September 28th Update

What a wet way to end the week! Team 3C were true troopers going for a long walk in the rain today for our Terry Fox Walk!

LITERACY

This week I introduced a few new things to the students during our literacy time. Word Wall Words were added to our agenda on Monday and tested today using a dictation activity. The students did an amazing job with their first dictation test! I was super impressed! I sent them home in their agendas for you to see. 

Each sentence is out of four marks. One mark is given for each of the following things:

1. Capitalization at the beginning of the sentence
2. Proper punctuation at the end of the sentence (I am super dramatic with the sentences that require a ? or !)
3. Proper spelling of the Word Wall Word in the sentence (students have access to their word wall during the dictation exercise...perfect practice makes perfect!)
4. The sentence matches what I said (all of the words are written down)

Another new element in our literacy time is our mini writing lessons. Our first theme is IDEAS. Students are learning that when you are choosing a topic to write about they should choose a specific idea that they know a lot about. For example, instead of trying to write about friends, they should narrow their focus and write about having a sleepover with friends.

Our read alouds followed last week's theme of check for understanding and back up and reread using Skippyjon Jones books. We also read Picture Day Perfection on Wednesday and two books today, When I Was Eight in preparation for Orange Shirt Day on Monday.

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NUMERACY

This week in math we continued our work with increasing and decreasing patterns. We are working towards following and creating pattern rules for patterns. We have started with "add 4" as a pattern rule and will be working up to "start at 24 and add 4". Students are working on increasing their accuracy and building their confidence when extending the patterns.

SCIENCE

This week in science we explored the layers of the earth! The students enjoyed learning about the unique features of each layer! They learned that scientists believe that the core of the earth is solid because earthquake waves can not be felt directly across from where an earthquake happens...but instead the waves can be felt off to the side. This makes scientists draw the conclusion that the core is solid and is blocking the waves from passing through the center of the earth. The students were really excited to have the opportunity to touch a sample of the mantle of the earth from Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland! This summer my family spent time in the Tablelands and it was amazing! Check out this video to learn more about this extraordinary Canadian landscape!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Monday - Orange Shirt Day "Every Child Matters"
• Photo Orders due October 5th, if you are ordering through the school

Have a great weekend!

September 22nd Update

I can't believe that I'm writing September in the blog title when it is white outside with snow! Time is flying by in 3C but it shouldn't look like Christmas yet! LOL!

LITERACY

The focus of our read alouds this week have been two very important comprehension strategies: check for understanding and back up and reread. The perfect books to practice using this strategy are the Skippyjon Jones books by Julia Schachner. 

These books are hilarious BUT you have to pay attention or you miss many of the jokes! By checking for understanding while reading and backing up to reread when necessary, students immediately witness the effectiveness of these strategies. If they don't pay attention, they don't get to giggle along with the rest of us. During read to self, I continue to conference with students and fine tune their good fit book selections and the reading strategies that they should be focusing on. 

We have continued to explore spelling patterns during our Making Words lessons. Writing this week continued to focus on journal writing. The students are doing a fantastic job during journal writing! Next week I will introduce our Daily Writing Traits lessons. These mini lessons focus on a common trait for 4-5 weeks. The first trait that we will be focusing on is IDEAS. 

NUMERACY

This week we continued our work with patterns, this time focusing on decreasing patterns. Counting backwards was a bit tricky for some students. An easy way to practice this at home is doing countdowns for a task to be finished. For example, while loading dinner dishes into the dishwasher you could say, "Let's see if you can get the dishes loaded before we finish counting down from 50 to 30...50, 49, 48, 47..." Students are usually really good at the countdown from 10 because of our countdowns around the house, "You have ten seconds to get your coat on...10, 9, 8..." Thank you in advance for your help reinforcing this skill at home!

Next week in math, students will be extending increasing and decreasing patterns. They are going to have to find the gap, determining if the pattern is increasing or decreasing and then extend the pattern for a few more numbers. 

SCIENCE

This week in science we investigated the rock cycle and the three types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. We watched some great videos, had a discussion and added to our lapbooks!

I would like each student to bring in one interesting rock to examine and one larger rock (about the size of an adult fist) for painting in art. If the rocks could be brought in a ziploc bag with the child's name on it by Friday, that would be fantastic! Thank you for your support with this!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Wednesday - AdMazing Coupon Book orders due
• Wednesday and Thursday - school photos (Thursday is for Cross Country students)
• Friday - Terry Fox Walk (please send in a toonie for Terry if possible)
• Fill out the student verification forms online before Friday so that your child has permission to participate in the Terry Fox Walk

Have a great rest of your weekend!

September 16th Update

Over the last week, we have fine tuned the routines of the classroom and everyone is settling in nicely!

Curriculum Update

Literacy

We have continued with our read alouds each day and the students are all very good listeners during this time. We have focused on a few accuracy strategies (cross checking, read around the word) and some comprehension strategies (check for understanding, back up and reread) during our read aloud lessons. We have read a variety of fiction (Chowder, The Incredible Bouncing Chowder by Peter Brown) and nonfiction (Going To Yellowstone by Peter & Connie Roop). Our read to self time is also going well and I am now able to conference with a couple of readers each period. We had our first Making Words lesson this week and the students handled it very well. Making Words lessons are a big part of our word study time. We investigate different spelling patterns, often focusing on vowel sounds/combinations, while creating a variety of words. This teacher led activity helps students build their confidence in working with words during reading and writing activities. You can watch this short video if you want to see what a lesson looks like, Sample Making Words Lesson. We also fit in some journal writing this week. The students enjoy the freedom of writing about what they chose during this time. 

Numeracy

We started our patterning unit this week in math and the students handled things very well! Patterns in grade three are a bit trickier than in previous grades. In the lower grades, the focus is on visual patterns. 

In grade three, the focus is on numerical patterns. 

What number comes next?

2, 5, 8, 11, __

This task can be quite tricky for students! Our JumpMath program does a fantastic job in breaking this task down into manageable parts! The first thing that a student needs to be able to do is to figure out how the pattern is growing? What are they adding to 2 to get to 5? This is called "The Gap". 

If a student is unable to do this in their head, they can use this trick:

After they can determine "the gap", they are ready for the next step...adding the gap to a number.

The final step is putting those two tasks together, find the gap, double check the gap,  and add it to the last number in the pattern to continue the pattern.

To this point, we have been focusing on increasing/growing patterns. Coming up, we will use these same strategies with decreasing patterns.

Science

The students are very excited to be studying Rocks and Minerals in science! We have started the unit by discussing properties. We have investigated the different properties that geologists focus on when studying rocks: smell, feel, shape, luster, light, hardness, magnetism and streak colour.

Physical Education

This week we focused on locomotion and following the rules in the gymnasium.

Other News

Bus Safety

The students and I joined Mr. Coffin and his grade four class for Bus Safety this week. The students enjoyed the Jeopardy style game that we played to review the rules of riding the bus and our emergency evacuation drill outside!

Silent 30 Reward

Team 3C earned their first Silent 30 reward in record time and earned 30 minutes of free play time using our indoor recess games and activities! The students had a blast and are eagerly working towards their next Silent 30 reward!

Magic Show

 The students enjoyed a friendship focused magic show on Thursday!

Important Reminders

Sept. 26th - AD-Mazing orders due
Sept. 26 & 27th - School photos
Sept. 28th - Terry Fox Run (bring a toonie for Terry)

Welcome to 3C!

Wow! I can't believe that we are already 4 days into our new year! We have been working hard in 3C to establish new routines and new friendships for everyone!

Click here to see the individual student photos!

Over the past four days we immersed ourselves 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.)
• Writing - We have started journal writing.
• Science -  We have started our first unit on Rocks and Minerals.
• Math - How Many Ways, Daily Graph and basic addition facts

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 5. 

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

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 our first attempt this year! The students were so proud of themselves filling the whiteboard with their number sentences making 5!

Supplies

All of our school supplies have now been sorted and labelled. I have placed each child's extra supplies in a ziploc bag with their name on it.

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, I simply give them a new pencil from their supplies and write their name on it. As long as they show me their old pencil, they are not penalized in the challenge. At the end of the year, I 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. 

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.

Grazing Veggies

Students need nutrient-rich foods in order to maximize learning. The Grade Three classes will be continuing the Vegetable Grazing experience that was started in Grade Two. Students are welcome to keep a container of fresh vegetables (NO DIP) on their desk and may snack on them throughout the day. Happy munching!

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 ASAP. If it didn't make it home, let me know and I'll send home a new one!

Library

Team 3C will have library once a week. We are choosing library periods on Monday morning so I will update you when I know the day of the week that it is on. 

Please remind your child to return their library books each library day to prevent overdues.
Our librarian, Mrs. Caudron, was excited to see all of our 3C students! 

Headphones

I'm not sure how it was missed on our supply list, and I apologize for the late notice, but your child needs headphones at school. They will be kept in their desk and required during our time on the chromebooks. Again, my apologies for this not being on our original supply list and for the inconvenience that it is causing you.

Important Links On My Blog

There are some important pieces of information on my blog in addition to the weekly posts. You can find them under Malkia's picture at the top. 

There are 5 tabs: Home (weekly posts), About Mrs. Milson, RBES Calendar, Party Planning Days and Malkia. 

Please take a few minutes and check out the RBES Calendar and the Party Planning Days tabs. 

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

Important Dates:

Sept. 12th - deadline for Hot Lunch orders
Sept. 13th - Motivational Magic performance at 9am
Sept. 14th - PD Day (no school for students)
Sept. 26th - AD-Mazing orders due
Sept. 26 & 27th - School photos
Sept. 28th - Terry Fox Run (bring a toonie for Terry)

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.