For those of you who might have left a bit early, I'd like to let you in on what we've been doing the past few days.

Morning Work: Proper Noun Review and Spelling Review Wordsearch

Writing: Monday we wrote the beginning to a story about a confrontation between a woman and a spider. I read a sample beginning by another child after we discussed what qualifies as a good beginning.

Math: We've been reviewing a lot of multiplication (see previous post on multiplication), especially the threes and fours. We've been playing multiplication games as well as a new one called "Division Arrays". You can find directions for that one in your Student Reference book. Finally, we reviewed subtracting with regrouping together using the problems from page 88, however, we wrote out the problems on grid paper. Through these problems we reviewed the trading first method as well as counting up.

Social Studies: We've been working on our Timucua glogs and artwork. We should be ready to share those next week.

Shades of Blue: Mrs. Gasser visited our classroom Monday to help us create our gorgeous quilt! I can't wait to see what it will look like when it's finished!

Reading: I assigned reading questions for your Judy Blume book after we discussed how to respond thoroughly to questions and with good details.

We have an All School Convo this afternoon, which should be lots of fun before we head over to Art with Mrs. Hillmer.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Neal

Wordly Wise 3000 » Word List » Book 4, Lesson 6

Yes! The time has come! We are practicing multiplication. This week, we will be reviewing the threes and moving onto the fours. You can help improve your "multiplication reflexes" by practicing for 5-10 minutes every day. A few of my favorite sites are ones that allow you to focus on a specific set of multiplication problems:

Learn your Tables
Jungle Jim
Car Wash
Math Magician (this one has a timer!)
Interactive Games Galore
If you scroll down this page, you'll find many more, including 'Bonk the Mole' and 'Math Models'!
And of course there are many sites located on the third grade web page as well (including many of the ones I've listed).

The key is to make practice fun and consistent!

We've certainly missed you today! We hope you are feeling much better! Below you'll find a summary of our day. Get well soon!

After Discovery Groups, we reviewed multiplication and division. We made arrays like this...then we tried division using arrays. A sample problem was:

Imagine you have 18 gumballs you want to share with 3 people. How many gumballs would each person receive? Would there be any left over?

Visit the site below to try a similar activity with cookies.


After Mr. Shane's class, we went to the library for a book hunt with Mrs. McCracken.

This afternoon, we held rotation, sharing our Artful Artist job from yesterday's reading. I intend to have the children discuss the book awhile and share our favorite parts as well. If we have time, we will continue reading aloud.

Seatwork will be to continue working on your paragraphs for the Timucua and your glog.

I hope you are feeling better today! We miss you!
:)Mrs. Neal

This year the Berkeley Community (which will include the Upper, Middle and Lower Divisions) are being asked to participate in a Holiday "Wrap- In” on Friday, December 4th.

All children from the Lower Division will be asked to bring in one new toy (or article of clothing) in a plain gift bag the week of November 30th - December 4th. (Any plain bag, white or color, are great! They should simply be a color that can be easily decorated by the children.)

The requested age range for toys & clothing is anywhere between 12 months and 11 years.

Ideas might include (for boys & girls) games, puzzles, dolls, stuffed animals, sports equipment/balls, art supplies, action figures, books, or clothes. However, any toy or clothing that is suitable for children in this age range will be welcomed.

Discovery Groups will be working with older Berkeley students (on Dec 4th) to decorate their gift bags filled with their donated toy for the migrant children at the Redlands Migrant Daycare Center in Ruskin.

If you send in a toy anytime between now and December 4th, the gifts and their undecorated bags can be stored in your child’s classroom.

Anyone wishing to donate extra toys to this great cause can bring them to the activity center (unwrapped) by December 18.

This morning, after completing the Caught Ya and a quick math review on measurement, we entered the new spelling words into our spelling dictionaries:

everybody
everything
except
usually
vacation

We also looked at sample of student writing about another Native American tribe and discussed how we could improve it. We looked for an interesting beginning, discussed whether or not the paragraph made sense, and looked to see if the content was put in a logical order (it was). We revamped the beginning to be interesting but not too "game show host".

In math today, we reviewed last week's test. We talked about the difference between area and perimeter particularly. Together, we designed floor plans online and measured the area and perimeter of various rooms in the house. Click the link below to try it yourself:


Students were given grid paper to design a floor plan like the one you see pictured above. They were to calculate the area and perimeter of at least three rooms in the house. You can create any kind of house you like! Include game rooms, big closets, and a bedroom of course.

This afternoon we will review the job of Connector and how great readers make connections when they read books. (See the power point below.)

The students were assigned chapters to read in their Judy Blume book, as follows:

Double Fudge: pages 17-48
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing: pages 10-28
Fudge-A-Mania: pages 12-42

While you are reading, you should try to make a good connection and record it on the form that went home for you.

We also will have time for rotation!

Seatwork: Continue to work on your paragraph on the Timucua for your glog (use the checklist).

Workshop: How to reorder a story that's been jumbled
I will give the students a copy of a story written by a second grader that has been disorganized. Your job is to cut out the sections and reorder them in a way that makes sense. Glue the strips down on the construction paper provided.

If we have time, we will paint white construction paper with very strong tea in order to make it look old fashioned. This art paper will be what you use to design your artwork for the Timucua glog.

At the end of the day (if we have time), we will share the second grader's story that was out of order and talk about how transition words help readers keep the story organized.



We hope you are feeling better and can come back to school tomorrow! Be sure to click the homework link on the right side of the blog so you can download our homework sheet for the week.

:)Mrs. Neal

Happy Veterans Day! You can click the picture above to send a virtual Thank You card to Veterans. Please do!

We started off the day with a wonderful speaker, Michael Jernigan, a wounded Veteran from St. Pete. He brought his guide dog and told us a little bit about his life without sight.

This morning, we reviewed the "Caught Ya", finished our letters to MOTE Marine, and checked Wordly Wise. Afterward, we practiced spelling with a few games.

In math, we reviewed the concept of area. I gave the students grid paper (you can find some here) and asked them to draw and color in as many different rectangles they could find with an area of 24 square centimeters. There are eight possible rectangles...can you find them all?

Once the children discovered the possible rectangles, we listed the height and width of each rectangle to look for a pattern. You can read about it by visiting this website and clicking "area".

We completed page 74 in the math journal as well.

This afternoon, we held rotations. We are in new groups now and are reading our Judy Blume book. We will try to read the first chapter in Fudge-A-Mania, the book I sent home to you.

During seatwork, students were to complete their Pet Show Story (you are done) and then they were allowed to visit the Everyday Math Online website to play some fun math games. I will email you your username and password.

Later this afternoon, we will be going to the computer lab. I will let you know what fun Mrs. Driscoll has in store for us!

We hope you are feeling better and can come back to school tomorrow!
:)Mrs. Neal

Wow, today went by super fast! This morning was over quickly since we had typing with Mrs. Driscoll. We took the spelling test and corrected any mistakes by adding missed words to our spelling dictionaries.

After Senora Maldonado's class, we practiced making rectangles and squares with specific perimeters (journal page 67). The students used geoboards. An online version can be found here. You simply click and drag a rubber band around the pegs to create various sized rectangles and squares with specific perimeters. Answers were recorded in the journal as we discussed strategies together.

We also talked about tiling and how many parents have bought tile for their kitchens and bathrooms. After trying to tile with square, triangle, and rhombus shaped pattern blocks, I think we agree tiling with squares is easiest! (Journal pages 68-69) If you follow the directions on page 68, you should be able to complete at home with pattern blocks I'll send to you. You can click here to find out more about area. Just select the word "area".

Journal pages 65 and 66 (math boxes) were completed as morning work today and turned in for checking.

We also were able to paint our food chain diagrams. We also spent time finishing up any incomplete work. That took longer than I expected!

The children are now in Music, enjoying a video to prepare them for the fifth grade play next week. We all hope you feel better!

See you Monday!
:)Mrs. Neal
By the time we were finished, the day was at an end.

After we completed the Caught Ya, we reviewed the wordly wise words for next week. The power point is below and the words can be reviewed here.

We also reviewed the spelling words through a game (always, especially, laughed, myself, whole) and the next page in our cursive books.

For math, we completed an experiment. If we were to toss one of six pattern blocks 50 times, which one would be more likely to land on its edge? We made predictions, then tested our theories to find out. The three pattern blocks we started with were the square, the triangle and the trapezoid. The other three blocks were "doubled up". Two triangles were taped together, as were two trapezoids and two squares. Do you think that by doubling the pattern block the chances of it landing on its edge increased?

After this, we discussed a line plot, which is pictured in the power point below. After looking at it carefully, we found the median, range, maximum and minimum of the data.



This afternoon we held rotation. Your group finished reading their assigned section, so they voted to read more about the Timucua religion and their beliefs in magic. (Pages 96 and 97) We read it together and took notes on a new page.

Seatwork included many things. Students were given a list of things to accomplish including:

1. Pet Show Draft on I Can Write Online
2. Complete the food chain artwork (check the rubric)
3. Math journal page 65 and 66
4. Finish Manatee Blues comic strip

All of these items are located in your math journal and will come home for you today.

We hope you are feeling better! See you soon!
Mrs. Neal

Pet Show Information

We are sure you’re all anxious for the Pet Show next Friday! It is a tradition the students in Lower Division look forward to every year, and we are very thankful that you have agreed to help us with all of the amazing animals that will be parading!

We wanted to let you know what procedures you should follow for the parade to run smoothly, especially since the parade will be taking place in a new location this year.

When you arrive on campus, you should park in the temporary parking lot which is located adjacent to and behind the Lykes Center (southeast corner). Students are to report to their classrooms at the regular time, while parents escort the pets to the new Buc Stop area located on the east side of the school.

Students will be walked to the Buc Stop area shortly after 8:00 with their teachers to meet with you and your pet. Please stay with your child long enough to ensure your pet is safe and well monitored. We want to be sure all pets are comfortable and safe before starting the parade. Teachers will line up their students and pets just before their classes are ready to be presented to the school

The remaining students from Lower Division will be seated in the covered, Buc Stop Area to watch the animals, one at a time, walk around the area directly in front of the Buc Stop. Mr. McConnell will read aloud a story your child has written about their pet as this is done.

It would be helpful for you to help escort your pet if you feel it is too big or aggressive for your child to handle alone, especially in such an exciting and sometimes stressful atmosphere. Please remember to bring clean-up items (bags, scoops, etc) for your pet. We’d appreciate parents dealing with any “accidents” that might occur.

After the Pet Show, parents are expected to take their pet home while students return to their classroom with their classroom teacher.

In advance, thanks for your assistance. We look forward to another Third Grade Pet Show!

Retakes

Picture retakes are scheduled for this Friday morning, November 6^th. If you wish for your child to have his/her picture retaken you should send in the original proof with a note indicating so. (Some children have already done this, thank you!) We recently heard from Studio Artistry that, contrary to what was originally thought, you do not need to send in payment for retake orders without having seen the new proof. This is a change from previous years, thankfully. J This year, you will receive a second proof 10-14 days from Friday that you may order from.

Today's Field Trip

Today’s field trip was a LOT of fun! The children were so incredibly well behaved, too. Please ask your child to tell you all about the touch tank, the giant squid, and the interactive cinema. A special thank you to Mrs. Gasser and Mrs. Schlact for chaperoning our trip!

Just a reminder…the pet measuring booklet that was sent home tonight for homework is intended for students to practice their measuring skills with their beloved pet. However, I realize not everyone has a pet, so please encourage your child to either measure a stuffed animal of any kind in its place.

Click the icon below...then click "Perimeter".
Have fun!
Mrs. Neal

This Thursday, Discovery Groups will be collecting any left over Halloween candy you might have to donate to soldiers in the Middle East. Please read below:

Wow, today was a busy one!

This morning we talked about the Pet Show. Each of us will write a short story about our pets. I shared a few examples today of stories that were...well...not so amazing. We discussed what they were missing and how the author could have improved them. It boiled down to a few simple ideas. Stories should include:

*the name of the pet
*the type of animal and its breed, if known
*an interesting story about your pet
*lots of intriguing details

We will start writing the stories tomorrow.

I also introduced the new spelling words and they were added to our spelling dictionaries: always, especially, laughed, myself, whole.

During math today, we discussed the meaning of perimeter. You can find the definition here.



We also spent time reviewing how to measure to the nearest inch. Children completed all of page 62 in the math journal and parts of page 64- the section that applied to YOU. (Everyone measured the 'body parts' that could be measured with a ruler: shoe, neck, wrist, forearm, handspan.)

We skipped page 63 because we ran out of time! The children enjoyed playing with AngLegs, creating triangles, squares, rectangles, and other shapes. We will finish that tomorrow.

Later this afternoon we met in the library for a follow up lesson on Non-Fiction with Mrs. McCracken. The students finished the last page in their packet and played a fun matching game.

Afterward, we came together to draw our Ocean Food Chains. It was easy and fun! Since everyone had completed a sketch of the food chain, all we had to do was draw it on the water color paper. Tomorrow we will paint over the sketches in bright blue paint.

While the students worked, I met with individuals to review Reading Counts goals for October and November. I will meet with you when you return.

Finally, at the end of the day we listened to a few of the poems from our poetry project. Everyone sounds so amazing!

I hope you are feeling well and are able to come back to school tomorrow!
:)Mrs. Neal