Postcard Update!

We're almost there! Our class has received a postcard from almost all of the fifty states in our country. We hope to receive South Dakota, Arkansas, and Oklahoma soon. 


Each time a postcard is received it is shared at morning meeting, and then the state is colored on our maps according to the region in which it's located. We also hang the postcards up in our classroom.

We have also received postcards from many different countries such as Israel, Greece, Indonesia, New Zealand, France, South Africa, Ireland, Thailand, and Australia. We keep track of which countries we've received by coloring a map as well.

 Thank you to friends and family members who have sent a postcard our way! 

Newsletter 3-7-13

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

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, March 8^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Wednesday, March 13^th – Last day of MCAS after school review class

·        Friday, March 15^th – Book orders due

·        Friday, March 15^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Tuesday, March 19^th – English Language Arts MCAS

·        Wednesday, March 20^th – English Language Arts MCAS

·

Classroom News:

Cherokee: Last week we listened to Gregory’s Shadow. It was about a groundhog named Gregory and he was best friends with his shadow. It was close to Groundhog Day. Gregory and shadow one day went to get food, but the shadow went without Gregory and got locked out. At the end, Gregory found his shadow and it was Groundhog Day and the shadow had to hide behind Gregory because the farmers wanted to see if he could be without his shadow.

Madison: Last Thursday we had a substitute. It was Mrs. Jacobson. For Math she gave us a booklet for division. We were (helping) the chef make his pizzas. We had to divide the pizza toppings like this: 9 pepperonis to be shared equally on 3 pizzas. 9 divided by 3 = 3. We used a strategy for each problem. I used a picture strategy. It was easy for me.

Molly: In Literacy we read in our reading group. My group is reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. We are put in groups. There are 3, 4, 5, or 6 of us in a group. Our book is about a boy and his annoying brother.

Ali: Last week in our classroom Mrs. Jacobson read Horton Hears a Hoo to us. It was about an elephant that heard something on a speck of dust. No one believed that there was something on the speck. A bird came and took away the speck. Horton found the speck and went to go prove they were there. The people on the speck made as much noise as possible and finally the animals heard them.

Daniel: On Friday for Dr. Seuss’s birthday we made half-bred animals after we read Horton Hears a Hoo. We did this because in the book Horton Hatches an Egg, there’s an elephant bird. We got to name our animal. I made a half snake half lynx. We had to draw where they live.

Elizabeth: Last Monday we went to Art. We had Mystery Art. Mystery Art is when Mrs. Santillo puts out random stuff and we make things with it. She also puts out duct tape. Some of the stuff she puts out is fabric, egg cartons, chocolate containers, and milk cartons.

Lily: In Library Mrs. Patino read a book called Yurtle the Turtle. It was Dr. Seuss’s birthday. I liked that story! Then we checked out books. After that, we played on the computers.

Sophia: Last week we got Kindergarten buddies! We made Dr. Seuss hats with our buddy. My buddy’s name is Mia. We read some books when we finished making our hats. Then we left.

Katie: Last week our class led the Pledge of Allegiance in the office. Monday people went, so did people on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You go to the office and when you start you say your name into the microphone. Then you say, “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.” Then you say the pledge and have a wonderful day or something like that. After, you go back to your class.

Jameson: We read Time for Kids last week. It was about Barack Obama. I read with Mrs. McNamara. Time for Kids is a magazine that has stories about animals and people. My favorite Time for Kids was about cheetahs.

Tatyiana: We played the recorders at Music. We played pages 5 and 6. We played Who Took the Key? We have to sit on the rug and you pass the key around. Then you guess who has the key. Then we went to a different station. We played the drums. Then the teacher walked in and I said bye to Miss Lilley.

Logan: In Math we got numbers on sticky notes. We had to figure out ways to make equal groups with our number. My number was 28. My partner was Nathan. Some of our division sentences were 28 divided by 2 = 14, 28 divided by 14 = 2, 28 divided by 1 = 28, and 28 divided by 28 = 1. Then we shared our number sentences with the class.

Seanalee: We read a play by Dr. Seuss. It was Green Eggs and Ham. It was a partner play. In the play one part was Sam I am and the other one was Grumpy. It was about Sam wanting Grumpy to try the green eggs and ham. It was a fun play.

Colin: The Green Meadow School PTO gave us book gifts. The book they gave us is called The Tiger Rising. I finished it already. It was a very good book! The book is about a tiger that is stuck in a cage and it’s up to Rob to save it.

Nathan: Last week we played a division matching game. There were cards with pictures and cards with division problems. We had to match the picture with the division problem. I thought it was easy. For example: 9 divided by 9 = 1. We had to match it with a picture of 9 groups with one in each group.

Brenna: We finished our writing workshop stories. They were realistic fiction stories. Some of us are done and some aren’t. We took a long time. We wrote great stories. For example, mine was about going to camp.

David: In Math we started learning division. Division is something where you take one number and see how many times it goes into it.  Like if we take the problem 27 divided by 3 we just count up to 27 by threes like this: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27. Then we see how many numbers there are to get to 27 and that’s our answer which is 9.

Jesse: We watched a movie with Mrs. Messina’s class. It was about ukes and zukes. The ukes were blue ones and the zukes are red. They were fighting that they spread their butter different ways. At the wall there was a guard that protects the wall. I think the point of the movie was that it doesn’t matter which way they spread their butter.

Tyler: Last week in Gym we first warmed up. Then we did a bucket relay race. Then we played tag. After that we practiced our hockey skills. Then we went to see the first grade dioramas.

Emily: We started doing a play about the water cycle in Science. There are a lot of parts in it. I’m Water Drop 2. We are going to perform it for Mrs. Messina’s class and they are going to perform it for us. Some of the parts of the play are funny. Like one of the lines says something about brushing teeth and they’re water in the sink. It’s a weird play.

Seamus: Last week we read A Series of Unfortunate Events. Count Olaf wanted to take the Baudelaire children into town. Violet pretended to drop her ribbon on the ground so she could listen to the grown ups talk about who was driving into town. Violet told Sunny to guard the door. Mr. Poe came in and said, “You and Stephano (who is really Count Olaf) will go into town.” Then, Stephano went outside with Dr. Lucafont.

Phaydan: In Science we did a water cycle quiz. First we drew a picture and then we had to write what we learned. It can start out as condensation, precipitation, evaporation, or accumulation. In the picture we had to label each part. We learned about the water cycle with Mrs. Messina’s class.

Ms. Little: The English Language Arts portion of MCAS testing will be administered the 19^th and 20^th of March. There will be no homework assigned during that week. Also, spring conference reminders were sent home in your child’s backpack folder today. Please let me know if you need to change the date and/or time and we can reschedule. Enjoy the weekend.

100th Day of School!

Our class celebrated the 100th day of school last Tuesday.  During Math, students worked together as a team to build a creation with exactly 100 pattern blocks. Then, each team checked another team's design. Some groups used addition and some used multiplication strategies to count the blocks.

The next challenge in honor of the 100th day of school was to create a mosaic with exactly 100 pieces of construction paper squares. When finished, we checked a partner's mosaic by counting how many squares they used.  Our creative minds were hard at work!

Newsletter 2-28-13

Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon

February 28, 2013

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Thursday, February 28^th – MCAS information night for parents

·        Friday, March 1^st – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Friday, March 8^th – 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 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd books. In the 1^st book, Violet had to marry Count Olaf to save Sunny from a cage up on the side of the tower. In the 2^nd book, Uncle Monty lives with reptiles and we have not finished it yet.  We don’t know if we are going to read the 3^rd 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 1^st grade. I love reading!

Elizabeth: For the 100^th 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 100^th 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 1^st 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 100^th 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.

Newsletter 2-7-13

Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon

February 7, 2013

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, February 8^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Friday, February 15^th – Book orders due

·        Friday, February 15^th – 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 9^th 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 11^th. Students are expected to complete MCAS homework assignments independently. Please contact me with any questions. Enjoy the weekend.