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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