Mrs. Adkins’ Class

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 28                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                          May 29, 2009

Hello Parents!  This will be my final Newsletter of the year!  It has hard to believe that we have already reached this point.  This was the last week of our reading series, so no more reading, spelling, or grammar tests.  Next week we will wrap up our math and science units, and we are so busy that last week of school, there is not much time for teaching/learning.  But I will be sure to squeeze in some things!  I hope that you have gained some insight into what your child’s school day is like from these Newsletters, and that in the years to come, you will continue to discuss these things with your child, even without a Newsletter.  This has been a terrific group of kids.  I enjoyed working with them, and I will miss them very much.  You have also been a great group of parents, and I encourage you to continue to stay involved in your child’s education.  We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our final story was a suitable one, called Home-Grown Butterflies.  Since we are currently growing our own butterflies, the connections the kids made were abundant.  In fact, the butterflies started hatching yesterday, and the kids were so excited to see them come out.  We will hold onto them for about a week before we let them go.  It was interesting to see how such a project works in the jungles of Costa Rica, and the variety of butterflies they grew were amazing!  We spent time working on drawing conclusions, and multiple-meaning words (homographs).  For the next two weeks during our reading time, we will meet as a whole group and read the novel Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary.  We have already read the other two books in this series during our read aloud time, The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Ralph S. Mouse and I have enough copies for each child to have their own.  I always enjoy reading this book with the kids as it lends itself to great discussions and lots of new vocabulary words!

Language Arts ~ Our final grammar lesson of the year was on combining sentences with adjectives and adverbs.  This class has always done well with combining sentences, so hopefully this will be a strong lesson to end the year on.  During our writing time, the kids have been finishing up their original fairy tales.  Hopefully the kids will finish up their final copies today, and then we can share them with each other next week.  Be sure to ask your child about their fairy tale if you haven’t already!

Math ~ It was an interesting week for math.  We started with finding compatible numbers to estimate quotients, then we moved on to basic long division, to harder long division lessons yesterday.  Today we worked on determining exactly what the remainder means in story problems.  I gave the kids a quiz on Wednesday afternoon to see how they were doing with this chapter so far, and it was very insightful for me to see so many kids do poorly.  So I started our class yesterday with a challenge problem for the kids who did well on their quiz, and I spent time with the rest of the class reviewing the quiz.  I retaught the lessons, then gave the children an opportunity to take another quiz.  I wrote one on the board, and they completed it on the back of their original quiz.  Some did better, some need more help, so I will continue to work with the kids on this concept next week.  Please look for this quiz.  If your child has not done well, any help you can provide at home will be greatly beneficial and appreciated.  The kids will take their final math test on chapter 22 next week on Friday.

Science ~ We finished up our chapter on forces and motion this week with our final lesson on simple machines.  The kids’ received a paper showing examples of all six machines, and they will need to learn these for the test.  We did an experiment to find work using a simple machine, and we did the same experiment without the inclined plane.  Ask your child about that experiment!  We read through our final chapter yesterday, and the kids are ready for their test.  Our final science test on forces and motion will be next week on Thursday, June 4.  Their review is due the day before, Wednesday, and the assignment is page F86, numbers 1 – 20.  As always, the answers need to be written in complete sentences. 

Social Studies ~ This past week in social studies class we described the effects of physical processes in shaping landscapes.  We learned that different kinds of changes affect the Earth.  We looked at various environments including climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards.  We will continue reading and discussing chapter 6 the next two weeks.

Other Areas of Interest:

·         In the next two weeks we will be celebrating our summer birthdays.  Maria will turn 9 on June 28, and Kevin will turn 9 on July 22.  We wish them both fabulous birthdays, and we are happy to celebrate with them a bit early.  Happy birthday Maria and Kevin!

·         Looking ahead to our final weeks of school, there are some important dates you should be aware of:  Our Honor’s Assembly will be Tuesday, June 9 at 9:30, and all parents are welcome to attend.  This year, all the students in my class will be receiving an award for Book-It at the assembly.  Some of the other awards given at this assembly for third grade include citizenship, perfect attendance, and improved reading.  Wednesday, June 10 is our field day in the afternoon.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately, and feel free to send along some sun block for your child if you like.  There is no school on Thursday, June 11 as it is a teacher institute day, and the kids’ last day is Friday, June 12.  They will be dismissed at 9:15.

·         This week has been Physical Disabilities Week.  We have had a donation box in our room, and it remains empty.  We will be collecting for it next week as well, and we ask that you please be generous and donate money for this fund.  We have a student at our school with muscular dystrophy who we are trying to help, and this hits close to my heart as I have an uncle with MD and I shared my story with the kids.  Please donate!

That’s it for third grade!  We have had an amazing year together, and I look forward to watching your children grow up here at Pennoyer in the years to come.  I want to extend a special thanks to my parent volunteers who came in on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis to help out with our reading groups.  You guys were terrific!  Miss Wierzgac will be getting married tomorrow, so our thoughts are with her on her special day.  The weather is supposed to be good, fortunately!  I wish you all a fabulous summer, and I look forward to working again with those of you who have younger children in the future.  And of course, remember to keep your child reading this summer!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 27                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                          May 22, 2009

Hello Parents!  What a terrific week we have had!  The circus day on Tuesday was so much fun.  The kids did a terrific job as circus performers, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.  I hope you heard all about Cirque AmongUs!  We visited their web site on Wednesday during our computer time, and the kids got to see pictures of themselves.  Their goal was to get a picture of everyone in the school, and I think they must have accomplished their goal.  Feel free to visit this site with your child if you have a chance.  Although the weather is lovely, lots of children are getting sick.  We ended up with only 13 children in our classroom yesterday afternoon and today!  If your child has a fever or is vomiting, please keep them home.  They are dropping like flies around here!  We were able to attend the band/chorus concert this morning, as well as see the fifth grade roller coasters.  Third grade was asked to stick around after the concert so the kids could be introduced to the various instruments.   They are invited to play next year, and an information sheet was sent home in your child’s papers today. Please consider having your child join this fun group.  We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story this week was a biography about a woman named Helen Frances Theresa Delaney Martini, and the story was called Mother to Tigers.  This woman was the first woman to start a nursery at the Bronx Zoo, and she ended up saving many babies that otherwise would not have survived.  It was a good story, and I hope you enjoyed it with your child this week.  For our skills, we focused on author’s purpose, and we spent some time reviewing the three reasons that authors write books – to inform, persuade, or entertain.  I was surprised at the confusion I saw with this concept, as it is something we have gone over previously.  So I was able to spend some extra time during our groups this week to make sure the kids truly understood author’s purpose.  Hopefully they got it now!  Our kids were introduced to a woman named Jane Goodall through their fluency read this week, and one of the reading groups read a biography about her.  She has lived in Africa among chimpanzees, and I had a rare opportunity to share some interesting insight about her with the kids.  My sister works for the Nature Conservancy, and one of the programs she is in charge of is called Adopt an Acre.  My sister produced a short film on the disappearing of trees in Africa (yes, she got to go to Africa to research her film) and she met Jane Goodall and another woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize (can’t remember her name though).  I showed the short clip to the kids yesterday, and they got to see Jane Goodall interviewed.  This was a terrific way to bring this issue home to the kids, and they appreciated my sister’s work on the video.  Please ask your child about this!

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on adverbs that tell when or where.  I created my own test for this one as the one in our book only had five questions, and I was delighted to see the attention that was paid to the directions. J During our writing time this week, the kids worked on their original fairy tales.  Please ask your child to share with you what their fairy tale is about if they have not already.  I can’ wait to read them!

Math ~ The kids finished up chapter 11 on Wednesday with a test that is included in their Friday papers they took home today.  I was pleased with how they did, and I feel that they now have a strong foundation in division in which to build on for long division.  We started our final chapter yesterday, chapter 22 on long division.  We started by practicing using basic facts to divide larger numbers, and finding remainders.  We will get to the meat of long division next week.  I am so proud that Michael, Kasper, Marcin, and Sarah all passed their multiplication timed test this week.  Good work, guys!  Please make sure that your child continues to practice their flashcards occasionally in order to maintain their multiplication skills.

Science ~ We learned about work this week in science.  Please ask your child to give you the scientific term of work.  The kids completed an experiment on Monday in which they had to multiply distance times force to find work.  Ask your child about some of the items they measured!  Yesterday we created three new vocabulary posters, and we worked on another FQR think sheet.  The bridges have been on display in the MPR all week, and they will be sent home next week.  Please look for a letter from me describing how and when this will happen early next week.

Social Studies ~ This week in social studies we learned that geographers study Earth and its people.  We identified and compared the human characteristics of selected regions.  The four regions discussed were: the Northeast, the South, the Middle West and the West.  Texas is the only state that has three of these regions.  Finally, we used a grid map to find exact locations.  We learned how to use a number and letter grid to find specific locations on a map.

Other Areas of Interest:

• Today we celebrated Shane’s 9^th birthday.  His actual birthday is this coming Sunday, and we were delighted to celebrate with him a couple of days early.  Happy birthday Shane!
• I forgot to mention our new friends we have in our class!  Last week we obtained ten caterpillars, and we have been watching them grow all week.  Yesterday most of them formed their chrysalis, and that was a fascinating process for the kids to watch.  Within 7 – 10 days they will come out as butterflies, and the kids just can’t wait to see that happen. 
• The field trip permission forms and money are due to me by next week on Wednesday.  Please make sure that gets turned in so that your child can enjoy this unusual experience we are in for on the Tall Ship Windy.

That‘s it for now!  It is hard to believe that Memorial Day is already here!  The kids are talking about the local pool opening this weekend, and it sure does feel like the official beginning of summer.  Next week is our final week for our reading, spelling, and grammar program, and it will be the final Newsletter I will write for the year.  I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 26                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                          May 15, 2009

Hello Parents!  We have had a terrific week together!  The bridges turned out amazing, and I hope you were able to make it in this afternoon to view them.  The kids should be proud of their hard work.  I plan to leave the bridges in the MPR for a week or two so the whole school can admire them, and I will send home a letter when they are ready to be taken home.  This week we have run out of tissues in our classroom!  I have never actually run out before.  If you happen to have an extra box at home that you wouldn’t mind sending in, we would sure appreciate it.  Allergy season is here!  We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story this week was a nonfiction news article titled An American Hero Flies Again.  It is the story of John Glenn, the only astronaut to fly into space twice, and 37 years between flights!  I shared with the children my own memories of the Challenger that blew up in the 1980s with the teacher on board, as well as the one that exploded upon reentry about 6 years or so ago.  Those were terrible tragedies that happened, and I wanted the students to be clear about the challenges that NASA faces when they send someone up into space.  Please share any memories you might have of space missions with your child.  One of our skills we focused on this week was on problems and solutions.  I shared with the kids an article I found in the Sun Times about a teenage who racked up about $6,000 in charges from texting in one month.  I thought this would be a good article for them to read and identify the problems and solutions that go along with such a situation.  Plus hopefully it will make them aware of the price of texting if they aren’t already.

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on adverbs.  We learned about adverbs that tell where, when, and how.  The adverbs that tell how end in –ly, so those were easy for the kids to identify.  Please make sure you look for the kids’ grammar test from last week.  I wanted to identify who takes the time to read directions, as that can often impact the kids’ grades if they are not doing a test or assignment correctly.  Please discuss with your child the importance of always reading directions.  During our writing time this week, we worked on original fairy tales.  I had a short clip from the movie Happily N’ever After that discussed the various parts of fairy tales, and the kids even took a quiz that was on there.  Ask your child if they remember some of the questions!  The kids will start writing out their own original fairy tale next week.

Math ~ We have finished up chapter 11 on division this week.  We will review on Monday, but as we have our big circus day on Tuesday, the test won’t be until Wednesday.  Straight from there we will go into chapter 22 on long division.  The kids have done really well with this chapter, and I am looking forward to good test results next week.  Congratulations to Dylon for passing his timed multiplication test this week!  He worked extra hard to accomplish this goal, and we are all proud of him.  The others are getting close!

Science ~ We spent time on Monday learning more about motion with Bill Nye the Science Guy.  He is a fabulous scientist who has made science movies on a variety of topics.  I stopped the movie every few minutes for the kids to turn and talk about what they learned.  They particularly liked the concept of “butt boarding.”  We spent yesterday and today displaying our bridges.  Job well done!

Social Studies ~ This past week in social studies class we took a break from our social studies book and began to research the fifty states.  We identified their locations, and we found facts about the states along with their abbreviations.  Next week we will return to the books and begin working on Chapter 6, “Thinking Like a Geographer”.

Other Areas of Interest:

• On Monday we celebrated Jessica’s 9^th birthday.  It was her actual birthday, and we were delighted to celebrate with her.  Happy birthday Jessica!
• On Tuesday we celebrated Sarah’s 9^th birthday.  Tuesday was also her actual birthday, and we enjoyed our celebration with her.  Happy birthday Sarah!
• Yesterday we celebrated Fatima’s 9^th birthday.  It was her real birthday, and we were all excited to celebrate with her.  Happy birthday Fatima!
• Whew, what a lot of birthdays we had in one week!  I’m not one to talk though, as my own daughter’s birthday is tomorrow.  (She will be 6.  Happy birthday Paige!)  Great time of year to be born, I suppose!
• Cirque AmongUs is this Tuesday.  If you are volunteering, the information meeting is Monday night in the MPR at 6:30.  I really haven’t received much information about this day, other than the kids will be learning circus tricks in the morning and putting on a show in the afternoon.  It is an all day event.  Please make sure your child is wearing comfortable shoes that day, not flip flops or sandals.  Also, if your daughter chooses to wear a dress or skirt, please put shorts on underneath.  It should be a really fun day.

That’s it for now!  Spring fever has hit hard around here, and the kids have become awfully antsy.  I still have lots left to teach them in third grade though, so please take time to remind your child about their behavior in school.  The year’s not over yet!  I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 25                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                          May 8, 2009

Hello Parents!  What a beautiful week we have had!  The kids have been thrilled to not have to wear their coats outside for recess.  We stayed inside Wednesday due to the police activity so close by that was in the news, and I think we teachers felt safer staying inside, although the kids sure complained!  I was told to not explain what was happening to the kids so as to not alarm them, so it is up to you if you would like to explain to them or not.  We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story for this week was called Wilbur’s Boast, and it is an excerpt from the book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.  I told the kids that many of you would be familiar with this book, so I hope you enjoyed a familiar read on Monday night with your child.  Many of the children in our class had also read the book, and the few that have not seem interested in taking it on.  Please encourage your child to read this book if they have not already.  One of our skills for this week was making judgments.  This was surprisingly difficult for the kids, although we do it all the time in everyday life.  I tried to make the concept more real for them by giving them real life situations, and asking their thoughts about the person after they did something.  Some judgments are positive, some are negative, but they all contribute to the moral aspect of our society. 

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson for this week was on adjectives that compare.  I was glad to have another week on adjectives, as a handful of students did not do well on their test last week, and I took time on Monday to reteach it to the small group.  We worked with these adjectives that compare (-er and –est endings) yesterday during one of our literacy centers, and they did pretty well.  Hopefully they will do better on their test this week.  The test from today has an added surprise on it, so be sure to ask your child about it!  During our centers, we also took time to look for words in magazines and newspapers that have various prefixes.  This was a big part of our spelling list this week, and it is important for the children to understand what the various prefixes mean.  During our writing time, the kids have finished up their letters to the mayor about building a road through Troll Mountain.  They are good!  I plan to put them together in a book for everyone to enjoy.  We will focus more on original fairy tales next week.

Math ~ We started on chapter 11 this week, which is on division.  Specifically, we practiced using the multiplication table to divide, using fact families, dividing by 3, and dividing by 4.  I’ve tried to keep up with Miss Wierzgac’s creative math plans, so we did some fun activities during math time that enhanced their learning.  No one has passed their timed multiplication test this week, although there have been vast improvements since the kids have had to work with me during recess! J

Science ~ We got started on our chapter on forces and motion this week.  On Monday, we completed an experiment using spring scales to measure force.  Please ask your child about that experiment, and have them describe a spring scale to you.  Yesterday I decided to try something new.  Instead of our usual read the chapter, write vocabulary definitions, and answer questions, I have come up with a new format that will hopefully help the kids retain the information better.  (I’m loving my graduate classes where I am learning lots of new ideas!)  Please ask your child for details on how our science class went yesterday.  I hope the bridges are coming along.  Some kids are done, and some kids have yet to start from what I have heard.  The bridges are due next week on Wednesday.  A letter will go home on Monday with more details for the drop off of the bridges.  All parents are invited to come and look at the bridges next Friday, May 15 from 1:30 – 2:15.  Hope to see you then!

Social Studies ~ This past week in social studies we reviewed for our Chapter 5 Social Studies Test.  We reviewed the different types of landforms and human features.  We discussed the importance about Portland, Maine.  We learned that Portland, Maine is located besides a natural harbor and that it is the largest fishing center in the U.S.  We also read and looked at pictures of the Pan-American Highway and why it is important to people.  This highway is the longest highway in the world and it connects 17 countries.  Students reviewed how to read a map using a map key and how to interpret a chart.  The test is on May 8th, and will be returned home on Monday, May 11th.

Other Areas of Interest:

• This week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and I want to thank all of the families that helped make this a special week for us teachers.  I appreciated all of the cards, pictures, and poems I got from the kids and well wishes from you.  Thank you!
• Remember the bridges!  They are due on Wednesday.  Please do not bring them in earlier than that.  Please try to come and view them all on Friday at 1:30.

That’s it for now!  I hope that you have been able to take a quick peek at the new web site.  It was not up and running until Monday evening, but I took time during our computer class this week to show it to all the kids.  I showed them how to find the homework and spelling words on my web site (I got a groan from the kids over that one. J No more excuses!).  I have not heard back from any of you, and I really formed this web site with the intention of it being user friendly for you.  Please send me a quick note regarding any suggestions or comments you may have, and I will try to accommodate your ideas.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!  Remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins

Third Grade Newsletter

Volume 7, Number 24                    sadkins@pennoyerschool.org                          May 1, 2009

Hello Parents!  We are all sad to see Miss Wierzgac go, but we had a lovely farewell party for her yesterday.  She came back this morning to join us for our group class picture, so that is nice that she will be included in that.  She has been an important part of our school year!  Thank you for sending in the money for her gift – several of you were very generous!  We were able to get her a $100 VISA gift card to use at a teacher’s store, along with a bunch of “teacher items” in a nice teacher school bag.  The kids also wrote her letters of advice and memories of our time together, which I then bound into a book.  At our party yesterday we shared foods that reminded us of our time with Miss Wierzgac – pizza, popcorn, pudding, chips and salsa.  Overall we had a terrific experience having Miss Wierzgac in our class, and we look forward to seeing her again for our big circus day as well as Field Day.  We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:

Reading ~ Our story this week was called A Castle on Viola Street, and it was a realistic fiction story.  The connection that most of the kids had to this story is being able to relate to having hard working parents.  It sounds like most of you are fortunate enough to own your own home, but you work hard for it, which was an important theme in this story.  We can’t teach the importance of hard work too early for these kids!  It was a nice community story that lent itself to terrific discussions.  I’m glad to be back with these small groups as I had missed that intimate time we have together.  The skills we focused on this week included descriptions, themes, and coming up with a title for a given passage. 

Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on adjectives, words that describe.  We spent some time during our centers writing descriptions of pictures using as many adjectives as possible.  They did pretty well with this, and they enjoyed the books I had displayed for them to describe.  One of them, Sector 7, had no words in the book at all!  There were just fabulous illustrations that the kids enjoyed interpreting.  During our writing time, we have moved on to a new unit on fairy tales.  This is a particularly fun unit, and I introduced fairy tales to the kids by acting out my own fairy tale for them called Moo Moo Cow.  Ask your child if they can retell this story to you, or better yet, act it out for you themselves!  Please look for your child’s narrative paper included in their Friday papers they took home today.

Math ~ We finished up chapter 10 on division yesterday, and the kids proclaimed that to be the easiest math test they have taken this year!  I was delighted to see that they did indeed do very well on it, and it will be a nice boost for all of their math grades.  Please look for this corrected test in your child’s Friday papers.  Next week we will start on chapter 11, which is more or less a continuation of chapter 10 on division.  This is all leading us up to chapter 22 which is on long division.  There are still six children who need to pass their multiplication test.  I have sent home a letter to those parents today, making them aware that there are only eight opportunities left in the school year to pass this test, and that I will be keeping their child in for recess to help them achieve this goal.

Science ~ We did not do a whole lot in science this week, due to Miss Wierzgac leaving.  We spent Monday during this time writing out advice for her (it was hard to find time to do this when she wasn’t in the room with us!) and yesterday we watched a brief movie on forces.  We did spend time during computer this week looking up bridges, and there is a really cool web site we visited that goes into how force works on bridges, and it shows all kind of examples of real life bridges.  This web site is written at the top of the page the kids had to complete, and that has been sent home today.

Social Studies ~ This past week in social studies class, we learned that predictions may help people plan for the future.  Students created a bar graph of some of the information they read about which included a chart form the lesson.  We discussed the number of businesses, homes, people, and cars and how it will increase year by year.  We also compared how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment.  We learned which community geographic locations affect the way people live and how such resources as minerals and fuels help people adapt to the environment.  Last week we had celebrated Earth Day by going out and picking up all of the liter found on our playgrounds and the field area.  Fortunately, Pioneer Press Newspaper wanted to write an article about the third graders honoring Earth Day.  Please check out the upcoming issue.  

Other Areas of Interest:

• Our new web site will be up and running as of Monday, May 4!  I am so excited!  I have spent much time on my web page in attempts to make it user friendly and helpful to you.  Please see attached page for directions on how to access this information.
• We celebrated Jason’s 9^th birthday this week!  His real birthday was on Tuesday, and we were delighted to celebrate it with him.  Happy birthday Jason!
• Today marks the mid term for the fourth quarter.  I believe we have about six weeks of school left!  I have sent home progress reports today for children who have a grade less than a C- or 73% in any subject.  It is rewarding to see these progress reports grow fewer and fewer as the year progresses.  Please look for this form, sign it, and return back to school as soon as possible.

That’s it for now!  What a lovely weekend we are in for!  We were fortunate enough to be able to take our class picture outside today, although we were a bit chilly at 9:00 in the morning!  I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!

Mrs. Sarah Adkins