Thursday, February 28, 2013

Newsletter 2-28-13


Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon
February 28, 2013

Upcoming & Important Events:
·        Thursday, February 28thMCAS information night for parents
·        Friday, March 1stDismissal at 12:30
·        Friday, March 8th Dismissal at 12:30

Classroom News:

Daniel: In Spelling we learned a new activity. That activity is called Scrabble Spelling. In Scrabble Spelling you have a list of letters with points for each letter. Then you write one of your words. After your word is written you use the point chart to see how many points your word is worth.

Phaydan: Last week we played Subtraction Jeopardy during Math. Our team was team tigers. There were team junior tigers, midget cupids, and unicorns. There were five categories to choose from. There were questions worth 500 points and lower. They were all subtraction questions. We won 900 points.

Katie: In Listen to Reading we read Tackylocks and the Three Bears. First, there were three penguins acting like bears and Tacky was acting like Goldielocks. They were putting on a play for some little penguins. The play started, the narrator started, but the kids were so loud that he didn’t finish. But when it was Tacky’s turn to go on the children began to be silent. At the end, they took a bow.

Molly: At the beginning of February we got new seats. I’m sitting with Ali, Elizabeth, and Phaydan. Ms. Little let us sit with all girls and all boys. If we don’t work well with our table then she moves us. In March we will switch our seats again.

Logan: We watched A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was a mix of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd books. In the 1st book, Violet had to marry Count Olaf to save Sunny from a cage up on the side of the tower. In the 2nd book, Uncle Monty lives with reptiles and we have not finished it yet.  We don’t know if we are going to read the 3rd book.

Colin: We switched back to doing reading groups after doing writing groups. My group is reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Mr. Popper is very weird. Ms. Burns read it to us in 1st grade. I love reading!

Elizabeth: For the 100th day of school we made portraits of what we’ll look like when we’re 100 years old. On the back of the paper we had to write what we’re doing in the picture. The 100th day of school was fun. We also did other activities. Everything had to do with 100.

David: During Read Aloud, we are reading A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room. So far, Count Olaf has, or at least we think so, killed Uncle Monty, even though he says he died of a snakebite. Before that, Uncle Monty had a talk with the Baudelaire orphans. Uncle Monty thought that Count Olaf was a herpetological spy trying to steal the Incredibly Deadly Viper. The Incredibly Deadly Viper is a snake that Uncle Monty and his old assistant found. I wonder what is going to happen next.

Lily: We received postcards this week and we only need Oklahoma and Arkansas now! We got Jerusalem from Sophia’s mom, and Montana and South Africa. We really like getting postcards. Jerusalem is in Asia! It’s fun getting postcards.

Jameson: At Gym we played dodge ball with 1st graders. We went at a special time. It was very fun. We listened to music while we played.

Tyler: Two weeks ago in Music we practiced playing a new song on the recorder. After that we played a game. The name of the game was Button and the Key. How you play is there is one seeker and one passer outer. So the passer outer gives out the button and the key and whoever has the button or the key has to make a funny voice and the seeker has to find the person who has the button or the key.

Madison: In Science we did an experiment about evaporation. The experiment was something with lemon juice. We dunked our finger in the lemon juice and drew or wrote something on the paper. When it was our turn we went over to Mrs. Messina and she would blow dry it to speed up the evaporation and just the lemon juice would show up. I thought it was cool. Everyone did it.

Seamus: Two weeks ago we had Library. We went around trying to find 100 words that start with the letter C. After when we were finished we went to the computers. We got to choose what game we wanted to play. There were three sections to choose from. There was ABCya, Starfall, and Education City.

Tatyiana: We do DEAR time every day. At DEAR time we read books. It is also called Read to Self. We learn things from our books. We can sit wherever we want during DEAR time.

Nathan: We made 100th day mosaics. Mosaics are pictures made out of stuff like paper. So we made pictures out of little squares of paper. It was 100 pieces of paper. I made a blue buffalo. At the end, somebody checked yours to make sure you had 100 pieces!

Cherokee: We just finished reading A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was a very sad story. Count Olaf did some very mean things to the orphans. He also wanted to marry Violet and he did not get to because Violet signed it with her right hand instead of her left hand and you had to sign it with the hand you use to write. So Violet did not marry Count Olaf.

Seanalee: We finished the water cycle posters in Science. Our posters had accumulation, then evaporation, after that is condensation, and then precipitation. It goes and never stops. If it did we wouldn’t be here. We live on the water cycle!

Emily: The week before vacation we played Subtraction Scoot. This is how we did it. First we got a piece of paper that had a subtraction problem on it.  Next we solved the problem on a different piece of paper. Then we switched to the desk that’s on our right or left, the teacher decides. Then we keep on going and going like that. We did it to get better at our subtraction facts.

Sophia: On Valentine’s Day we made our own bags for valentines. We got to pass around our valentines and put them in each other’s bags. Then we got to choose one candy from our bag to eat. I chose a mystery flavored fun dip. Valentine’s Day was fun.

Jesse: Our class had a talent show because we filled up the marble jar. A lot of people did singing. I did a cartwheel and a handstand. We all brought up our chairs to watch. When someone was done they asked if anyone had questions or comments.

Ali: On the 100th day of school Ms. Little gave us a challenge. She split us up into groups of 3 and 4. The challenge was to make something out of 100 pattern blocks. My team made a triangle. Then, we counted the other teams blocks to make sure they had 100.

Ms. Little: Thank you to families who have donated shared classroom supplies. We are still running low on supplies such as pump bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy the weekend.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Newsletter 2-7-13


Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon
February 7, 2013

Upcoming & Important Events:
·        Friday, February 8thDismissal at 12:30
·        Friday, February 15th Book orders due
·        Friday, February 15th February vacation begins at the end of the day

Classroom News:

Seamus: Last week we read Time for Kids. It showed that the cheetah was the fastest animal on land. Cheetahs can run 70 mph. There are only 10,000 left. I learned that a cheetah could change direction in the air.

Tatyiana: In Art we made posters. We cut out words to glue on the paper. We colored pictures to match the words. We had to write our name on the back. The posters were about being healthy.

Lily: We earned homework passes in February. If you do all of your homework and bring in in on time then you get one.  I like homework passes, but I think homework is good.

Logan: For homework this week we have an MCAS practice packet that is about hippos. There are a lot of interesting facts. A baby hippo is called a calf. It is due on Monday. I am almost done.

Daniel: We read an article about sea lizards to practice for MCAS in class. First, Ms. Little read to us, then we read out loud, and then we read to self. Before we read, we read the questions. Then we looked for the answers to the questions in the story. Then we solved them. Last we wrote some facts that were special about sea lizards.

David: In Math we played a game that requires a good memory. It’s called Subtraction Concentration. You look at the numbers on the paper and then you cover them with tiles. Next you roll a die and subtract whatever you rolled from ten. Then you try to uncover the number you rolled. I was a partner with Tyler. It was fun!

Emily: Last week in Science we made water cycle wheels. This is how we did it. We had two pieces of paper that had pictures on it like raindrops. On one paper we had to cut out squares and then we took a thing that kind of looks like a tack but it has things attached to it that bend down. We cut out the pieces of paper and took the thing that kind of looks like a tack and stuck it through them. Then it was a water cycle wheel.

Madison: In Library we are studying OPAC. On OPAC we look for books in the library. I checked out a book. It’s called Ashley and MaryKate. Its genre is mystery. I checked out another one. It was Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Seanalee: In Writing Workshop we finished writing our scenes and now we’re writing our final copies. Some are short and some are long. We can make designs with the paper. We made pictures to match the words. Everyone is doing it.

Nathan: In Math we are doing mental math for subtraction. We used mental math to get to the nearest ten to subtract. Mental math is math but it is in your head. For example, 5 x 5 = 25. That was mental math for me. I don’t like it much because I like checking the answers. Some people like mental math because it is quick.

Molly: This week we received postcards. We received them from Chicago, Illinois. We have not gotten Illinois yet. We have a lot of postcards, but we still have a few more states that we need!

Brenna: We made our February calendars. We got to decorate them. Some of us put Valentine’s Day on it. We wrote the days of the week. I put hearts on mine. We worked very hard.

Tyler: Last week in Gym we first did some relay races. Then we did a bucket relay race. Then we played dodge ball. After, we picked up the equipment. Then we left.

Jesse: We watched a Brainpop video on Monday. We watched it with Mrs. Messina’s class. It was about the water cycle. We also made water cycle wheels. In the video, they went to the beach and it wasn’t raining, but then it started to. Raining is a kind of precipitation.

Sophia: Last week we did stations in Music. The stations were recorder, peace like a river, rhythm, and some other things too. We only got to do three stations because of the time. Then we played a game. The game was called Button and the Key.

Ali: In Literacy, Ms. Little taught Molly, Cherry, and me a new spelling activity. It’s called Secret Codes. First, you switch your spelling cards with your partner. There are different numbers for different letters. Next, you write the number that substitutes for the letter under the word. Last, your partner writes the letter in the word above the number. You do that for all your words.

Colin: In Math we played a math game to practice estimating then subtracting. First, we roll the dice to make a math question like 36 – 24. Then, we round it like this:
36 à 40
24 à 20

Then you subtract 40 – 20 = 20. This strategy helps you get 1 percent less than what the real answer is. You’re close but not exactly at the answer. Math is my 9th favorite subject in school. By the way, the real answer to 36 – 24 = 12.

Cherokee: Right now we are reading A Series of Unfortunate Events. Today we are on chapter thirteen. I don’t know what is going to happen but it is a mystery. The first chapter is about when the orphans moved into Count Olaf’s house and they did not like it at all. But at the last chapter, Count Olaf wanted to marry Violet.

Phaydan: During Science we read water cycle packets. We had partners with Mrs. Messina’s class. My partner was Drew. First we read the packet and then we sang the water cycle song. After that, we colored the water cycle pictures.  There were about five pages in the packets.

Katie: On Monday we made water cycle diagrams in Science. At the top we wrote condensation. Going down we wrote precipitation. At the bottom, we wrote collection also known as accumulation. Last going up we wrote evaporation.

Ms. Little: We are practicing both in class and at home for the English Language Arts portion of the MCAS test that will take place in March. The first practice packet was sent home Monday and is due Monday, February 11th. Students are expected to complete MCAS homework assignments independently. Please contact me with any questions. Enjoy the weekend.