MCAS Tutorials

This morning we went through the MCAS ELA practice test on the computer.  We did not have time to finish all sections, but we talked about the language of the questions, practiced using the online tools, discussed how the passages were organized, and talked about some of the lengthier open response questions.

Please know that you may access this same information from home by doing the following:

1) Go to the Spofford Pond School website
2) Select "Specialists"
3) Scroll down to "Digital Learning" and then over to Spofford Pond Technology Blog.
4) Select Student Resources and then scroll down to the Portal Link.
5) After you select the link, there will be a screen with many other links.
6) The box at the top left contains all of the tutorials and practice tests for MCAS.

I would encourage you to visit these if you would like to see what the test looks like or are interested in going through it with your child.   Please contact me if you have any questions.

A Visit with Diane Edgecomb

Third grade was so lucky to spend some time with Diane Edgecomb this morning.  Diane is a spectacular storyteller, and believe me when I tell you that students were captivated!

If you'd like to hear some of her storytelling, check out:
www.youtube.com/user/DianeEdgecomb

or you can learn a bit about her background and what she does by going to:
www.storynet.org
Scroll down to "Find a Storyteller" and then type in Diane's name.

Here are some pictures from her performance....

MCAS Schedule for Grade 3

Please be aware that the MCAS schedule for grade three is as follows:

ELA:
Monday 4/3
Tuesday 4/4
Friday 4/7

Math:
Monday 5/8
Tuesday 5/9

On all days we will be starting at 9:00am.  The test is untimed, but most students will finish each session in about an hour.  Please send a healthy snack in for your child on those days.
Thank you!

Creative Kids!

Good evening!  I'd like to thank the many parents who donated glue sticks to the classroom!  I'd also like to thank parents who purchased books from my Wish List this week.  I'm so excited to add the new books to our library!  There were some wonderful books at the fair this week, so I hope everyone had an opportunity to go!

For Classroom News:  Students in Room 8 are really enjoying our poetry unit.  Last week in reading, individual students chose a poem to share aloud with their peers.  They described the mood of the poem, it's rhyme scheme, and their interpretation of the poem's meaning.  We are working hard to analyze words and language used in poetry.  We're asking ourselves questions like, "What is the poet trying to say here?"  "Why has the poet chosen this language?"  "What techniques are being used to create the mood in this poem?"

In the upcoming weeks, we will be exploring alliteration, personification, similes, and metaphors. We will look for examples of these in our reading and try them out in our own writing.  So far, students have written beautiful color poems, rhyming quatrains, and diamantes.  Please be sure to look for some of this poetry in the hallway when you come for your report card conference.  I've been so impressed with student work!  Well done everyone!





In math, students are exploring fractions.  Last week, we made "Fraction Flowers" to celebrate the

beginning of spring and our love of fractions, of course!  You'll find these outside of our classroom when you come to visit.

Thursday, we worked in pairs with fraction circles to learn more about equivalent fractions.  We discussed how we could use multiplication and division to help us find fractions of equal value for 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Report Cards for Term 2 will be going home on Tuesday, April 4th.  I'm looking forward to meeting with parents that week.  Confirmation notes will be in this Friday's Folder.

As you know, students will be taking the ELA portion of the MCAS that week as well.  Yesterday, we used the laptops to work through a tutorial that is meant to help students navigate the program and use the available tools.  Please try to keep your child relaxed about testing.  Third graders tend to be quite nervous about the test.  I will not be assigning homework during the testing week.  I'd prefer that students go to bed early and come to school well-rested.  Please be sure that your child has eaten a healthy breakfast that morning so they have lots of brainpower and are ready to go!

What's Happening in Room 8?

Good morning parents!  Here we are, March 14th with a BLIZZARD on our hands!  This is what New England is all about I suppose....

I haven't written in a bit so there's quite a lot to report.  Term 2 has ended and we are now in our last term of the school year, which is incredible!  Time goes by so quickly!  I'd like to catch you up on what has been happening in Room 8 these days, so....

Reading

February was all about Traditional Literature!  In class, we learned to identify the elements of folktales, fables, legends, and trickster tales.  We read stories from different parts of the world and discussed how and where these elements appeared.  Students also worked on sequencing skills and how to recognize the beginning, middle, and ending of a tale.  Many discussions focused on character traits, theme, and lessons that can be gained from reading these stories. 

March is dedicated to poetry.  Students will not only be reading various types of poetry, but they will be writing it as well.  In class, we will be exploring how poets express their ideas and feelings - sometimes with rhyme and sometimes not.  As you know, poets often express their thoughts in a manner that is not obvious to readers, so we will discuss how to infer meaning.  The children are already excited to explore this genre!  Monday, students worked in pairs to practice reading various poems.  When we return to school, these pairs will present their favorite to the class!

Writing

Second term focused on opinion writing.  Students needed to be able to form an opinion on a given topic, support it with 2-3 reasons, and then then use facts or details to further explain their reasons.  In class, students wrote about the best classroom pet, whether they should have school work on snow days to avoid making them up in June, winter vs. summer, and to tie in with social studies, a piece about the Wampanoag.  With this writing, students are encouraged to use strong, purposeful language to transition their thoughts.  Everyone did a wonderful job with this!

As I stated above, this month we will be working on poetry!  Students will be learning about rhythm and rhyme patterns, of course, but also looking at different types of figurative language like alliteration, similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia.  Students love writing poetry because it allows them some freedom in how they can express their ideas.  Monday, we read from Hailstones and Halibut Bones, which is a beautiful book about color.  Students then chose a color and brainstormed ideas for a poem of their own.  I suspect these are going to be just beautiful!

Math

Last month we worked through our division unit, which gets quite complicated for third graders.  In this chapter, students learned to divide multiples of 10s and 100s, they divided with remainders, and they even did a bit of long division, which is a skill that third graders do not need to master at this point.  This unit was challenging, and I am so proud of students in Room 8 for their hard work and perseverance.  

We also just finished Chapter 9, which focused on using bar models to solve one- and two-step word problems for multiplication and division.  This was yet another very challenging unit.  In class, we practiced analyzing patterns of language in these problems to determine: 1) which operation the problem called for, 2) whether the problem was a one- or two-step problem, and 3) what type of bar model would be needed to solve it.  These types of problems often have many components to them, and it requires students to read for comprehension.  We are currently taking our Mid-Year test, but we will be moving on to fractions when we are finished.

Social Studies

We just finished our study of the Wampanoag.  Students loved this unit and learned so much about their way of life.  Classroom reading, discussions, and activities centered around how they used their natural resources to meet their needs for shelter, food, clothing, and other daily necessities.

Our next unit on Pilgrims will tie in closely with what students have learned in the Wampanoag unit.

Science

We have been studying weather over the last month, and students are learning about the four major elements:  air pressure, moisture, temperature, and wind.  Each of these elements are being looked at closely so students gain a better understanding of how each impacts our daily weather.  In class, we are using our nonfiction reading skills to explore related articles and books.  We are making flipbooks to help us remember important concepts, and we are learning about the weather instruments that meteorologists use to predict changes and track patterns.

At home, you can encourage your child to watch weather reports on TV and to observe changes in the weather at home.  We've certainly had some wacky weather over the last couple of months!

I will be in touch soon to arrange conferences for  Term 2.  Stay warm everyone!