Building Bridges

We are in the thick of the Portland Bridge Unit!

This week we will be building popsicle stick bridges in the classroom and then weight testing them to see how strong they are.  If you haven't signed up for a volunteer time and would like to here is the link to do so.  

Building is mostly Ms. Van Clock's students on Monday and mostly Mrs. Neal's students on Tuesday.  However, as soon as one student finishes they will go into Mrs. Neal's room and a student from her class will fill the seat in room 201.  This way we can keep the building going, and get everyone done in the time we are given.  Some students take 2 hours to build and some take 6- it all depends on their familiarity with the tools, their precision, their ability to follow directions, and to ask for help when they need it.  

We will weight test these bridges on Tuesday and Wednesday in school.  Students have a choice to weight test just until it starts to crack or until 'TOTAL DESTRUCTION!'.   Some love destroying it, and some feel they worked too hard to break their work. 

At home students are writing a speech (not a report) about one of Portland's bridges: my expectations are that students build a bridge model to go along with their speech.  Simultaneously, I understand some families cannot support bridge building at home.  If that is the case, I encourage students to use the popsicle bridge we build in class and modify it at home- maybe by adding toilet paper roll piers, or by painting it, or some other way of making it their own.  These students will chose not to destroy their bridge in the weight testing. 

Notice there is no written work to be turned in.  They are graded on their speech presentation using this scoring guide.

The students can start bringing in their bridge models this week- if they are small enough to fit in the classroom easily- otherwise, please have them bring the model in on the day of your child's speech.  

We will be sending home the assigned dates and times of their speech this week.  Speeches will be given the week after Spring Break (April 1-6).  If you would like to come to their speech you may. Some students like their parents coming, and some feel they are too nervous with their family watching.  Please talk with your child before deciding to come.  

Mon. April 2	Time	Tues. April 3	Time	Wed. April 4	Time
Abraham	12:15	Adelaide	8:10	Ella	8:05
Sophia	12:20	Liam	8:15	Cecilia	8:10
Iggy	12:25	Natalie	8:20	Cora	8:15
Peter	12:30	Joshua	8:25	Little Hawk	8:20
Hope	12:35	Henry	8:30	Naveed	8:25
Elijah	12:40	Theo	8:35	Kaydin	8:30

Thur. April 5	Time	Fri. April 6	Time
Chidinma	8:05	Cameron	8:10
Audrey	8:10	Grant	8:15
Zappa	8:15	Arlo	8:20
Abbey	8:20	Jasper	8:25
Nicholas	8:25	La Bae Say	8:30
Strider	8:30	Destin	8:35

If you have any questions about this process please come see me- I am happy to make it clear.  

Happy building and writing!

Ms. Van Clock

Dear Families, March 6th, 2018

We don’t often send home paper newsletters, but felt that there were enough important items that we should make one.

State Testing:  We will start our state testing next week,  March 12- March 23. During this time your child will be in the computer lab for about an hour each day taking the math and reading/writing tests.  The time spent on the test varies by student, but typically takes 5-7 sessions to complete. There is no time limit. You will get the results back in the summer. This does not impact their advancement to 4th grade.  Please make sure they are well rested and well fed on these days. It makes a big difference in their self-esteem when they feel prepared for the day. If you have questions about this process or want information about opting your child out of the tests, please speak with us by Friday the 9th.

Bridges: We are almost finished with our study of Portland’s bridges.  Your child has been assigned a bridge, and has practiced researching and paraphrasing their research about their bridge in preparation for writing their speech.  They do not need to turn in any written work- they just need to be ready to present their speech and model the week after spring break, April 2nd. We know some families struggle with making the model at home, and we tell students they can use the popsicle bridges we will be making March 19th and 20th as their model.  We encourage them to still add something of their own to the model we make in class- maybe paint it, or add piers or cars… if you need ideas, or support, please don’t hesitate to ask with enough time to finish the project. It doesn’t work to ask for help the day it is due.

We still need volunteers to help us with the building days (March 19th and 20th).  See the sign up at the top of the stairs or in your email inboxes. We would like 5 adults in room 201 the whole time we build- 31 kids with hot glue guns at once means we need a lot of adults.  Please sign up for an hour or for the whole day!

Math: We just finished our unit on multiplication, please keep practicing those facts at home!  We are starting a unit on fractions and money. These are great topics to discuss in the kitchen and in the store.  Have your child help count money, balance a bank book, or measure parts of a cup. These are real world applications for what we are doing in class.  

Reading: We just finished a fabulous unit on how to read mystery books, and are starting a unit on reading and character development. Our read aloud is Because of Winn-Dixie.  

Writing: We just finished our unit on persuasive writing by writing letters to the superintendent asking for financial support for our garden program Earth Art Ag.  These letters were from the heart, and very convincing. We are about to start a unit on writing informational texts about topics the students are already experts in: soccer, baking, skateboarding, bugs, dinosaurs, or their bridge.

In terms of social skills we are working on complimenting each other on kind, safe, and responsible actions.  You can practice at home by giving compliments in the same vein and having your child practice noticing when you are being safe, kind, and responsible.  

Please contact us if you have any questions about what is going on.  And thank you for all that you do to support your student at school,

Carolyn Neal and Lisa Van Clock

PS- See you at the Beach Bash Auction on Friday Night.

December is upon us and we made it through No-school November!

We are celebrating great work in math this week, as students move up levels in our BAM folders.  The students have been working hard in their small groups in math, and their work shows!  Ask your student about how great it feels to move up.  Keep practicing math facts to support this work (both addition and multiplication)

We are finishing our unit on Personal Narratives in writing.  Their published work will go home next week.  We have really thought a lot about the difference between editing and revising, and how to add more descriptive writing. We've been reading Gooney Bird Greene as a read aloud to guide our writing. Students can practice these skills when telling you about their day, please ask them to give more details and more description.

In reading we are continuing to add stamina and depth to our reading.  We have started reading Stone Fox to support our reading with predictions and inferences.


We have been doing a lot of work with geography in order to learn about how different parts of the world are coping with climate change.  The students have practiced reading maps, researching continents and countries.  Earlier we learned about different energy sources and the pros and cons of their use.

Please look for more information about our upcoming Portland Bridge unit after the break.  We will start to learn about the bridges and outline the expectations of the work at home, and explain what we will do in class.  This is the time when we need the most volunteers and material support.  Please check outside the classroom for requests as they come.

Happy Holidays!

End of September

Hello Families!
We are moving rapidly into fall.  Our first month of school as gone well, and our routines are settled in.

The biggest news is that we are well into our Portland History Unit, where the 3rd graders make a history museum.  They are researching their topics now, and will soon be making their exhibits.  The museum will be open Wednesday Oct 18th from 2:30-3:30 for parents to visit. 

Don't forget to bring some cash- as they will have a museum store, where they will sell items made in art class.  All the funds will go towards supplies for our Portland Bridges unit in the spring.

In math we are focusing on adding and subtracting larger numbers.  Please make sure students are practicing their math facts at home, so that these larger problems are easy.  Students have talked about practicing by putting up fact posters in their home, practicing with flash cards, quizzing each other, and trying to

stump mom and dad. 

In reading we are into our unit on non-fiction text reading.  This is helping us as we do our research for the museum. We are also talking about how reading non-fiction text can transfer as we do research on the web. 

A big shout out to Kelly and Heidi, who came and dusted all the ash from our classroom this week!  While they cleaned up the window sills and ledges around the room, we spoke of how important it is to keep everything clean as we move into this fall season of colds.   Please remember to wash hands and cover coughs to stop spreading germs. 

As always, please feel free to reach out with questions or comments!

September Welcome!

Welcome Back!!!
It has been a great (if hot) beginning of the year.  We are excited to start new routines, curriculum and make new friends. 

This month we are in our Drama residency.  Our class has been divided into 2 groups, and both groups meet with Ms. Amy, our new drama teacher, each day.  Their performance is September 21st at 6:30.  Call time is 6:00pm.  


We are starting our work into our Portland History unit.  We will be making our own history museum in our classroom- look for details coming soon as to when it will be open for families.

Please reach out if you need anything!

May

Dear Families, May 2, 2017

We are in the midst of a wonderful unit on the history of Portland.  

We have been tasked with creating a museum showing important people, places and events in Portland’s history and we’ll even have a gift shop! This will raise funds for 3rd grade activities.  The student curators are working hard on researching information on their individual or team topics, and they are looking ahead to creating their exhibits in the museum.

With that said, if you have any supplies that might be useful for making dioramas, models or small statues- we could use the donations!

I don’t want all your recycling to end up in my room, but in talking to your student you might discover something useful to send from home.

Our museum will open on May 19th.  We are planning on having it open during the afternoon/evening of the PTA’s ice cream social (expect more information on that in the coming days).  Please mark this on you calendar! It is a time to come join the community, participate in STEAM activities (science technology engineering art math) and come tour the museum.  

Please come if you can and explore your student’s work.

Sincerely,

Ms. Van Clock, Mr. Guron, Mrs. Neal

March

Spring is coming!!!

Math-
We are finished with the multiplication and division unit, and are starting on larger addition and subtraction.  You will notice students working with and practicing problems like 467-538 and 4,238+3,981.  Even though we are finished with the multiplication unit, we are still working on our times facts.  Please continue to help you student practice and master their times tables.  We are still working on them in class!

Reading- We have finished our informational reading unit and starting a unit on reading about characters and understanding character development. 

Writing- We are finishing our unit on persuasive writing, and about to start a unit on creative fantasy writing.  

Bridges- We are getting close to the end of the bridge instruction.  We are going to be building Popsicle bridges in class the week of March 20-22, and weight testing March 22-23.  Please see the sign up for volunteers needed as we will need several adults to help with the hot glue guns.  If you have any questions about the speech to be written at home, and how your student can get resources to help- please let me know!!!