Special's Schedule Change

Due to changes in the schedule for ISAT during the next two weeks, your child's special's schedule will change too.  Listed below is the special's schedule for March 4th - March 12th:

• Monday: (1:55-2:25) Spanish, (2:30-3:00) P.E.
• Tuesday: (1:55-2:25) Spanish, (2:30-3:00) P.E.
• Wednesday: (1:55-2:25) Art, (2:30-3:00) Music
• Thursday: (1:55-2:25) Art, (2:30-3:00) Music
• Friday: (1:55-2:25) Art, (2:30-3:00) Music

ISAT Information Letter

An important letter will be sent home with your child tomorrow regarding changes in the ISAT test and cut-off scores.  This important document explains the integration of the new common core state standards in our current state test, as well as an explanation of the raised performance levels and what effect this will have on your child's testing.  Please be expecting to see it in your child's green homework folder!  Thanks!  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Field Trips

I know the kids have been waiting, and I'm sure the parents have been waiting too ... but there are 3-4 future field trips planned for the remaining part of the year!  More information about each of the field trips will be given as they each get closer:

• Wednesday, March 20th: Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art - http://www.lizzadromuseum.org/

• Wednesday, April 24th: Open Books, Adventures in Creative Writing & Poetry Slam - http://www.open-books.org/about.php

• Friday, May 31st: Wrigley Stadium Tour

Equivalent Fractions

The following resource is a great tool for your child to visually "see" equivalent fractions, which will help them better understand this concept.  For lesson 7.6: Many Names for Fractions (completed today) and 7.7: Equivalent Fractions (completed on Thursday) - this website would be a very helpful tool for your child to use for their math homework!  Equivalent Fractions

February 27th - Half Day Reminder

School hours tomorrow are from 8:15-11:45.  Breakfast and lunch will be served.  Please pack a lunch or pay for hot lunch in advance. 

Room 203 is being asked to wear the color blue.  We will spend 1 hour with our buddy room, Ms. Halfen's class.  Then, students will spend 1 hour participating in their assigned club. 

Busses will run to school at 8:15 and from school at 11:45.  Youth Guidance services will be available at 11:45 as well.  If you have any questions, please call (773) 534-8500.  

ISAT Practice

The website I'm attaching has interactive sample ISAT questions that your child can complete at home for additional practice and preparation: Interactive ISAT Sample Questions

In the classroom, we will be completing both the 2013 ISAT Reading & Math Sample questions, along with the 2011 ISAT Reading Sample Questions, so please choose other sections to practice.  

A parent letter with ISAT related information will be going home early this week!

IXL Practice

Using IXL, the following sections are great practice for students that correlate with lessons we've covered so far in Unit 7:

• 4Q4 (7.1): Fractions Review
• 4Q7 (7.2): Fractions of a Number
• 4V1 (7.3): Calculate Probability
• 4R1 & 4R2 (7.5): Adding Fractions
• 4R4 & 4R5 (7.5): Subtracting Fractions

Parent Coffee

Just a reminder that there is a Third Grade Parent Coffee on Monday, February 25th from 8:15-9:00.  Hope to see you there!

Unit 6 Math Tests

Unit 6 Math Tests will be sent home today in Friday Folders with a reflection that your child will complete.  To clarify - I had to grade this twice, because the first time I did not allot the points correctly per problem.  Each student's final score is out of 41 points - this is marked in pink.  As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Website for Brochures

Today students began exploring the website we'll be using to create their brochures.  It was wonderful seeing how enthusiastic and excited they were to begin creating them!  The due date for the brochures will be pushed back a little.  Before and during ISAT we have a handful of computer lab times scheduled, so students should be able to complete this assignment in the classroom.   

Some students were interested in starting the brochure at home (or just exploring more!).  Here is the website if they are interested: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/printing-press-30036.html

Part 2 - Quarter 3 Project

On Tuesday students brought home Part 1 of their Quarter 3 Project.  They will need to use this for Part 2 of the project. For Part 2, students will be creating planning pages for their actual digital story.  We went over the Part 2 description in class, and took time for a question/answer session.  Here are a few "extras" about this portion of the project that may help at home:

• If students want to type up the rough draft of each page, that is fine!  It can be printed and turned in one one page.  Just be sure that the typed up document is saved on a flash drive - they will be able to use the typed document for their digital story.

• The illustrations/image portion of the planning page does not need to include a lot of detail.  It can simply be a rough sketch of what the students are planning on doing, or even words about an image they want to search for.

• If your child wants to find computer images and/or take pictures (of themselves, or of other things related to their story) to put into their digital story, this would be a great way "to get ahead of the game."  Just be sure these images are saved on a flash drive too.  

• I also had a few questions regarding if the students could type each page in a PowerPoint.  This would be acceptable too!  Just have your child print the pages to turn in to be checked.  

Please let me know if you have any other questions! 

Room 203 Reminders

• Donations: Math-A-Thon donations are due tomorrow!  Your child can continue to work on their Fun Book, however!

• Magazines: By next Wednesday, your child will need to bring in at least one child-friendly magazine to use for the half day.  If you have any other magazines you would like to donate, please have your child bring them in by 2/27.  Thanks!

A Sneak Peek at Our Week ...

Word Work:  The affixes that students will focus on this week are: -y and -en.  All affixes that are being instructed are a review of third grade affixes that will be found on the state test.

Writing:  Students are wrapping up practice on writing math extended responses.  

Math:  This week, students will complete lessons 7.2 - 7.6.  Please remember resources like study links, math games, and vocabulary for this unit can be found on the following page: Unit 7.  Also, be checking your child's homework page - they will start writing down IXL practice activities that coordinate with the EDM lessons.  Also, Friends of Skinner North has purchased the Study Island online program for math practice.  Your child's usernames/password will be sent home this week!  This is great tool to use for practice, especially with the ISAT coming up!

Reading:  This week your child will review different types of expository text structures like compare/contrast, fact/opinion, cause/effect, problem/solution, and description.  They will continue to practice writing extended responses to their readings.  With the ISAT being just around the corner, your child will be bringing home a "goals" sheet with two specific goals that they need to focus on and practice.  This week we will also no longer be using the graphic organizer, and instead be using lined paper.  We will also begin factoring in the "time" component of the written portion of this test.  

Social Studies: This week, students will define culture and go on a web-quest exploring different cultural features found in the city of Chicago.  They will finish the week comparing and contrasting different cultures found in the city.  

Quarter 3 Project:  A description of the second part of this project will go home Monday or Tuesday this week.  Part 2 of this project will be due Friday, March 1st.  

Valentine's Day & Figurative Language

Today students reviewed different types of figurative language like similes, metaphors, personification, alliterations, and rhymes.  Then, they choose a topic(s) related to Valentine's Day and created a poem using each type of figurative language.  Love was definitely in the air in Room 203! :)

A Sneak Peek At Our Week ...

Word Work:  The affixes that students will focus on this week are: -ing (the result of an activity) and -ed (past tense).  All affixes that are being instructed are a review of third grade affixes that will be found on the state test.  

Writing: Students will continue practicing writing extended responses for math problems this week as well.  On Thursday, students will review similes and metaphors and use both types of figurative language to create poems about topics related to Valentine's Day.  

Math:  On Monday students will play a review game "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for Unit 6, and check their study guides.  On the following site, Unit 6: Division; Measure of Angles, both the review game and corrected study guide will be uploaded Monday evening.  On Monday, your child will also be bringing home a Unit 6 IXL Practice checklist (also found on the website).  Based on in-class assessments and exit cards from prior lessons, I will be marking which skills your child should focus on practicing.  This will be a great resource for students to use!  On Wednesday, they will take their Unit 6 Test and on Thursday and Friday we will begin Unit 7, covering lessons 7.1 & 7.2.  The Unit 7 Family Letter and other resources can be found on the third grade website: Unit 7: Fractions & Their Uses; Chances & Probability.  

Read-Aloud: After spending a significant amount of time previewing the text Holes, students came up with BIG IDEA QUESTIONS based off of their predictions and questions.  These are questions that students will "hold onto" and "follow" throughout the text by tracking and noting evidence as we read. 

Reading:  This week your child will continue to practice writing extended responses to reading selections.  We will also look closely at different types of response samples, analyzing what writers did well and what they need to work on.

Social Studies:  For the culminating project of Unit 3: Chicago Today, students will be creating a brochure on the city.  Students will have at least one work day per week to work on this project.  The final brochure will be due March 1st.  This week, student learning will focus on explaining how Chicago's government is organized and describing the roles of Chicago's mayor, city council, and other local officials.  

Important Dates Ahead:

• 2/12: NO SCHOOL
• 2/14: Students will pass out Valentine's Day cards
• 2/15: Quarter 3, Part 1: Rock Research & Information Page Due
• 2/20: Donations need to be turned in for the St. Jude's Math-A-Thon Fundraiser

Math Review & Study Guide Correction

There is a correction to #11C; the problem should state: 8 * 6 + 12 = 3 * 4 * 12.  Happy reviewing!

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day next Thursday, students are allowed to bring in Valentine cards for their classmates.  We will be making "mailboxes" in the classroom for them to put their cards into.  If your child chooses to bring in Valentine cards, it is asked that they bring one for each member of our classroom - so no hearts are broken of course :).  I will be e-mailing you all a class list, and will also print one to send home with the students.  Just a reminder - students cannot pass out candy or food to each other.  Thanks!

Report Cards

Report cards will be sent home tomorrow - be on the look-out!   As always, let me know if you have any questions!

IXL Practice

The portion of Unit 6 we are currently studying focuses on turns, angles, and coordinate planes.  The following areas on the IXL website (ixl.com)  would be great practice for your child that relate to concepts instructed in class:

• (6.5) Grade 4, P12: Turns, angles of 90, 180, 270, 360
• (6.6) Grade 4, P14: Estimating angles 
• (6.7) Grade 4, P13: Measure angles with a protractor
• (6.7) Grade 4, P11: Acute, right, obtuse, straight angles
• *** Extension - Grade 4, P15: Adjacent angles (2 angles that total 90 degrees)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Math-A-Thon

Donations are due on Wednesday, February 20th.  Please remember - all students who are participating will receive a $1.00 donation from me, which is sufficient if your family is not interested in collecting donations.   Donations can be turned into me in the class collection envelope.  Our school has set a goal of $750.00!

Ideas, Tips, & Suggestions for Students ... 

• Set a collection goal and a math goal to work towards.
• Start the Fun Book now!  Have an adult check your answers as you go.  
• Ask people you know to sponsor you.  Stick to family, relatives, and family friends. 
• You can ask sponsors to donate a flat amount.  Checks can be made payable to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
• You can also ask sponsors to donate a fixed amount per problem or page completed.  Then, try to challenge yourself to complete as many as possible!
• Setup an online account and ask out of town relatives to donate online.  
• Don't forget to thank your sponsors!  You can make "thank-you cards" or send virtual cards through the website.  
• Some companies make donations.  Have your parents visit stjude.org/matchinggifts to find out if their employer will match their gift.  

*** It's not too late to sign up!  If you still want to participate, register online and begin collecting money.  We also have a few extra Fun Books, so check in with me if you would like an extra copy!

Online Registration

1. Choose Participant Login
2. Click "Search for your event"
3. Click "Illinois" then search for "Skinner North Classical"
4. Click "Students register here!"
5. Create a username and password and write them down so you don't forget!

No School = No Math Test :)

Because there is no school on Tuesday, February 12th there can be no Math Test Tuesday either :).  Instead, the Unit 6 Math Test will be on Wednesday, February 13th.  

Skinner North Science Fair

SKINNER NORTH SCIENCE FAIR

When: Monday, February 11th from 3:30-4:30

Where: Skinner North Gymnasium

Who: 2nd-5th grade students

(Family and friends are encouraged to attend!)

All Science Fair Projects will be on display, but attendance is optional.  Participation ribbons will be awarded and participants will have an opportunity to share the results of their science fair projects.  Please arrange to have your child take home their project afterwards.  

Solar Panel Project

This week students are raising money for Skinner North's Solar Panel Project.  In order for the school to be part of this project and receive solar panels, we need to raise 10% of the cost of the panels which totals $1500.  Students have been bringing in any spare change they have and/or making additional donations.  If the school collects more than $1500, the additional funds will go directly to the Skinner North science lab.  The classroom that raises the most money will receive an extra recess and a goody-bag (you would have thought these kids had won the lottery when I shared this news with them :), ha!!!).  

A Sneak Peek At Our Week ...

• Writing:  Students will continue to practice math extended responses in writing.  They have been doing a wonderful job with these!  When completing a collaborative problem solving task in math today, it was great seeing the students transfer these skills they've been developing!

• Math: This week students will finish Unit 6.  For the remainder of the week, students will learn about rotations and angles, and how to use full and half circle protractors.  They will end the week reviewing coordinate grid systems.  There will be a study guide sent home Wednesday this week, and students will play a group review game on Monday.  The final test for this unit will be Tuesday, February 12th.  

• Interactive Read-Aloud:  After spending time thoughtfully previewing the text, making predictions, asking questions, and activating their prior knowledge, students will ask big "I wonder" questions about the text Holes.  As the class reads the story, they will "track" these bigger questions as they find out more information.  We will begin our interactive read-aloud with this book later this week. 

• Reading:  This week, students will construct two extended responses to a reading selection.  At this point, students will be completing responses completely on their own.  Mrs. Buckley, Miss Brenner, and I will conference with students coaching them through this process.  

• Social Studies:  On Wednesday, students will begin Unit 3 in social studies which focuses on comparing the Chicago of the past, to Chicago today.  Resources and information on this unit can be found on the Third Grade Website: Unit 3

Quarter 3 Project

A project description and rubric for the Quarter 3 project will be going home with your child today.  Your child will be creating a digital storybook, writing and telling a story from the perspective a rock.  From the rock's point of view, they will describe their properties, what they're made of, the type of rock they are, and explain in detail how they were formed.  This is a great opportunity for your child to compose a story that is both creative and informative, while also using 21st century technology-related tools. 

The project is divided into three major parts (the project description, rubric, and planning pages can be found on the third grade website: Quarter 3 Project)

• Part 1 - Research, due February 15th
• Part 2 - Story Planning Pages, due March 1st
• Part 3 - Digital Story, due April 5th (this portion will be completed in the classroom!)

During the week I will continue to take student questions about the project - please let me know if you have any questions yourself! :)

Specials Schedule Change

Just a reminder to everyone that because we are beginning Quarter 3, students' specials schedule will change.  Instead of having Art on Fridays they will have Spanish & Music.  

Thanks!

Thank you to Beila's family for donating sticky-notes and playing cards to our classroom!