Comparing life cycles....

As an ongoing part of our cooperative learning about birds, we compared/contrasted the life cycles of plants and birds. This comparative life cycle is the culmination of this work.

Keeping the learning happening up until the end...

Welcome to May!

Where we are wild about learning~Let the learning rumpus continue!

Wow! It is hard to believe, but these not-quite-3rd graders-at-the-beginning-of-the-year are now almost-4th graders. Students have continued learning new curricula while showing what they know during Smarter Balanced Assessments. Students have done a good job focusing and doing their best and parents have done a great job supporting them by ensuring they’ve gotten plenty of rest and a good breakfast. Thank you and keep up the good work! We have this week and next week of scheduled testing for our class. Students who are not finished will have the time to finish up as needed.

Homework

Students have done a good job of remembering their homework. This shows how they have grown as independent learners. Homework will continue in paper form, however if you wish to have the option of online MobyMax only homework please email me and I will set up a plan for your child.

Birds!

You may have noticed a new obsession with your child-a specific bird or just birds in general. The third grade unit on native (and introduced but now naturalized to the area) birds has begun. Each student has been given their own bird to research, write a report on, and then present to the class. We are truly becoming bird brains!

Upcoming events

We have two field trips scheduled this month.

May 19th-Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve. We have plenty of room for parent volunteers so please feel free to sign up or send me an email if you have returned the permission slip, but didn’t sign up to come along.

May 29th-Chehalem Cultural Center

Water Bottles-Reminder

Standing in line at the drinking fountain can waste a lot of time. I encourage students to bring a water bottle to school. They should take the bottle home on Fridays to wash.

Have you noticed?

We have an amazing group of students in this class and we are continuing to learn alongside each other.

I know I have covered this before, but reading is so important in the growth and self esteem of our students. This article is from:
http://www.edudemic.com/skipping-your-reading-homework/

The Long-Term Effects of Skipping Your Reading Homework

By Pamela DeLoatch on April 14, 2015

  

 

                                               Spring Conferences


                                                                  

Just a reminder that conferences are this Monday and Tuesday, April 6th & 7th, and there will be no school. If you have not reserved your spot to hear about your child’s accomplishments please call the office and make an appointment (503-538-4650). I look forward to meeting with you.

Thank you!

Mrs. Soumokil

Parents, here are a few ways to help your child excel in spelling....

January 2015

Welcome back to school and welcome to the New Year!

3rd grade has jumped backed into learning. This first week back at school we started by revisiting expectations in the classroom and around the school. We reviewed our pillars of success:

• Be Safe
• Be Responsible
• Be Respectful
• Do Your Best

We also reviewed what that looks like in different settings.

One big change in the classroom has occurred. We are moving to The Daily 5 for Language Arts (reading, writing, spelling, grammar) and The Daily 3 for Math (once Daily 5 is up and running). The Daily 5 is a literacy structure that teaches independence and gives students the skills needed to create a lifetime love of reading and writing. It consists of five tasks that are introduced individually. When introduced to each task, the students discuss what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like to engage in the task independently. Then, the students work on building their stamina until they are successful at being independent while doing that task.

These five tasks are:

• Read to Self
• Work on Writing
• Read to someone
• Word Work
• Listen to Reading

When all five tasks have been introduce and the students are fully engaged in reading and writing, I am able to work with small groups and confer with students one-on-one. This structure is effective, the results are amazing, and your children look forward to Daily 5 time.

We have been learning some new behaviors and building reading stamina. Our goal is to be able to Read to Self for 20 focused minutes. While we build our reading stamina we are learning foundations for success such as:

• What the students’ job and the teacher’s job is during Daily 5.
• Three ways to read a book
• Read the Pictures
• Read the Words
• Retell the Story
• Choosing a Successful Spot for Daily 5
• Learning to Self-Assess behavior based on the proficiency scale 1-4
• “I Pick” Good Fit Books

I Pick Good Fit Books

This is a valuable strategy that we not only learned, but we also built an anchor chart for the classroom. In order for students to get the most of their reading for fun, they need to read books that are a good fit-the right balance between too easy and too hard and interesting. Please use this strategy to help your child pick Good Fit books at home and at the library.

I PICK

I - I select a book and look it over inside and out.

P - Purpose Why might I want to read it?

I - Interest Does it interest me?

C - Comprehend Do I understand what I am reading?

K - Know Do I know MOST of the words?

Ask your child about Daily 5 and see what he or she has to say. I anticipate that your child will tell you about the class stamina success and how we are working toward independence. You also might hear about some of the fantastic things your child has written, read, or listened to during our Daily 5 time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your continued support and happy reading!

Mrs. Soumokil