Last Day of 3rd Grade!

Dear Crew and Families,

        It has been an honor and a privilege to get to know you and have you in my crew this year. Today, when students shared their "secret buddy" letter, it was a true testimony to how powerful the word "crew" is to describe our class. What a caring and thoughtful bunch they are. The relationships and connections that they have formed together and with me were the foundation of the learning community that we developed. I believe, that only when you feel good about yourself and the people around you, are you willing to take risks and push yourself. This is exactly what I saw this year. I saw students that were were not afraid to make mistakes, that showed perseverance when challenged, and beneficence to cheer each other on along the way. It makes me so proud to witness the growth of each student, as a learner and as an individual, and to have had the joy to be part of their journey. It has truly been a remarkable year, and I cannot thank you enough for your support and partnership through it.

Wishing you a wonderful summer and all the best in 4th grade!

With love,
~Mrs. Lauren



Here are some pictures from our last week together:

All School Drum Circle 

Hiking in Castlewood Canyon

 Blayne was our brave hero in identifying a rattlesnake... Yikes!

 Playing in the river was a hit! What a great way to enjoy our last day together!

 A touching circle when students shared their "secret buddy" letters.

"We Are CREW"

Mrs. Lauren's Crew

2011-2012

Crew News 5.25.12

 

Announcements:

Voyage Paperwork Due May 25th: Have you turned in 4th grade paperwork? When you find out you Teacher Assignment for next year, you will be able to determine the date of your voyage (4th grade crews go on voyage separately).

 

T-Shirt Signing May 31st:

Please send a t-shirt to be signed for the last day of school. I recommend sending the t-shirt in their backpack, since we will be hiking beforehand.

 

Day Pack for May 31st:

Check out the day list for what is needed for our hike. 

 

Grades and Teacher Assignments:

Grades will be available on Parent Portal Thursday May 31st after 5pm. Also, the office will send an email out at this time about Teacher Assignments for next year. Any questions about these assignments should be directed to Deborah. 

 

How to prepare for hiking at Castlewood Canyon

May 31st

1. Pack your daypack
Daypack list for our hike:
As of today, 5/24, the forecast for Thursday 5/31 in Castle Rock is partly cloudy and a high of 67 degrees.
Hat or Sunglasses
Waterproof layer for possible rain  
Water bottle (32 oz.)
Sunscreen (please apply morning of)
Bug Spray
Tissue
Extra pencil
2 Healthy snacks and a Healthy sack lunch

Clothes to wear:
Hiking shorts or pants
T-shirt
Waterproof tennis shoes or hiking shoes, something that covers whole foot

2. Know your learning targets. These are  the expectations while hiking.
Learning Targets for Castlewood Canyon

• I can show independence and integrity with my behavior.
• I can model leave no trace.
• I can participate and thoughtfully reflect during class discussions about our year in third grade.

**Students arrive at normal time and will be back for afternoon t-shirt signing and regular dismissal.

**Chaperones: please be here at 9am. There will not be any chaperone meeting the morning of.

 

A Peek into our Classroom

 

We have been loving our genre study of poetry. Here students are looking for examples of figurative language in mentor text.

Students create posters to show their final learning of life cycles.

CLIMBING!

A big THANK YOU to all our volunteer belayers! What a great week of climbing we had!

Crew Learning Expedition: Students were able to identify similarities and differences between mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, plants, fish, and birds. We discussed key learning points about life cycles, such as that all organisms go through birth, adult, reproduction, and death. Some organisms, such as insects, go through metamorphosis. To show final learning, students created posters to show similarities and differences of two organisms. HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about the two life cycles you chose for your poster. What was your learning about these life cycles?

Writing/Language: This week, we have explored figurative language in free verse poetry. Students identified and then experimented with their own examples of similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, repetition, and alliteration. Poets are thinking more deeply about descriptive  language and the spacing of their writing. A popular activity was when students wrote as many descriptions as they could think of, cut out the words and phrases, then rearranged it into a poem. I love the passion and creativity that this unit is producing! HINTS AT HOME: What figurative language do you enjoy using in your poetry?

Math: This week, we have been learning about frequency tables, coordinate grids, and calculator memory. We took the Unit 10 assessment that focuses on measurement.  We also took some time to review and show learning of concepts throughout the year, such as with perimeter, area, fractions, and place value.  HINTS AT HOME: Keep practicing those multiplication facts so they are solid for 4th grade!

Reading Workshop: Before each literature discussion group, students set a goal of what they are working on. During the discussion, I scored a rubric about their participation and gave feedback about how they did on their goal. I am so proud of these readers and their ability to have rich conversations about text.  HINTS AT HOME: What new insight or ideas did you get after your literature discussion group? What are you summer reading plans?

CALENDAR
May 28th: Memorial Day; No School

May 31st: Hike to Castlewood Canyon; Last Day of School 

                      Grades and Teacher Assignments Available at 5pm

 

Next Year:

July 16th: Online Check-In is Open

August 6th-7th: Listening Conferences

August 8th: First Day of School for Students

 

Crew News 5.17.12

Announcements:

Voyage Paperwork Due May 25th: AnythingPlease see Ms. Julie's email about completing voyage paperwork and the packing list for this voyage.

 

All Library Books Due: Tomorrow, Friday May 18

Anything not turned in by then needs to be paid for.

 

Spring Climbing May 21st-25th: We need volunteers to belay

Sign ups for the Training and to Belay for a crew are available onwww.SignUpGenius.com, click the "Find a Sign Up" tab and enter Mr. Doug's email,doug.baker@dcsdk12.org

 

A Peek into our Classroom

 

Spirit week has been a hit. Here is a look at crazy hair day!

Students presenting their learning about matter and the water cycle.

Students conducting research about the life cycles of plants and animals.

Crew Learning Expedition/Writing: We concluded our "What's the Matter?" expedition with an experiment that shows the stages of the water cycle. Then to show final learning, students chose to present a skit, make a poster, or write a story about either the states of matter or the stages of the water cycle.   We launched our last research-based expedition on life cycles. We reviewed the learning from earlier grades about the life cycle of meal worms, frogs, and plants to model how to research and take notes using books and websites.     HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about your final matter or life cycle project. What animals or plants have you researched about so far?

Language: Students are expanding their knowledge of poetry to cinquains and free verse. Today we took a look poets will intentional have line breaks and divide their lines into stanzas. Then we practiced writing our own free verse poetry making line breaks. It was a success! HINTS AT HOME: Begin brainstorming some topics that you would like to write poems about.

Math: Our unit, this week, took us on a journey of weight, volume, and capacity. Students made predictions and then we measured together the weight of an orange, bolt, marble, and ping pong ball. Then we used the water-displacement method to see which had the most volume. Also, our unit has us exploring how to find the median and mean (average) of data.  HINTS AT HOME: How do you find the median and the mean?

Reading Workshop: This week we took some time to talk about what you need to think about when you read out-loud to an audience. Students got to rehearse and present "reader's theater" skits about the water cycle, while practicing their skills of reading to an audience. In the meantime, we have began another round of literature discussion groups.  HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about you literature discussion story. What are you looking forward to saying during the discussion? What have you done to prepare?

Spelling: Spelling will come home in Thursday folders. Please remind students to study these patterns and do spelling homework due next Wednesday. Click Here for our Spelling List!

CALENDAR
May 21st-25th: Spring Climbing  

May 28th: Memorial Day; No School

May 31st: Hike to Castlewood Canyon; Last Day of School