Wednesday, January 30, 2013

In Math, we reviewed for the test tomorrow.  The students made vocabulary study guides that they are bringing home.  They also worked on their "If You Give a..." books.  They will be on display at Open House! 

Tomorrow is Tropical Day.  It is also Read-In Day.  Third graders may bring in one blanket, one pillow, and one stuffed animal, as long as they aren't really big! 

Homework for today is...
Read Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears during 20 minutes of reading
Math worksheet (Practice Test for Chapter 4)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

In Christian Studies, we discussed adopting animals from animal shelters and how God has adopted us as his sons and daughters through the death of Jesus Christ.  In Math, we went over the Identity Property and Zero Property in multiplication.  Tomorrow, we'll review what we've learned so far, and the students will take the test on Thursday. 

This afternoon, we talked about cause and effect, and I read a couple books to the class that do a great job showing cause and effect:  The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash and If You Give a Pig a Pancake.  Then the students read the story Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears.  After that, the students started working on writing their own "If You Give a __ a __" stories, which they have an opportunity to share during Read-In Day! 

Homework for today is...
Math worksheet (Lesson 4-8)
Finish "If You Give a..." story (It should be about 10 lines long with the last line ending the story in the same way the story started.)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Oh we have already had a fun start to our National Lutheran Schools Week!  This morning, Lutherhaven staff came to do songs, games, and a Bible lesson with the kids.  We also went to the book fair to check out the books there and write wish lists! 

In Math, we worked on multiplying by 10.  We talked about how you just add a zero to the end of the number you are multiplying by 10, and that's your product!  Tomorrow, we'll go over multiplying by 0 and by 1.  I won't be sending any flashcards home for multiplying by 10, 0, or 1.  I'm hoping that we will be in good shape to take the math test on Thursday over the vocabulary words and multiplying by 2, 4, 5, 10, 0, and 1.  Next chapter, we will go over the rest of the multiplication facts.  Students should be working on memorizing their facts at home.  We work on it here at school, but for a lot of students, it's the time spent outside of school that is really going to help them be successful. 

Tomorrow is Hat Day!  Students may wear free dress along with the hat that they choose. 

Book orders are due Thursday.

Book projects are due in a week! 

Homework for today is...
Math worksheet (Lesson 4-6)
A few students need to finish their how-to paragraph

Friday, January 25, 2013

At the end of the day, we had a class party since our class raised the most money from the Scentsy fundraising!  The students had popcorn and game time. 

You are invited to Bethlehem Lutheran Church's 8:00 worship service on Sunday!  The kids will be singing a song we've been working on to kick off National Lutheran Schools Week.  There are different dress up days next week.  Students should either wear clothing that fits the day's theme (keeping to the free dress day guidelines in the handbook) or they should wear standard of dress. 

MONDAY - "I can't believe I have this in my closet!" day
TUESDAY - Hat day
WEDNESDAY - Royalty day
THURSDAY - Tropical day
FRIDAY - Superhero day

The book fair will be set up all next week.  Thursday is Read-in Day.  Each student can bring in a blanket or pillow and a stuffed animal for the Read-in.  Open House for families is Thursday night. 

This Saturday is the BLS Family Night with the Outlaws.  At 6:30 in the Toyota Arena, all BLS students and families will receive 15% off at the team store, get outlaws autographs after the game, and have a chance to compete during the intermission activities.  $1 from each ticket sold to BLS families will go back to the school.  Adult tickets are $8.  Student tickets are $7. Child (3-12) tickets are $6. 

Some students need to finish the math worksheet (Lesson 4-5) we did today and/or the reading test over Coyote Places the Stars.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

This morning, we worked on multiplying by five.  In Social Studies, we did some research on Southeast Native Americans.  Mrs. McCollum talked a little bit about her Cherokee heritage.  The students have been working on revising their how-to paragraphs and writing persuasive letters. 

This Sunday, the students in the whole school are invited to come to Bethlehem Lutheran Church for the 8:00 worship to sing together. 

Homework for today is...
Vocabulary p. 7
Adjectives p. 10

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

In Math, we worked on the multiplication facts we've done so far and did some problem-solving with problems that either were missing information or had extra information.  In the afternoon, the students read a Native American tale called Coyote Places the Stars.  They also worked on revising their how-to paragraphs. 

Book projects are coming home with the grade sheets.  The next book projects are due in a couple weeks!  Students should let me know soon if they need poster board, a shoebox, or anything else for their project.

Homework for today is...
Spelling p. 65-66
Read Coyote Places the Stars during 20 minutes of reading

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

This week, the students' desks are in groups, and we discussed what cooperation looks and sounds like.  In Math, we worked more on multiplying by four.  Students should be practicing each day at home!  This week, the spelling words are homophones, so we discussed what those are and came up with more examples.  I read aloud a couple books called I Wanna Iquana and Hey Little Ant, which do a great job showing how to be persuasive.  The students will be writing persuasive letters and finishing up their how-to paragraphs this week.

Homework for today is...
Math worksheet (4-3)
Practice x2 and x4 facts

Thursday, January 17, 2013

We continued working on the four times table in math.  It's really important that students practice the facts at home daily.  That way, they will memorize them without falling behind as we keep adding more and more facts each week. 

Tomorrow is a half day.  Students will be released at 11:15. 

Homework for today is...
Spelling p. 61-62 (One side should be completed in cursive!)
Vocabulary p. 1

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

In Math, we started going over the four times table in multiplication.  Students are bringing home array flashcards to practice at home.  In the afternoon, we continued working with adjectives.  At the end of the day, we did some Native American activities!  Book orders are coming home today.

Homework for today is...
Read Papa Tells Chita a Story during 20 minutes of reading

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

In Christian Studies, we talked about the talents we have from God and how we can use them to honor God.  In Math, we reviewed the two times table.  I tested a lot of students and almost the whole class has those facts down!  In Reading, the students read a historical fiction story called Papa Tells Chita a Story.  This week, we are working on adjectives.  To introduce what adjectives are, the students had to come up with a list of words that described different pairs of shoes.  Then, each student drew a shoe of their design and had to come up with a list of adjectives that described it.  Tomorrow, I'll read each list, and the class will have to figure out which shoe the adjectives describe!  We'll be talking about why adjectives are important and identifying and using them in sentences.  In Science, we went over the parts of a flower and how they are helpful in pollination.

Homework for today is...
Math worksheet (4-2)

Monday, January 14, 2013

In Math, we started working on our x 2 facts.  Students are bringing home a letter about how I'll be testing them on their multiplication facts.  They are also bringing home array flashcards to cut out and use at home.  In Social Studies, we learned more about the Northeast Native Americans.  In Art, we looked at the painting Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth and discussed space and perspective in art.  The students worked on drawing pictures that showed things close up and things in the distance. 

I would love to have some volunteers Wednesday afternoon from 1:45 to about 2:45 to help out with some Native American activities.  Let me know if you would be able to help out!  Also, I'm planning to have literacy centers on Wednesday and Thursday if you are a parent who helps out with that! 

Homework for today is...
Read for 20 minutes
Work on spelling and memory

Thursday, January 10, 2013

This morning, we read from Luke and discussed how God is a father to us and does the same sort of things our parents do for us.  In Social Studies, we started studying the Northeast Native Americans.  This afternoon, the students acted out the fables we read this week. 

Our librarian informed me that a lot of students in the class have overdue books.  I told the students today to make sure to check at home for those overdue books! 

Homework for today is...
Math worksheet (Lesson 4-1)
Read Sayings We Share during 20 minutes of reading

Some students need to finish...
Vocabulary p. 69
Object pronouns p. 71

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

In Chapel, we heard Pastor Mark share a message about our theme for the month:  Shield of Faith.  We learned a song that goes with that called "Jesus is the Rock."  In Math, we worked more on arrays and multiplication sentences.  In Reading, we talked about conflict, resolution, and the moral of a story.  Students read four fables and had to tell what the conflict, resolution, and moral of each was.  We are working on object pronouns this week.  In Science, we are finishing up learning about the parts of a plant and how plants produce food. 

We have practiced all the cursive letters (lowercase and uppercase)!  Pretty soon, students will be having spelling homework that they will have to complete in cursive.  During the time that we did cursive practice, we are now writing on Kindness Keys.  Each student has a big paper key with their name on it.  Each day, students have to write a compliment on one other students' key without using the words "nice" or "kind." 

Homework for today is...
Spelling p. 57-58

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

In Christian Studies, we read the story of Zacchaeus and discussed how we are both saint and sinner.  In Math, we went over the Commutative Property of Multiplication.  Ask your child to explain what that is and give an example!  We also discussed arrays and looked for examples of arrays in our classroom. 

This afternoon, I met with each student to talk about how they are doing with their reading goal.  We talked about ideas for a new reading goal.  Tonight, students need to come up with what they want their new reading goal to be and have it ready to share with me tomorrow. 

I showed the class how to take care of Pearl today.  The students will start taking turns now to clean her cage, feed her, etc. 

The art gallery that we took a field trip to is offering a children's art class this month!  It will be Saturday, January 26 from 1:00 to 3:00 at the gallery in Richland.  The cost is $20, and it is being offered for children ages 8 to 14.  The kids will get to paint winter landscapes with acrylic paints.  You can sign up online or at the gallery. 

Homework for today is...
Set a new reading goal

Monday, January 7, 2012

We started our day by going over our memory verse and theme verse for the month.  This month, we are focusing on the Shield of Faith.  In Math, we started working on multiplication!  The students are bringing home a letter today that includes the vocabulary they will be learning this chapter.  I highly recommend putting this up on the fridge or someplace to refer to as we go through this chapter.  I will be sending out more information later about how I'll quiz the students on their times tables! 

In Social Studies, we started a new unit on Native Americans.  Ask your students how people believe the Native Americans came to North America.  We talked about Columbus encountering Native Americans in the Caribbean as well. 

The next book projects are due February 5th.  The students got a summary and opinion worksheet on Friday. 

Homework for today is...
Read 20 minutes
Start working on spelling and memory

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Happy New Year!  It was great to see the kids today.  We had a good start to the new year together!  This morning, we went over rules for our classroom, and we reviewed some of the things we've learned in math so far this school year.  In Social Studies, the students are demonstrating their knowledge of maps by creating maps of their own imaginary states.  This afternoon, we went over some vocabulary words from a book we'll read tomorrow called Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin.  In order to build some background knowledge, we talked about the different instruments in an orchestra and got to listen to what they sounded like. 

After library time, we decided on the class reward the students earned before break.  The students decided to have a hamster (Pearl) as their class pet!  If you have any concerns about this, please let me know as soon as possible.  Each student would have an opportunity to take her home on the weekends.  The students would take turns caring for her each day.  We'll have some special times to have her run around in her ball, but for the most part, she won't be taking much class time away. 

I am looking for someone to help with Scholastic book orders.  If you are interested in helping with that, please let me know! 

There is no homework today!