Sunday, September 18th Update

Last week we continued to work through a variety of activities, trying hard to establish and polish our routines!

Literacy

We started journal writing this past week. Students have complete control over what they choose as a topic for their work each day. They may take several days to complete a piece or may start a new piece each day. This time is used to build stamina in writing, to share thoughts and ideas using written language and to practice using word wall words, proper punctuation and capitalization. Students are eager to share their writing at the end of the block with their classmates from The Author's Chair. For our struggling writers, I brought them up to my computer and we copied and pasted 8-10 pictures of things that they are interested in into a google document. I printed the pages out and we cut out the pictures. Those students are now choosing one picture at the beginning of journal time, pasting it into their journals and then focusing their writing around that subject. I demonstrated this process to the entire class and invited all students to work on these picture prompt pages at home if they are interested. They can email completed pages to me at school and I will print them out on the colour copier for them.

During our Working with Words block, we completed our first Making Words activity. Given a specific set of letters, students are asked to spell words. We start with small 2-3 letter words and then we build up to bigger and bigger words. In the end, students are asked to use ALL of the letters to create the MYSTERY WORD. This is a great kinesthetic learning activity that encourages students to stretch out words, looking for vowel sounds, consonant sounds, blends, diagraphs and familiar spelling patterns.

This week I will introduce the students to their first set of Word Wall Words. They will write them in their agendas tomorrow and we will work with them for the next two weeks. Students will be expected to spell all word wall words properly in all writing activities. We will be having a dictation test every Friday to practice using the proper spelling of the words within sentences (two tests per set of words). We also focus on starting sentences with capitals and ending sentences with the proper punctuation during these dictation tests.

Numeracy

The students were very excited to start our Jump Math program this past week! The first activities that we completed were from the Confidence Building Unit. The creator of the Jump Math program's goal is to improve student confidence in their math abilities. Too many students feel that they are hopeless at math and that there is nothing that is going to change that fact. The first mini unit is designed to build student confidence. We learned how to name fractions and add fractions with a common denominator! The students were so proud of themselves starting off grade three with this advanced math! It was so great to see their faces light up as they got question after question right! 

This week we will our first full unit on patterns!

Social Studies

This past week students continued to explore the world of maps! We investigated the different parts of a map that give us important information. We looked at the compass rose and the key/legend. This week and next, we will continue our study of maps by focusing on the world map, the continents, the oceans and the map of Canada.

An important note about Science and Social Studies in 3C:

In the interest of time and continuity, I choose to teach Science and Social Studies in alternating months.

After finishing our study of maps in Social Studies, we will move into our science unit on Rocks and Minerals for the month of October. If you have any questions or concerns about this schedule or method, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Bus Safety

Team 3C participated in Bus Safety for one hour on Thursday. The students did a fabulous job answering multiply bus safety questions in a game type setting! We also went onto the bus and practiced emergency procedures.

Other important reminders:

• Wednesday, September 21st - Lord Strathcona's Musical Ride (still waiting confirmation)
• Friday, September 30th - Terry Fox Walk at 1:15pm (Please fill out the permission slip online)

Welcome to 3C!

Wow! I can't believe that we are already 6 days into our new year! We have been working hard in 3C to establish new routines and new friendships for everyone.

On the first day of school, we got to know each other a bit, went over classroom rules and routines, made name plates for our desks , read one of my favourite books (The Empty Pot by Demi) that teaches the value of honesty and enjoyed a presentation by Motivational Magic that focused on showing character, courage and caring.

On the Friday, we read My New Teacher by Al Yankovic, had fun trying to figure out each others' fib in Two Truths and a Fib, organized some of our supplies, completed a the first of two spelling tests that will provide me some guidance on the spelling rules that we need to focus on right away, completed a numeracy activity that focused on writing simple equations and completed our first art project!

This week we dove into a regular schedule and routine filled with the following activities:

• Read Alouds (Every morning I start our day by sharing one of my favourite books. While I read I model and teach specific reading strategies.)
• Read to Self (30 minutes of uniterrupted reading - This gives me the opportunity to have one on one reading conferences with three students each day. We focus on specific reading strategies that they need to be using during their own personal reading.)
• Working With Words (During this block we participate in a variety of activities that help us understand how words are put together. We focus on vowel sounds, consonant blends, consonant diagraphs, compound words, word families, plurals, common prefixes and suffixes, etc.)
• Social Studies -  We have started our first unit on mapping.
• Math - How Many Ways and Daily Graph

How Many Ways?

This is one of my favourite math activities to do! Students are asked to write equations that equal the target number. Today we worked on the number 6. 

The rules are:

1) you can only have one = in each equation

2) you can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division

3) you need to be sure that you are right

4) you can use counters if needed

As time goes on, we will add a few more rules about how long you can follow a particular pattern before you need to switch things up.

Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what your child is working on. This activity focuses on developing number sense and confidence with numeracy. My apologies for accidentally erasing the board before snapping a picture of our work. I will take a picture of this activity next week!

Supplies

All of our school supplies have now been sorted and labelled. We have placed each child's extra supplies in a ziploc bag with their name on it. Our apologies for the mix up on the School Start page in regards to the four pencil boxes needed. We only intended to ask for two pencil boxes but it was somehow put in both the package list and the extra supplies list. We have sent home the extra two boxes with those students who brought in all four. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Team 3C students are already participating in a Pencil and Eraser Challenge. Each month students start the month with a pencil and eraser with their name on it. If they manage to keep the same pencil and eraser for the entire month, they will receive two stickers on our chart. If they need a new pencil mid month because theirs is too short, we simply give them a new pencil from their supplies and write their name on it. As long as they show us their old pencil, they are not penalized in the challenge. At the end of the year, we will count up everyone's stickers and reward our most responsible students with a few prizes. Last year, each student was able to take home an entire box of pencils that they didn't get around to using! The purpose of this challenge is to teach the students to be responsible for and respect their supplies. 

Important Notes

The students came home with a bundle of office papers for you (stapled together). Please go through these forms ASAP and return them to school on Tuesday. It is important for the office to update the students personal records. 

Water Bottles

Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day. Trips to the water fountain are very disruptive. I will be encouraging students to bring home bottles each day to be washed and refilled for the following day. 

Parent Homework

The students loved the fact that you received the first homework assignment of the year! Please complete the In A Million Words or Less sheet and return it to school by September 15th. 

Star Student Posters

Please assist your child in filling out their Extra! Extra! Read All About Me! posters and return them to the school by September 15th. Students will be presenting these posters to the class on the Monday of their Star Student week.

Educational Assistant

We are so lucky to have Mrs. C (Cindy Caudron) in our class full time this year! 

Library

Team 3C has library every Tuesday. 

Please remind your child to return their library books each Tuesday to prevent overdues.
Our new librarian, Mrs. Rogers, was excited to meet all of our 3C students! 

I think that is all for now...I hope I haven't overloaded you with information!

My door is always open to our 3C families. If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please bring them to my attention at your earliest convenience.