Crew News 3.22.12

 

Save the Date: May 9th

Please mark your calendars Wednesday, May 9th. Third graders will be having their portfolio presentations on this afternoon. We will give you more information about this after Spring Break.

A Peak Into Our Classroom:

         Groups decide on their outdoor music instrument and begin writing a proposal to the OLE Board.

 In music, students are playing string instruments with Ms. Cheryl.

Crew Learning Expedition:This week has been busy for expedition. We are getting ready to present to the OLE board on Tuesday, April 10. This means we have processed survey results, decided on instruments, divided into groups, and began writing proposals! Ask your child what instrument group they're in and what they're most excited about. HINTS AT HOME: Tell me what instrument group you are in and about the details of this instrument.

Writing:  To have a little fun with sound in our writing, we did some work with onomatopoeia. Students enjoyed putting sound words into their writing to make it more interesting (buzz, swish, plop, crash, fizz). Language: We have also continued our study of persuasive letters. Students wrote letters to me to convince me to read a book or watch a movie. If they convince me well enough, it will be added to my reading/movie list! HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about how you can use sound words in your writing.

Math:  This week has been a review week, so that we feel very confident about fractions and place value before moving on.Today and tomorrow, students are working on a more difficult and higher-level problem that involves many steps. Ask your child about the Deluxe Birthday Cake or the Great Pizza Dilemma.    HINTS AT HOME: Keep practicing math facts for Unit 9!

Reading Workshop: Wow! The preparation process really paid off. So many celebrations in our literature discussion books this week. Students were able to have thoughtful conversations that reflected higher level thinking. They were able to talk easily and naturally in a discussion (with minimal prompting from me) and using the text to support their thinking. You would not know they are third graders by these conversations!    HINTS AT HOME: Happy reading over Spring Break!

 

Student Led Conferences: A big THANK YOU for coming to SLCs. The students (and I!) really enjoyed sharing learning and goals with you!

 

Library Books: Ms. Diana would like to remind you that ALL books are due TOMORROW. Thanks!

  

Lost and Found: Please check Lost and Found for any of your child's belongings. Anything left over in Lost and Found will be donated over spring break.

 

Scholastic Book Orders:  Scholastic book orders went home today. Please submit orders online by Wednesday, April 11th. The website is www.scholastic.com/bookclubs  and our class activation code is GP449.

 
March 23: Student in School (different that other schools in district) 

March 23: ALL LIBRARY BOOKS DUE

March 26-April 6: Spring Break

April  9: Teacher Work Day

April 10: Students return 

April 18: Life is Art's Preview Night, for students at the school

April 20: No school

April 27: Life is Art, for adults at the Grange

May 9: 3rd Grade Portfolio Presentation

Crew News 3.15.12

 

Student Led Conferences

Please sign up for a conference if you have not already. Students look forward to sharing what we have been working on in the classroom! 

Just a few reminders about the purpose/process of the SLC:

        Student led conferences facilitate strong communication about learning between the student, parents, and teacher. These conferences allow students to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning. It also allows students to make decisions and set goals about their work. The presentation and reflection will encourage parent involvement, student motivation, and student accountability. This is a wonderful time to celebrate and show pride in the achievement and learning of your child.

      These conferences will be thirty minutes long with three ten-minute stations (the order may vary): 1) your child will share with you selected samples at their desk; 2) your child will give you a tour of the room explaining the projects featured on the walls; and 3) your child and you will meet with me to discuss goal-setting and progress. If you have any outstanding concerns or questions, I will set up a meeting with you at another time. The format of the student-led conference allows three conferences to occur simultaneously.

        To prepare for student led conferences, students will be reviewing their work to select samples from each content area that they would like to showcase. Students will reflect on questions such as: What did I learn this quarter? What have I done really well? What have I improved upon? What do I need to do better? What is my goal for next quarter? What strategies can I use? This is a thoughtful process for students to reflect about their learning.

        ***Please ask probing questions! Students will have prepared to speak about their selected works, but it is very beneficial to ask them questions about why they were selected. Here are sample questions to ask:

        -What makes this your best work?

        -Why did you select this piece?

        -If you could go back and work more on this, what would you do?

        -What was important to you as you worked on this piece?

        -How does this relate to what you learned before?

-What would you like someone to notice about you as a (math/reading/writing) student?

        -What strategies have you learned in the last ten weeks (in math, reading, writing, or expedition)?

        -How can you use what you have learned in the real world?

        -What are you most proud of?

        -What has been a challenge? How did you work to over come that challenge?

        -What are your goals? 

Crew Learning Expedition:Our new expedition launched with a roaring success on Monday. We began with field work to visit the outdoor music area at the Parker Arts and Cultural Events Center. We framed this field work by asking students, "How can we bring music to the REMS OLE?" Our crews were excited to play on the instruments and came back feeling very inspired and ready to begin brainstorming about our own outdoor music area. This week, we also created and sent out surveys to other crews in the building asking for ideas and feedback about an outdoor music area. Today and tomorrow, students are experimenting with the sounds different materials make to see what might work and sound interesting on the OLE. HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about your ideas for the outdoor music area.

Writing:  After so much prompt and structured writing, I wanted to give students some time to be re-inspired about creative writing. Students listened to fun stories to invigorate their passion for writing. Then students were given time to work on independent writing projects. Language: We have started a new genre study in conjunction with our new expedition! Students will need to write letters asking for donations for materials from local businesses, and will need to know how to write letters persuading people to donate. Today, students wrote a persuasive letter to pre-assess what students know about persuading others in writing. Students wrote letters convincing a student to come to REMS, and I'm looking forward to reading them!  HINTS AT HOME: As a writer, what do you need to do to writer persuasively?

Math:  Students took the Unit 8 math test today which assessed learning of fractions. We will not be starting Unit 9 until after spring break, so the next week of math will be devoted to reviewing concepts that may have been difficult throughout the last few units.    HINTS AT HOME: Keep practicing math facts for Unit 9!

Reading Workshop: We began another round of literature discussion groups, where students are given a book to read and then discuss as a group. Students were reminded of the preparation process to be ready for their discussion next week.    HINTS AT HOME: Continue nightly reading at home. Encourage a variety (so if you always read fiction, try a nonfiction text).

 

Spelling: There was a spelling test yesterday; you should see a spelling list coming home today. It is also available here.

 

Library Books: Ms. Diana would like to remind you that ALL books are due before Spring Break. Thanks!

 

  

March 20-21: Student Led Conferences 
March 23: Student in School (different that other schools in district) 

March 23: ALL LIBRARY BOOKS DUE

March 26-April 6: Spring Break

April  9: Teacher Work Day

April 10: Students return 

April 18: Life is Art's Preview Night, for students at the school

April 20: No school

April 27: Life is Art, for adults at the Grange

Fieldwork to PACE

Students visit the Parker Arts and Cultural Events Center to get gather ideas, noticings, and wonderings about bringing an outdoor music area to Renaissance.

Crew News 3.8.12

 

Fieldwork on Monday 3/12:

To get excited about our next expedition and service learning project, we will be going to the Parker Arts, Culture, and Events Center. We will leave after lunch and return before the end of the day, so there will be no changes in schedule or day pack needed. 

Permission slips will come home today. Please sign and return. 

Stay tuned! :)

 

Student Led Conferences

Please sign up for a conference if you have not already. Students look forward to sharing what we have been working on in the classroom! 

FYI: Next Week

I will be going on the 2nd Grade Winter Voyage with Ms. Hanni's Crew next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. For part of the time, there will be a substitute and the other part Ms. Hanni will be in my room with our crew.

 

 

Crew Learning Expedition/Language:This week students have been finalizing and putting the finishing touches on their nonfiction "rock book" that explains their learning from this expedition. HINTS AT HOME:What are you most proud of with your rock book?	Writing:  TCAP: Our hard work paid off! It looked like students were able to show their best writing for the state assessment. We also worked on a voyage reflection. To get inspired, we read examples of reflections from 6th graders to see what makes a thoughtful reflection. HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about your voyage reflection.
Math:  TCAP: Tomorrow is the last day of math TCAP. Hooray!   We continued learning about comparing and identifying equivalent fractions.    HINTS AT HOME: Keep practicing math facts!	Reading Workshop: This week, I took some time to check in with all my readers to see where they are as readers at this time in the year.    HINTS AT HOME: Continue nightly reading at home. Encourage a variety (so if you always read fiction, try a nonfiction text).

 

Spelling: I postponed this week's spelling test, because I would really like students to take more time to look at this spelling pattern and master it. Here is a link to the spelling words.

 

Library Books: Ms. Diana would like to remind you that ALL books are due before Spring Break. Thanks!

 

  

March 12: Fieldwork to PACE Center

March 21: Student Led Conference

March 23: Student in School (different that other schools in district) 

March 26-April 6: Springbreak

April  9: Teacher Work Day

April 10: Students return 

April 18: Life is Art's Preview Night, for students at the school

April 20: No school

April 27: Life is Art, for adults at the Grange

Check Out Archery with Mr. Doug in P.E.!!!