Videos Uploaded

There are some neat videos that have been uploaded in our video links section.  The kids took turns teaching different math concepts today in preparation of the Unit 7 test tomorrow.

Tomorrow will also be our Read-A-Thon in the morning.  The kids may bring a small snack and a drink with a screw-top lid (no pop).  They may also bring their own books from home to read.  Please no blankets, pillows, etc. this time. 

Remember tonight is the Donkey Basketball at the middle school.  It starts at 8 pm due to the middle school music concert earlier tonight.  I know that is past most 3rd grader's bedtimes, but this might be a night you want to make an exception.  I have never seen such a thing before but I have high hopes for a very entertaining night.  Third grade's own Mr. McGrane is rumored to be riding a donkey tonight. 

Wow!!

Wow!!!  I'm impressed by how well the students did on their Unit 4 Benchmark Reading Test.  Most scores were in the 80s and 90s.  Historically the the scores have been in the high 60s to 70s, rarely into the 90s.  Ask your child how they did and congratulate them for giving their best effort as I thought all students took the test very serious and really gave it their best shot. 

This afternoon in math we spent time creating slides that will review a math problem that is similar to the test problems they will solve later this week.  Tomorrow the students and their partner or on their own will be teaching the class about their topic using their slide on the SMARTBoard.  I am excited to see how this turns out.  I plan to video a couple of the kids and post them on the blog so look for those tomorrow. 

We also welcomed a new student in our class today.  Ana Gomez-Lopez is joining or I should say rejoining us as she went to Kindergarten and 1st grade here.  Recently she has been in Mexico.  I am always impressed with how well the students welcome new students into the class.  Everyone is willing to help and make them feel welcome. 

No Spelling

The big announcement for today is that there is No Spelling this week.  This week we will be taking the Unit 4 Benchmark test in reading and doing some other writing activities.  Therefore we will not be reading a new story this week or taking a spelling test.  Your child will still need to read their 15 minutes each night.  We are closer than ever to reaching our monthly goal. 

Friday we will be having a Read-A-Thon.  You should be getting a yellowish note at home tonight with details.  A drink with a screw-top lid (not pop) will be allowed and 1 snack.  Please send stuff for your own child.  No sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, etc. will be allowed this time.

There is homework in math tonight.  We will hopefully get far enough in math this week to take our Unit 7 test. 

We took our spelling test today just in case we have a snow day tomorrow.

If we do have school tomorrow we will be spending our time working on persuasive writing. This is a new type of writing to the kids. If they need something to do on the snow day (assuming it happens) they could spend some time researching for their persuasive writings. Most of the kids are writing to persuade which plants should be planted in our garden boxes this spring. They need to pick plants that can be grown in our climate. They also need to find a couple other points that would show why the plants they pick would be good choices for our gardens.

We spent our afternoon talking about the persuasive writings so we didn't have math. Since we didn't have math and the spelling test is already completed there isn't anything for the kids to do tonight besides their usually 15 minutes of reading. If we do have a snow day it would be the perfect opportunity to do some extra reading.

Math facts would also be a great thing to practice if we have a snow day and the kids have a little extra time on their hands. Practice could be done several ways. Flash cards can be used and if you don't have any just making some could be good practice if they have to write the answers on the back. Just make sure to check their answers for them so they don't practice with the wrong answers. There are also some great links that have math games. My favorite is Arcademic Skill Builders. Mr. Wylie's website in the links section also looks like it probably has a lot of good educational games.

More Snow!!!!!!

It looks like we are probably going to get a significant amount of snow in the next few days.  According to the recent forecast it looks like there could be a CHANCE for early dismissal tomorrow.  Unplanned early dismissals are always chaotic.  Please talk with your child tonight about what they should do if that were to happen.  When the kids know it makes it a lot easier here at school.  Listen to the radio and check KCCI or WHO as they are usually the first to know about early dismissals and etc. 

To try and plan around the upcoming storm we took our reading test today.  The kids all did very well.  The spelling test may happen tomorrow if it starts looking like we will not have school Friday.  If we do take it tomorrow I will allow extra practice time beforehand.  Make sure your child studies tonight and is prepared for a test tomorrow. 

Tonight's math homework always proves to be confusing.  ONLY the problems that have estimates greater than 500 need to be solved.  If the estimate is less than 500 DO NOT solve.  The kids can estimate either to the largest place or to the tens place. 

Dodgeball

Today was the annual dodgeball tournament.  Students could use their Paw Prints to buy a ticket to participate in the dodgeball tournament. Most of the kids chose to play and we all went to Fuller Hall to take part in the fun.  Our class was beat in the final match by Mr. McGrane's class. 

There is math homework tonight.  It should be pretty easy.  Extended facts are just basic facts with zeros added on the end.  I teach students to do that base fact and then count how many zeros are on one side of the equals sign and then add that many zeros to the other side. 

For example:
                             30 x 40 =        
        Base Fact:       3 x 4 = 12

In the original fact there are 2 zeros on the left side of the equals sign so 2 zeros can be added to 12 to get 1,200 as a final answer. 

PEMDAS

Today in math we learned how to use parentheses in math.  To help us keep track of the Order of Operations we talked about PEMDAS.  Ask your kids what PEMDAS stands for?  There will be homework in math today about parentheses.  This can be challenging for students, ask them to slow down and take their time. 

Keep practicing those spelling words.

Remember our Valentine's Day party will take place on Friday instead of Thursday. 

Multiplication Facts

Today we worked on our Trimester 2 Math test.  Most students finished.  The ones that didn't will be working to finish it tomorrow.  During our math time we will be moving on with Unit 7.  Remember Unit 7 is primarily about multiplication and division facts.  The best way to get better at those facts is to practice.  Flash cards make practice easy.  Flash cards are inexpensive, but they are also easy to make at home.  Practicing against a sibling or parent can make it fun.

Remember the Valentines Day party will be on Friday afternoon.  A list of student names is coming home today and can also be found under the class tab at the top of the page.  

What Is Normal???

It seems like we haven't had a normal week since before Winter Break.  Then I ask myself if any day in an elementary school can be "normal"?  I was planning on having a normal week, or at least start to the week but the late start threw that off.  The kids did handle it really well, as they always do.

Tomorrow in Math we will be taking our Trimester 2 Math Test.  This test is what provides me with the data to give each student their Math score on the report card.  It is important they they perform well.  We spent last Friday and today reviewing so I expect to see some great scores.

We will be celebrating Valentines Day on Friday afternoon.  Your student may bring a Valentine for each person in the class.  I do ask that if they bring 1 that they bring enough for everyone.  We will be decorating some bags here at school so they don't need to worry about a bag or box or anything to collect them in.  I have updated the class list that is under the Mr. Brim's Class 2012-2013 tab at the top.  Tuesday your student will bring home a paper copy also.

I look forward to a great week!

Happy Friday!!!!

No homework besides the reading over the weekend.  I hope everyone has a nice, relaxing weekend.  Next week will be a much more normal schedule.  We will starting a new story and continuing Unit 7 in Math.  We will also take a Trimester 2 Math Test next week. 

Happy Friday!!!

Iowa Assessments Finished!!!!

For most students the Iowa Assessments are finished.  We have a couple students who have some tests to finish up.  I think everyone will be finished by the end of the day tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will also be taking our spelling tests.  Remember the spelling words can be found by clicking on the Spelling City link and then going to the Unit and Week we are currently on.  The kids should know this.  This week we are on Unit 4 Week 3.  Next week will be Unit 4 Week 4.  There are many games and options for practice. 

The homework for tonight in math does not need to be returned to school.  It will be a good game to play on occasion to practice math facts. 

Last Day of Testing Tomorrow

If your student has been here each day this week then they will take their last two Iowa Assessments tomorrow.  The kids have done a great job of staying focused and I think most of them have taken it as a challenge and really worked their hardest to do their best. 

There is homework in math tonight.  The homework talks about factors and products.  A product is the answer to a multiplication problem and factors are the two numbers that are multiplied together. 

Keep studying the spelling words.  Some students forgot there was a list for this week that was transferred over from last week.  We played Sparkle today and it was obvious that we are not ready for the test yet. 

Boots

Yesterday we had several students at school without boots.  Today was much better as I reminded them yesterday.  Student need to have boots on when they are outside even if they are staying on the blacktop when it is this wet and when there is snow on the ground.  If you student doesn't have boots please get them some.  If you need help getting boots we do have a few pairs here are school.  Just have your student talk to me and I will get them a pair. 

The reading portion of the Iowa Assessments went well this morning.  Wednesday we will be taking two 30 minute math tests.  Thursday we will finish up with Written Language and Computation.  Everyone was here today which makes it much easier to the take the tests.  Make-ups can be a huge pain so thank you for having your child here.  Remember plenty of rest and a good breakfast can make a huge difference along with some words of encouragement on their way out the door in the morning.  They love to hear that they have your support. 

The only homework tonight is the reading minutes and to study spelling.  We had most kids come back today with their folders signed and reading minutes recorded.  Thank you for your help and support with this. 

Check out the new video in the Video Links.  We watched it this morning to motivate us for our tests. 

Iowa Assessments

We started our Iowa Assessment tests today.  Today we took the Vocabulary, Capitalization, Punctuation, and Spelling tests.  Make sure your child is getting plenty of rest and eating a good breakfast.  Thank you to the parents that sent notes for their kids.  That really meant a lot to them.  I wish you could have been here to see their smiles as they read the things you had to say to them.  Keep encouraging them throughout the week.

Unit 7 in Math as begun.  Coming home today you should get a Unit 7 Family Letter.  I would advise keeping this to help as questions come up with the homework throughout the unit.  This unit will be about multiplication and division.  If you could help your child make flash cards or purchase them a set to practice at home that would be very beneficial.  The more they practice at home the better they will be.

This week in reading we will not be reading a story or taking a test.  We will however be working on some comprehension skills and grammar skills.  There will also be a spelling test at the end of the week.  Please encourage your child to read each and every night.  When they do help them record the minutes they read on their assignment sheets and sign the bottom to verify that they read and did their homework.  We currently have only a little over half of the class that brings recorded and verified minutes back each day.  Some days it is only about 5 out of our 21 students.

I look forward to getting back into daily blogs as my basketball season has come to a close and I will have a little more time on my hands.

Let's make it a great week for learning!