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.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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.
Keep practicing those spelling words.
Remember our Valentine's Day party will take place on Friday instead of Thursday.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, February 11, 2013
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!
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!
Friday, February 8, 2013
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!!!
Happy Friday!!!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, February 4, 2013
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!
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!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Routine
We are back into our routine full swing now. Tomorrow will be a spelling test and a reading test over the story Wings. Ask your child about Wings, and study the spelling words with them.
There is math homework tonight. It is about angles, but a protractor is no needed. If it would help your student a simple protractor could be made at home. Take a piece of paper and trace around a glass on it to make a perfect circle. Then cut out the circle. Fold the circle in half twice. Mark on the edge where the folds are and those marks can be labeled as 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. You can eyeball marks between each mark for 45 degrees less or more.
There is math homework tonight. It is about angles, but a protractor is no needed. If it would help your student a simple protractor could be made at home. Take a piece of paper and trace around a glass on it to make a perfect circle. Then cut out the circle. Fold the circle in half twice. Mark on the edge where the folds are and those marks can be labeled as 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. You can eyeball marks between each mark for 45 degrees less or more.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Angles
We have started learning about angles and how to measure them. Today I introduced measuring angles with a protractor. Below are a couple videos about what we learned today in math and what we will be learning in the next couple days. These videos might help on homework later in the week or next week.
I hope everyone is having a good week. Make sure your student is getting their assignment sheet signed each evening and returned to school each day. Also, have them record their reading minutes. Right now we have about half the class that does this on a consistent basis.
Happy Wednesday!!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Brrrrrrr
We are off to another great week. We are moving along very quickly in geometry and I am surprised how well the students are learning the new stuff.
There is no homework besides the 15 minutes of reading tonight. I did give them workbooks to take home and work on some extra work if they would like.
There is no homework besides the 15 minutes of reading tonight. I did give them workbooks to take home and work on some extra work if they would like.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Finally Friday! :)
After two whole weeks off for Christmas I wondered if we would ever get to the end of this week. :) It has been a very busy and full week.
We took our Volcanoes test today and most of the kids did a great job. The kids also all did a good job on the spelling test.
In math we talked about triangles. There is homework over the weekend to draw triangles and measure them. Most of the kids could really use some practice with their measuring skills. Take a few minutes to help them with this and make sure that they are doing it correctly.
I hope everyone has a great, relaxing weekend. Happy Friday!
We took our Volcanoes test today and most of the kids did a great job. The kids also all did a good job on the spelling test.
In math we talked about triangles. There is homework over the weekend to draw triangles and measure them. Most of the kids could really use some practice with their measuring skills. Take a few minutes to help them with this and make sure that they are doing it correctly.
I hope everyone has a great, relaxing weekend. Happy Friday!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Busy, Busy Day
Wow!!! We had a busy day!
This morning we did our volcano experiment. Below there is video of some of the things that went on during the experiment. I will also include a link to the page with directions for doing the experiment at home in the LINKS section.
This morning we also had the opportunity to visit the high school and watch the Show Choir perform. It was exciting as we saw some high school kids and other people that we knew.
After lunch we went to the Kendell Young Library to check out books. We will be doing this on the first Thursday of the first full week each month. Students must have a library card to check out books. They should know after today if they don't have a library card. They will need a parent to take them to the library to get their library card. Hopefully everyone will be able to do this. I also took some pictures at the library and will post those on the blog.
This morning we did our volcano experiment. Below there is video of some of the things that went on during the experiment. I will also include a link to the page with directions for doing the experiment at home in the LINKS section.
This morning we also had the opportunity to visit the high school and watch the Show Choir perform. It was exciting as we saw some high school kids and other people that we knew.
After lunch we went to the Kendell Young Library to check out books. We will be doing this on the first Thursday of the first full week each month. Students must have a library card to check out books. They should know after today if they don't have a library card. They will need a parent to take them to the library to get their library card. Hopefully everyone will be able to do this. I also took some pictures at the library and will post those on the blog.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Halfway through...
We are halfway through our first full week of the year 2013. Did you know that the last time the year didn't have a repeating digit was 1987?
There is homework in math tonight over some of the things that we have learned so far in unit 6. The kids are doing a great job learning about geometry.
Tomorrow and we will be doing science experiments to go along with our reading story about volcanoes. Friday will be the test over the story and the spelling test over words that have wr, kn, mb, and gn.
Tomorrow we will also be taking our first class visit to the Kendall Young Library. This is going to become a monthly occurrence. Students will be allowed to check out books if they have a library card. If they don't they will need to go to the library sometime with a parent to fill out the proper paper work.
There is homework in math tonight over some of the things that we have learned so far in unit 6. The kids are doing a great job learning about geometry.
Tomorrow and we will be doing science experiments to go along with our reading story about volcanoes. Friday will be the test over the story and the spelling test over words that have wr, kn, mb, and gn.
Tomorrow we will also be taking our first class visit to the Kendall Young Library. This is going to become a monthly occurrence. Students will be allowed to check out books if they have a library card. If they don't they will need to go to the library sometime with a parent to fill out the proper paper work.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Great Start to the New Year!
We are off to a great start to the New Year here at Sunset. It seems like it has been forever since we have had a normal scheduled week so it has been nice to get back into the routine that we follow.
This week in reading we are reading a story about volcanoes and learning about volcanoes. This is by far my favorite week of the year. Thursday or Friday we will be making a volcano and the kids will also be doing an expirament of their own. Look for pictures and possibly videos later this week.
In math we have started my favorite unit of the year also. Unit 6 is about Geometry. We have been learning some basic geometry terms. There is homework tonight in math.
Remember to have your child read and to help them record their minutes and to verify the minutes by signing their assignment sheet each day.
This week in reading we are reading a story about volcanoes and learning about volcanoes. This is by far my favorite week of the year. Thursday or Friday we will be making a volcano and the kids will also be doing an expirament of their own. Look for pictures and possibly videos later this week.
In math we have started my favorite unit of the year also. Unit 6 is about Geometry. We have been learning some basic geometry terms. There is homework tonight in math.
Remember to have your child read and to help them record their minutes and to verify the minutes by signing their assignment sheet each day.
Friday, January 4, 2013
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