Mrs. Leith's Third Grade

Week of November 14, 2011

We have a busy week in store for us before the Thanksgiving break! We will:

• Math: continue learning our multiplication facts. We will take our timed (one minute) fact quizzes on Tuesday and Friday of this week. Remember, your student is earning beads for a key chain for each level of facts they pass. In addition, they are also working towards an ice cream sundae party!  Practice those facts with your child regularly. They should be writing in their GATOR books what level they are practicing.
• Language Arts: review contractions and add to know what we already know. We will also be (hopefully) finishing our final drafts of the personal narrative we've been working on!
• Social Studies: begin our unit study of ancient Greece and how they impacted our government system. We are starting with the ancient Olympic games and will compare those games to the modern Olympics we have today.

We are running low on extra snacks. If you are able and willing, please send in some. Remember, they should be peanut-free, so if in doubt, don't send it in!

 

Thanks so much for everything you do to make my job easier!

Week of November 7, 2011

Well, after a whirlwind of events, including Conference Week, it looks like things are settling down to normal for the next week or so! That is one of many things to be thankful for! Thank you so much for being supportive as my family dealt with our loss. Your many words of encouragement were greatly appreciated.

This week:

• Math: Guided Math (small group math instruction tailored to strengths and weaknesses) 2 days focusing on multiplication. We will start our timed math drills, so make sure your child is practicing his/her facts daily!
• Language Arts: Writing a personal narrative; possessive nouns; Guided Reading (small group reading instruction tailored to strengths and weaknesses)
• Science: finishing up Fossils. We have a hands-on lesson in the Science Lab on Friday!

Important upcoming dates:

• November 8: No School! It is a Professional Learning Day for teachers
• November 11: Thanksgiving lunch at our regular lunch time (11:43-12:13)
• November 11: Relay for Life Movie Night
• November 15: Texas Roadhouse night
• November 18: Hat day for Relay for Life
• November 21-25: Thanksgiving Holidays
• November 29: Stevie B's night

Week of October 24

It's Conference Week!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at our student-led conferences. Please remember to bring your student!

Our schedule for the week:  Specials 8:25-8:55    Lunch 10:18-10:48 Table 6  Dismissal 12:20

We will work in our Garden on Friday!

If your child has not taken the Guided Math Survey (see previous post), please have him/her do so. Guided Math is when we break into small groups to practice skills with other students, sometimes teacher led and sometimes independent. Thanks!

In addition to being Conference Week, it is also Red Ribbon Week. Monday students will recieve a red ribbon to kick off our activities. Tuesday, if students wear a wacky outfit for "Drugs are Ridiculous" day, they will receive a sticker.  Wednesday is Wear Red all day! Lollipops and stickers will be given out on Thursday to celebrate that day's theme of "Life is Sweet Drug Free".  Friday is Spirit Day- show our Addison spirit as we are Drug Free!

See you this week!

Week of October 17

Hello! I'm so sorry I did not update this blog last week. I had a hectic weekend and with testing this week, I just never found the time.  Fortunately, we are finished with standardized testing and are ready to resume our normal schedule! Your children should be commended for their outstanding behavior this week. A big thank you goes to all the parents who donated brain food this week! We ate our way through all the testing! Thanks, Room Mom Mrs. McCall for coordinating this!

In the upcoming week, we will:

• Continue with soil and begin to learn about weathering. We will visit the Science Lab on Friday. Please send in an old sock with your child for the activity we'll be doing there.
• Begin our multiplication unit. The kids are very excited about this!
• Visit the Media Center 2 times: for a lesson and check-out, and to preview the Book Fair
• Review nouns and learn to distinguish between a common noun and a proper noun

Conference week is coming up soon! Please let me know if you need a reminder as to your conference time. Remember, these are student-led conferences, so your child will need to attend with you.

Our Book Fair is the week of conferences. What a great way to pick up some new titles!

Several of you have sent a Shutterfly request to access the site password for our classroom's page. However, the email system we use in the schools decided those were Spam emails. If you need the site password, please email me directly at Tricia.Leith@cobbk12.org  and I will send you the password. I am more likely to recieve your email if you send it from your email vs. having it come from Shutterfly.

Thanks again for all you do to help make my job easier and so, so, so enjoyable!

Week of October 3

Wow! Can you believe it is already October? You know the saying.... "Time flies when you're having fun!"

Thank you so much for returning your conference forms so quickly! You are such a great group of parents!  Remember, these will be student-led conferences, so your child will need to attend with you.

This week we will:

• Finish writing descriptive paragraphs. Your child will share his/hers with you at conferences!
• Visit the Science Lab for more hands-on learning. If you haven't joined Addison's Foundation, which provides us with the Science Lab and Mrs. Knobbe, you can do so here:  AESF
• Take the CogAT. For more information, visit Mr. Cohen's blog here:  Mr. Cohen's blog

Due to the CogAT, our Specials schedule will change on Wednesday-Friday of this week.  On Wednesday, we'll be heading to Specials from 11:00-11:40.  On Thursday and Friday, our Specials time will be 1:15-2:00.  Our lunch time will not change.

Week of September 26, 2011

 

This week we will:

• Learn about the rock cycle and begin learning about soil
• Visit the Science Lab on Friday for hands-on learning
• Go to the Media Center for a lesson and check-out on Thursday- Bring your books!
• Read about rocks and minerals in our reading groups
• Write a descriptive paragraph

Thank you to all who have returned your Tellus Museum permission forms and donations. Please remember that we'd like to have forms and donations by this Friday to make sure we have enough to cover the cost of the trip.

Week of September 19, 2011

We have a very busy week in store for us!  We'll be continuing our focus on rocks and minerals and will be headed to our Science Lab on Friday for some hands-on learning. We'll be working in our garden on Wednesday, focusing on planting fall crops and building a habitat for the animals around Addison.

In math, we'll be practicing those 2nd grade math skills of adding 2-digit numbers with and without regrouping, and will be extending those skills with 3- and 4-digit numbers. If your child does not have basic addition facts memorized, please practice them at home nightly to increase math fluency.

In language arts, we've been working on writing using descriptive language and will continue that, focusing on single descriptive paragraphs. From there, we'll move into personal narratives, applying the skill of writing descriptive paragraphs and adding it to stories.

If you have not yet returned your child's field trip permission form to the Tellus Museum, please try to do so as soon as possible, and by September 30th at the latest. Let me know if you misplaced the form and need an additional one. Thank you!

Orientation Night!

Thank you so much, everyone, for attending Orientation last night! I was thrilled to see such a great turn out, but not surprised since you have been so fantastic at returning forms, checking homework, etc. Below is the link for the PowerPoint presentation.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Download LeithOpen House Orientation 2011

Summing up a few points from last night:

• Students are earning money similar to what they did in 2nd grade for Goods and Services day. Students earn and lose money for behavior choices in the classroom, the hallways, and at lunch. If behavior issues cannot be resolved with the classroom economy, then your student may need an individual contract to help them, through which they can earn additional money.
• Please remember to have your child record his/her nightly reading in the GATOR book/agenda. This is what I use for a reading log; book title and length of time reading must be recorded.
• Conferences are at the end of October.

• We'll be taking one out of school field trip to the Tellus Museum in May. We are having Wellstar come in and provide free in-house field trips; the lessons focus on dental health, physical health, and  dealing with anger/frustration.

 

September 4, 2011

Last week flew by! I am so fortunate to have such a great group of children to teach. Thank you, parents, for being so supportive and following up with homework and any other paperwork that comes home!

Although the upcoming week is one day short, we'll be as busy as usual. We're continuing with map skills, learning about the hemispheres and longitude and latitude. We'll be comparing and ordering large numbers in math, and focusing on strategies to monitor our own reading skills. We have guidance with Ms. Weston on Thursday afternoon, and also will be visiting the Science Lab that morning for our orientation. If you haven't joined the Addison foundation yet, you can do so here AESF .   Our Science Lab is funded by the Foundation; we are so lucky to have this incredible teaching tool at Addison!

Remember that this Thursday evening, Sept. 8, is Orientation following a 6pm PTA meeting. I'll be sharing important information about the upcoming school year. You'll also be able to check out the class' Addison Atlas, which we made last week.  See you all Thursday!

August 28, 2011

Well, we made it through week two! Our class had a lot of fun learning to be scientists. We observed and measured leaves and pinecones, predicted and experimented with color change, and made a model of a dragonfly. What great scientists!  We also compared maps and globes and did such a fabulous job of working in small groups. In Language Arts we learned that the subject of a sentence is who or what the sentence is about.

In the upcoming week, we'll be breaking into small groups to read about being a scientist. We'll also be finishing up with map skills and will be making our own Addison Atlas! We'll be learning what a predicate is and how it relates to the subject of a sentence. In math, we'll be continuing with place value and problem solving.

Parents, please help your child remember to record his/her nightly reading in the G.A.T.O.R. Book. This is what I use for a reading log; the expectation is that the students will read at least 20 minutes most nights and write down what he/she read and the length of time spent reading. Students earn money for doing homework every night, and if the reading is not recorded in the agenda, then no money is earned, regardless of whether math/spelling homework has been completed.  Thank you for your support in this!