Newsletter 11-15-12

Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon

November 15, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, November 16^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Friday, November 16^th – Book orders due

·        Wednesday, November 21^st – Dismissal at 11:25

·        Thursday, November 22^nd – No school

·        Friday, November 23^rd – No school

Classroom News:

Phaydan: In Math we have a multiplication packet for patterns and facts. We learned how to multiply by 2s and 5s. Whenever we learn how to multiply by a new number we will always write the number at the top of the page. Then we will highlight the multiples.

David: So far in The Tale of Despereaux, Despereaux hasn’t been acting like a mouse and he has very big ears. He can also do a lot that the other mice can’t do. He can hear things that the other mice can’t hear. He can read too (the words to the other mice look like squiggles). Recently, he walked into the room of the princess of the castle he lives in. The king, however, did not want him there because a mouse is related to a rat, and they have had a horrible history with rats. Speaking of rats, Despereaux is supposed to be thrown into a dungeon full of rats. What will happen next?

Lily: We received postcards this week. We received postcards from Finland and Tennessee. And we put them on the wall of postcards! I love receiving postcards! J

Ali: In Math last week, we played a math game. We did one number doubled like this: 8 x 2 = 16. Then there were boxes that we filled if we got that answer. The strategy to multiply by two is to add the number that is not two to itself.

Madison: We went with Mrs. Messina’s class to a different room because it was too cold in our classroom. While we were there we learned about Plymouth colony jobs. Some choices of the jobs were blacksmith and miller. A blacksmith uses iron to make horseshoes. We had a lot of fun.

Elizabeth: In Math we made arrays of sunshine. We had to draw an array in the middle of the sun. Then we colored and cut the rays out. Then we glued the middle and rays together. We made a paper with the number sentence and glued it on. Then Ms. Little put them on the bulletin board.

Tatyiana: Last week we went to the Library. Mrs. Patino read to us. Then it was computer time. We played on Brainpop. It was about Science.

Logan: We multiplied by 5s in a book. It is a multiplication fact and pattern book. We had a numbered chart and we colored in all the multiples of 5 up to 100. Then we had to answer 5 x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. For the game, we had to roll the dice, add them together, then multiply by 5. Then we colored in the space with the answer on the game board.

Sophia: Last week we watched the story Duck for President. Duck wanted to be president. Duck got more votes for the election. After the story we voted. Duck won.

Seamus: On Tuesday we went to a make-up Library class. We went on the computer. We wrote on a word document about what we want to be when we grow up.

Jameson: At Music we played a game called Button You Must Wander. And we learned a new song called Rizzeldy Razzeldy Mow Mow Mow. In Button You Must Wander, the person puts their face on the rug so they can’t see. Then we pass around the button while we sing the song to the game. The song goes, “Button you must wander, wander, wander. Button you must wander everywhere.”

Emily: Last week we learned another Spelling activity for Literacy. It is called Roll and Spell – the super silent edition. The directions are to roll the dice and spell your next word according to the matching die. Whisper each word as you finish. When you roll the die and it lands on the number one then you use your finger to spell the word out in the air. When you roll the die and it lands on the number two, then you use your finger to write the word on your neighbor’s back. When you roll the number three, then you take one step for each letter of the word in your head. When you roll the number four, you use your body to make the shape of each letter as you spell the word. When you roll the number five, then you use your finger to write the word on your desk. When you roll the number six, then you use your foot to write the word on the floor.

Daniel: Last week on Friday we saw a video about Tigercast News. In the video people from Mrs. McPhail’s class were interviewing teachers. One of them was Mrs. C. Nathan asked her why we could not play football at recess and she said it’s because we don’t have the right gear.

Molly: Last week we filled the marble jar. When we fill the marble jar we get to do something fun. We voted on a fish for a class pet. We named him Sir Puffs a Lot. He is purple and blue.

Colin: In Writing Workshop we wrote about us (about the author). I wrote, “Colin likes soccer,” and other stuff like that. We are having a publishing party soon!

Nathan: A couple weeks ago we had an assembly. The teachers announced the winners of the election. The winners were Obama, and yes for hat day. The teachers told us not to cheer.

Katie: Last Friday we watched Matilda. It was about a girl whose family treated her badly. She went to school where there was an evil principal. At the end of the movie a very nice teacher named Miss Honey adopted her. They played games and planted plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables in the garden.

Tyler: Last week in Art on the cart we made masks. First we got cardboard and then we outlined our face. Then we made the eyes and the mouth and it was all done. We are making these masks to make them like masks from Africa.

Brenna: We finished reading The Witches. We eat snack while Ms. Little reads to us. It is so good. The boys in the book turned into mice. My favorite part was when the mouse boy sneaked under the table.

Jesse: At Gym we did stations. One of the stations was balance cups. We also climbed on the cargo net. We hula hooped to music.

Seanalee: Mr. Molloy is learning how to be a teacher. He watches us when we work in our classroom. He helps us sometimes. I like having him in our class.

Ms. Little: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will not be writing our class newsletter next week. Also, students will not be required to complete an Independent Reading Journal for homework. Please note that dismissal will be at 11:25 on Wednesday, November 21^st. Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy the weekend as well as the Thanksgiving break.