A review of our day...  

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Mondays always seem so busy and filled with lots of work. :) Please read on for info...

MORNING WORK- This morning, we completed the Caught Ya, added five new words to our spelling dictionaries (friend, really, school, when, who), and introduced the new Wordly Wise words. Remember, you can see them by checking out Brainflips:


We also reviewed the Buccaneer Book requirements. Start reading your Buc Book soon- and be sure to complete the work included in the folder Mrs. Edwards gave you.

MATH- We learned about Function Machines.  You can try them, too.  Click below and this machine will show you how it works. 


Afterward, we completed page 34 in the math journal.  Students were also able to play Name That Number with a partner.  

SCIENCE- We learned about how to change our notes on our chosen sea creatures into sentences.  I posted the power point on Friday for you, so check out the previous post.  Then, during seatwork students were able to work on adding pictures, graphics, and paragraphs to their glogs.  We will continue working on them tomorrow.  Be sure to ask for a copy of the checklist and rubric.

READING- I explained to the students that part of what we'll do in reading is read silently, then get together with a small group to discuss the chapters we read.  At times, I'll ask students to look for words they don't know- a job called Word Wizard.  Today, we read a non-fiction article about bioluminescence.  Together, we highlighted any words that were new to us, then I shared with them how these words would be recorded to share with a small group.  We will do this again tomorrow, so don't worry.

Click the link at the top of the screen to check out tonight's homework.  We'll catch you back up on everything when you get back.  We've missed you!


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Our Buddies!  

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A picture slideshow by Smilebox

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Friday- You're not here?  

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Today will be a great day in our class!  We'll be meeting our buddies for the first time.  I'll be sure to put your buddy with a friendly third grader since you'll be out of town.

This morning, after we take the Wordly Wise and Spelling tests, we'll head to Mrs. Driscoll for keyboarding practice.

MATH:  Please complete the math boxes on page 33 of your journal.
ROTATION: We will hold rotation early today (so we have time for our buddies this afternoon).  While working with me, students continued to read in the chapter book Manatee Blues.  We read pages 4-15 .

During seatwork, students worked on their sea creature glog.  See the power point below for an idea of how students have been ecouraged to take their notes about the sea creature and turn them into sentences:

(Be sure to check the last slide, which tells you how you'll be graded.)

Turning Caveman Speak to a Beautiful Thing
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Essentially, you will take all of your notes on your creatures looks and put them into amazing sentences.  Then you'll take your notes about what it eats...and turn those notes into sentences.  My hope is that your sentences will turn into a fun-to-read and interesting paragraph. :)

After PE and Lunch, we will have our final rotation before packing up to meet our buddies.  I'm so sorry you'll miss it, but I know you'll have a good time with your family.  Check out the blog later for information about what you'll miss Monday.  For now, you can start learning the new Wordly Wise words by checking out the following:

Lesson 3
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Missing You!  

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Today was a lot of fun!  We reviewed the Wordly Wise words together, but homework should be done independently tonight (parts A & B).  You can always check the definitions at BrainFlip.


We also took time to share some of our silly sentence plays called, "The Case of The Missing Keys." Super funny!  Be sure to complete the next page in your handwriting booklet - which included how to connect the letter c to the letter a.

During math, we practiced how to calculate elapsed time. I taught the class how to use a number line to calculate elapsed time, but some preferred their own strategy. We determined how much daylight we have at this time of year by calculating the number of hours and minutes in between sunrise and sunset.  We completed page 26 in the math journal...many of us needed to help each other.

Lesson 1-13
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During rotation today, we finished taking notes in our Sea Monsters booklet.  You should have chosen to read and take notes on:

The Anglerfish OR the Vampire Squid
Plus one other creature from this list:
Dragonfish, Oarfish, Cookie-Cutter Shark, Pink Goblin Shark, or Tube Worms. 

Pictures are required in the flipbook, as well as labels identifying interesting skills or body parts.  

Seatwork included:
*Finish Critter Cam  questions
*Finish uploading artwork to LIttle Bird Tales (I cna do this for you.)
*Complete coloring the submarine viewer (art paper with different sea creatures on it- color code included)

SCIENCE:  I took the class to the online portion of World Book, where we read the material about the ocean floor.  We tried taking the quiz together and wouldn't you know, I made an error!!!  The children caught me, though.  The Continental Shelf is covered in sediment...not coral!  Boy, they're smart third graders!  I'll have to show you how the site works.  You can log in from school easily.  From home...that's much different and we're still working out the kinks.

We ended the day at the library where Mrs. Edwards talked more about how to become the expert on your Buccaneer Book.  I would be more than happy to let you meet with her when you get back for the details.  Just remind me to send you. :)   

Don't forget to click the link at the top of the blog for information about homework.  We really miss you!  Come back soon!

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Hope you're feeling better!  

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This morning, we completed math boxes on page 25, took a spelling test, and practiced our keyboarding skills with Mrs. Driscoll. 

After snack, we played "Name that Number" in partners.  It's a game where you put five number cards face-up in a row on your desk and an additional card face-up at the top (this is your target number).  You try to add, subtract, mulitiply, or divide 1,2,3,4, or 5 of the number cards to make the target number.  Soooo, if your target number is 3 and the five cards in front of you are 8, 3, 10, 7, and 0, you could do this:

10-7+0= 3

But that only uses three cards.  You could use four this way:

3x0=0, 0+10=10 and 10-7=3

There is a game kind of like it found below.  The target number in this game is always 24, though and the number of cards you use varies.

After we played a few rounds, I introduced the three ocean zones. You can skim through the power point below for information:

For seatwork, we colored sea creatures that live in each of the three zones, using a color coding document.  I'll send those home with your sister today. You only need to color the creatures and the water they live in (light blue for the Sunlight Zone, dark blue for the Twilight Zone, and black for the midnight zone).  We will assemble the final product next week. 

READING:  During rotation, we continued to read in the Sea Monsters book.  You should choose to read, take notes, and illustrate either the Vampire Squid or the Anglerfish in your note-taking flipbook, which can be located in and around pages 65-69.

We have sure missed you!  Hope the weekend is relaxing and that you can return on Monday. :)


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Deep Sea Creatures- Click and explore!  

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Oh no! You're out again!  

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MORNING WORK: This morning, we completed the Caught Ya as well as some money math problems on page 21 of your math journal.  If you have a handful of coins, you can complete page 21 at home.  You can skip the Caught Ya, though.

WRITING:  Today, we talked more about how authors "show" instead of just telling by painting pictures with words.  Everyone tried to do that by first choosing one of the sentences below:

My sister was throwing a fit.
The dog was naughty.
The iguana got loose in the lunchroom.

Then, we wrote for 10 minutes, trying to describe what we would see and hear during this situation.  We shared a couple of short stories and will share more tomorrow.

MATH:  Today was fun!  We played a game called The Number Grid Difference Game- students vs. teacher.  I was winning!  But after a bit, I let the children play in pairs.  We might get to play again on Friday. 

We also practiced completing number patterns like the ones below:


After we got the hang of it, we completed more patterns on pages 23 & 24 of our journals. 

ROTATION:  During rotation, we read some more.  We didn't get as far as I'd hoped.  We read and took notes on pages 62-64.  We also drew a picture of either a gulper eel or a viperfish.  Make sure to add a label to teach us a fact about which creature you select.

Seatwork included:
  *Finish your Critter Cam questions from yesterday
  *Upload your pictures to Little Bird Tales (I've done this for you.)
  *Add cover art to your Little Bird Tale

We spent the end of the day at Drama with Mrs. Hershman.  We've missed you and hope you are feeling better!


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Missing You!  

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We've been hard at work today!  Please read on to find out what you've missed.

LANGUAGE:  We talked about different kind of sentences this morning- statements, commands, questions, and exclamations.  Teachers tend to talk in commands, don't they?  "Open your book.  Turn to this page.  Complete the questions."  I promise, we're not bossy. The word is helpful. :)  Check out this power point for further help:
Types of Sentences
View more presentations from Kelly Neal.

Afterward, we worked in pairs to develop a play called "The Case of the Missing Keys."  It was hilarious!  I'll send home a copy for you. 

MATH:  We talked money today.  We estimated the costs of school supplies while looking at a sale ad for a store.  Check it out:



I asked questions like:
*Pretend you have $2. Is that enough to buy a notebook and a box of pencils? (No Tax)
*You have $5. Do you have enough to buy a bottle of correction fluid and a box of pens?
*How many dollar bills would you give a clerk to buy 2 bottles of correction fluid?
*You buy a box of pencils and give the clerk $2. How much change should you get?

We also discussed the difference between ESTIMATING and needing an EXACT calculation. Which one of the questions above needed an EXACT calculation?  

If you said the task written in red above...you're right!

We completed page 20 in our math journals, using this ad for help.  You can make your mom play the cashier as you buy school supplies.  I can send home fake coins, too.

ROTATION:  We finished reading about the octopus and took notes.  We also started to read about the characteristics of the deep, deep ocean. (pages 59-61)

SEATWORK:  Seatwork included viewing the website "Critter Cam".  Students answered questions about animals discovered on the virtual tour of the deep.  Click below to take a peek:

The worksheet will come home for you to complete.  

COMPUTERS:  This afternoon we will visit with Mrs. Driscoll where she will introduce us to the ins and outs of Little Bird Tales, the website we will use when recording our poems.  I'll let you know how it goes.


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We've Missed You!  

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So sorry you're not here with us at school today!  I hope you are feeling better.  Please check out this post to get an idea of what we're doing today.

LANGUAGE: We solved the "Caught Ya" this morning and most were able to solve all six mistakes without my help.  Try it yourself:

By now the students were all whispering to each other trying to figure out who the woman was puzzled mrs. neal looked up to find out what the ruckus was all about. 

I introduced Lesson 2 in Wordly Wise as well.  You can check out the words using BrainFlip.

SPELLING: We added the five new words to our spelling dictionaries:  want, was, write, with, and your.  One of these was already in the dictionary, so we highlighted it.  Can you find it?

CURSIVE:  Complete page 9, carefully writing the cursive letter c as demonstrated in the book.

MATH:  Today, we used calculators to demonstrate how they can help us skip count.  For instance, enter 45 + 3 and press the equal sign over and over again.  It should keep skip counting for you.  (48, 51, 54, etc.)  We completed workbook page 15...some children tried to solve many of the problems mentally, though a calculator was allowed.  

The children tried timing themselves on 45 addition problems, too.  The ultimate goal is to get them 100% correct in less than 3 minutes.  However, the goal for this week is to try to beat your time by one or two seconds every day we try it.  I can show you how to record your time on a line graph when you return.  In the meantime, try some online practice. :)

READING:  We will read more from our Sea Monsters book, taking notes on the squid and octopus.   Read pages 34-38 if you are studying squids and pages 42-47 if you are studying octopuses.  (This is how far I plan for us to go...but we might not read and take notes on all of that.  We'll see!)

I will also show the kids the rubric for note taking, which you can see here:
Seatwork included finishing all Poetry Art work for Little Bird Tales.  If you are already done, students will be allowed to visit the National Geographic site located here.  You can explore OCEAN animals by clicking that option on the left.  Look through what ocean creatures they've highlighted.  You will get to become an expert on one of them soon.

LIBRARY:  Mrs. Edwards explained how we will become "experts" on our Buccaneer Books, using a picture book as a sample.  She has the format designed.  We'll catch you up when you come back.

We miss you and hope to see you tomorrow!


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We've Missed You!  

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Good morning!

We are already hard at work today.  Please check out the summary below to get an idea of what's up in our room. :)

Spelling:  A little wake-up work- write this week's words in ABC order.

Reading:  We completed the second half of the GATES assessment. (We'll have you complete this sometime next week.)  I also shared with the children the way in which you'll be graded on your Poetry Project.  Check out the rubric below:

Fluency Rubric Using Little Bird Tales
View more documents from Kelly Neal.


Math: We discussed how to use the number grid to help us solve addition and subtraction problems.  

 

Number grids are useful as a tool for finding the difference between two numbers. For example, to find the difference between 84 and 37, you could start at 37, count the number of tens going down to 77 (4 tens, or 40), and then count the ones going from 77 to 84 (7 ones or 7). The difference between 84 and 37 is 4 tens and 7 ones, or 47. This difference is sometimes referred to as the distance between the points 37 and 84 on a number line (or grid).

We reviewed how to use the number grid this way and complete page 13 in the math journal.  I also explained the rules for how to play the Number Grid Difference game.  I was beating Matthew only because the class was helping me win! :)

Wordly Wise- I showed the class a little trick for how to answer the questions in Part E. I'll explain the trick again the next time we get to Part E.

We completed an entry in the Caught Ya today for morning work, as well as the Math boxes on page 12.   You can complete the math boxes, but you're excused from the Caught Ya.  If we have time, we'll read more about squids and octopuses, too!  We'll see how the day goes and I'll get back to you. 

Take care and feel better soon!

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Squids and Octopuses  

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Monster Glowing Squid




Giant Squid - Cool Stuff!

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Parent Coffee  

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It was so nice to speak with the parents who were able to come to the coffee today.  The teachers shared a lot of information about curriculum, so we thought it would be helpful to post what we shared on our blogs for those parents who were unable to make it.
Third Grade Coffee 2011
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There were also questions about the Buccaneer Book list.  There is a list for each grade level (3rd-5th) and they cover a variety of genres.  The specific titles for third grade are:

Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road by Kate Klise
The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills
The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett

There are four copies of each book available in our classroom.  Students are encouraged to read all of the titles, but will only be required to read one.  I will be assigning book titles very soon. 

Our web manager Christopher Woods and Berkeley's Communication Director Heather Mackin spoke with the parents briefly about the many ways you can receive information about Berkeley.   Parents are able to access information themselves through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, but you can also access Berkeley's website through your mobile device with ease.

More detailed and protected information is found when you log in to the school's website yourself or read through the Buccaneer Weekly email sent out every Wednesday.  Among the many things you can access through this weekly update, the Lower Division newsletter gives you the most up-to-date information about what's happening specifically in grades PreK-5.

If you have any questions about the website or any other electronic information being sent to parents, Christopher Woods encouraged you to contact him at webmanager@berkeleyprep.org.

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We've Missed You!  

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Today has gone by so quickly!  We've accomplished a lot, so read on to hear about our day.

SPELLING:  We took our first spelling test!  Students carefully wrote down five dictation sentences this morning using our five spelling words.

MATH:  In pairs we created tally charts and bar graphs on pages 6 and 7 of our math journals using data from our class.  To begin with, students totaled up the number of letters in their first and last names.  Then we tabulated how many students have 3 letters in their first name, 4 letters in their first name, etc. With that data, we could create a bar graph as well as questions at the bottom of journal page 6.  When you return, we'll show you how we completed the pages.

READING:  We read chapter two of Sea Monsters together in small groups.  We learned about explorers like Dr. William Beebe and Jacques Cousteau.

We also talked about the genre Non-Fiction, including informational books (like Sea Monsters), biographys and autobiographies.  Students discovered that sometimes a book's artwork can help us decide what genre the book is.

POETRY:  To prepare for our poetry project, students broke their selected poems into two or three parts and then sketched a picture for each section.  Students were allowed to choose how they would complete their artwork.  Students can use KidPix, draw by hand, or try a program like:


If you would like try try Kerpoof, you can log-in using your Reading Counts username and password and this class code: L356.

HANDWRITING:  We started a little practice with cursive today.  We completed the first two rows on page 7.

The students had PE, Spanish, and Music today, as well.  Don't forget to read, read, read over the long weekend because Reading Counts starts on Tuesday. :)
 

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