just use what you have and be creative! 
Friday, May 18th:  No school!  Staff professional development.
Saturday, May 19th:  Spirit Festival!!!

Finally, I end with a bit of bittersweet news.  This is my last year, here at Sappington.  My husband and I are moving down to San Antonio, Texas to be closer to my parents.  I will be teaching 4th grade at Blattman Elementary in San Antonio.  While I am very excited for this new adventure, I am very sad to leave my Sappington family.  I LOVE all the staff, students, and families here in the Lindbergh district and am going to miss all of you.  I'm averaging one good cry a week, and anticipate that it will only get harder before the final day.  Thank you for making my last year here such a pleasant one!  And please, please keep in touch....and contact me if you ever visit Texas!!

Weekly Update- April 30-May 4

Happy Monday!! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and stayed safe through those bad storms. Can you believe tomorrow is already May?! The end of the year is right around the corner and we are still working hard finishing up things in the classroom. Please continue to work with your students on their multiplication facts so everyone can enjoy the ice cream party on May 22.

This week:
Math- We are finishing up adding and subtracting fractions and will be doing a review game today before we take our multiple choice and free response quizzes on Tuesday and Wednesday.  After this week we will begin learning about fractions and decimals.

Spelling- This week we are all finishing up our word sorts. Blue group will test on Tuesday, yellow group will test on Wednesday, and green group with test on Thursday.

Writing- We are finishing up our ABC books that we have all created for our Kindergarten buddies.

Science- This week we are focusing on the nervous system as well as good hygiene.

Social Studies- We are continuing to learn about the Cherokee and Yurok Tribes.

Weekly Update- April 23-April 27

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
This is my last week in the classroom and I cannot believe this week has already come. I have learned SO much from your students and I cannot wait to teach my future students all your students have taught me. :)

This week:
Math: We are continuing to work with fractions and this week, we are learning how to add and subtract fractions. The students are doing such a great job on their fractions, I am very impressed. Please please please continue to work with your students on their multiplication facts as our ice cream party is less than a month away.

Spelling- All of our tests are finished and each group received a new set of words. Tests will be next week!

Science- We are continuing our unit on Health and this week we are learning about the muscular and circulatory system.

Writing- We are continuing to work in our seed books and today we are on journal 27. These journal writings are getting better and better!! Along with our seed books, we are also working on our ABC books that we are making for our buddies.

Social Studies- Our next tribe that we are going to focus on is the Cherokee tribe.

Dates to remember:
Monday 23-27-Scholastic Book Fair in the Library- ALL BOOKS ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!! Our day to shop is Thursday!!!
Wednesday April 25- Early release at 1:40
Friday, April 27- Spring Fling

Thank you Mrs. Narzinski!

Happy Secretaries Day, Mrs. Narzinski!

Autobiography/Biography Rubric

Here is the rubric, please let me know if you need another one or you can always print this out too! :)

Name ______________________  # ____   

                              

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY RUBRIC

Written Report    (see other side)                                                 Points

1. Completed the organizer completely                                             /15

2. Student’s name is on the paper                                                      /5

3. Paper was turned in on time     DUE MAY 16th                      /5

                                     

Total Written Project:                     /25

Oral Report                                                                                   Points

·        Students are expected to give an oral report as if they were the person they researched.  We will have our very own living museum.  Therefore, it is important that your child dress like the person and bring in something that reminds them of that person.  We will have our museum on May 16^th. 

1. Demonstrates understanding

    of your person                                                                               /15

2. Speaks mostly from memory                                                         /15

3. Demonstrates clear, sequential thought                              /10

4. Maintains good eye contact                                                          /10

5. Speaks clearly and loudly enough for all to hear                          /10

6.  Dressed like person/brought items                                              /15

                                                Total Oral                                         /75

Total Written Report              ______

Total Oral Report                   ______

Final Grade                              ______

Comments: __________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

A couple more things..

Here are a couple things I forgot to mention in the weekly updates.

First, please please please continue to work with your students on their multiplication facts. The ice cream party is May 22nd and I know Mrs. Feldt and I would love all of the students to participate. We try and take at least 1-2 tests each week so their will be no problem with running out of time, we just need to pass these tests because I know the students can do it!

Also, last week I sent home an autobiography/ biography rubric and I was meaning to send it home this week after I talked to the class (oops). This project is going to be due on May 16th and the students are asked to research a famous person whether it be an athlete, historian, artist, president, etc. I am asking the students to check out one book from our library on Thursday of someone they are interested in researching. On May 16th, the students will be present their oral report by being apart of a living museum.
If you have any further questions about their project, please don't hesitate to ask myself or the students.
:)

Weekly Update- April 16-20

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I am happy to annouce that your students have successfully finished their first MAP testing expereieces and they all did AMAZING! We are so proud at how much effort we saw during those two weeks and we thank you all for helping your students succeed. :)

We are back on our regualar school day schedule so we will be working hard this week getting back in the swing of things.

Spelling- Since it has been awhile since the students have visisted their words, they are reviewing them all today prior to their test. Blue group will test Tuesday, yellow group will test Wednesday, and green group will test Thursday.

Math- We are continuing to master fractions this week.

Writing- We are working on a couple of writing samples as well as starting a book for our buddies.

Science- This week we are starting our Health unit and will be focusing on nutrition/ digestive system. We have lots of fun things planned for the students during this unit that I think the students are going to have a great time learning about.

Social Studies- We are starting our S.S. unit with Native Americans and will first learn about the Navajo Indians.

Reading- The students are getting the chance to explore reading samples on the Nook readers that we have in the classroom. Each set of books that Mrs. Feldt puts on the readers, we have a worksheet that goes along with each reading.

Dates to rememeber:
April 25- Early Release

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
Go Cards!! Go Blues!!

Weekly Update- April 9th-13th

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

As you all know we are back in the swing of things today with our first day of Math MAP testing! Yesterday, we spent the day reviewing, reviewing, and reviewing to get the students as prepared for the Math portion as possible.

Please remember that tomorrow is the last day to bring in spring picture forms. Also, I am still missing a few green slips from students report cards that I need back as soon as possible. The slip should be located on the last page of the report card where you can sign, cut, and return back to me. If you have misplaced the report card or the last page, you may write me a short note stating that you did look over the report card and please state if you have any comments about it as well.

Thank you all again for bringing in snacks for MAP testing, the students love the trail mix that we have all contributed towards. :)

Please make sure your students are getting a good nights sleep and a healthy breakfast in the morning to get their brains and body working to Attack the MAP!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Weekly Update April 2nd-6th

Happy Tuesday! (I apologize for not sending out the blog post yesterday we had a busy day yesterday)

This week as you all know, is MAP testing week! We have started the Communication Arts test today and will continue to test Wednesday and Thursday.
As for next week (Tuesday-Thursday) we will be focusing on the Math portion of the MAP test.
Please make sure your students are getting a good nights sleep and a healthy breakfast so their brains are ready in the morning to test and show us what they have learned.
Mrs. Feldt and I are very confident in these students and we know they will succeed.


*Just a reminder, school is providing breakfast for the students at a discounted price during these next couple weeks to ensure the students are prepared mentally and physically.

Dates to remember:
April 3-5: C.A MAP test
Wednesday April 4- Cardinal/Red T-shirt day
Friday April 6- No School!!
April 10-12- Math MAP test

MAP Snacks

MAP Snacks

It’s a proven fact that eating stimulates the brain! J

So, during MAP weeks, we will have snack time to nourish our bodies and prepare our brains for the test.  Please bring in one of the items below to help us make trail mix.  Use your last name to identify the item you should bring.  (We don’t have any food allergies.)

A-B    Chex Mix cereal

D-E    Pretzels

G-L    M&M’s

M-N   Peanuts

O-P    Craisins

S        Cheez-its

T-Z    Dixie cups

Weekly Update March 26th-30th

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break!
This is our last week before MAP testing begins so we will be working on more and more testing strategies to get your students prepared for the big day.

This week we will still be working on Spelling, Math, and Writing.
Spelling- The students have been introduced with their new words after all taking their spelling tests before spring break.

Math- We are still working on probability and will be taking our multiple choice quiz and open response quiz Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Writing- We are starting to focus on fiction writing.

As for the rest of the time in the classroom, Mrs. Feldt and I are continuing to work in our small groups to focus on Math and Reading MAP prep.
The students should be coming home with their blue Math MAP prep books this week as they are reviewing the strategies used for figuring out each problem, showing their work, and PQPA when needed. Also, you will see the students coming home with reading packets where they will read stories and answer a few questions about the story. These are very helpful tools we give the students to help prepare them for what they will be seeing on the MAP test. Handwriting, punctuation, underlining important details in the story, and PQPA are very important during the reading portion so please be on a look out for each of these while your students are working on these homework assignments.

Dates to remember:
Thursday March 29- Conferences 3:30-7:30.
Friday March 30- Half day, dismissal at 11:50 a.m. and report cards will be sent home.
April 3-5- Reading MAP
April 10-12- Math MAP

Testing Strategies

Team 38 texted in their favorite Communication Art Testing Strategy to help them reach their Tungsten Goal. Good Luck Team 38!!

Weekly Update March 12th- 16th

Happy Monday! I hope everyone remembered to spring their clocks forward this weekend!
We have lots to do this week before our week long break!

Spelling- We are finishing up our word sorts for this week. Blue group will take their test Tuesday, yellow group will take their tests Wednesday, and green group will take their test on Thursday. Please keep quizzing your children on their words.

Math- We are finishing up our capacity unit and will move right into probability this week.

Writing- This week we are still continuing our functional writing unit. Also, we will be working on some St. Patrick's Day writing too!

Science, Reading, and Social Studies- We have come to an end with our units for before MAP testing so during those times throughout the day, Mrs Feldt and I are doing MAP prep in small groups.

*We will be reviewing and taking the Math Tungsten today (Monday). We will then review for Communication Arts on Tuesday and then take the test on Thursday.

**Economics's Fun Day is this Thursday March 15- your children may bring their business sign anytime this week as well as their supplies.

***Friday March 16 is our half day where we will be releasing the students at 11:40!

Dates to remember:
Conferences are on Thursday March 29 from 3:30-7:30 pm. Some of your students are coming home with yellow conference sheets today with your scheduled time so please make sure you receive that from them.
Spring break- March 19-23 (in case you forgot :)
Please keep working with your children on their multiplication facts!

Weekly Update March 5-9

Happy March! I can't believe how fast February flew by!

This week we are working on:

Spelling: Each group has a new list of words. Green group is on sort 22, blue group is on sort 29, and yellow group is on sort 16.

Math: We are continuing our unit of length, capacity, mass, and temperature. Next week we will be starting our fraction unit!

Writing: We are also continuing our unit on functional writing.

Science: We are finishing up Energy this week and will take a test either Thursday or Friday, depending on how well the students do on their review. I will make sure the students have something to take home to study to help them prepare for their test. :)

Since we are only 1 month away from MAP testing, we will continue to use our Social Studies and Reading time to work on MAP prep strategies in both Math and Reading. From their Tungsten scores, I think we are in good shape to attack the MAP.
Mrs. Feldt and I are so proud of how well the students did in both of their Tungsten tests; Math we jumped from an 87% to a 94% and in Reading we stayed the same at 86%. Great job everyone! Our hard work is paying off!

Dates to remember:
March 15- Economic Fun Day
March 16- Half Day
March 19-23- Spring Break

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and please continue to study those Math facts.

Change for a Change!

 We need 8 oz. water bottle donations!

Sappington Students are working on a project to raise money to build a well in Africa.  We are going to be sending out water bottles with labels about the water project.  The labels are student created, and tell about the water project, who it helps, and dates for returning the bottles.  What the students will do is drink the water, and then fill it with change that will go toward The Water Project.  What we need from you is water bottle donations.  We need 8 oz. water bottles to stick our labels on to send out to Sappington, and other members of our community.  Character Club will be buying some as well.  You can send in any donations to Miss Zelle's class (RM 45).  Thank you for your help!

Weekly Update- Feb. 27- March 2

It's that time again.. Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!I can't wait for this nice weather we are suppose to have this week.

-Spelling: We are finishing up our word sorts and will have tests this week. Blue group will have a test over sort 28 on Wednesday, green group test over sort 21 on Thursday, and yellow group test over sort 15 on Friday.

-Writing: We are starting our "How-to Functional Writing" unit.
-Math: We are working customary units of measure and will be starting weight and capacity this week. I have introduced to the student the Gallon House- see if you can get them to draw it out for them and test their knowledge on gallons, quarts, pints, and cups.

- Science: Now that we have finished matter, and I must say I was pretty impressed with the scores from those tests so GREAT JOB everyone! We are now starting energy this week and into next week.

Reading and Social Studies: During these time slots throughout the day, Mrs. Feldt and I have been meeting with small groups to go over Math and Reading skills for MAP prep. We have the month of March the prep, prep,prep before MAP starts in the beginning of April.

Dates to remember:
Economic Day Ads are due Thursday, March 1
Economic Fun Day is Thursday, March 15
Friday, March 16 is an early dismissal and third quarter ends
Spring Break is from March 19-23

Please continue to practice math multiplication facts with your students so we can finish up our ice creams! :)

Weekly Update- Feb. 21-24

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed their nice 3 day weekend!
We have a busy 4 day week but I know we can handle it.

Spelling- I have just about checked over all of the spelling tests and they all did such a great job. This week the green group is working on sort 21 where they are working with long E sounds. Yellow group is working on sort 15 where they are working with short and long U sounds. Blue group is working on sort 28 and they are working on or, oar, ore, and w+or words. They will all be tested over these new word sorts next week.

Math- We are continuing to work on graphs and will be taking our multiple choice quiz over graphing information tomorrow after we review the information today. I don't have any doubt that the students will do a great job on this quiz. Towards the end of the week I will be introducing them to length, inch, foot, yard, mile, and capacity. Measuring here we come!

Writing- The students are coninuting to write in their "Seed Books" where I have been giving them a topic to write on and they are asked to write at least 5 sentences each day on that topic. We are really focusing on PQPA, capitatlization, puncucation, and sentence structure to get us MAP ready.

Science- We are finishing up Matter and we will be reviewing today as well as receiving their study guides. I will do another review day tomorrow and then they will take their Chapter test on Thursday. The students will be able to use their quizzes that we took last week to help them study for the test. The two quizzes are "What are the States of Matter" and "How Matter Changes" and they will be getting the second quiz today graded.

During our regular Social Studies and Reading times, we are now dedicating those time slots to MAP practice since our units in those two subjects have came to an end until after testing is over. Mrs. Feldt and I are working on MAP skills in small groups and are meeting with the students each day to work on any skills that they need to help them prepare for the test. The students are benefiting from both of our help for the MAP test and I am very confident that they will all do very well.

Thungsten- Today, we are reviewing Com. Arts with the class and will be taking the test on Wednesday. Thursday we will review Math and take the test on Friday.

Dates to remember:
Wednesday 22nd- School store
Thursday 24th- PRISM night 4-6pm- The projects are all looking so great, thank you for those who particiapted and took the time to finish these!
Thursday ,March 1-Economic Day Ads are due
Thursday, March 15- Economic Fun Day

Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Weekly Update- Feb 13-17

Happy Monday!
We have a very fun and busy week this week and I cannot wait!

Spelling: We have been working on our word list last week and are already having our tests this week. Blue group will be tested on Tuesday, yellow group on Wednesday, and green group on Thursday. 
Math: Last week we learned about a couple different kinds of plots and graphs and will continue to learn about more this week. We are also going to learn about mode, range, and probability.
Writing: Last week I started having the students write in their "Seed" books as their journals and I give them a topic to write about each day and the students are really shining through their journals and their imagination, it is so fun to see the students really evolve into writers.
Science: As we are continuing our unit with Matter, this week we are going to be scientists as we conduct a couple experiments. We are going to keep our eye out for all the physical and chemical changes through each experiment too! We will have a matter quiz on Thursday after all of our experiments are over.
Social Studies: We finished Chapter 10 and I was so pleased with how well the students did on their tests, I could really tell they all studied.  This week we will begin some MAP practice during our regular Social Studies time.
Reading: This week we will be focusing on drawing conclusions through our selections. Most of the students also did get new reading group books last week that I hope they are all enjoying reading.

Dates to remember:
Tuesday 2/14- Jump Rope for Heart 10-10:50. Valentine's Day party will be from 1:45-2:45, please make sure that each student brings in enough Valentines for all 20 students.
Wednesday 2/15- Early Release
Monday 2/20- No School

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I look forward to meeting those coming to help out on Tuesday for our party.

Weekly Update Feb. 6-10

Happy Monday! Hope you all have a wonderful sports filled weekend!

We are excited to announce that our new student came today, Samantha. She came to us from Crestwood Elementary and we are all so excited to have her join our classroom. We now have 10 boys and 10 girls, yay!
This week:
Spelling: No tests this week! The students have been introduced to their new spelling words for this week. Green group is on sort 20 and are focusing on long U sounds. Blue group is on sort 27 and are focusing on ir, ier, and ire words. Yellow group is on sort 14 and are focusing on short and long O sounds.

Math: We are working on data and probability this week. Please continue to study those multiplication facts!

Writing: I hope you all have a chance to check out the blog and look at all of our persuasive writing videos. I made sure to video tape them as they try to convince you all in their writings. We all had a lot of fun with this project! This week we are working on Valentine writing/poems.

Reading: We are working on point-of-view as well as finishing up our reading group books. I will be on the look out for new reading group books this week!

Science: Last week we finished our matter unit with a fun experiment on how fast a solid turns into a liquid depending on the temperature of the liquid; we had a race. This week we will be focusing on Mixture and Solutions.

Social Studies: This week we are finishing up Chapter 10. The students will bring home their study guide on Wednesday so they can use that to study for their test on Friday. We will play a review game on Thursday to help better prepare them for their test.  I feel confident that they will all do very well on this test. :)

This week is our Pasta for Pennies spirit week:
Monday- If you bring in pennies, you may wear crazy socks or mismatched shoes.
Tuesday- If you bring in nickels, you may wear your favorite sports team shirt
Wednesday- If you bring in dimes, you may dress in 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s wear
Thursday- If you bring in quarters, you may wear a hat
Friday- If you bring in any amount of money, you may dress like the 60s (hippie)
This is all for a wonderful cause so let's see if our whole class can participate!

Reminder:
Next Tuesday Feb. 14- Valentine's Day Party- starting around 12:35
Wednesday Feb. 15- Early Release

Have a great week! :)

Class Names for Valentines

Ella
Mimi
Olivia
Maddie
Hannah
Isabel
Ellie
Iestyn
Samantha
Shane
Zach
Danny
Tim
Joey
Drew
Madison
Dylan S
Jon
Denise
Dylan T

Weekly Update Jan. 30- Feb. 3

Happy Monday!
I can't believe this is already my second week of substituting in Mrs. Feldt's classroom. I have already learned so much from all of your students, I am so lucky to be on this journey with Team 38! Please feel free to contact me at anytime on my e-mail lcorrenti@lindberghschools.ws for any questions or concerns you may have, I am always here to help.

This is what is happening this week:

Spelling: We are all towards the end of our spelling words. Blue- sort 26, will be taking their test on Wednesday. Yellow- sort 13, will be taking their test on Thursday. Green- sort 19, will be taking their test on Friday. I have met with each of these groups and I can already tell that they are all going to do great on their test!

Math: I am so pleased to say that the student's scores on the Geometry test were very good. I was so pleased to score these tests!! We will be starting to learn more about solid figures and will also get into learning about area and perimeters.

Science: As we are wrapping up our little states of matter unit, we will have a quiz over solid, liquid, and gas. Since we have been working on this each day and today for morning work, I am very confident that your students will do great on this quiz. After the quiz, we will then start the unit with physical and chemical reaction where we will be conducting a couple experiments to really show the students these type of reactions.

Social Studies: We finished chapter 9 and the tests really show how well the students understood this chapter of income, saving, spending, budget, opportunity cost, scarcity and more! Maybe this will rub off at home too? :) After ending chapter 9, we will begin chapter 10 this week!

Reading: Thank you all so much for bringing in the articles to help us better understand author's purpose, that truly helped us out a lot. We took a quiz last week on author's purpose where they read 3 different articles and had to decide if the author was trying to persuader, inform, or entertain the reader and they all did wonderful on them!

Writing: Students are finishing up writing their persuasive papers and cannot wait to videotape them to show you all, hoping they might get some of these things they are persuading you all! :)

Dates to remember:
Valentines Day is coming up- Tuesday February 14th. Students may make their Valentine boxes at home. I will attach a class list with this update as well!

Also, we are getting a new student this week. Her name is Samantha Linder, and she came to Sappington for grades K-2 and will be joining us again!

weekly update Jan. 23-27

Happy Monday!

Today is the first day that I am not in the classroom.  Ms. Correnti is now teaching Team 38!  I know the students will have fun learning from her.  I will be in the building working with teachers, but I have told the students that I will be working with them frequently.  Following this week, Ms. Correnti will be providing weekly updates through email and on the blog.  Her email address is lcorrenti@lindberghschools.ws, so please feel free to contact her with any questions or concerns.  And of course you can continue contacting me as well. 

 

This is what is happening this week:

 

Spelling:  New words have been given.  They will be up on spelling city by this afternoon.  Blue- sort 26 within words Yellow- sort 13 within words  Green- sort 19 syllables and affixes

 

Math:  We are wrapping up our study of geometry.  Last week, the students had a little trouble identifying lines of symmetry, so please be helping them with this at home.  They will be taking a test over this chapter on Thursday. 

 

Science:  Students are learning about the 3 states of matter:  solid, liquid, gas.  We will be studying the different types of molecules that make each state and how the shape and density identify each state as well. 

 

Social Studies:  We are finishing chapter 9 and will take a test over the material on Friday. Students will be provided a study guide to help them prepare for this test.  They have been doing a great job understanding income, saving, spending, opportunity cost, and scarcity.  I'm confident they will do well on the test!

 

Reading:  Students are learning how to identify author's purpose in fiction and non-fiction pieces.  They will choose between the following purposes:  to inform, to entertain, to persuade.

 

Writing:  Students are working on persuasive writing.  They will be providing persuading opinions and reasons and details for their topic. 

 

Dates to Remember:

Monday- Ability Awareness Day

 

Density Experiment

Students found the density of several household items.  We first started with blue colored water.  Then we added syrup, which sank to the very bottom of the water.  This showed us that syrup is more dense than water.  The molecules in syrup are packed more tightly than the molecules in water.  We continued to add several items and observed their density.  We recorded our observations in our science journals.  Can you determine density of different items you find at home?  If so, post your comments below!

weekly update 1.17-1.20

I hope everyone enjoyed the 3 day weekend! Here is what is going on this week:

 

Word work:  Blue group is testing Wednesday, Yellow group is testing Thursday, and Green group is testing on Friday

 

Math: We are learning about polygons, quadrilaterals, triangles, congruent and similar figures, and symmetry.  Please be using the geometry vocabulary book that was sent last week to study with your child.  Mastering this vocabulary is very important!  Test over this material will be next week.

 

Writing:  We are learning the differences between fact and opinion, synonym and antonyms.  We are also starting cursive this week!  Mrs. Merrell the school Occupational Therapist visits our class every Wednesday to teach the students correct form and structure of cursive letters.  I do not assign homework or assignments for cursive. 

 

Science:  We are experimenting with density!  Students will test if object sink or float.  We will take a quiz over this material on Thursday.  It will be an open book quiz and I think we will do some of it together.  This is a very difficult lesson for students, and I just want to make sure they have a firm grasp on the material.  Then we are moving on to states of matter.

 

Social Studies:  We are going over the directions for Economic Fun Day. Then we will study income/budget and opportunity cost.

 

Reading:  We are studying text features in non-fiction print: table of contents, epilogue, glossary, bold print, headings, captions.

 

Important Dates:

Spelling Bee - The spelling bee will be on Friday at 2:00.  We will broadcast on KSAP.
Movie Night - Friday night at 6:00 is the SPTG family movie night. 

Weekly Update 1.9-1.13

Hello,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  This is our first full week back in third quarter and it is a BUSY week!
Spelling:  No tests this week.  We're still working with our words that were introduced last week.
Writing:  We're learning the differences between singular and plural nouns and how to spell them correctly.  We did a good job of punctuating dialogue, and we will continue working on quotation marks and commas.
Reading: We are sequencing fiction and non-fiction pieces.  We are also working with a new way to communicate in guided reading...EdModo!  Edmodo is an online site that allows the students to reply to each other about their reading.  I also post assignments on this site.  The system is not perfected yet, so thank you in advance for your patience as I'm trying to get it all organized with every reading group.
Math:  We are testing over chapter 11 this week (Tuesday).  I'm sorry for not attaching the multiplication sheet to last week's email.  I will do that today.  We are then moving on to studying geometry (ch. 19).  It is vital that students study the vocabulary in this chapter!  I will be sending out helpful resources for this chapter. Keep studying multiplication facts every night!!
Science:  We are beginning the study of matter.  This week we will talk about physical properties of matter, volume, mass, and density. 
Social Studies:  We began our study of economics!  I will be discussing our Economic Fun Day project this week and will post details on the blog and on email,once I have introduced it to students.  When discussing spending and saving in your home, please include your child. This will help them connect what they are learning in the class with real life situations in your home!

Important Dates:
Tuesday:  Culver's Night 5-9pm at South County Culvers (benefitting Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)
Wednesday:  Early Release
Thursday:  Field trip to Weldon Springs!  Bring a snack to take with us and a sack lunch to eat in the classroom when we arrive back at school at 1pm.
Grade level Spelling Bee
Friday:  PRISM forms due

Weekly Update January 3-6

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break with your kids!  I was a little unhappy about waking up so early today, but I was super excited to see all my students.  They were so eager to share holiday stories. 

We had a class meeting this morning and talked about the second half of third grade.  I told them that we will be moving very quickly and learning even more difficult things to get them ready for 4th grade.  They agreed that they will need to work extra hard and focus even more on their own learning, in order to do well.  I know they will meet expectations, as they are all dedicated students!  Here is what is going on this week:

Spelling:  Everyone has new words!  Green-18 syllables and affixes, Blue-25 within words, Yellow-7 within words

Math:  We are reviewing the properties of mulitplication.  Please review the sheet I have attached to this email with your child.  The test will not be until next week.  I have reminded the students to study multiplication facts every night, as we are beginning fact tests.

Writing:  We will be completing our study of poems with writing a few winter haikus and cinquain poems.  Then we will be studying the mechanics of writing such as using commas and quotation marks correctly.  I told the students I am including a writing assignment each night in addition to the 20 minutes of reading.  They only need to write for 10 minutes.  They will be writing on a small packet of notebook paper so I can easily grade their writing each week.  Sometimes they will write about a question or prompt I give them, and other times they will have free write.  I'm hoping that they will become more fluent writers with this assignment.

Science: We are completing the planet powerpoint project.  They will be presenting their work later this week.  On Friday we will have a test over the solar system. 

Social Studies:  We are beginning chapter 9 about Economics.  Students will be learning about budgets, income, interest, and money choices.  This is one of my favorite units, because the students apply these lessons to real life situations. 

Reading:  We are reviewing how to identify and write a summary after reading a selection.  Then we will be working on sequencing events in both fiction and non fiction pieces.

 

PRISM INFORMATION:

* The green PRISM form is due to me by January 13th.  If you are interested in entering your project into the St. Louis Science Fair you need to let me know by January 12th.  Otherwise, your project will just be entered into the Sappington PRISM celebration.

* Projects are due to me by Wednesday, February 15th.

* PRISM celebration will be held at Sappington on Thursday, February 23rd.

* Go to this website to get all the additional information and forms: http://pages.lindberghschools.ws/education/dept/dept.php?sectiondetailid=10593&

 

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday:  SPTG meeting 6:45 in cafeteria.  They will be discussing PRISM