November Highlights

I can't believe November is almost gone! The above video contains a few highlights of what the children have been working on in school.  They were especially focused on analytical skills as we discussed various changes that have taken place over time due to interactions between different people. Change over time is a huge part of their social studies core.  We are marching forward with memory object stories (published on the computer!), multiplication meanings and facts, cursive (we're almost to upper-case!), and new adventures with 6th grade buddies this month!

Starring . . . the Students!

This week I decided to use portions of the students' writing to highlight a few things we've been doing at school.  The students below were creative in their ideas and detailed in their facts.  Enjoy!

First, we've been studying aspects of Native American culture such as language, religion, and art.  The students have each chosen one of five North American tribes to focus on.  When we learned about storytelling traditions and symbols, the students had to write a story that could take place in their tribe's geographic location (for example, tribes living in heavily forested areas wouldn't be hunting buffalo). Here are a few of the stories:

A chief went in the morning. He saw some bird tracks. He decided to go hunting in three days and three nights. A spirit appeared. He went hunting again. He camped under the stars.  He killed a bear. He went home. He was a wise man.  by: Jacob N.

Two friends met and started to dance. And there were two brothers and they had a blanket and it was in a teepee. Then they started a campfire. It was by a tree. And then they saw a fish to go swim. A chief crossed the mountains. A chief saw bird tracks and then he won an award for finding the bird tracks. It started to rain and he saw a hill. There was a sign that said, "No deer here at all." And then he invited some friends to a feast at the hill where there were no deer at all.  by: Andee 

The chief went hunting for deer.  He camped under the stars. When he woke up he saw lots of bear. He ran home at lightning speed. He had a feast of deer. He got an award for getting food for the tribe for one month.  p.s. There was lots of deer.  by: Luke

 

On November 15, 2011, our class was able to go on a walking field trip to Alta High School to see "Crazy for You."  Here are some thoughts the students had when they returned:

First we walked up to Alta. Next we sat down. Then the play began. After the play, we got to high five all the actors. Finally, we walked back.  by: Emily

The play is about a city boy and a country girl that fall in love. And a city girl and a country boy who fall in love, too.  by: Ethan
We got seated. The play began. It was kind of a musical and dancers were there. They kissed nine times. It was gross. We saw five different parts. We left at 12:00. We came back and had lunch. by: Alexa

The field trip we had was fun. There was a lot of Gershwin music. People would clap to the beat. It was the best play I've ever seen in my life! It was very, very funny. There was a lot of dancing. There was silliness, because one fell into the street and did not get up. Some people mimicked a lot. We got to have granola bars and give high fives to the actors and actresses. I love the play. by:Emma

I loved our field trip because they danced and singed. My favorite part was when they got married. We got to high five the people in the story. I said to a girl that she was my favorite and she said I made her day. She wanted to know my name. I told her. She said her name is Christine.  by: Taylor

November Informational Book Report!

The students have been preparing just over a month to be able to complete this particular book report.  They learned about sequence words (first, next, then, after, finally, second, third, fourth, last, etc.) and completed a writing project giving detailed instructions about something they were already experts on.  The informational book report takes things to the next level, by having the students read about something they aren't familiar with and create a sequence "filmstrip."  Below is a brief overview of the instructions, as well as a photo of a sample book report.

1.  Students choose an appropriate informational book on their reading level related to history/social studies, science, or the arts.  They should not choose topics they're already familiar with or that are too complex for a third grader to clearly outline in four steps.

2.  The topic they choose should include some type of process or sequence they can explain to others.  Here are a few simple examples:

History – "Ruby Bridges goes to the William Frantz Public School" or "The First Flight of the Wright Brothers" or "Man Lands on the Moon"

Science – "The Life Cycle of a Butterfly" or "How a Tornado Forms" or "Mining for Copper"

The Arts – "The Beginning Positions of Ballet" or "What to Prepare When You Audition for a Play" or "How to Draw Charlie Brown Cartoons like Charles Schulz"

3. Students then complete the film strip according to the rubric in their homework folder and prepare to present it to the class.  They're also encouraged to practice their keyboarding skills by typing the sequence or process on the computer and gluing it onto the filmstrip, as shown below:

Front

Back

Finding Books on Your Independent Reading Level

Thank you for coming to parent-teacher conferences last week!  It was such a treat to meet with each one of you and to celebrate your children.  Below is one good tool from the report card, that I didn't get to share with everyone, about finding books for your children on their independent reading levels.

The comments section of each student's report card included a lexile independent reading range.  Over the next year, lexile scores will replace the current alphabetic leveling system (L, M, N, O, etc.) because they are more accurate.  A good research-based leveling system has an important purpose: to match readers with text, so they can practice the fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills they need to improve on.  (The students should also know how to use the informal “5-finger rule” to choose books on their reading levels.)  Here is how to use the lexile score on your child's report card:

1.  Click on "Read & Write with Ease" on the class blog.
2.  Scroll down to this icon to find the lexile website.

3. Enter the lexile range and click submit.
4. Select interests and click submit.
5. Scroll down to browse the books on that level.  Google preview is available for you to read the first several pages of many books.
6. If you'd like to find and reserve a book from the public library, the link is on the blog directly below the lexile.com icon.
7.  You can also look up books you already own to see how close they are to the independent reading range.