Friday, December 19, 2014

Weekly Update and Reading Comprehension

When we return from vacation I will begin adding a new component to homework. Each Monday I’ll send home a reading comprehension passage along with questions to be answered. It will be due at the end of the week. There is a certain process that I’ve taught the students, and we continually use for answering comprehension questions. Students will be asked to use this process at home, so I want to be sure to share it with you.

Here’s how we approach reading comprehension questions:

  1. Read the passage
  2. Read all the questions
  3. Reread the passage, keeping the questions in your head.
  4. Do question one, looking back at the passage to be sure it’s the right answer.
  5. Underline the answer in the passage.
  6. Write the paragraph number where you found the answer next to the question.
  7. Repeat steps 4-6 for each question.

Since we only have one full day and one early release day next week, this will be the last newsletter until we return from vacation. December math fact tests will be done on Monday and scores will go home after vacation. Please have your child keep reading during vacation, and keep studying their math facts. Most of all though, I hope your child is able to experience the magic of being a child at this time of year!

Here's what we'll be learning the week of January 5th:
  • Reader’s Workshop: Main idea and supporting details
  • Writer’s Workshop: Information research and writing
  • Spelling: Unit 15 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday 
  • Math: Topic 7, Division
  • Science: Habitats
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Hour of Code


Last week, during Computer Science Education Week, our class participated in the Hour of Code. It’s a global project, with millions of participants!  We spent an hour on Tuesday and an hour on Friday learning how to do some very basic computer coding. Students had to use logical thinking and solve problems to get characters to move in certain directions or follow certain paths. Your child can still access the activities: Angry Birds and Anna/Elsa.

You can see pictures from our time coding on our class Twitter page.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Changing Our Words, Changing Our Mindset

The words we use each day, both positive and negative, can really affect the way we view ourselves as learners, and the way we approach our learning. Recently I shared some negative phrases we might say, and asked the children to brainstorm some positive things we could say instead. (Credit for this idea really goes to a picture I saw on Pinterest.) 

On Friday I gave each child one of the positive statements on a sticky note, and asked them to illustrate it. We sat in a big circle on the rug to do this, myself included, sharing crayons, markers, and colored pencils. It turned into a really nice, relaxing time for the class, with great impromptu discussions about times we could have really used some of these statements, as well as other positive statements we could also say.

Here we are working on our posters:


Here are the finished products on our Great Work bulletin board:



Math Facts Achievement Luncheon

Congratulations on your achievement with addition and subtraction math facts!


Nov. Math Madness

Congratulations for completing your November Monthly Math Madness!



Friday, December 5, 2014

Weekly Update

Today your child is bringing home their report card. We discussed how they are graded, and what they are graded on, but I did not let them look at their report card. I’d like them to look at it with you. Your child also filled out a blank report card in class today. It’s their view of how they think they are doing. They’ll use it to set two goals for themselves for the next trimester. I’ll share their self-evaluation report card with you at their conference, as well as their goal.

Do you know about the website, multiplication.com?  It’s free and has fabulous games for students to practice their multiplication facts. Now that we are well into our study of multiplication, your child should be including multiplication into his/her fact practice at home. As a reminder, we only go up to the 10’s in third grade, although I go ahead and teach them the 11’s, and strategies for the 12’s. Also, as you may have discovered, the math program we use does not teach the facts in sequence. Unit 5 covered 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. Unit 6, which we just started, will cover the rest. After that, we move on to division!  

One of the things that I do on an almost daily basis is place extra copies of worksheets and papers in our "extra copies" box. This way there's always an extra copy in case something gets lost. At the end of each trimester I let the children who like to play school take home any of these papers. So, if you see a lot of blank papers come home next week don't think it's work your child needs to catch up on, it's just for fun.  :)

On Friday (Dec. 12) we’ll celebrate the hard work and tremendous learning that’s gone on so far this year with with PJ Day, popcorn, and a movie! On that day your child may wear school-appropriate pajamas, and even bring their favorite socks/slippers to wear in the classroom. One stuffed animal friend is also welcome for the day!

Here's what we'll be learning about next week:
Reader’s Workshop: Main idea and supporting details
Writer’s Workshop: Information research and writing
Spelling: Unit 13 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday 
Math: Topic 6, Multiplication


Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Monday, December 1, 2014

Northeast Woodland Native American Villages Presentations

The Educreations presentations on Northeast Woodland Native American Villages are finally finished! They are published on the student blogs. Drop by your child's blog and check out their group's presentation. Be sure to leave them a comment!

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Picture Time!

New pictures from November have been added to the photo album page on our class website.  Stop by and take a look!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Weekly Wrap Up

We are just about finished with our study of the Native Americans of the Northeast Woodlands. On Monday and Tuesday the children worked in groups to build 3-D villages. Then they each wrote a paragraph telling about the section of the village they helped build. Finally, the groups worked together to create an Educreation presentation telling about their village. Next week we’ll publish the presentations into their blogs. Be sure to stop by your child’s blog and comment on their presentation.

On Monday conference time forms will go home. If you are unable to make your conference please let me know as soon as possible. If you do not receive it, please email me or send a note in, and I’ll send another one home.

Next week is a review week in spelling. This means that there are 35 words on the list. Some of them are words that have already been used, others are words that follow the same patterns taught in units 7-11. On Monday we will pretest all 35 words. But, there will only be 20 on the Friday test.

Now that the cold weather seems to be settling in, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. As long as the temperature is above 20 degrees, recess can be held outdoors.  If you want your child to wear boots outside, but not inside, feel free to send in something else for them to wear while inside. Also, please try to put names on jackets, hats, mittens, scarves, etc… It’s very easy for things to go missing this time of year, and having a name on it helps get it back to the right person.

Here's a look at what's coming up next week:
Reader’s Workshop: Main idea and supporting details
Writer’s Workshop: Information research and writing, and possessive nouns
Spelling: Unit 12 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday 
Math: Topics 5 and 6, Multiplication
Social Studies: Native Americans - Test

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Nonfiction Text Features with Educreations

We've been reviewing nonfiction text features with our new reading unit of study on information books. The students worked in groups using the books in their book boxes to go on a treasure hunt for various text features. Then they created Educreations presentations with the iPads to show the text features and tell how they can help the reader. Enjoy!

These are also posted on the students' KidBlogs.



Friday, November 14, 2014

Weekly Wrap Up

As you know, our class is now on Twitter! Each week I’ll pick two children to help post daily tweets about what they’re learning or doing in school. This blog has more in depth info. along with what’s in this newsletter, and Twitter has quick short bits and pics of what goes on each day. Stay totally in the loop of your child’s school day, and hopefully never hear the answer of “nothing” when asking your child what they did in school by following us on Twitter and reading the blog. You can find us on Twitter by looking up @mrscarnevale3rd. For each parent or step-parent that follows us on Twitter, your child will receive 50 tiger tickets! For each other relative such as grandparent or aunt/uncle, your child will receive 10 tiger tickets!  

From time to time I send home Scholastic Book Orders. Please don’t feel obligated to purchase anything. It’s just one of many ways to find books and materials for your child. Along with ordering through the paper form, you could also order online. A larger selection of books is actually available online. The order link and our class code are on our class website. Online and paper forms are due next Friday, Nov. 21. If you send the form to school, please be sure to pay with a check made out to Scholastic Book Club. Please do not send cash.

We are well underway with our study of multiplication! We start unit 5 next week, which covers multiplying by 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10 (and I throw in 11 too). If your child does not have flash cards you can find many free sets online, or you can ask me for one and I’ll print out a set for him/her. A multiplication card game your child can play at home for more practice was sent home on Friday. You can find another copy of it in our class website's File Cabinet. Feel free to count time with this game on the math fact log!

Here's what we'll be studying next week:
Reader’s Workshop: Nonfiction books
Writer’s Workshop: Information writing
Spelling: Unit 11 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday
Math: Topic 5, Multiplication
Social Studies: Native Americans
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Headphones and Weekly Update

Part of our learning includes a participating in a variety of learning experiences using technology. During math workshop students are on the computer for a short period of time each day to practice a math skill. Twice a week most children use the iPads for RAZ-Kids. Then there’s always blogging, writing stories, accessing documents in Google Classroom, using Educreations, and more. Technology is just a natural part of our day. But, that also means that children are sharing headphones throughout the day. If you do not want your child sharing computer headphones used by others, in both the computer lab and our classroom, please feel free to send in a pair of headphones or earbuds in a baggie with their name on it. Earbuds for iPads/iPhones/iPods work just fine with our laptops and desktop computers.

A couple of little things: Thanks to everyone who has been commenting on their child’s blog, and the blogs of other children in the class. The kids love it! Layers are helpful at this time of the year. Our classroom seems to go from warmer in the mornings to cooler in the afternoons. When you’re comfy; not too hot or too cold, you can learn better!


Here's what we'll be learning next week:
  • Reader’s Workshop: Nonfiction books
  • Writer’s Workshop: Information writing
  • Spelling: Unit 10 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday 
  • Math: Topics 4 & 5, Multiplication
  • Social Studies: Native Americans

We're On Twitter!

Our class is now on Twitter!  Follow us @MrsCarnevale3rd

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Arrays with Educreations

We are just two days into our unit on multiplication and the Safari Scholars are already using the Educreations iPad app to show their know knowledge of multiplication as repeated addition, and to show how an array can illustrate a multiplication sentence. I'm beaming with pride at these kids!

Please be patient, the presentations take a little bit after the kids start talking before you see their whiteboard writing start.

Feel free to also stop by the student blogs to see the arrays each one made using KidPix.




Information Reading

We started our next reading unit of study today, information reading (aka non fiction). Here's a look at the kids enjoying their reading selections, and sharing with their partnerships.




Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Kids Teach Subtraction Across Zeros

Third graders have become experts at understanding how to do three digit subtraction across zeros with regrouping. Here is an Educreations video that one group made on the iPad to teach others how to do it.




Saturday, November 1, 2014

Indian Rock Field Trip

What a great learning experience we had on the field trip to Indian Rock!  The students shared what they learned on a Padlet (think of it as a virtual sticky note poster).



Here are a few pics from our day. Check out the October photo album for more.








Celebrating Reading with KidBlog

As we celebrate the end of our reading unit of study on fiction and characters, the children have been busy with two projects. First, they selected one of their favorite books, and wrote a book talk on it. Some children made a blog entry with it, others wanted to make a video. I filmed them and did a little editing. I’m working to upload the videos to their blogs. Second, the children went through their reading logs and picked out their 10 favorite books they’ve read, or I’ve read to them during our Interactive Read Aloud time. They created an “ideal bookshelf” of their favorites (just like you might have seen on Pinterest or Twitter). I took pictures of those and placed the pictures on their blogs. Their original papers are hanging in the hallway above their lockers.

Please take a minute and drop by your child’s blog and leave a comment. Feel free to encourage relatives and family friends near and far to do the same.  Kids LOVE comments!  :)

It's Time for Multiplication - Weekly Update

On Wednesday we begin learning about multiplication! It’s first introduced through the concept of repeated addition, such as 4x2=8 is the same as 4 groups of 2, or 2+2+2+2=8. We will also learn about it through arrays, and make arrays with the computer program, KidPix. An example of an array is shown on the family math letter that went home on Friday. Another way that we’ll learn about multiplication is through skip counting. If your child can count by 3’s six times, then they’ll know that 3x6=18 and 6x3=18. Look for a skip counting chart to go home next week. Also, look for a multiplication chart to come home next week. Your child will probably need to refer to it while doing homework. This chart will be used for topics 4, 5, and 6 which cover multiplication, as well as topics 7 and 8, which cover division. If it gets lost another copy can be found in the File Cabinet section of our class website. Finally, the vocal words for topic 4 will be coming home. Your child will need to work on studying these, and may need to refer back to them while doing homework.

Along with studying addition and subtraction facts, your child can begin studying multiplication facts. The website multiplication.com has some great games that kids tend to love. One thing I find is that in their excitement to learn something new and “grown up” kids often fall back in their subtraction progress as they focus on multiplication. So, they’ll need to keep studying subtraction (and addition too). Speaking of math facts, this week we took our October addition and subtraction 100 question tests. The score reports for those will go home next week. Please sign it and return it with your child.

Here's what we'll be learning about the week of November 3rd:

  • Reader’s Workshop: Nonfiction books
  • Writer’s Workshop: Typing/publishing small moment stories. Starting information writing
  • Spelling: Unit 9 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday 
  • Math: Begin topic 4, Multiplication
  • Social Studies: Native Americans
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Slime Fun!

As part of the wrap up of our science unit of study on matter, we made slime today (and noted how it's a chemical change)!  What a wonderfully, messy, fun time the kids had!  :)  Here's the recipe we used.  If you try it at home, and don't want it runny, it takes A LOT more Borax than the recipe calls for. I used about a box and a half for the four groups, with all of the other ingredient amounts staying the same.










Friday, October 24, 2014

New Photos!

Lots of new photos have been added to our class photo album. Check them out here!


Weekly Update


Have you heard the news about handwriting? We started cursive recently! You should be a fly on the wall to see how hard your child is working, and the level of intense concentration. You can see a copy of our Handwriting Without Tears program cursive alphabet on the back cover of your child’s Jungle Book. In some cases the letters are formed and/or connected rather differently from what we all learned in school. I’ve told the students that there are different ways to make and connect letters, and that I’ll show them both the way the book does it, and the way most adults learned to do it. I’ve also told them that they can do it either way. Once the children have learned all the letters I let them choose what, if anything, they want to write in cursive.

Next week we finish up our study of addition and subtraction as your child learns to do what is called, “three digit subtraction across zeros with regrouping.” What this means is learning how to do subtraction problems like 400-214. I’ll be teaching it through the use of base ten blocks on the computer, which allows the students to drag and drop the blocks to help them see the regrouping needed. If you have an iPad there’s a great free app called Number Pieces (by Math Learning Center) that your child might find helpful when doing their homework. If you have another type of device, you might want to search wherever you find apps to see if there’s a similar app. Also, your child can always rewatch the video that goes with lesson 3-9, or use the eTools in enVision, found in the student tools section of the enVision website when your child logs into it.

Thursday we are making slime in class! It’s a VERY messy activity. Your child is very likely to get it on their clothes. Please don’t send them to school in good clothes that day.

Friday is our field trip to Indian Rock. Your child must be at school on time that day, we leave at 9:00! Please keep an eye on the weather forecast, and dress your child for a day spent mostly outside in nature. Also, remember that lunches need to be in disposable bags, and clearly marked with your child’s first and last name. Drinks must also be disposable. No lunch boxes or other items that have to be carried back on the bus will be allowed.

Finally, here's what we'll be learning about next week:
Reader’s Workshop: Creating a book talk video or writing a book talk blog entry
Writer’s Workshop: Typing/publishing small moment stories
Spelling: Unit 8 - Words home on Monday, test on THURSDAY due to field trip
Math: Finish up addition and subtraction with regrouping
Science: Matter
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Wheel of Wow!

Our class saved up enough Tiger Tickets to spin the Wheel of Wow again!  This time we earned Fun Monday!  We'll enjoy that on November 3rd!  :)


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Weekly Update

Are you looking for new ways for your child to study his/her spelling words? The Spelling City website, where all of our spelling lists for the year are posted, has a variety of free activities to go with the weekly lists. You can find the website linked off the spelling page of our class website, or go directly to it here.  

Any time your child has a special event in his/her life, such as a sporting event, music or dance recital, trip, etc… feel free to send in a picture or email it to me. Short videos are okay too. I’ll put it up on the SmartBoard so your child can share his/her big events with the class. No show and tell tickets are required for this!  :)

Here's what's coming up the week of Oct. 20:
Reader’s Workshop: Using text evidence to make inferences about characters
Writer’s Workshop: Writing the heart of a small moment story
Spelling: Unit 7 - Words home on Monday, test on Friday. 
Math: Topic 3 - 3 digit addition and subtraction with regrouping (including regrouping in more than one place)
Science: Matter

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education! 

Collaborative Writing Project In Progress!


Our class is working with Mrs. Hitt’s third grade class at Wheeler to write a collaborative story on a wiki!  We started the story, and worked to incorporate some of the elements of writing learned during Writing Workshop time. Mrs. Hitt’s class just added some to the story, and now it’s our turn to add more to the story next week. We’ll keep taking turns adding more onto the story until it’s done. It gives us a fun way to expand our writing skills, and collaborate with another class. Mrs. Hitt and I are hoping to get our classes together through Skype or a Google Hangout (run by the teachers) at the end of the project. If your child hasn’t already shown the wiki to you, go visit the Write On Project.  

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Weekly Update

Sorry for the delay in posting the newsletter to the blog, as well as this week's spelling words to our class website I was out of town over the long weekend, and the place I was staying didn't have working Internet!  It ended up being a little forced relaxation time.   :)

October is Fire Safety Month. We read an article about it on Friday, and talked about it. Ask your child what he/she learned (not including “stop, drop, and roll”). Does your family have a fire escape plan? If not, you can find information on how to make one from the National Safety Council’s website. Your child might also like the Sparky the Fire Dog safety website.

Did you hear that the children blogged again? They did, sharing their thoughts on whether or not the Fire Island dunes should be rebuilt after being destroyed in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. A judge will decide on the issue this month. Drop by our class KidBlog, see what the kids had to say, and leave us a comment to share your thoughts on the subject. You could even have your child’s older siblings, grandparents or other relatives share their thoughts in the comments. The kids were so excited to see that others stopped by and left comments on our plastic bag blog entry. 


It’s important that the children know their math facts with immediate recall. This means no longer than about 2 seconds per fact! As fast as a child knows that 1+1=2, they need to know that 15-9=6. Third grade students are asked to solve 100 subtraction problems (0-20) in 4 minutes, and 100 addition problems (0-20) in 4 minutes (multiplication starts in November or December, and division in January).  In school your child practices daily through the use of xtramath.com, other websites, and flash cards. I know at home they are practicing thanks the recording on math logs. Next week I will begin adding another layer to their in school practice with the use of daily addition or subtraction timed fact tests at the beginning of math. It will be a short, 2 mn addition or subtraction test with 50 problems. Once a child is able to get a score of 90 or higher three times in a row, they will no longer have to take the daily quizzes for that operation (addition/subtraction, etc...), unless the score on their monthly 100 question test falls below 80. Thanks for making sure your child is practicing those math facts at home each night, and look for him/her to be able to recall each fact within 2 seconds.

Here's what we'll be learning about this week:
Reader’s Workshop: Using text evidence to make inferences about characters
Writer’s Workshop: Editing and revising small moment stories
Spelling: Unit 6 - Words home on Tuesday, test on Friday. 
Math: Solving problems while using rounding and estimation
Science: Matter
Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Friday, October 3, 2014

From the Kids...


This week the kids take over the newsletter! You’ve heard a lot from me lately, so I thought it was time to let the kids do the talking, and tell you about things from their point of view. Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Now... the kids:

Geno says, “We started T-Math. It’s a game where you have to race to do math questions.”!
Emily says, “We did a spelling pretest on Monday and test on Friday.”!
Brianna says, “We put our inventions on our blog.” (Mrs. Carnevale says she still has to approve and publish them.)!
Faith says, “We get ten extra minutes of Fun Friday today because we got two compliments at morning recess today.”!
Chaz says, “We watched a bike stunt rider who taught us to be kind and respectful.”!
Ben B. says, “We do xtra math every day. It helps us learn adding and subtracting.”!
Gianna says, “We had fun writing today.”!
Amelia says, “In reading we write down the teaching point and then we have to answer it when we read our book. Today we talked about how our thinking about characters can change.”!
Sami says, “If everyone stays on green for a week we get pajama day, popcorn, and a movie!” (Mrs. Carnevale says it’s a behavior incentive.)!
Lola says, “We started science this week.”!
Jonathan says, “The stunt bike rider jumped over Mr. Pitcher and Mr. Hayn!”!
Penley says, “We are learning how to read cursive when Mrs. Carnevale writes things on the board.”! Ben C., Thomas, Richie, Marissa, Sonia, Adriana, Michael, and Alan say, “Have a great weekend!”

Monday, September 29, 2014

Math At Home

Parents, if your child has trouble with their math homework, the instructional video from the day on the enVision Math website can always be watched at home. To access the video after logging in, students can click on the “Explore” button on the right side of the banner. From there they can click on topic, and then select the lesson. They can also access their book once they login. If you want to keep an eye on your child’s topic test scores (even though I’ll aways send them home, as I did last week), after your child logs in and clicks the link at the top that says, “Parents.” You’ll be able to see all of their scores. I showed the children how to access their books, videos, and test scores today, so they should be able to help you if needed. FYI, at the moment there are some issues with the online version of enVisions, and once you login to it, you have to scroll to the bottom of the page to select the correct version that we use, Third Grade, Common Core Edition.

Last week your child should have brought home a set of vocabulary cards for our next topic of study in math, Number Sense: Addition and Subtraction, as well as a rounding chart. It’s possible your child may need to refer to these while doing homework over the next couple of weeks. Your child also should have brought home a rounding game that he/she can play with you using playing cards to help reinforce this skill. They might not be quite ready for the game until later in the week though. 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Place Value Presentations

Today the children learned how to use the Educreations app on the iPads. Eventually we'll use this app to teach how we solve problems in math. Today we used it to illustrate standard and expanded form for 6 digit numbers.




Friday, September 19, 2014

We Are Writers and Bloggers!


We are working on writing small moment stories, telling a true story bit by bit, moment by moment. You can help at home when your child is telling you about something that happened. You can ask him/her to tell you their story in very small detail, bit by bit, moment by moment, so you can picture it like a movie. It’s often helpful for a child to rehearse telling a story, listing what happened across their fingers. This helps them remember to tell it in order.

Did your child tell you about blogging this week?  Earlier in the week we read an article together on whether or not plastic bags should be banned. CA has a bill up to ban them. The article gave factual information on both sides of the argument. After reading the article together I asked the children to think about how they felt about banning plastic bags. Then I posed the question to them our class KidBlog. They had to write their thoughts, and support their opinion with at least one fact from the article. This is actually a baby step towards the opinion writing they’ll be doing later in the school year.  I’ve told the kids that the world is their audience for their blog writing, and what better way to prove that then to have parents, siblings, and even grandparents and other families members drop by the blog and leave a comment sharing their opinion! Our class KidBlog is here: http://kidblog.org/MrsCarnevalesSafariScholars/. Share the link with other family members and join us!

So yes, this means there are actually two blogs. This is my teacher blog that gives updates on what’s going on in the classroom, and everything in our newsletter is posted here. Sometimes I’ll put it up on the SmartBoard and the class will dictate an entry for it. Once I have all the photo permissions, pics and videos will be posted here, too. Then there’s the KidBlog. That’s here: 
http://kidblog.org/MrsCarnevalesSafariScholars/. KidBlog blog is based on student academics, such as the opinion writing they just did on banning plastic bags. My plan is that eventually the kids will have their own blogs to summarize articles, write opinion pieces based on what they read, and explain some of what they are learning in school.

Today your child is bringing home their first weekly progress report. This is intended to keep you informed of your child’s academic and social/behavioral progress during the week. Please sign it and have your child put it in their Jungle Book to turn in to me on Monday. 

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Settling Into New Routines and Lessons

Weʼve been working hard to get into the swing of things in third grade. This week weʼve been learning and practicing the routines of reading workshop and rotations in math. We touched on the routines of writing workshop, and will really get into it next week. Once thatʼs set, weʼll add in science and social studies. The students in our class have really done a fantastic job settling into things this week. Itʼs hard to believe weʼve only been in school a couple of weeks!

Today your child is bringing home their first math fact score report. This comes home every month. It needs to be signed and returned. Please understand there is a pretty big difference from their second grade math fact tests to their third grade tests. The number of problems they have to do has increased, and the amount of time they have to do those problems has decreased. This means your childʼs beginning third grade math fact scores may seem much lower than their ending second grade scores. With continued practice they will soon go up. Later this month I will begin adding another layer to their in-school practice with the use of daily addition or subtraction timed fact tests at the beginning of math. It will be a short, 2 mn test with 50 problems. Once a child is able to get a score of 90 or higher three times in a row on one operation, they will no longer have to take the quizzes for that operation (addition/subtraction, etc...), unless the score on their monthly 100 question test falls below 80. Thanks for making sure your child is practicing those math facts at home, and look for him/her to be able to recall each fact within about 2-3 seconds.

Next Friday I will start sending home weekly progress reports. These are intended to keep you informed of your childʼs academic and social/behavioral progress during the week. They will need to be signed and returned on Monday. They will probably look similar to what was used in second grade, only I ask students to write a sentence on them reflecting on their week.

There are a few things you might have around your house that are on our "wish list" for student use in the classroom. They include:
  • Plastic spoons and forks for forgotten ones at snack time
  • Zip lock bags in gallon and sandwich size - so many uses for these
  • Plastic grocery store bags - Great for when kids forget their backpack or need to carry extra stuff home. We also use these for personal trash bags during cold season.
If you're able to donate any of these items it would be greatly appreciated.

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your childʼs education!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

An Update From the Awesome Kids of Room 73

Math rotations have started! After our math video and lesson from Mrs. Carnevale we do three rotations during the rest of math time. One is XtraMath to practice our math facts, one is a center game (today was CandyLand Subtraction), and the third is working on the rug with Mrs. Carnevale to do the independent practice work. Sami thinks it was good because we get to move to centers. Lola says,  "It was fun and different from second grade because in second we did games from a math book, and didn't do xtramath for centers." Ben C. says, "You can learn from math games." Chaz likes being able to be with his friends during math rotations.

We've started our reading mini-lessons and reading in our reading spots each day. Amelia says, "We can read on the rug." Gianna likes that we get to go read with pillows. Penley says, "I like it because we get to relax and read with a pillow or chair."  Michael adds that we're learning how to use the reading spot chart to know where our reading spot is each day.

Yesterday were the first kids in Toffolon to set up and use Google Classroom. We opened a Google Doc from Mrs. Carnevale and did our September goal setting on it.  Amelia says, "Goal setting is important because it gives you something to practice and get better at." Lola says, "It makes you try harder for what you set as a goal."

Another tech project we did was go to ABCya and create word clouds all about us. It helps us get to know people in our new class. That was fun, but it wasn't easy.  They came out awesome and are hanging above our lockers.

Third grade is a lot of fun!

Friday, September 5, 2014

Notes From Week Ending Sept. 5, 2014

What a wonderful first week of school weʼve had! Weʼve had fun getting to know our new classmates, and learn our way around our new classroom. The Treasure Hunt and Find a Friend activities were big hits... ask your child to tell you about them! Today we explored apps on the iPads and went to the computer lab to make word clouds all about us. Weʼve also spent quite a bit of time practicing third grade procedures, and talking about what “ready to learn” looks like. We even made a short movie of it on Thursday!

Spelling begins next week. Hereʼs how it works in our classroom... Each Monday the students will take a pretest on their spelling words for the week. If they get 90% or higher they do not have to take the test on Friday. Students who get below 90% will study their words during the week, and take the test on Friday (or Thursday if itʼs a short week). The pretest will come home each Monday in your childʼs Jungle Book, so youʼll know their score. There are a variety of ways your child can study their spelling words, a list of some ideas can be found in the File Cabinet section of our class website. Also, our word lists for the entire year, and a variety of games that go with them, can be found on our class page on the Spelling City website. The link to it be found on spelling page of our class website.

Reading and math logs are coming home today. They should be filled out each night, and stay in the Jungle Book. I collect them on Friday (or Thursday if itʼs a short week). Your childʼs 20mn. of home reading should be a continuation of what they are reading in school, on their “just right” level. Outside of the 20mn. they can, of course, read anything they want. But during that 20mn. they need to read on their level, in order to practice the skills they are learning in the classroom during their reading mini-lesson. In addition to reading for 20 mn. each night, students need to practice their math facts for 10 mn. They will also have a math worksheet to do each night from Monday through Thursday. That will start next week. One of the things I also suggest on weekends is playing board games or card games as a family. Not only does this bring you together, but it also helps children practice counting and other math skills, and it helps their memory and concentration grow. Homework should never be a struggle for your child, either academically or emotionally. If you find that it is, let’s meet and talk about it, and together come up with strategies or modifications to help.

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your childʼs education!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The First Day of School - A Blog Entry Written by the Kids of Room 73

Today was the first day of third grade. We didn't have to do any work!

This morning we went to a town meeting in the gym. There we met adults and kids who are new to Toffolon.  We watched a video that reminded us about the rules in the cafeteria, like no running. We watched another video the teachers made to welcome us back to school. They wanted us to come to school because it was too empty and lonely without the kids. All of the teachers even came out of one car in the video. They also played on the playground, and some went down the slide. Mrs. Carnevale was on the swings!

This afternoon we went on a treasure hunt in our classroom. It was to help us get to know where things are in our classroom. We also read a book called The Goodness Gorillas. It's about people being nice to each other, and doing random acts of kindness. We also practiced for fire drills and code red drills.

It was an amazing, awesome day!

Friday, August 15, 2014

Almost Ready!

I've been busy the last two weeks getting our classroom ready for a fabulous new school year, and there are just a few things left to do. Here's a sneak peek at what it looks like in our classroom jungle for this year. 


Don't forget to take that summer reading spot picture if you haven't already done it. Where do you think I'll be reading in my picture?  :)

Friday, August 1, 2014

Welcome!

Welcome new Safari Scholars and parents!  I'm having so much fun getting our classroom ready for a fabulous school year!

Kids, remember on the first day of school to bring something small from your summer that you want to share with the class so we can learn about you, and your summer. It might be a picture of someplace you visited, a book you read that you really liked, a picture of a favorite game or toy that you played, or even a rock or shell that you found. Please bring your summer reading logs and math packets, too. There are Tiger Tickets for students who return them. Remember, Tiger Tickets are what you can earn for good behavior and doing your work. Not only can you use them at the school Tiger Mart, but we also have a class store where you can use them!

Parents, I invite you to write me a letter or an email (carnevalea@plainvilleschools.org) telling me what you think is important for me to know about your child. This might include information such as what comes easily to him/her, what he/she finds difficult, what makes your child happy, sad, comfortable, frustrated, etc... It could also include insights into the best ways to help them cope with frustrations, and celebrate joys. You know your child better than anyone else, and I value any information and insight you would like to share with me about him/her.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. I can't wait to meet you all in September!