Mrs. Lesberg!

We just had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Lesberg, who will be our substitute teacher while I am out on maternity leave.  She is a great teacher and really has come highly recommended!  She is extremely excited and ready to go. 

I am really sad to be gone for some time but know that I am leaving the classroom in very capable hands.  Just remember to stay on top of our reading and be great teachers to our new teacher :) 

Third Graders Love to Read

 
We are grateful for our reading dads! For the last three weeks, the students have been privileged to listen to some wonderful stories read by their fathers! Thank you, dads, for taking time out of your busy schedules to share excellent books with us!

We also have been having a great time rewarding the students with book drawings.  We did our second drawing for books in music last week and was super impressed with those who won.  Just remember to get your name in the drawing you need to read 100 minutes a week totaling 400 minutes a month to put your name in once.  You also have a chance to put your name in one more time for filling out your reading log on the back of the calendar.  Nice job and keep up the reading!

Welcome Back!

It's Time To Share!

Welcome back!  I hope your long holiday weekend was as  wonderful as mine.  It was great to hear about blessings, time spent with family, cousin sleepovers, exciting travels to grandma's house and of course munching, munching, and even more munching!  So we are back to work this week.  We are busy with multiplication, science, writing, reading, and fine tuning our information cube book reports.  Cubes are due this Thursday, Nov. 29.  Rubric and cube template are found inside homework folders.  Good luck- I can hardly wait to see our amazing work!

Thanksgiving Break!

It will be so fun to have a Thanksgiving break!  It gives us time to eat, enjoy our family, and also take a pause to pick up a book and read.  What a great opportunity for the students to also work on their book report.  During library this week all students who did not have a book yet to use for their book report are checking out books for their report.  Enjoy your break!  Don't forget there is a lot to explore in Pearson's online so you shall not get bored :)

November 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 an information cube.  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 cube according to the rubric in their homework folder and prepare to present it to the class.  Students are encouraged to practice their keyboarding skills by typing the sequence or process on the computer and gluing it onto the cube, as shown below:

Part of a sample cube book report before the cube has been folded.

Conference Success!

What a great time to sit and talk with each and everyone of you about your amazing student in our class!  It was so fun to be able to discuss all the many important things that go on throughout the year.  We also had a 100% turn out, so thank you so much for coming in and conferencing about your great kids. 

This week we will be going to the Alta play.  It will be such a great opportunity for us to see a live production.  Also we will be starting multiplication meanings this week in math. 

Elections 2012

Last Tuesday, the entire third grade participated in Election Day! The students' results were:

• Obama - 29
• Romney - 66
• Other - 2

We learned a little about the candidates, listened to each others' opinions respectfully, and made our best choices.  We also discussed how Election Day can be a fair solution to deciding who will be the leader of our country.  We then wrote friendly letters, Wednesday, congratulating President Obama on another term of office and gave our opinions on things we would like to see him accomplish over the next four years.  Way to be responsible citizens, third graders!

Parent Teacher Conferences Next Week

 

Students are bringing home parent-teacher conference appointment notes this week for confirmation.  Please contact me if your time will not work with your family's schedule. We're looking forward to celebrating your child's marvelous work with you at conferences next week!

October Almost Over!

I can't believe how fast this month is flying by.  Just to keep you up to date, next week are our parent teacher conferences, if you did not get a chance to schedule yourself, I will be scheduling you and be sending those home.  I'm so excited to get a chance to talk individually with all of you about your wonderful students.  We are having our Halloween Parade this Wednesday, remember no weapons or inappropriate costumes.  Also this week we will be having two half days, so don't forget to make those appropriate arrangements, Thursday and Friday are short days.  Next week we will be having our field trip to Bouncin' Off the Walls as well. 

Pajama Party

We've earned our first warm fuzzy celebration!  The students have decided to have a pajama movie party.  We will be watching a movie and enjoying popcorn tomorrow in class for our party.  So don't forget to wear your jammies, October 26th :)

Parent Teacher Conferences

 I'm excited to let you know that you have the power to schedule your time slot for parent teacher conferences. Use the following directions to help you get there:
1. Click the following icon:

2. Scroll down to Altara Elementary and click go
3. Type in the school password, altara, and click login
4. Type in your student's ID number
(hint: Your student ID is the username for Envision Math)
5. Then just simply pick a time slot available

Good luck! If you have any problems or would like support while setting up the schedule feel free to come to the office or call Susan for help. Thank you for all you do and hopefully this will help you get a time slot you can actually make.

Open until October 23rd

Wetlands Field Trip

 

This week on Tuesday we will be going to the Wetlands!  Make sure to have your lunches, some tennis shoes for walking, and be ready for fun!  This will be an all outside field trip so you might want to make sure that you have a jacket if needed.  Can't wait!

Jog-a-thon

Yesterday, amid much applause, names were drawn and prizes distributed for PTA Jog-a-thon pledges turned in by students.  The school's goal was to raise at least $14,000 and since we exceeded that goal, everyone received a new Altara t-shirt! We also got to slime Mr. Jameson:)  Thank you for your generosity and continued support of education here at Altara.

Not to mention that we were the winners for the "Bouncin' Off the Walls" field trip!  YEAH!! Thanks to all the many wonderful huge donations we will be having a field trip to celebrate.  Don't worry I'll be sending home a note when I know when that will occur.  Keep up the amazing work!

Current Events

As you noticed a calendar went home today with the exact date that your child will be presenting their current event.  No one is presenting this week so that we can learn exactly what must be done and how to present for next week.  There is also a video you can review that the students have watched helping better explain what is expected for this upcoming presentation. 

September Book Report

September Book Report

Sample Book Report

Many of you have been looking at the book report assignment that the children will be turning in on Thursday, September 27th.  A fantasy is a fictional story where there is a struggle between good and evil that often involves magic or creatures that don't exist in real life.  The characters or objects do things that couldn't happen in real life. Adventure stories have a character who lives by his wits and skills and is constantly placed in dangerous situations.  An adventure story may or may not be fantasy, since there are nonfiction adventures, as well.

The students may use books at Altara's library or any other location.  They should choose books they haven't read before that are appropriate for their reading levels (not too hard or too easy).

Use toys or other objects in your container.

Remember to check the rubric in your homework folder for instructions.  If you have any questions or concerns about the book report requirements, feel free to contact me.  Happy Reading!

School's Flying Bye!

Welcome to the third week everyone!  I can't believe how fast everything is going.  There are a few things I need clarify and thought this would be the perfect spot :)  The reading calendars are off this year.  We make them new as a third grade every year and this year somehow the new ones were switched out with the old ones before copied.  So I do apologize for that, but just remember to read 100 minutes a week and we will keep right on track throughout the year. 

Minutes of Reading a Week!

We have been working really hard on many different vocabulary words.  So ask your student this week what some of their Amazing Words are.  This is our oral vocabulary for the week and we will be working hard on improving our oral speech.  It should be lots of fun to learn so many different words this week. 

Back to School Night!!!

What a fun time for me to meet all of you!  Thank you so much for everyone who came out it was really great to be able to answer any questions and share with you things to look forward to this year.  If you were unable to attend check out the PowerPoint talking about what is going on this year found on the side bar.  Also the awesome back to school video where Mr. Jameson is swimming!!! After having so much fun with everyone there where a lot of you who would like to know some things you could purchase for the classroom so here is a quick little teacher's wishlist if you may :)
Teacher's Wishlist:
-Personal pencil sharpeners to have in the students desk preferably with a catcher for shavings
-Tissue Boxes
-Hand Sanitizer
-Mechanical Pencils
-Crayola Markers
-Expo Markers
-Flair Pens
-Ziploc Bags (all sizes)
-Clorox Wipes
-Any prizes to supply to class prize bin (like small toys, trinkets)
-Any candy treats to supply to class candy jar
-electric pencil sharpener for whole class use

Thanks again for your willingness to help out with the classroom supplies it really means a lot!  Just know this is a wishlist and anything you can help with is appreciated.  :)  Can't wait to see all the students this Monday!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school!  I am really excited to get to know all of you wonderful students this year!  We have a ton of fun things planned as well as a great list of new things to learn.  I hope you are geared up and ready to go just as much as I am.  I have a wonderful poem to share that will help us understand what the year has to offer:

A Circle of Friends by unknown
We've joined together as classmates
as the new year begins...
A year full of learning
while we become friends.
We'll share and be kind
as we work and play.
And our friendship will grow
with each passing day.

Welcome to this school year!