Bridge to Conversation

We have been reading Bridge to Terabithia as a class, and I decided it was a good time to discuss it. Please go to this website and answer the question. 
or use the QR code posted below.







We are going to be using this website a lot coming up. We have been having in class discussions, and now we'll be able to do that whenever you can. We'll talk more about it in class, but I want you to familiarize yourself with it. 




 





Reading: Literature Standard 3 

Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.



Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Living or Non-Living

This week in science we will be discussing organisms. Scary word I know, but we are going to learn what they are, and how they fit in an environment. I'm made a quick slide show to introduce you to the topic of Living and Non-living things in an environment. To go to the slide show click here. 

We will start our discussion tomorrow, so please review the presentation!  



Google slides is a good way to make a power point that you can easily access wherever you are.



Standard 2 
Students will understand that organisms depend on living and nonliving things within their environment.

Objective 1: 
Classify living and nonliving things in an environment.

1. Identify characteristics of living things (i.e., growth, movement, reproduction). 
2. Identify characteristics of nonliving things. 
3. Classify living and nonliving things in an environment. 

Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Music Unit

We are doing some singing and dancing this next week! As you all know, I'm a big fan of pinterest. I've made a board to show some of the things we're going to be doing this year with our singing and dancing unit! Go here to see them. 








I'm sure a lot of you have seen or heard of pinterest. If you want a lot of information and sources for one thing, this is a good way to go about it.



Standard 1
Singing The student will develop the voice and body as instruments of musical expression.

Objective 2
Use body movement to internalize sounds. (See Dance Core.)

Standard 4
Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, to remediate skill deficits, and to facilitate learning throughout the curriculum. (3)

Bully Blocker Brochure

As you know, I'm the head faculty member of our program called Bully Blockers.
A student approached me 2 years ago asking for help because she wanted to start a school wide  Bullying Prevention program after seeing 3 of her peers being bullied. We talk about this in class a lot and many of you seem interested. I have brochures that I will hand out, but I figured I would also put it here so parents could see as well. 

Our next meeting is November 4th and we would love to see as many of you there as we can.



We have been doing our mock businesses lately, and there is an advertisement section on the rubric. A brochure is a great way to advertise!

Objective 2
Develop skills for building healthy interpersonal relationships.

1. Show respect for the uniqueness of others, regardless of gender; e. g., abilities, talents, strengths, characteristics, and hopes for the future.
   
2. Demonstrate assertive communication.
   
3. Respect personal boundaries. 

Standard 5
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4) 

Cloud Types

This week in science we are watching clouds. Big puffy ones, small wispy ones, rain clouds, thunder clouds, all of them! But, we are going to learn what their real names are. We are going to learn how to tell what kind of weather we might expect. There are three types that we'll talk about: Cumulus, Cirrus, and Stratus. Below, I have three short  videos about each type of cloud. Watch them before Thursday so you'll be prepared for our lesson!

 

Cumulus Clouds



Cirrus Clouds



 Stratus Clouds

Animoto is a fun way to make short videos using pictures, music, or short video clips. If this is something you'd be interested in, this is another one you could use for your personal narrative.

Standard 2
Students will understand that the elements of weather can be observed, measured, and recorded to make predictions and determine simple weather patterns.

Objective 1
Observe, measure, and record the basic elements of weather.
 Identify basic cloud types (i.e., cumulus, cirrus, stratus clouds).




Standard 4
Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, to remediate skill deficits, and to facilitate learning throughout the curriculum. (3)

Stressed out Susie- Stress Management

Today in health we talked about stress. We discussed the things that make us feel stressed and how we can cope and manage our stress. I wrote a little story about it and would LOVE it if parents could read it with our students and together talk about stress in their lives and make a plan so see how you could personally manage it. 

Click here for the story:
Stressed Out Susie

Storybird is so fun. Those of you looking for a good creative outlet to do presentations, this is a great one! Maybe for your personal narratives.



Standard 1
The students will learn ways to improve mental health and manage stress.
Objective 1
Demonstrate effective decision making based on positive self-worth. *PD

1. Identify characteristics of positive self-worth; e. g., ability to set goals, self-efficacy and values, physical, social, mental health.
   
2. Apply the decision-making process; i. e. , identify the problem, gather information, identify alternatives, predict the immediate and long-term consequences, make the best choice, act, evaluate results.
   
3. Identify factors that may influence decision making; e. g., media, peers, environment, self-worth. 

 Standard 5
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Reader's Theater

This week has been fun! You have all worked so hard on writing your scripts with your groups and now you will see that hard work pay off! We will be performing your plays on Thursday. I sent home flyers with everyone, but in case yours was misplaced, I've attached them here. 








Standard 1
Playmaking The student will plan and improvise plays based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature, and history for informal and formal theatre.
Objective 2
Plan and record dialogue and physical attributes that reveal specific attitudes or motives in characters for informal and formal theatre.


Standard 6
Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information and communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning and for pursuit of personal interests. (4)

Alcohol and Tobacco

 We have been talking a lot this week about how to keep our bodies strong and healthy! We discussed good things to do and this week we'll start discussing some things that are not a good idea if we want to stay healthy and fit. Tomorrow we will start our unit on Alcohol and Tobacco. Follow this link to see some of the risks of alcohol and tobacco. The Infographic is a great way to share quick information, like the results of your survey's. I definitely enjoy making them, and maybe you could keep this in mind for our next project!!

 Here are our standards for the Core that we are using.

Standard 2 
The students will adopt health-promoting and risk-reducing behaviors to prevent substance abuse

Objective 1 
Recognize the health implications of alcohol and tobacco use.

1. Identify both the short- and long-term effects of alcohol and tobacco use. 
2. Describe the effects of passive smoke. 
3. Determine the financial impact of alcohol and tobacco use.

Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Civil War Tiki-Toki

As you remember, we have been learning about different ways to present information in class. I mentioned Tiki-Toki, and figured I should show it to you. This is another good thing to use for presentations. Especially if it can help with our History Unit. I have prepared a Tiki-Toki for you to see covering the first few years of the Civil War. It only goes to the Emancipation Proclamation which is where we have gotten to in class. I didn't cover everything in this presentation, just some important things. Please look at your text book for the things I missed. I even included a short video about the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Please click here to see my Tiki Toki


Standard 4
Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.

 Objective 3
Evaluate the course of events of the Civil War and its impact both immediate and long-term.

1. Identify the key ideas, events, and leaders of the Civil War using primary sources (e.g. Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, news accounts, photographic records, diaries).
   
2. Contrast the impact of the war on individuals in various regions (e.g. North, South, West).
   
3. Explain how the Civil War helped forge ideas of national identity.
   
4. Examine the difficulties of reconciliation within the nation. 

 Standard 5
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Revolutionary War

I LOVE History!! And I want you to love it too!! The Revolutionary War is one of my favorite things to teach and learn! I made this little presentation so you can can remember some important parts of the war. We're going to start talking about some of these things next week, so I would like you to familiarize yourself with some of the things on this presentation. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to e-mail, call, or talk to me in class.
Below is both the standards being used and the presentation. Enjoy!


Prezi is a great way to show information in a new way. We are doing persuasive presentations in two weeks. This is a good thing to use for those presentation.

Standard 2
Students will understand the chronology and significance of key events leading to self-government.
Objective 1
Describe how the movement toward revolution culminated in a Declaration of Independence.
Objective 2
Evaluate the Revolutionary War's impact on self-rule.


 Standard 8
Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem-solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities. (5, 6)

Multiplication Assessment

As you may know, we have been working on Multiplication this week. We have just started, so you may still have questions. I have written a quick assessment I would like all the students to take. That way I will know where we are as a class. I've listed the standards we're using below. Please take the assessment that is under the standards. 



Google forms is a good way to gather information of every kind. Maybe even for surveys. You can use surveys in our upcoming project.



3. OA.A Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.

1.
Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.

Standard 5 
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

Earth and Its Moon

This week in Science the whole third grade has been learning all about Earth, It's moon, and how they both move! 
Ms. Jones and I have created an at home quiz to take about the things we have learned!
Go here to find the quiz. 









Standard 1
Students will understand that the shape of Earth and the moon are spherical and that Earth rotates on its axis to produce the appearance of the sun and moon moving through the sky.

 Objective 1
Describe the appearance of Earth and the moon.

 Objective 2
Describe the movement of Earth and the moon and the apparent movement of other bodies through the sky.

 Standard 5
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

September Newsletter

We have a lot of exciting things happening in the month of September; mostly in our reading.

This month we will be talking about themes in a story and summarizing.

I have given an example in our class newsletter which can be found here!

Look for the newsletter in your students' backpacks, but if it's not there please feel free to use the one posted. Please contact me with any questions!
I also read all comments left on the class blog, if  you feel the need to leave one.




The core standards being covered for Language arts in this project are:

 Reading: Literature Standard 2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.


Our EdTech standard being covered is:
 Standard 5
Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

The Water Cycle

Don't forget that we're talking about the Water Cycle in Science this week!
Be sure to familiarize yourself with it for our in class activity!
You can see a bit about it here.




This program I used is called Glogster, It may be a good thing to look into using for your upcoming book reports.




 Standard 1
Students will understand that water changes state as it moves through the water cycle.

 Objective 2
Describe the water cycle.


 Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)