Weekly Wrap Up

Next week your child will bring home their first weekly progress report. It is intended to keep you informed of your child’s academic and social/behavioral progress during the week. It’s probably very similar to what was used in second grade. Please sign it and have your child put it in their Jungle Book to turn in on Monday. Children who return it signed on Monday get two Tiger Tickets!

Weekly reading logs and math fact logs start today, and will go from Friday to Friday.  This is your child’s homework. Each week your child is asked to read at home for 20mn., at least five nights a week, and record it in their reading log. They can read anything they want, that you approve of. They can also count time reading with you, to a sibling, or doing reading for any outside group or club such as scouts or church school. They’re also asked to work on their math facts for 10mn. a night at least five nights a week, and record it. Right now we’re sticking with just addition and subtraction facts. Later we’ll add in all multiplication and division facts. While there is a spot on the logs for parent signature, I don’t require it unless your child is not completing their weekly logs. You’re still more than welcome to monitor and sign them if you’d like.

I want to clarify that the student thoughts on how you can help them with math facts were their thoughts, not mine. :)  Please don’t feel like you need to go spend money on apps or give them extra computer time if that’s what your child wrote. Do what works best for your child and your family!

Do you have any extra plastic forks and spoons hanging around your house? Do you have a growing collection of plastic silverware from take-out dinner nights? We could use them in the classroom! Kids often have a snack that needs a fork or a spoon, and if I don’t have any in the classroom they have to go down to the cafeteria to get one. Any extras you have and could send in would be greatly appreciated!

Remember to follow our class on Twitter and get up to the minute pictures and news! We are @MrsCarnevale3rd. Also, follow our district at @PlvComSchools. On Twitter you can also follow the district hashtag, #plainvilleschools as well as #plainvillerocks and #toffolontigers

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Comprehension checks and retell
• Writer’s Workshop: Using leads and stretching a story out bit by bit.
• Math: Place Value to 999,999 - including word, standard and expanded forms

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!

Weekly Wrap Up

If your child has a summer birthday, and would like to celebrate later this month or early in June, that’s fabulous. We have 11 summer birthdays in our class, so it’s going to take some coordinating so that each child has their own special day. If your child is a summer birthday kiddo, and you want to celebrate in school, please pick a day that works for you, and let me know as soon as possible. Thanks!

Is someone in your house is handy at fixing broken things? Is so our class could use your help. One of our electric pencil sharpeners is no longer sharpening pencils. The motor runs, but the pencils aren’t getting sharp. Before I buy a new one I’d rather try and see if this one can be fixed. If anyone is willing to take it apart and see if it that’s possible, let me know and I’ll send it home with your child.

We’re getting very close to taking our end of year math fact tests, including addition and subtraction! Students are expected to score at 80% or higher in order to be considered proficient in their facts. Thanks for helping monitor your child’s continued practice of their math facts!

Our class will be taking the SBAC tests the mornings of May 10, 11, 13, 18, and 19 from 9:15-11:00ish. Please try to avoid scheduling appointments that will require your child to be out of school any of those mornings.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

Reader’s Workshop AND Science: Animal Research Clubs/Habitats

Writer’s Workshop: Fairy tale adaptations

Math: Measurement of Volume, weight and mass

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!

Weekly Wrap Up

How is it we only have about 35 days of school left this year? Yikes! There will be lots of special events and activities that take place over the next month and a half, but our learning continues. Homework still continues on, and it gets a little harder now for some children to manage their time when they have school events, sporting practices, and various other activities. Even though your child has been doing homework all year, they might need a little extra help from you now to budget their time between homework, events, and just being a kid and playing. 

We’re getting close to doing our end of year math fact tests. Students are expected to score at 80% or higher in order to be considered proficient in their facts. Some children are coming home today with specific facts they need to work on. Please ask your child what he/she needs to memorize.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

Reader’s Workshop: Comparing and contrasting characters across books

Writer’s Workshop: Persuasive Writing and assessment

Math: Area and perimeter review

Social Studies: Plainville

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!

Weekly Wrap Up

I just realized I forgot to post the information from the last newsletter, so this will have info from both.

We recently started something new to help students master their multiplication facts - Multiplication Fact of the Day. Here’s how it works... Assuming that the children have mastered their 0s, 1s, 2s, and 10s, there are only 28 facts to memorize when we take into consideration the commutative property of multiplication (ex: 3x8=8x3). Each day, for 6 out of 7 days, students will have just one multiplication problem to memorize. I’ll write it up on the board that day, and we’ll go over it multiple times during the day. There’s also a home calendar with each fact of the day written on it. I’m asking parents to really go over the problem at home with their child, too. Let them see it, say it, and write it. It won’t hurt to throw in a previous problem of the day, either. I don’t know if this will work for sure, it’s a new idea, but it’s worth a try. If this works, then I’ll do the same thing for division. In case you’re wondering, here are all of the facts that need to be memorized:!

• 3x3, 3x4, 3x5, 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, 3x9 (7 facts)
• 4x4, 4x5, 4x6, 4x7, 4x8, 4x9 (6 facts)
• 5x5, 5x6, 5x7, 5x8, 5x9 (5 facts)
• 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9 (4 facts)
• 7x7, 7x8, 7x9 (3 facts)
• 8x8, 8x9 (2 facts)
• 9x9 (1 fact)

This week the kids took over the newsletter! Here’s what they want you to know...

• Shannon: Today we learned so much about Helen Keller.
• Elizabeth: We watched a clip of the real Helen Keller in her Easton, CT house.
• Ethan: We had popcorn today during the movie.
• Mary: We also saw a cartoon about Helen Keller.
• Rhiana: We did our monthly multiplication and division quizzes.
• Alana: We now have a wall of honor for multiplication and division.
• Maryla: We saw Helen Keller’s CT house in Google Maps street view.
• Addie: We saw Helen Keller’s Alabama house in Google Maps street view, and it’s now a museum.
• Hailey: We’re finishing our information books
• Amelia: Study your math facts!
• Jared: We’ve learned about writing endings for information books.
• Shannon: We finished packet #4 in cursive handwriting. (Mrs. Carnevale says this means they’ve learned all of the lower case letters in cursive!)
• Mary: Next week we start upper case letters in cursive.
• Ethan: Practice reading!
• Maia: We book shopped this week for our new levels of fiction.
• Tyler: We’re starting a new unit in reading.

If you have extras of these at home, we could use them:!

• Paper plates
• Plastic grocery store bags

A few reminders... 

• Wear sneakers on Wednesdays!!
• Bring recorders and music on Tuesdays!!
• Notes are needed every Friday for electronics during Fun Friday!

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reading - Orienting to Fiction at our new levels
• Writing - Finishing (finally!) information books and information writing test
• Math - Fractions
• Social Studies - Connecticut

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! 

Weekly Wrap Up

We’ve been busy putting our new knowledge about fractions to work this week. The children have been working in small groups to create presentations on the iPads using PicCollage and Educreations. As soon as each group finishes their project it will be posted on here and on the student blogs. Please stop by your child’s blog, watch their video, and leave them a comment!  

You’ll notice something new on your child’s weekly progress report, a box giving their weekly multiplication and division math facts quiz scores. To help the children track their progress, improve, and know how close they’re coming to meeting the goal score, we’re now doing weekly timed quizzes. Each week I’ll report their scores to you. If your child had 90 or higher on their January multiplication and/or their January division tests they do not have to take the weekly quizzes for that operation. Once your child gets 3 scores of 90 or higher in a row on an operation for the weekly quizzes, they no longer have to take the quizzes. However, if they drop below 90 on their monthly quizzes, then they’ll start taking the weekly quizzes again. I know this might sound a little confusing, so if you have any questions please drop me a note or call.

We have a lot of birthdays coming up in late winter and spring. If you plan to send something to school with your child, please remember that we have food allergies in the room. My policy is that any food treats that come in need to be tree nut free and peanut free, as well as shellfish free. If you make them at home, they can't be made in/on equipment that might contain any trace of tree nuts or peanuts or shellfish. If you make them, please send me a note that they're allergen free so I can get the parental permission of the children with food allergies. If you buy them, please make sure I can see the ingredients labels on them. Also, if you buy them, the label shouldn't say they're made in a facility or on equipment that also processes the allergens due to cross contamination that can happen. I know this can be confusing, so as an alternate, non-food treats are always great.  Please contact me ahead of time if you plan to send something in.  Thanks!

A couple of reminders:

• Please sign your child’s behavior calendar at the end of each week. Students get Tiger Tickets for signatures.
• Have you looked in your child’s backpack lately? I sometimes notice food in their desks and lockers, you might want to check their bag if you haven’t in a while.  :)

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop: Cross text synthesis while writing information books
• Math: Fractions
• Social Studies: Connecticut

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!

Weekly Wrap Up

Thursday is our trip to Indian Rock. We leave about 9:00, and return around 1:00. Most of our time is spent outdoors and walking through wooded trails, so it’s important that your child be dressed for the weather and wearing appropriate footwear. All drinks and lunches need to be in labeled, disposable containers. There will not be snack time on the trip, so just their lunch and a drink are needed.

Remember, Curl Up and Read is from 2:45-3:15 on November 20. Join your child in the classroom for a special half hour of reading together. Let them share some of their favorite classroom reads with you, and see a little of what they’re learning in action! Siblings from other classes are welcome to join us, as long as you send a note to their teacher. Also, if you want your child to leave our room and go to a sibling’s room, please send a note.

By mid-December we should be done with multiplication and starting division. Division can be tricky for students who don’t know their multiplication facts. So, it’s really important that your child keep working to learn their multiplication facts. It doesn’t matter whether they are memorizing facts written down, playing games, or using an app, do whatever works best for your child. It’s just important they are working on it.

A couple of reminders...

• Notes are needed each week a student brings electronics for Fun Friday.
• We have gym every Wednesday. Your child should be wearing sneakers on that day, or bringing them to change into.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Reading for information and main idea/supporting details
• Writer’s Workshop: Personal narrative assessment, then information writing.
• Math: Topic 6, Multiplying by 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
• Social Studies: Northeast Woodland Native Americans

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!