Mrs. Adkins’ Class

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 12                  sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                 December 12, 2008

Hello Parents!  We had a really great week together.  The field trip on Wednesday to the Planetarium was fun for everyone, and hopefully the kids learned some new things about the solar system.  They were all really well behaved, and I was proud to be there with them.  We all had an especially outstanding morning yesterday for some reason, and I couldn’t stop singing their praises.  We have worked a lot on making good choices and doing the right thing, and the whole morning was filled with those kinds of decisions.  Hopefully they can keep it up.  Today we went to Santa’s Workshop (or whatever politically correct name they call it nowJ) and that was really fun for the kids to shop for you.  We had a special visitor at the end of our day today, so be sure to ask your child all about her.  Her name is Miss Wierzgac (pronounced where’s Zack) and she will be student teaching with me starting in January, and remaining with us until the end of April.  It was a pleasure to meet her, and we are all looking forward to working with her next semester.  We were busy this week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story for this week is one of my favorites, One Riddle, One Answer.  This was a tough one for the kids to figure out, and we spent much time this week finding other riddles.  The kids came up with quite a collection, and some of them chose to share what they had gathered with the class earlier today.  Ask your child to tell you a riddle!  Or maybe you have one you can share with your child.  Here’s my favorite, taken from Mr. Bilbo Baggins: A box without hinges, key, or a lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid!  What is it?  You can ask your child to help you out with that one if you get stuck. J

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on present tense verbs.  I suggested to the kids to read their sentences aloud to see what sounds right.  He walk to school just sounds wrong, and hopefully they will remember to add the s to walk.  We only had a couple of days of writing this week due to our field trip and Santa’s Workshop, but I was able to introduce the Writing Workshop to the kids.  They seemed pretty open to the idea, so we will see how it goes next week.  Most of the kids were able to finish up their expository papers today, and I hope to get those graded and returned by next Friday.

Math ~ We worked on time all week.  We started with elapsed time, and that one proved a little difficult for some kids.  I was able to provide some extra support with that lesson in the afternoon, and that seemed to help.  We also practiced reading a calendar and schedule, and then today we went over temperature, a review from science.  We will review this lesson on Monday, and the chapter 12 test will be given on Tuesday next week.  Please have your child practice telling time to the minute and elapsed time as often as you can over the weekend.

Science ~ This week we learned about seasons and night and day.  We also learned much more during our trip to the Planetarium, so please make sure you ask your child about something new they learned at the museum.  Also have your child explain to you why we have seasons, and why we have night and day.  (Seasons because our axis is tilted, and night and day because Earth rotates on its axis.) We filled in four more vocabulary, so please make sure your child is starting to practice these vocabulary words.  Our test on the solar system will not be until January.

Social Studies ~ This week in social studies we recognized that community governments make laws to keep order and to keep people safe.  We also learned the role citizens have in settling disagreements.  There are four steps:  Smile about it, tell an adult, walk away, and compromise.  We expressed ideas about conflict orally, based on knowledge experiences, and recommend solutions.

Other Areas of Interest:

      Next week on Wednesday, December 17, is our winter concert.  I hope you all will be able to make it.  The kids have been spending their gym time every afternoon preparing for this concert, and they sound good!  The concert for parents is at 7:00 in the evening in our gym.  Please bring your child to school by 6:45, and they should come right up to our classroom where I will be waiting for them.  After the concert is over, please come up to our room to pick up your child from there.  I will keep them in our classroom until you can get up there.  See you Wednesday!

That’s it for now!  It actually looks like we have a warm front coming through this weekend, and we should get up to about 50 degrees!  Great shopping weather.  Too bad the Bears couldn’t play in temperatures like that last night.  I would like to extend a special welcome to my brand new niece, Evelyn, who was born at 1:15 this morning. J I can’t wait to go meet her in Evanston after school today.  All three of my sisters each have a son, so I’m delighted to finally have a niece.  My other two sisters are also pregnant at this time, both due this summer, so maybe I will end up with a couple more pretty soon.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 11                                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org           December 5, 2008

Hello Parents!  Welcome to winter!  We sure were hit with a blast of it this week.  The rules at recess when there is snow out, is that children must have boots and snow pants to go on the snow piles and/or the playground.  If they don’t have both, they will have to remain on the blacktop.  Please make sure your child is dressed warmly.  We go outside unless the temperature or wind chill reaches zero degrees.  I enjoyed meeting with all of you last week for conferences, and I have made some changes with the kids based on our conversations.  Thank you for making the time to come in and see me.  My door is always open to you if you have any other questions or concerns.  We had a good week together, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story this week was the folk tale of Stone Soup.  Some of you may be familiar with the story already.  Hopefully you enjoyed reading it with your child Monday night.  We focused on inferences this week, seeking out the implied message from the author.  I also introduced a thesaurus to the kids, and they had the opportunity to use one to find synonyms.  They really seemed to enjoy using this tool, so pull yours out at home if you have one for your child to look through and use.  Please remember to practice using our weekly vocabulary words with your child at home.  Our goal is for these words to become part of their everyday language, and the more they practice them, the more likely they are to use them.

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson for this week was on verbs.  Finding these verbs can be tricky, especially the being words such as am, was, were, and is.  I gave them some extra practice with this in class in hopes of clearing up some confusion.  Hopefully they do well on their test today.  We spent our writing time on revising and editing our expository papers.  I am looking to start the kids on a writing workshop, which includes allowing the kids to write about whatever they like.  They just need more practice writing, and they are more likely to do so if they are interested in their topic.  I still need to teach them the formal writing of expository, persuasive, and narrative, but I am going to start having a writing workshop twice a week for now.  We’ll see how that goes starting next week.

Math ~ I am so proud of how the kids did on their chapter 7 test this week on probability.  I am happy to report that my Please Correct stamp remained in my drawer as everyone got at least a C on that test.  Yay!  I also gave the kids a unit test this week on this chapter and our last one on charts and graphing.  They didn’t do as well on that test, but I’m still pleased with their effort.  Please look for both of these tests today in your child’s Friday papers and go over it with them.  We have skipped ahead in our book to chapter 12 on time and temperature.  Please practice having your child tell time on an analog clock at home.  Elapsed time is always a tricky lesson, so any extra help you can provide at home will be very beneficial.  I will be teaching multiplication (the skipped chapters) in an intense, 7 day span in January.  We will immerse ourselves in multiplication throughout the day, and I really enjoy those few days of Multiplication Mania that we do every year.  I will send home detailed information about that sometime in mid January.

Science ~ We have started our new chapter on the planets in our solar system.  The kids have been excited to get to this chapter.  We currently have a hanging solar system in our classroom, and the kids spend much time admiring it and observing the differences in the planets.  Please ask your child to explain to you why Pluto is no longer considered a planet.  We took a look at several mnemonics to use to help us remember the order of the planets from the sun.  The one our class settled on is Many Very Educated Men Just Seem Uneducated Now.  I’ve shared my own mnemonic with the class that I learned as a child (Mary’s Violet Eyes Make John Stay Up Nights Proposing) and if you remember yours, please share it with your child.  We are all very excited to be going to the Planetarium next week on Wednesday as an extension of this chapter. 

Social Studies ~ This past week in social studies we read a story about Jane Addams, “Peace and Bread”.  We learned who Jane was and that she decided at age 6 that she wanted to grow up and improve life in Chicago.  She wanted to help others and by doing that she exemplified good citizenship.  We learned many interesting facts about Hull House so please ask your child about it.  Finally, we read and discussed other volunteers who believed in justice, equality, and responsibility for the common good.  We gave examples of community changes that resulted from individual or group decisions.  We also are able to distinguish between elected and appointed government leaders.

Other Areas of Interest:

      We celebrated Marcin’s 9^th birthday this past Monday.  His actual birthday was on November 25, and we were delighted to celebrate with him a few days late.  Happy birthday Marcin!

      Progress reports went home today for any grades less than a C- or 73%.  Please look for these in your child’s Friday papers, and return it to me signed next week.

That’s it for now!  It is looking like a really cold weekend ahead of us.  Brrrr!  Hopefully the cold will be an advantage for the Bears in their game this Sunday, and they can win!  Be careful out there with any holiday shopping your find yourself doing, as the malls have been crazy busy.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend and remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins