"The Jungle Book"

Today we braved the rain and went to see "The Jungle Book" at Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo Park.  Due to this nasty weather, we missed out on our picnic lunch, the awesome playground and the historic carousel.

Here are some pictures of our kids before the play began:

There are so many great things to do at Glen Echo Park! This Sunday is "Family Day"- take advantage and go check it out!!!

Click here for more info.!

Spring Updates!!!

Spring is most definitely here in our classroom!  We all enjoyed a restful Spring Break and we are working hard for these last 7 weeks of third grade!

We are typing away!  We have spent weeks writing long realistic fiction stories full of details and dialogue.  Look for an invitation to an Author's Tea coming home soon- probably in the first week of June!

We celebrated Earth Day with a wonderful assembly and a special science experiment about heating and cooling water.  Ask your child about our results!

We got a few really quality book reports that came in this month!  One big hit was Rama's board game designed to help students learn about the book she had read.  Another famous one was Noura's puppet show!!!!! Here is just a short clip from the end:

A few quick reminders:

• Check out the NEW multiplication websites we've discovered to help students master their facts!!! We have one student who is so close to passing his 0-12 Facts Quiz and being the first in our room to receive a special medal.  Please practice each night with your child!
• Next Wednesday, April 30 is our field trip to see "The Jungle Book". Please send your child with a light jacket and a BAG lunch- no large lunch boxes, please- I have to carry them :)
• Beginning on May 1 all children are invited to eat a free breakfast each day at school in the classroom at 8:40.  Learning will begin by 9:00.
• Thursday, May 22 is our science field trip to the Smith Center!
• Sometime in the first week of June- Author's Tea.  Invite to follow.

Inspiring Young Scientists

This marking period in science we are focused on learning about the different types of energy and about how heat is produced- both through burning and electricity.  Unfortunately, there are not many safe experiments I can conduct here at school with a large group of students so I am working to make this portion of the curriculum come alive through technology- we can watch clips of cool experiments, read digital texts and articles about fossil fuels and electricity and discuss the different types of energy that exist.  Science is always a time of investigation and collaboration that students at this age really enjoy.

As you have probably heard in the news, the United States is striving to compete in science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields.  This is the direction the job market is headed and these are the types of careers we need to be preparing 21st century students for. 

Some fun experiments to try at homecan be found here.

Another things to consider is educational TV: the new "Cosmos" show on Fox is a great start.  Here is President Obama introducing this new show.  The show is appropriate for students and is meant to engage and excite them about science and the study of the universe.  It is on at 9pm on Sundays and could be recorded and may be available on demand.

Lastly, consider signing your child up for one of the after school clubs starting soon here at Page- STEM Jr. is a choice!!! Most clubs are $35, which is a great bargain!

A few reminders:

• Reading MSA is this Thursday and Friday, March 6 & 7. Students are invited to bring a healthy snack for after testing.
• Students should be reading their Realistic Fiction chapter books for their book reports.
• Students are currently collecting spare change for "Pennies for Patients", which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
• My classroom is in need of some pencils and smaller size (8-12 oz.) bottles of hand sanitizer. 

Black History Month Project

Today students took home their Black History Month Projects. Students are to select a African American Olympian (past or present) and write a biographical report about them.  This report should be 4 paragraphs long, have an attractive cover and have a timeline of the athlete's life. Directions are in students take home folder.  This project is due next Tuesday, February 25. The project will not be accepted after Thursday, February 27. Projects will be displayed at Black History Night here at Page on Thursday, February 27.  This is a wonderful event for the whole school community to come together and we will have some very special speakers and presentations.
It may be helpful for your child to go to the public library this week and find some information about the athlete they select.  They can also use the Internet.  Here are some useful resources:

Olympic Medal Winners
Great Site to find Biographical Information
Black History Record Breakers
ESPN's Black History Month Salute

Students should choose the athlete they would like to research immediately so that they can begin to collect information on the person. 

Fractions Websites and Updates

Many students have been asking me to post links to the fractions websites we have used in school across the past 2 weeks.  The links are below on the left side of the screen.

We have begun our study of fractions.  While our focus has shifted, our computation goal remains the same: By the end of Grade 3, all students will memorize their multiplication facts up through 10 X 10. We will continue activities and games to practice for speed and accuracy and continue to take weekly timed quizzes to monitor and reach this goal. 

In fractions, we have been using various maniplatives to work with unit fractions.  Students have used these to create their own models and also to draw pictures with fractional parts.  One concepts we've been discusng: How can 1/2 (or 1/3 or 1/4) of one whole be a completely different size than 1/2 of a different whole?  The size of the fraction is dependent on the size of the whole. This is a hard concept for students to grasp- until you amke it all about food!  Would you rather have 1/2 of a pizza or half of my cookie?  They are both half, but is the amount of each you are getting going to be equal?

This week (and much of next week, thanks to the snow!) we'll begin to look at fractions on a number line and also fractions that are more than one whole.  We no longer use the terms "improper" fractions- 4/3 is just as good of an answer as 1 and 1/3 and both are completely correct.

Kid President's #AwesomeYear

Today in class we talked about new year's resolutions and wrote some of our own.  Goal setting and progress monitoring are an important part of school and we try to take the time to set goals for ourselves and frequently look back on and monitor our progress.

Some of the students wanted to take part in Kid President's New Years challenge.  Please watch the video and see if you'd like to support them in doing this as a home project.  We'd love to share any videos the students create!

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Our class has been working hard and is getting ready for our well deserved break of winter vacation!!!!

I wish you and your family a happy holidays and a warm and safe time together.

While students are out of school for nearly 2 weeks, this can be a great time to catch up on filling in those reading charts and practicing student's basic multiplication facts.  Ask your child which multiplication quiz they are on in class and help them get ready so that on Friday, January 3 they come in ready to tackle it and pass with flying colors!

Lastly, here is an interesting story I listened to on NPR this week that got me thinking.  One of my resolutions is to get more and more regular sleep in 2014.  Your child may be craving the same.  Just some food for thought.You can read and listen to the story here.