Webpage 12-11-09
This is our classroom webpage! We hope it is informative and keeps you updated on what's happening at school. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.
You can email me at: staffordd@royaloakschools.com
Click Here to view the Curriculum Guide I passed out during Curriculum Night. It lists classroom Policies and Procedures including the Redo Policy.
Advancing an Idea
This week we have been hard at work noticing our environment like writers do. We have been observing our world through the eyes of a writer and then thinking about what we notice. For example, one of our students noticed that one day she didn’t eat a lot of her lunch and threw most of it away. She started looking around the lunchroom and noticed others doing the same thing. It made her think that students waste a lot of their lunches. She is now writing an essay about it that includes a thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. And you thought your child wouldn’t have to worry about thesis statements until college!
We have also been working on paragraph structure and identifying topic and conclusion sentences. Children worked in teams to form paragraphs with sentence strips. They identified which ones were topic sentences, which were supporting detail sentences, and which were conclusion sentences. Once they had the paragraph the way they wanted it, they copied it down to learn how to write indented paragraphs. This real assessment showed what students knew about making basic paragraphs AND it was FUN!!
Malina and Joe analyze their group's paragraph.
Sabrina, Kincaid, and Hannah work together to make a paragraph that makes sense.
Amanda's group talks out their ideas.
Maverick and Maxx try some sentences out to see if they fit.
New Year's Eve Party!
This coming Friday, December 18th we will be having a classroom party to ring in the New Year! We will be sharing some food, doing some activities, and working on a writing project. It will be lots of fun! If you'd like, stop by for a visit. We'll be using the last two hours of the day. Thanks also for all the wonderful parents who donated party supplies! We had more than enough volunteers in only two days! Wow, we're so thankful to have such great support! Happy New Year!
More Special Classes
Once again, I'd like to say how great it is that (for now) we are fortunate enough in Royal Oak to have classes like Art, Music, Physical Education, and Foreign Language. This week, we're highlighting Art and Music. Ms. Lucaj has been working with the students on creating renditions of Aboriginal artwork from Australia! Students have been working on their "dreamings", which are like drawing a story of part of their lives. Each student used paints to produce a work of art that represents themselves. It goes without saying that they deserve a place of honor on the refrigerator or even framed to hang on a wall!
Isabel's work is very detailed and ornate.
Jarmarious checks over his "dreaming".
Payton works on a seasonal art project while Ms. Lucaj watches his technique.
Now that he's done with his painting, Maverick works with pencil and paper.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 4th! That's the date for this year's Third Grade Vocal Music Concert! The students in Ms. Sander's music class are already hard at work memorizing songs, studying music theory, and even learning a few dance movements. They learn traditional music as well as new pieces. They combine singing with instruments. They learn about tempo, harmony, and pitch. It's a great program that produces beautiful music. You won't believe your ears! Make sure your camcorder is charged up!
Students stand during the "A" phrases and sit during the "B" phrases, helping them learn the music.
Ms. Sander asks the students about the patterns in the song they're working on.
A Marathon of Math Pentathlon
Our students are getting very proficient at our first three games. The most recent one, FIAR (Four in a Row) is very popular with the students. They work very hard to come up with strategies, use new skills by "blocking", and adapt quickly as the game changes. These advanced skills are coming more easily to students the more they are familiar with the games. Next, we will be playing some "Head to Head" competitions where partners can choose between the three games we've learned so far!
Devon and Kyle square off against Libby and Amanda while Ms. Mick helps with the rules.
Mr. Stafford watches as Hailey adds a "blocker" to stop Evan's progress. (Photos by Ms. Sarate)
Achoo!
The sap doesn't start running until late winter in Michigan but our noses are already out to a big lead! If you think of it, please pick up an extra box of facial tissues the next time you're at the store and send them into the classroom. Our noses thank you!
Don't Forget Study Island!
With just a click, your child can get some extra practice at home on Michigan Curriculum! If you click on the Study Island link that's on the left of this page, it will take you right to the website where we work on Reading and Math skills.
The log in is:
firstname.lastname@oakridge
password is:
firstname
It's a great way to reinforce what we're doing in the computer lab and it's fun!
Archived Webpages
If there was something you missed on a previous week, I am making links to the webpages that we've already had up. Click on one of the weeks below to find what you need.
You can also check out our past newsletter issues by clicking on the links below!