Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you enjoyed your holiday season. I know I did!! It was nice to relax and spend time with family and friends. I was especially excited to spend time with my new niece, Genevieve. She was born on December 21st, so I got to spend lots of time with her during break. She is adorable!

We'll get back into the swing of things this week. The kids have a new spelling list in their planners. We will test on Friday, January 7th.

This week, we'll read the story A Symphony of Whales. We'll be working on the skill of generalizing. This is a tough skill for 3rd graders, and it's one they will continue to work on in 4th & 5th grade as well. We will take our selection test on Friday.

In math, we're continuing to work on writing and reading larger numbers. We will also move into learning about decimals. Much of our work with this skill will involved manipulatives such as base 10 blocks and the meter stick to demonstrate what a decimal number is and means. Again, this is a difficult skill for 3rd graders, and it's one that we'll continue to work on for the new few years.

We will be writing news stories this week during writing. Our focus will be on learning to include facts in our new stories as well as making sure we've answered the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why) & the H (how). The kids may choose to share this in their portfolios during our February conferences.

In science, they are continuing to work on measurement skills, and in social studies, we'll learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. this month.

Please keep the following dates in mind as you look  at your January calendar:

Monday, January 17th: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, January 19th: 12:00 Early Out

Homework for Monday, January 3rd

• Read
• Study spelling words
• Home Link 5.6
• Cursive Sheet

Homework for Tuesday, January 4th

• Read
• Study spelling words
• Home Link 5.7
• Cursive sheet

Have a great week!

Mrs. Vroegh

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy Thursday!

We took our reading test today over the story Night Letters. You should sign and return the sheet tomorrow.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be our "Polar Express Day". We plan to read the book, do some reading activities with it, and watch the movie. We'll also enjoy doughnuts and chocolate milk at some point during the day. The kids have worked hard so far this year, and this is my reward to them. I'm very proud of them!!

Your child can wear his/her pajamas if you choose. I will caution you, however, that we may go outside for recess. Please be sure the pajamas are appropriate for outdoor weather.

Some Things To Do Over Break (in case you're bored)

• READ- I can't stress enough how important it is to continue reading over break. Please try to encourage your child to do some reading each day...or read together.

• Practice Math Facts: Addition, Subtraction, & Multiplication
• Review Telling Time

• Ask your child to read & write 6 and 7 digit numbers to you.

THANK YOU to everyone who brought me a special gift this holiday season. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I really do feel blessed to have such a great group of students and parents. You are all THE BEST!!

Homework for Thursday

Home Link 5.5
Read
Spelling Test Friday

I want to wish all of you a very happy & safe holiday season! Enjoy the time with your families and friends. I'll see you in 2011!!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Hello!

Sorry I'm a bit behind in my posts....I've been having some trouble with the blog. It seems to be up and running at least for today!

Just a reminder that our class is participating in Project Santa. Your child brought a letter home about this a couple of weeks ago. We are still in need of a few items if you are interested in donating anything. Here are some ideas:

Wal-Mart or Dollar General Gift Cards
Diapers or Pull Ups: Size 6/Jumbo
Mid American Energy Gift Certficates
Grocery Store Gift Certficates

Please send any donations to school by Friday if possible, Monday at the latest. THANK YOU!!!

Homework

Home Link 5.1
Santa's Suit worksheet
Read
Study Spelling

We are reading the play "Push Up the Sky" in reading class. Your child is practicing specific part and may be asking to bring some props or costumes to school. We'll be performing the play for other groups on Friday during reading time. The kids are excited about this, and they are doing a great job planning and preparing for the performance!


Homework for Thursday, December 9

Home Links 5. 2 & 5.3
Read
Spelling Test on Friday

Have a great night!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday!

Homework for Tuesday, November 23

• Home Link 4.5
• Cursive worksheet
• Study spelling words (test on Wednesday)
• Read

When we get back from break, we'll be starting Unit 3 in reading. We will be back on a Friday testing schedule for spelling and reading tests.

I would encourage you to have your child start to practice basic multiplication facts (0-5) along with addition and subtraction facts at home. It's important that your child is automatic in knowing his/her facts, so please take the time to practice each week.

December will go by quickly, so please make sure to check the blog frequently for any news/information. I'll send home a December calendar with your child when we return from  Thanksgiving break.

There will be no homework and no Study Club on Wednesday, November 24th. As a reminder, it's a 2:00 Early Out as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Vroegh

Thursday, November 18, 2010

It's been another very busy week at school!

We just finished up the story Tops & Bottoms and took our selection test today. We worked on the skill of recognizing the author's purpose for writing a story this week. Tomorrow we are going to begin reading William's House. This story is great for this time of year because it tells about a man's experience with building a house in the late 1600's. We will work on the comprehension skill of drawing conclusions. The kids will learn to pay attention to the facts in a story and put that information with what they already know to come to a conclusion about something. We will also practice asking questions of ourselves as we read. It's important to ask why certain characters act they way they do or why certain things happen in a story. This will help readers understand what it is they are reading, which of course, is the whole purpose for reading!

We are going to kind of "push" the kids in the next week. We'll take our selection test for William's House on Monday, then begin working on our Unit 2 Benchmark Assessment. The goal is to finish this up before we leave for Thanksgiving break. We have A LOT to do in the next week!

In math, we have started work on multiplication and what it means. Tomorrow, we will work on division. We have a lot to work on in this unit. I would encourage you to begin to work on multiplication facts at home along with additon and subtraction facts. It's easy to practice these in the car on the way to school, or for a few minutes each night at home. Make practicing a game by getting out a deck of cards...your child can show you a game or two to practice facts.

In science, we've started to work on our Measurement unit. We've done some measuring in math already this year, so the kids will have some background knowledge with some of the things they'll be learning. During social studies, we talked about Veterans Day and what it means to be a veteran. We read the story Hero Dad, and then we wrote letters to Dylan's brother who is a soldier in Iraq. Tomorrow, we'll read about the Thanksgiving holiday and how it got started. We'll begin to make pilgrim flip books to summarize what we learn.

In writing, we are working on writing "how to" reports. Tomorrow we're going to finish up our planning sheets and begin to work on our introduction. We're learning about how important it is to put the events of a how to report in order and how to use time order words like "first, next, then, after that, and finally". It'll be interesting to see if we could actually "do" the things they kids are going to write about "how to" do. :)

Your child will bring home a new spelling list today. We will take the test over these words on Wednesday, November 24th.

Don't forget that next Wednesday is a 2:00 Early Out. There is no school on Thursday & Friday.

I sent home a flyer about the Holiday Hop. This will be held on DECEMBER 10th. I think there was a mistake in one part of the flyer (it read November 10th). I'm sure all of you understood the mistake since November 10th has already passed, but I thought I'd clarify.

Hopefully your child did some reading at home this week and you took the time to record the books in his/her planner. Keep on reading at home! :)

Homework for Thursday, November 18

• Home Link 4.3
• Cursive sheet
• Read
• Study Spelling Words

If I don't blog again before Thanksgiving....I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. May you get to spend quality time with friends and family members, and may you enjoy every minute of it!

Have a great day!

Mrs. Vroegh

Thursday, November 11, 2010

It was great to see all of you during conferences! The students are working hard and making great progress. I wanted to share a couple of websites for you to use at home to help with reading, math, and spelling.

Math

http://www.everydaymathonline.com/

This site has games and resources that go along with our Everyday Math program. Your child has his/her user name and password in the front of the planner. Have him/her use the games to practice facts and skills we are working on in class. Good games to play are: Addition Top It, Basketball Addition, Name That Number, and Number Grid Difference Game. Pretty soon, we'll add Multiplication Baseball to the mix as well!

You can also access the Student Reference Book on-line at this same website. Some of you mentioned that your child forgets his/her reference book from time to time...well no more excuses! :) Just hop on the Everyday Math site and you can access this book right from your computer!

Reading

http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

I will try to do a better job putting our leveled readers on this site so your child can read these books to you at home. It would be good for you to listen to your child read these stories, and you can even add them to your child's book log if you do read them at home.

You can also access your child's assessment scores on this site, too.

Spelling

http://www.spellingcity.com/

Your child can put his/her spelling words on this site to play games to practice the words. We use this site at school, so your child should know how to navigate the site. It's a fun way for your child to practice his/her spelling words!

Thank you for encouraging your child to read, write, and practice math facts at home. Your help and support is so important to your child's success at school!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm here to help and support you as your child learns and grows in 3rd grade!

Homework for Monday, November 15

• Home Link 4.1
• Cursive Sheet
• Read
• Study Spelling

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Conference Week!

I know I keep saying this, but I just can't believe how quickly this year is going! It seems like just yesterday that we started school, and now here we are at conferences...where does the time go?!?

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you during conferences. I have a lot of information with you, and I look forward to discussing your child's progress so far in 3rd grade. Please keep in mind that I will of course have many positive things to say about your child, but there will also be things for your child to work on. I so appreciate the partnership we have in working to make your child be the best student he/she can be. Please be ready to do some goal setting during conferences. This will help your child to focus on something he/she can do to become a better student. We will formulate this goal after our discussion during the conference.

Your child will not be bringing home his/her planner tonight. I asked them to leave them here so I can share a few things regarding the planner with you at the conference. Your child will be able to bring it home with him/her after the conference.

There will not be any formal homework during the conference break, however, I would encourage you to have your child read, practice math facts, play math games on the Everyday Math website, and study spelling words.

Our spelling test will be held on Wednesday, November 17th. This happens to be our next early out day, too, so please mark that on your calendar. We will also take our selection test on the 17th for the story Tops & Bottoms.

When we come back from break, we'll be starting on Unit 4 in math. We'll start working on multiplication and even a little division during this unit. We'll also be starting a new science unit soon, too.

Have a great week, and I'll see you all soon!

Mrs. Vroegh

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Monday!

It's been a good day in our classroom today! In reading, we reviewed working on determining the main idea of a story. I talked to the kids about how good readers monitor their reading by asking questions like "What is this story or part mostly about?" It's good for them to stop every so often to sum up what they have read. You can do this with them at home when you read together, too. Ask your child to sum up after each page. The summary should only be a sentence or two and should answer who the page(s) are about and the most important thing the characters are doing.

In math, we had an exploration day. The students' did activities to build understanding of perimeter and area. They worked really well together and did a fantastic job. We are going to be finishing up our unit on Measurement at the end of this week, and we'll take our assessment on Friday.

In science, the kids are finishing up the Human Body unit. They will take an assessment to monitor their understanding of key concepts on Wednesday. This assessment along with their participation will help me determine their grade on the report card. We'll talk more about this during conferences.

Speaking of conferences, I'll be sending home a reminder note with your day/time for conferences later this week. If you need to make a change, please call Mrs. Klocko in the office at 981-1850. She has the master list of my conference times.

Homework for Monday, November 1

• Cursive worksheet
• Home Link 3.6
• Read
• Study spelling words

Homework for Tuesday, November 2

• Read
• Study spelling words
• Home Link 3.7

Have a great week!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Homework for Tuesday, October 26th

• Home Link 3.3
• Study Spelling Words
• Read

Our Red Ribbon Week activities are off to a great start! Here is a preview for Wednesday's activities

                   “You “Can” Show Good Character”

                   Wear Some Red to Show You are Drug Free!

                   *Students will receive a “twizzler” treat.

                   *Can collection for Norwalk Food Pantry 

                        *Spirit for Norwalk Football Playoff Game 

Today (Monday), our class participated in the 3rd grade intramural kickball tournament at recess. We played a hard-fought game against Mrs. White's class, but unfortunately, we came up one point short! It was fun to participate in the games, and we're anxious to have more opportunities to play intramural sports during the winter months.....it will definitely give us a break from all the indoor recess I'm sure we'll have again this year! :(

As a reminder, you should be recording the titles of the books your child is reading at home in the front of his/her planner. The district goal for the end of the year is that your child will read 20 books. By this point in the year, I'd like to see that you and your child have recorded at least 6 books. This would put yourchild right on track to complete the end of the year goal. I believe there is a place to record on page 8 of the planner. This might not be the exact page, but it's close. If you have any questions, please let me know.

It's getting to be time for me to start working on report cards. I will be sharing these with you during conferences which will be held on November 9, 10, & 11. Please remember there is NO SCHOOL on November 10, 11, & 12 for students. I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences and discussing your child's progress with you.

The Norwalk Warrior football team will travel to Oskaloosa on Wednesday, October 27th, for a first round play-off game against Oskaloosa. Game time is 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in tickets for the game, you may purchase them on Tuesday from 7-5 or Wednesday from 7-4 at the High School Athletic office. There will also be long-sleeve play-off t-shirs for sale. The cost is $15. They will be sold at Lakewood on Tuesday or you can get these at the Athletic Office as well.

Have a good Tuesday!

Mrs. Vroegh

Monday, October 25, 2010

Where in the world is October going?!? I can' believe it's the last week of October already....it's been a very busy month!

This week is Red Ribbon Week at school. We'll remind the kids about making good choices as well as why we celebrate Red Ribbon Week each year. There will be special dress up days and activities all week long. I know this will be a lot of fun for the kids!

Dress Up Days are as follows:

Monday: Dress as your favorite athlete.

Wednesday: Wear a little red with your Purple & Gold. Let's show our support for the Norwalk football team! They will travel to Oskaloosa for a first round play-off game.

*Bring an item to donate to the Norwalk Food Pantry.*

Friday: Wear your purple & gold. We'll have an assembly at 2:00 today as well.

The kids will get to do special activities each morning and during lunch as well.

In writing, the kids are taking on the role of a newspaper reporter. They writing news summaries of the story we read last week, Penguin Chick. We're hoping to be able to use the Flip camera to videotape their news stories and we'll try to share these with all of you.

During math, we are working on a measurement unit. The kids will be working on using different tools to measure items in our classroom and the school. They will learn to decide which units are appropriate in different situations.

Homework for Monday, October 25

Reading practice book page 58
Study Spelling Words
Read

Homework for Tuesday, October 26

Math Home Link 3.3
Study Spelling Words
Read

Have a good week!

Mrs. Vroegh

Monday, October 18, 2010

Our trip to the zoo couldn't have been timed more perfectly! This week in reading our story is The Penguin Chick. We'll work on identifying main idea and details as well as summarizing. Our centers will involved activities to practice and reinforce these skills. The kids will also be doing some research on his/her favorite animal. Hopefully they got some good ideas during our trip to the zoo!

The students will be taking our DIBELS fluency assessment on Monday & Tuesday during our small group reading time. Please remind your son/daughter to concentrate and do his/her best on this test.

We took our Unit 2 math assessment on Friday. I am in the process of gathering information to share with your regarding this assessment. Please be looking for it soon, and I will also share it with you during conferences...they are coming up soon!

We are continuing to learn about the human body and maps during science and social studies. Ask your child what the largest pieces of land on earth are called. They should also be able to explain why we use a compass rose. This week, they will work on drawing a map of their bedroom. They'll be asked to give the map a title, a map key, a compass, as well as label important landmarks.

Monday's Homework

• Study spelling words
• Math Journal page 56
• Cursive sheet
• Read

I would like you to continue to record when your child reads at home, however, you'll notice I'm no longer "requiring" a specific number of minutes each night. A parent who is also in education shared an article with me that I found interesting. It stated that many times when we "require" children to read a certain number of minutes, it has a negative effect on them. Kids will start to look at reading as a chore, which obviously, I don't want. SO, I'd like you to continue to encourage your child to pick up books and read at home. As a parent, take the time to write down the minutes and titles in your child's planner just as you have been. You'll find a spot to record titles of books they are reading at the beginning of the planner...page 8, I think, but I don't have the planner home with me, so this may not be correct. Just remember, reading just like any other activity requires practice in order for kids to get better at it, so as always, let's work as partners to help the students become better readers. Read to your child, with your child, and listen to your child read. Hopefully we'll continue to see your child improve his/her reading skills.

Have a good Monday!

Mrs. Vroegh

Friday, October 15, 2010

Happy Friday!!

We are excited for our field trip to the zoo today....it's going to be a BEAUTIFUL day!

Tonight the Norwalk Warriors football team will host Newton. The game will be played at the Simpson College football field in Indianola. The freshman games starts at 4:45 with the varstiy to follow at 7:30. Come out and support the Warriors!

Pizza Ranch in Indianola will be holding a "Norwalk Pizza Night" in conjunction with the game tonight. Stop by the Pizza Ranch between 5-close to enjoy their pizza buffet. If you choose to do this, our school will get $1.00 per person. Your child received a card today that you need to present to Pizza Ranch. This card will let them know you are supporting Lakewood Elementary.

Next week, we your child will bring home his/her Unit 1 reading test results. Most of the scores were very good. Please don't worry too much if your child's score is not where you'd like it to be, however, do talk with your child abotu the importance of taking his/her time, reading carefully, and checking over work.All of the skills on the test were taught throughout Unit 1 and were reviewed during the past week. We will work toward improvement each unit.

We will be taking our DIBELS reading assessments next week. These are fluency and comprehension assessments we take three times per year. Remind your child to concentrate and do his/her best. These tests give us important information about your child's reading abilities and help us make decisions about how to best meet your child's reading needs.

We will  start Unit 2 in reading on Monday. Your child will bring home a spelling list, and we'll test on Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend...can you believe it's October? It seems to me that a year ago it wasn't nearly as nice, so I'm appreciating the weather!

On Monday, I spent our professional development day learning about our new DIBELS tests. The students will be given these tests in the next week, and I'll share the information with you at conferences. I also presented information on the Iowa Core and the Common Core to our elementary math & science committees. Finally, I had a little bit of time to work on my professional portfolio. I am on evaluation this year, so along with setting a professional goal and being observed and evaluated by Mrs. Anderson, I am also resposible for completing my portfolio. This portfolio contains artifacts and reflections which show that I am meeting the eight Iowa Teaching Standards.

This week in class, we will be reviewing for and taking our Unit 1 reading benchmark test. The students will not have a spelling list this week. Along with the comprehension, vocabulary, phonics, and grammar components of the test, we will also check on reading fluency and accuracy. At the end of each unit, we use the information we get from these assessments to help us in grouping the students for small groups. It will be a busy week of reading tests!

In math, we are finishing up Unit 2. On Friday, the kids reviewed the "partial sums" method for adding larger numbers. I would ask that you have your child practice using this strategy, however, if he/she has a faster way for adding larger numbers ACCURATELY, by all means, they are welcome to use another strategy. My ultimate goal, obviously, is that the students get the correct answer in the most efficient way possible. Everyday Math exposes the kids to many different ways to solve problems and I ask that the kids practice the different ways in class and on homework, but as I said, if they have a faster way to solve a problem, by all means GO FOR IT! All kids learn differently, so I would certainly not discourage a student from solving a problem in the way that makes the most sense to them. On Tuesday & Wednesday, we'll learn and review strategies for subtracting larger numbers, on Thursday we'll review adding three numbers, and then on Friday we'll start our Unit 2 review and assessment. I'm hoping we can get this completed before we go on our field trip so we can start Unit 3 on Monday, October 18th. We'll see how it goes! :)

Homework for Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Math Home Link 2.7
Cursive handwriting sheet

As always, continue to encourage your child to read at home or read to/with your child. Thanks for your help and support!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Vroegh

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Happy Thursday!

I am gone today to attend an Iowa Core meeting at Simpson College. I'll be spending the day with a large group of teachers from Norwalk and other districts learning more about the Core and what we need to do to make the transition to full implementation easier. I have to admit, I'm not really that excited about missing a day in the classroom, but I'm sure the kids will be in good hands. I've left plenty to keep them busy, that's for sure!

Tomorrow is "Hat Day" at Lakewood! For 5 Warrior Way tickets, the kids can wear a hat on Friday. This is just another example of an incentive for the kids to be "Respectful, Responsible, & Safe" at Lakewood. Next week, we'll have a drawing for breakfast with Ms. Else! The kids are always excited to see what's going to be next!

I've had a lot of questions about Acclerated Reader. Hopefully, you've gotten a chance to read the newsletter Ms. Hanson put together and that some of your questions have been answered. I wanted all of you to know that this program is completely voluntary. I will encourage those students who are interested to participate, but it is by no means a mandatory expectation. I see this as being a good way for the kids to read a variety of genres as well as focus on reading comprehension. One of the stories that we have a quiz for is If You Made A Million, which is the story we read in reading groups last week. My plan is to take the kids to the lab next Monday and have them practice using the quiz for this story. Hopefully this will get them better acquainted with the process. I'm also currently reading Charlotte's Web to my class, which also has a quiz we could take when we finish the story. I will be touching base with the kids next week to let them know which level they should choose for books. I also plan to look at the quiz list and pull books off my classroom library shelf that would work as well. My hope is that this will make it easier for the kids to choose books. If you have any questions, you can email me, and I'll try to answer them, or I'll contact Ms. Hanson if I don't know the answer. :)

Homework

1. Math Home Link 2.6
2. Grammar page 18
3. Study spelling words
4. Read 15 minutes

We will take our final selection test for Unit 1 on Friday. This is over the story My Rows & Piles of Coins. Next week, we will review for our Unit 1 test and take the test which covers all the skills we've learned during Unit 1. There will be no spelling list next week. Spelling will resume on Monday, October 18th.

Have a great day!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Sorry I'm a little bit behind on the blogs...it just seems like there's never enough time in the day!! Today (Monday) was a good day! We introduced our comprehension skill (character & setting) and strategy (story structure) during whole group reading. The students read two short passages to practice identifying characters and setting during a story. In the afternoon, we learned about the vocabulary words that will be tested on Friday. The students also worked on centers. Each week, we have a variety of literacy and writing activities for the students to work on when they are not meeting with me in a reading group. This week, the students will work on the computers to research money from around the world, make vocabulary booklets, listen to our main selection and identify character traits during listening center, write about a time when their family bought something important, and re-read their leveled reader from last week and describe the characters and setting in the story. Each activity reinforces a skill we are currently teaching or one we've taught from a previous week. The students are getting better and better at managing their time during seatwork & centers in order to get everything done on time! This is our final week for Unit 1 in reading. We've learned a lot about money and how important it is in our lives. Next week, we will be taking our Unit 1 benchmark test which will cover all the vocabulary, phonics, comprehension, & grammar skills we have covered during this unit. Please remind your child to do his/her best on this test. We will use the information from the test to help us group the students for small groups during Unit 2.

During science today, they continued to study their owl pellets and identify bones. They are observing and discussing their findings as well as making predictions. They are enjoying this activity! In social studies, we are continuing our study of maps. We are focusing a lot of geography skills right now as we practice reading maps and improving our map skills. Hopefully toward the end of the week, we'll talk a little bit about Christopher Columbus as Columbus Day is approaching!

Math finds us working on number stories. Today we used the Part/Part/Total strategy to solve story probelms. Tomorrow we will work on Change to More/Less problems. Toward the end of the week, we will introduce and/or review strategies for solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. Please remember that our goal in Everyday Math is to expose the students to a variety of strategies when learning how to add and subtract. These methods may be different and foreign to you, but please work to help your child practice the strategies we are teaching. Ultimately, my goal is for the children to find the most efficient and effective way to solve the problem correctly on their own. It may take some children longer than others to find out which way they understand the best. Please be patient as your child learns to add and subtract larger numbers, and don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Homework for Tuesday, October 5

1. Math Home Link 2.5
2. Spelling worksheet
3. Read for 15 minutes (record reading minutes either at the bottom of the planner near your signature or on the October calendar located at the beginning of the month of October in the planner)
4. Study spelling words

Don't forget that next Monday, October 11th, there is NO SCHOOL for students. Also, we'll be going on our field trip to the zoo on Friday, October 15th. If you signed up to join us, I'll be contacting you with more information soon!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Vroegh

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sorry I've been a bit behind in updating the blog this week!  Tonight is Wednesday, so there is no homework other than for the kids to practice their spelling words. The words for this week are:

clean, agree, teeth, dream, grain, coach, display, window, shadow, cheese, peach, braid, Sunday, float, thrown

Challenge Words are: entertain, complain, bleachers, willow, wheat

The Student Council is sponsoring a fundraising event for the Animal Rescue League. They are asking for donations such as: paper towels & plates, old towels & blankets, clay cat litter, high protein kitten and puppy food, high quality dry or canned cat & dog food, laundry detergent, dish soap, canned tuna, litter boxes, and much more. If you are interested in donating any items, please send them to school with your child by October 5th.

Thursday's homework will be:

Home Link 2.3
Practice Book page 38
Study Spelling Words
Read 15 minutes

We will take our selection test over If You Made a Million on Friday. We have been working on distinguishing between realism and fantasy this week. We've also worked on using context clues to figure out the meanings of words we don't know.

In math, we started Unit 2. We are reviewing fact families and will work on adding & subtracting whole numbers throughout this unit. Please take some time to work on basic addition and subtraction facts at home.

The students are continuing to learn about how to use maps in Social Studies. We have learned about how the largest pieces of land on Earth are called continents and the largest bodies of water are called oceans. We're trying to help the students understand which continent we live on and how part of that continent is our country, and in turn, that in part of the country is our state. That's still a little fuzzy for some of them! :)

Mrs. Spurr is continuing to teach the kids about the human body. Right now, the kids are "dissecting" owl pellets. They are finding it quite entertaining and are amazed at what they are finding.

On Thursday, our class will go to the computer lab to work on Follow the Leader math activities. These activities will help the students improve basic math skills and will give me good information about what we need to work on in class.

Don't forget to start recording reading minutes in your child's planner starting on Friday (if you haven't already). This will be part of their homework each week from now on. You should also record books they are reading on page 8 in the planner. The goal by the END OF THE YEAR is that each child will read at least 20 books.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Mrs. Vroegh

Friday, September 24, 2010

3^rd Grade News & Reminders-September 24^th

  

·        Next week we will begin reading “If You Made a Million” by David M. Schwartz.  We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story.  It would be helpful if you would reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child.  Vocabulary Words:  amount, worth, value, earned, interest, expensive, check, thousand, and million.

·        Watch for the permission slip for your child to go to the Blank Park Zoo in your child’s folder. I’m hoping some parents can take the time out of their busy schedule to meet us at the zoo and help chaperone this event.

·        One of our district standards in Norwalk is for each child to read at least 20 different books from 4 different genres (fiction, nonfiction, biography, folk or fairy tales, or poetry) during the school year. Your child can record the titles on page 8 of their Daily Planner.  They do not have to record all titles, just some of their favorites. 

·        A classroom expectation is that your child will read a minimum of 60 minutes each week.  Record the number of minutes your child read daily in the planner at the bottom near your parent signature. Put your initials next to each entry. I’ll check the planner each week.  Study Club may be required for those who do not make their weekly goal.  Implementation will begin the first full week in October. My hope is that your child will take the time to read each day!  

·        Our class will be participating in the Book It! Program through Pizza Hut this year. Students who meet the 60 minute reading requirement each week of the month will receive a certificate for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

·        The words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing.  Please listen to your child read these words aloud. 

tree	stay	goat	approach
defeat	streamer	e-mail	between
rainbow	dismay	overflow	afraid

       

Dates to Remember:

Monday, September 27                                       Return Fundraiser Forms

Tuesday, September 28                                         Smart Discipline Parent Seminar

Monday, October 11                                             NoSchool/ProfessionalDevelopment

Friday, October 15                                                Field Trip/Blank Park Zoo

Wednesday, October 20                                        12:00 Early Out

Enjoy the weekend!

Shelly Vroegh

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Homework:

Math Home Link 1.13

Practice Book page 26

Study Spelling Words

Read 15 minutes

Just a reminder that tonight is the ice cream sundae/root beer float kick off for our Lakewood "Watch DOGS" program. Join us at Lakewood at 7:00 if you'd like to learn more about it.

Tomorrow is "Warrior Pride Day". Have your child wear his/her purple and gold to show Warrior Pride. Friday night is the last home game in Norwalk and it's Senior Night. Come out to cheer the 4-0 Warriors on to a victory for the last time on the current football field.

We took a math test today over Unit 1. Be looking for this in your child's folder next week sometime. We will have our spelling test and reading selection test tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

No Homework

Study spelling words if you have time tonight.

Just a reminder that there are only a few more days to sell items for our fundraiser. All packets and money are due on Monday, September 27th.

Don't forget to check out our reading website. I have been assigning the leveled readers to your child's site, so please check it out. The address is: http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

Your child's user name and password are in the front of his/her planner.

Another site to check out is our Everyday Math site. The address is: http://www.everydaymathonline.com/

It would be good for your child to play Addition Top It or Name That Number to practice addition and subtraction facts. The user name and password are again in the planner.

Have a great day!
Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Homework

Study Spelling Words

Math Home Link 1.12

Practice Book page 29

Read 15 minutes

Our days are very busy, so if you have a change in your child's schedule that comes up after 11:30, PLEASE call the office. Our afternoon is jammed packed, and many times I don't have time to check my email. Please don't rely on getting messages to me through email after 11:30. Just play it safe and let the office know as well so you're sure I get the message. :)


We have a field trip to the zoo coming up on October 15th. We will be getting information home to you soon. In case we are able to invite parents and you want to join us and need to ask for time off from work, I thought I'd give you the date now. At this point, we're not sure how many chaperones we'll need or what the logistics will be, so I'll get that information to you just as soon as I can!

Thanks!

Mrs. Vroegh

Updates: September 20, 2010

Reminder:

If you haven't sent an inexpensive pair of earbuds to school with your child yet, please do so as soon as possible. The kids will use these at the computer station throughout the year to cut down on the noise distractions. We will send them home at the end of the year....barring they don't get lost or broken. :)

Also, we are working on cursive handwriting periodically here at school, but honestly, we don't have as much time as we need to devote to it. We will work on it when we can, but you may see your child bringing home papers to work on at home. Just do them when you can. They don't necessarily have to be returned to school unless your child would like to share them with me. My priorities are teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies, and unfortunately, those take up most of our day. I just wanted to give an explanation as to why you might feel like cursive is more of an at home activity this year. If you have questions, please let me know.

Thanks!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Well, we're ready for another busy week here at school! Here is the homework for tonight:

Math: Home Link 1.11

Spelling: Study your spelling words

Grammar: page 8

Just a reminder that the fundraiser packets are due next Monday, September 27th.

Have a great week!

TGIF!!

I bet many of us are glad it's FRIDAY! It's been a busy day here!

Just wanted to let you know that your child is bringing home his/her reading test results today. Please look it over, sign it, and return it on Monday.

Your child also needs to read at least 20 minutes this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Vroegh

Friday, September 17, 2010

Well, I finally decided to give this "blogging" thing a try! My hope is that I will post homework assignments and classroom news using the blog. Please be sure to check it frequently, as I will try to post something each day.

This week, we read the story What About Me? We worked on the comprehension skill of sequencing and used the summarizing strategy. The kids practiced both of these strategies many times during centers this week.

In math, we continue to review many concepts we learned in 2nd grade. We will soon be taking our first Unit test. We also recently finished up our baseline test for Follow the Leader (FTL), and soon, we'll be going into the lab each week to work on math skills using this program. The test was difficult, but the students did their best.

Today, we did two cooperative activities. During one, the students worked on reading fluency and critiqued one another while they read our Fresh Read stories. It was so neat to see the kids "teach" each other and share ideas and opinions with one another on how to become a better reader. We are going to continue this routine each week for awhile. We also worked in cooperative groups to complete a "scavenger hunt" about our What About Me? story. The students worked in groups of 4 or 5, and they each had a job (task master, reader, writer, time keeper, encourager). They had to work together to re-read the story and complete a scavenger hunt comprehension activity. They also worked on the social skill of sharing ideas and opinions. The groups did a great job, and one again, it was interesting to see the dynamics of some of the groups. The kids were very honest when we wrapped things up and discussed if all the group members accomplished the goals we talked about at the beginning of the lesson. They shared ideas with one another about how to make working together a better experiences. Hopefully, some of them shared this with you!

There will be no homework this weekend, but do try to find some time to read if you can. I know weekends are busy!

We will start with Intervention groups on Monday at 8:15. This will run each day from 8:15-8:45. All of the 3rd graders will participate in some type of reading activity based on his/her reading needs. Some of the kids will go with a different 3rd grade, specials, or reading teacher. All of 3rd, 4th & 5th graders as well as all of the teachers in Lakewood participate in Intervention each day. It really DOES take a village...and this is proof! We're all working together to help each child reach his/her fullest potential.

Well, I think that's it for now. Check back often....I'll try to keep you posted using the blog!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Vroegh