Weekly Wrap Up

Yes, it’s true, I told your kids today that gum is welcome in our room starting on Monday. You should have heard the cheers when I said that! So, as long as it’s okay with you, they can have it in class. The only rules I have are that they can’t share their gum with others (so your child is only doing what you want him/her to do), they have to keep it in their mouth, not chew like a cow, and they can’t lay down with it. If they leave the room for specials, lunch, or a wellness break, they have to throw it away.

Just as a reminder, here are all the ways (as of right now) that I regularly communicate and share information…

• The newsletter that goes home in print just about every Friday. If your child needs more than one copy and isn’t getting it, please be sure to let me know.
• This blog, where I post everything from the newsletter, and occasionally post more. You can choose to sign up to be notified by email when I post. Please know that if you ask a question in the comments section of the blog, I’ll respond through my district email.
• Twitter, where I post almost daily recaps of what we’re learning, pictures, and sometimes links to resources we use in class. You can choose to either sign up on Twitter to follow us at http://twitter.com/MrsCarnevale3rd, or just go to the feed and see what was posted. Like the blog, if you reply to a tweet with a question, I’ll respond through my district email.

As you know, part of our learning often includes participating in a variety of learning experiences using technology. That means that children might be sharing headphones throughout the day. If you do not want your child sharing headphones used by others, in either the classroom or the computer lab, you can send in a pair of headphones or earbuds in a baggie with their name on it. They can keep it either in the classroom or in their locker.

Stuffed animals, pillow pets, and small blankets are all welcome during reading time. If it makes your child cozy and able to focus on their reading, then I welcome it in our room! The items have to stay in their locker until reading time.

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

• Reader’s Workshop: Unit skills review with summarizing, character traits, and predicting.
• Writer’s Workshop: Finish typing and illustrating personal narrative story. 
• Math: Topic 4 - Meanings of Multiplication

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

Yes, it’s true, I told your kids on Thursday that gum is welcome in our room. You should have heard the cheers when I said that! :) There are actually some studies that show that chewing gum can help improve concentration. So, as long as it’s okay with you, they can have it in class. The only rules I have are that they have to keep it in their mouth, not chew like a cow, and they can’t lay down with it. If they leave the room for specials, lunch, or wellness break, they have to throw it away.

I do not have enough computer headphones for everyone to have their own, so they need to share. If you would prefer that your child not share headphones, you are welcome to send a set of headphones or earbuds to school. The earbuds that fit iPods, iPads, and iPhones fit our computers just fine. Please send them in a zip lock baggie with your child’s name on it.

A few FYI items for you:

• It might not be cold outside yet, but our classroom can get chilly. Your child is welcome to bring a sweater or sweatshirt and keep it in their locker for when they need it.
• Stuffed animals, pillow pets, and small blankets are all welcome during reading time. If it makes your child cozy and able to focus on their reading, then I welcome it in our room!
• Please send a water bottle in with your child, if possible. They’re usually pretty hot and thirsty after wellness breaks and recess.
• Home reading and math fact logs MUST be turned in to earn Fun Friday play time. Missing time or incomplete logs will result in a loss of Fun Friday time.

Here's what's on our learning safari for next week

• Reader’s Workshop: Strategies to understand a story
• Writer’s Workshop: Using storyteller voice, and working on meeting goals set for themselves.
• Math: Place Value to 9,999 - including word, standard and expanded forms

Don't forget that Tuesday is an early dismissal day, with open house from 6:00-7:30PM, and Wednesday is picture day.

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 Update

I can’t believe that it’s just about February already!  February brings not only new learning, but also fun and activities for Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, the 100th Day of School, and Chinese New Year, 

For Valentine’s Day we’ll be celebrating with cupcakes and Minute to Win It games. For children who want to bring in Valentines, I sent home a list of all students in our class. I just ask that those who do bring them, please bring one for every person in the class, that way no one feels left out and we don’t have hurt feelings. We will open the Valentine’s at our party on the afternoon of the 12th. While you’re welcome to send in goody bags if you want to, please don’t feel that you have to. Keep it easy and inexpensive for yourselves!  :)

Some projects take longer than others, and our information books are one of those projects. They aren’t quite ready yet, although we’re very close. Keep your eye here or on our class Twitter account for an announcement when they have been published. Our division math Educreation (an iPad app) projects are finished, and those will be posted here and your child’s blog by the end of the weekend. I’ll also announce it on our class Twitter account when they are posted.

Thanks for all of your help and support ensuring your child’s mastery of math facts. The math fact test score report went home today. Please sign it and have your child return it on Monday. If you have any questions about your child’s scores or progress, please let me know. It’s very important that any child with scores below 80 work on studying their facts.  The order of priority is: subtraction, addition, multiplication, and then division.

Here's what we're learning next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Tackling unknown vocabulary in our reading
• Writer’s Workshop: Finish Information books and take information writing post assessment
• Spelling: Unit 18 - Words home on Tuesday, test on Friday 
• Math: Topic 8, Division

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

Weekly Update

If there’s one word to describe our week, I think it’s techie. It seems that we have so many projects coming together with technology right now.

In reading late last week the children wrote book talks on a nonfiction book of their choice. This week I filmed them, taught them how to import their video into iMovie, add in a credit slide, sound and transitions. Then they saved a picture of their book and inserted that into the movie. It wasn’t easy but they persevered and had a lot of patience. They just have a little bit left to do, then they’ll export their movies and put them on their blogs.

In writing your children were busy typing their information books. They are typing them in Google Slides, so they can always login from home and show you their progress. It’s their same login as school, just with @plainvilleschools.org at the end of their login name. Next week they’ll learn how to add in pictures and other text features, as well as set backgrounds. Hopefully by the end of the week they’ll be finished. I’ll then convert their books to an e-book format, and upload them to our class website. If all goes as planned (it’ll be my first time trying to convert pdf files to epub format) they’ll be able to download and read each others’ books on their devices and computers at home.

On Tuesday we had a special center activity in math. The children used a new iPad app, Pic Collage, to create an infopic to illustrate the concept of division. You can read more about it, the video they watched ahead of time to learn about some techniques to try, and see their final products here. Next week there will be a center activity using the iPad app, Educreations, to create a presentation on division. Stay tuned for upcoming greatness!

Keep practicing those math facts at home. Next week we have our district math fact assessments on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These are the 100 question tests similar to what I shared with you at conferences. Mastery is 90% or higher, and Goal is 80-89% on each test. Of course this is the beginning of division, so this test will just be their baseline.

Here's what we'll be learning about next week:

Reader’s Workshop: Finish editing book talks and Comprehension strategies
Writer’s Workshop: Finish Information books
Spelling: Unit 17 - Words home on Tuesday, test on Friday
Math: Topic 8, Division

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

Division Infopics

Today, as part of math rotations, students worked in groups using the iPad app Pic Collage to create infopics to illustrate the concept of the division. First they watched part of a video by Tony Vincent to learn about infopics and some techniques they might want to include in their infopic. Then I asked them to use any object they wanted in the classroom to illustrate division, include the definition of division from their math book, and include the word division as a title. The rest was up to them. I'm so proud of the fabulous job each group did on their infopic!

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! 

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

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.