http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/ en Copyright 2012 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:50:34 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss This Thursday, Feb. 9th, will be a half day for the students due to Parent Teacher Conferences. If you feel that you need to come in for any specific reason to discuss your child's progress, please do so. I will be available from 1:00 - 4:00 and 5:00 - 7:30. On Valentine's Day, we will have a lighter afternoon. We'll play a couple of games, and the boys and girls can pass out their valentines to everyone. You can send a treat if you'd like, but we're not going to take up too much classtime on this little celebration. I tried to give some pointers on the children's last book reports to help them improve on this next one due on Feb. 24th, although they were pretty well done for the most part! This next one should be written in cursive writing. Also please remember to include the Rough Draft as I like to check their proofreading and revising skills. For the third report, due March 30th, we are asking that the kids choose a non-fiction biography or autobiography as their book. Of course it should be at their reading level. Mrs. Conn and I can help with that decision. Just make sure your child brings the book in for approval. I think the boys and girls are working hard and doing a great job on these reports...they're on display outside Room 7 if you'd like to take a peek. http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2012/02/winter.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2012/02/winter.html Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:50:34 -0600 I hope everyone can be with us to celebrate our Blue Ribbon Award on Sunday, Jan. 15th, when Cardinal George will be offering Mass to congratulate us on our accomplishment! The school children are being asked to wear their uniforms and sit together with their classes at the 10:30 Mass if at all possible. What an honor for all of us! I have recently sent home the information the students will need for Book Reports in third grade this second semester, and I would like to repeat some of it here on my blog for your convenience. I would like to approve the book first, please. Format: On loose leaf paper, using one side only... Heading Title:____________________________________ Author: Main Characters: Summary: Write your summary while you read the book by reading a chapter or two then writing a paragraph about what you read. Use main ideas and a few interesting details from each chapter. No need to include any dialogue...that's probably not important. By the time you finish the book, you will have a completed summary. This will be your rough draft. Save it as you will also turn it in. Proofread your rough draft and make any additions before you write your final copy. (on one side only, please.) Be sure to include a final paragraph stating what you liked best or didn't like about the book you chose. Create an attractive cover by drawing, using the computer, or using craft materials to showcase your work. Do not simply make a copy of the book's cover on a copy machine! Due dates: 4 Book Reports #1...........Friday, January 27th................Print final copy #2...........Friday, February 24th..............Print final copy #3...........Friday, March 30th..................Final copy in Cursive #4...........Friday, April 27th....................Rough draft ready to be Typed in Computer Class (May take several class periods) Rubric: These are the areas I will be grading on the reports *a clear focus on the book *a beginning that identifies the title, author, characters * a middle that describes the main events in time order * an ending that sums up the writer's opinion of the book * confident lively voice * carefully chosen adjectives * a variety of sentences, including those with compound subjects & predicates * correct grammar and usage * correct spelling * correct punctuation and capitalization * neatness * consistent margins and spacing * attractive cover Point Values.........4 to 8 per area Your guidance is appreciated, however, your involvement is not necessary and should be limited. The boys and girls are capable of completing these reports on their own for the most part. Yes, there seems to be a lot involved, but the end results will be worth the effort. Just be thankful that you don't have to read and grade 24 of them!!! http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2012/01/january_2012.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2012/01/january_2012.html Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:46:48 -0600 I hope you're ready for Christmas, because the kids surely are! The Christmas Program is on Tuesday, December 20th, at 7:00 in the Church, I believe. Our class is singing a "gospel" song entitled "I Pray on Christmas". We've even made our version of gospel robes for the event. If the boys and girls could please wear their uniform shirts, shoes and socks that night to complete the outfits, that would be great...we're going to ROCK the Church! Instead of having an actual party on the last day, Wednesday, December 21, we will be having a "Fun Day". We'll watch a Christmas themed movie, (probably "Elf"...it got the most votes). We'll also do a Christmas craft project. As a special treat, with your permission, the boys and girls can bring an electronic hand held game (DS, gameboy, ipod, ipad, or whatever) to play. If you would prefer not to send those, they could bring any other games to play instead. We have a birthday celebration that day, but any other treats you'd like to send would also be welcomed. Sounds like fun! May I take this opportunity to wish your family the very best of everything this Christmas season. I'm sure you will cherish your time together and create many wonderful memories. Merry Christmas, everyone!. http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/12/ho_ho_ho.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/12/ho_ho_ho.html Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:53:17 -0600 As you know, time is being set aside next Thursday, November 10th for Parent/Teacher Conferences. Remember, this will be a half day of school. If I feel that I really need to meet with you, you will receive a letter requesting an evening conference with you. If there isn't any specific problem that your child has been experiencing thus far this year, I won't be asking you for a meeting. I, of course, will be available all afternoon for anyone who would like to speak to me regarding anything at all. You can stop by at your convenience. Full information about the conferences is posted on the St. Linus website. I entered a drawing at Marquette Bank called Adopt-a-Classroom Prize Drawing.Guess what? We won a $200.00 bank gift card to be used for our classroom.I'm tying to decide on what to buy that would enhance our classroom experience. Right now I'm leaning toward dry-erase boards to replace the dusty, cloudy chalkboards. I think the kids would be much better able to understand the lessons I present if they can see them more easily. Do you have any other ideas? I'm open to suggestions. http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/11/conferences.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/11/conferences.html Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:21:32 -0600 Our mealworms have arrived!!! This year in Science class the two third grade rooms will be observing the life cycle of the beetle, a four-stage insect. We created the habitats for each group's worms. The boys and girls were excited to fill their containers with a mixture of oatmeal and bran (those worms will be so healthy) and include a slice of raw potato to nourish and provide water for their "little friends". Over the next couple of weeks, they will see the mealworms go through the metamorphic process. They will shed their exoskeletons of the larva stage and enter into the pupa stage where they remain in a chrysalis. This stage sometimes may take a while to complete, but the end result should be a fully- developed adult beetle. Along the way, the students will chart their observations in their Lab Manuals, noting such things as feeding habits, behavior, and body changes. Don't forget to ask, "How's your beetle doing?" I would like to mention that some of the children are having much difficulty searching for answers to complete their independent assignments. Because this can be a bit of a time-consuming process, many of them neglect to skim or re-read the material we have already covered in a lesson, chapter, or story. They actually rush through it. You can help by directing them to, not showing them, the general area where they can locate the answers. They need to utilize the topic sentences or headings provided to find specific answers. Unless the question is one that requires critical thinking or drawing conclusions, the answers are most usually right in the book! I don't want to see the boys and girls forming lazy habits. Remember, there is a certain amount of WORK in homework and seatwork! Paying careful attention during the lessons does facilitate this, of course. For those of you wondering about how the Internet can enhance your child's learning this year, I'd like to tell you about some of the sites available that will correlate with our third grade curriculum. In addition to the "Favorite" sites that Mrs. Rosellini has listed on the St. Linus webpage, most of our textbook series have their own interactive sites. The one that I will be using from time to time as a homework assignment is from the Science series. The address is www.sfscience.com. You will see some worksheets coming home that will require the students to "go online", with your supervision, of course. If a computer is not available, I can arrange for your child to complete these assignments in the classroom or the Computer Lab...just let me know. Other sites can be found in the front of the texttbooks. Some of those I know of are: Religion www.blestarewe.com Vocab/Spelling www.sadlier-oxford.com (Vocabulary Workshop Level Green) Math www.mmhmath.com Extra one... http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/bug/index.htm They are worth the trip if you can find the time...Have fun! http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/10/october.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/10/october.html Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:45:49 -0600 Our first week was really an awesome one! I love getting to know the kids and watching their cute personalities pop out as we all become friends. Everyone was so well behaved, and I was impressed at how well they are able to follow directions. That's a very good sign that we will have a good year! Now we're really getting down to business. We have begun the first chapters (or units, as they are sometimes called) in each subject. We are also switching for Social Studies and Science classes now. You may see the dreaded onset of HOMEWORK emerge! Really, it's not so bad. I try not to give more than 45 minutes of reinforcement work a day. (Please understand that some children work at a slower pace than others. There's really no way to gage this, so times may vary.) I want to see the children develop more RESPONSIBILITY this year, therefore they will copy their assignments from my Homework Chart each day themselves. I will not post assignments on this blog because I feel that it just defeats my purpose. I will try to monitor their homework tablets, and I hope that you will check their work against their tablets each day. Perhaps you could initial the page. If we have any difficulty with incomplete work, we can both get on board and initial each day. I do prefer that the children learn to do this themselves though. Our third grade Homework Policy is as follows: After three incomplete/missing assignments, a child will receive an after-school notice for 30 minutes of detention. The work will usually be completed during recess if it has not been forgotten at home. In homeroom we will keep track of all our subjects. In Social Studies or Science, we will keep our own count of the other class's missing assigments. So that they will become successful at being responsible, I am constantly working on ORGANIZATION skills with my class. While I certainly don't expect the kds to be perfect, I do strive for a certain amount of caring for and organizing their materials. My third goal in third grade is to help the children grow in INDEPENDENCE. They sometimes are so fearful of making a mistake that they are unwilling to do things for themselves, when they are actually very capable. I want them to know that it's okay to make mistakes because we learn from them. Yes, there is a huge difference between making a mistake and not understanding something. Please encourage your child to always ask for my assistance when they do not understand. I will then be able to clarify and guide them into continuing on their own. I am always available for extra help when needed...before or after school if necessary. I'm sure my goals for the year are very much the same as yours! Together we can help your child accomplish great things! I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday, September 27th at the Parent Orientation Night. See you then........ http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/09/here_we_go.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/09/here_we_go.html Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:02:38 -0600 It is my sincere pleasure to welcome your child to my third grade classroom this year. I hope it will be an enjoyable learning experience for all of us. I would like to take this opportunity to answer some of the questions you may be wondering about as the children begin their year with me. First of all, our schedule is very full. I will teach Reading and Math in the morning whenever possible. This year Mrs. Moran, my partner teacher, will teach Social Studies to both third grade classes, and I will teach Science to both classes four days a week. Our "Special" classes are scheduled as follows: Monday AM....................Computers Tuesday AM....................Art Wednesday AM...............Gym Thursday.........................Library Friday.............................Gym Birthday treats may be sent with your child on his/her birthday (or on Friday is the birthday is over a weekend). Children with summer birthdays may celebrate either the first week of school or the last if you wish to do so. Finger food treats are appreciated (no peanuts, please). I realize that the day is long, and that the children may become restless. We will take washroom breaks as a group twice a day. Encourage your child to wash his/her hands and make use of these breaks, but to ask permission for any emergency use of the washroom. While I do not schedule a definite "snack time" during the day, I often will treat the class to crackers, pretzels, or some other sugarless snack during their worktime. Donations are very much appreciated and may be sent any time you have an opportunity to pick them up at a good price. The number of students in our room is currently at 24. Recess will take place right after lunch, weather permitting. Please dress your child according to the weather conditions as we usually do go outside for about 15 minutes. I do like to celebrate several holidays with class parties...Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. Of course we will plan one or two field trips this year as well. Please volunteer to help on the form I send home if you can...you are always welcome! You will be able to keep updated on all of our activities and important information by checking this blog. Grades and averages can be reviewed anytime online using the Engrade program. More information and students' passwords will follow soon. Thank you for this opportunity to work with your child. I look forward to working together with you to insure a really great year! I'll keep you posted! http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/08/introduction_to_third_grade.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2011/08/introduction_to_third_grade.html Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:54:04 -0600