It's finally May in Maine! My flowers are starting to bloom in my garden and the leaves are coming out on the trees. I hope you all had a restful and relaxing April break. We got right back to work this week. We are continuing Unit 9 in math and will have a Unit 9 math test next week. This unit has concentrated on multi digit multiplication and division. I teach the students a number of different strategies to achieve the same answer. They choose what strategy they feel most comfortable with and they also know how to use each strategy. Our next unit, Unit 10 will be all about measurement, weights and volume.
In Writing we are working hard on our persuasive speeches. This past week we have chosen a subject of the many we have written about to use as our final piece. We talked about how to form a paragraph and what makes a paragraph, including how to indent and then have the next line come all the way to the margin line. We have also talked about ways to "hook" our audience to really make an impact. I am hoping to have students read their speeches out loud in class to one another by the end of next week. Don't be surprised if they come home persuading you for all sorts of things, later bedtimes, stop smoking and of course a new family pets! Yesterday we had a friendly debate about whether students should have TVs in their bedrooms. They all had very good reasons why or why not. They then wrote about it supporting their reasoning.
We just took the Unit 14 spelling test this week. Students are doing very well in learning spelling words but at this point in the year I am concentrating on having them spell these words in their writing correctly.
In Reading we are wrapping up our Mystery unit and will be moving on to Book clubs. Our first book, however will be a mystery that all book clubs will read. They will choose one A-Z mystery book to read as a group and we will discuss how a book club works next week. '
We will be having state tests the week of May 18th. I have been reviewing with your students how the tests work and they have been very good about taking it all in. We will not be having any homework for that week, just continue to support your child by having them get a good night's rest, eat a good breakfast and getting them to school on time and not dismissing them early. I have already spoken to them about trying their best. We will build lots of other fun and relaxation into the days of testing. Thanks for your support.
On another note, thank you for coming to the Maine Night performance the other night. Didn't the students do a fabulous job? They rocked. They should be so proud of themselves. Their artwork and singing really shined.
Some dates to keep in mind:
May 18-22-State testing
May 25-Memorial Day-NO SCHOOL
June 10-Third Grade Field Day-More to come on this!
June 18-Step up Day
June 19-Last day of School-Dismissal at 12 noon.
That's it on my end. As always, if you need to communicate to me about concerns or
In Writing we are working hard on our persuasive speeches. This past week we have chosen a subject of the many we have written about to use as our final piece. We talked about how to form a paragraph and what makes a paragraph, including how to indent and then have the next line come all the way to the margin line. We have also talked about ways to "hook" our audience to really make an impact. I am hoping to have students read their speeches out loud in class to one another by the end of next week. Don't be surprised if they come home persuading you for all sorts of things, later bedtimes, stop smoking and of course a new family pets! Yesterday we had a friendly debate about whether students should have TVs in their bedrooms. They all had very good reasons why or why not. They then wrote about it supporting their reasoning.
We just took the Unit 14 spelling test this week. Students are doing very well in learning spelling words but at this point in the year I am concentrating on having them spell these words in their writing correctly.
In Reading we are wrapping up our Mystery unit and will be moving on to Book clubs. Our first book, however will be a mystery that all book clubs will read. They will choose one A-Z mystery book to read as a group and we will discuss how a book club works next week. '
We will be having state tests the week of May 18th. I have been reviewing with your students how the tests work and they have been very good about taking it all in. We will not be having any homework for that week, just continue to support your child by having them get a good night's rest, eat a good breakfast and getting them to school on time and not dismissing them early. I have already spoken to them about trying their best. We will build lots of other fun and relaxation into the days of testing. Thanks for your support.
On another note, thank you for coming to the Maine Night performance the other night. Didn't the students do a fabulous job? They rocked. They should be so proud of themselves. Their artwork and singing really shined.
Some dates to keep in mind:
May 18-22-State testing
May 25-Memorial Day-NO SCHOOL
June 10-Third Grade Field Day-More to come on this!
June 18-Step up Day
June 19-Last day of School-Dismissal at 12 noon.
That's it on my end. As always, if you need to communicate to me about concerns or