http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/ en Copyright 2010 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:58:53 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Terra Nova Standardized Tests will be administered next week, March 1st through March 5th. As you may already know, these tests are NOT a part of the students' report card grades. They are an indicator of how well our children perform when they are compared to the rest of the group who are also given the same test. They also help to tell us where or strenghths and weaknesses lie within our curriculum programs. There is absolutely no pressure placed on the children, so please try not to make a huge deal over the tests. At the same time, try to encourage your child to do his/her best and to answer as many of the questions as they can in the amount of time allowed. We will be taking practice tests at the end of this week so that the boys and girls are familiar with the format of the actual tests. These will be sent home so you can look them over with your child. On Monday, most of our day will be spent taking the Cognitive Skills Test. While this is not an "IQ" test, it gives a good idea of what the child is capable of doing. Tuesday and Wednesday, our focus will be on Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics. Thursday and Friday we will take the Social Studies and Science sections of the test. The days will be broken up with our usual "Special" classes and breaks. We will also teach some lessons in between to ease the tension. There will be minimal, if any, homework assignments next week, The children may bring one healthy snack each day - nothing sugary or too heavy. An extra juice would also be a good idea. The best thing you can do to prepare your child for this experience is to make sure they get enough sleep and send them off with a good breakfast. If your child is sick and cannot come to school on any of the test days, make-up tests will be given the following week. We waqnt the boys and girls to do their best on the tests, but do not want them to have any anxiety over them. One more thing, please make sure you send your child with a supply of #2 pencils for the tests. Lent has begun on Ash Wednesday last week. We will be learning more about this holy season and talking about how sacrificing and doing good works will help prepare us for Easter. We will be attending the Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 2:15 p.m. We always encourage the children to attend Mass with their families on the weekend. There are many excuses, but only one right action. The boys and girls know exactly what that action is. Please help them to follow through on that action by getting them to Mass on Sunday. . http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/02/terra_nova_testing.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/02/terra_nova_testing.html Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:58:53 -0600 Welcome to the second half of third grade. I hope you are noticing some changes for the better in your child. Most are showing some maturity in dealing with their supplies and assignments, however, we still have some stragglers. I know it's hard, but please try not to "make their job easier" for them. At this age, it's easy just to give in and do it yourself. You know as well as I that doing that won't help them grow into the responsible student we're working toward. Book Reports are due on Jan. 29th. I can approve the second book anytime. We've finished Chapter 8 in Math on graphs, so it's full speed ahead on multiplication. In addition to the lessons in the book, we will be singing tables, playing games, drilling, and doing all we can to get those facts into the kids' little heads for good! I know I can count on you to help whenever you can. Unit B in Science is dealing with Physical Science, a difficult topic for some students. Remember that the tests are not the only grades that count. Homework should be done carefully, using the chapter as a resource for answers. Some of the children put very little effort into searching for answers, and it shows on their grades. Please encourage your child to log in their reading times on the READ TO SUCCEED form that was given to them. It's a great way to earn a free ticket to Great America. Since they're doing so much reading for book reports anyway, why ot take advantage of this offer? Only 6 hours of reading time is required...such a deal!!! Catholic Schools Week is coming soon, so I hope to see you celebrating Catholic education with us at some of our planned activities. Had enough winter yet???? I have http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/01/second_semester_already.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/01/second_semester_already.html Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:18:37 -0600 We require four book reports in the second semester of Third Grade. This information has been sent home as well. ....Bring in your book for approval so you can begin reading. FORMAT: Name.........................................................................Date Reading......................................................................Gr. 3 Rm .............................Book Report........................................... Title:_________________________________(underline title) Author: Characters: Summary: My suggestion is to write the rough draft of your summary WHILE you read the book by reading one or two chapters, then writing a paragraph,including the main ideas,about what you read. By th time you have finished the book, you will have your summary completed! Also be sure to include a paragraph at the end about what you liked best about the book.Use a second paper whenever necessary. Parents, please, advise your child, guide your child, assist your child...but do not write the report for him/her. They need to use their own skills in finding main ideas and summarizing. Also, encourage them to check their work carefully. You can help by reviewing their writing and pinpointing an area where a mistake may have been made...don't do it for them. And when it comes to covers...the boys and girls can be very creative on their own. They really do not need your help in that area. Thank you in advance for allowing your child to earn his/herown grade. COVER - Create an ATTRACTIVE cover by drawing, using the computer, or using scrapbooking or craft materials. Do NOT simply make a copy of the book's cover as your cover. PROOFREAD your final copy for any mistakes before you turn it in. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors will hurt your final grade. DUE DATES: Book Report #1 Friday, Jan. 29th Printed in manuscript on loose leaf paper #2 Friday, Feb. 26th Written in cursive writing on loose leaf paper #3 Friday, March 26th Written in cursive writing on loose leaf paper #4 Friday, Apr. 30th Typed in Computer class (rough draft ready by Apr.19) It is our hope that the children will benefit from these book reports by improving their writing skills and formulating good organizational skills as well as responsibility. http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/01/book_report_information.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2010/01/book_report_information.html Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:59:51 -0600 Well, I hope you're ready for Christmas, because the kids surely are! Instead of having a classroom Christmas party on Friday, December 18th, we will be having a "Fun Friday" in Room 7. We'll watch a holiday themed movie (there are so many to choose from...we'll vote on our favorites). There will be Art class in the morning, so I'm sure Mrs. Gallagher will have something exciting planned. As a special treat, with your permission, the boys and girls may bring an electronic hand-held game, ipod, CD player, etc. to use later on in the day. If you would prefernot to send those items, or if your child would rather, any other game appropriate for a small group would also be fun to play. You have received a notice that we will be collecting food items for Christmas baskets to be donated to the less fortunate. We have been asked to bring any ]type of canned meat, such as stew, canned spaghetti, etc. Please search your cabinets for something to send, or allow your child to purchase something so that he can feel that he has played a part in this collection. Remember we'll be starting multiplication after the holidays, so it might be a good time to work on flash cards and memorizing the multiplication tables. We'll also begin writing most of our work in cursive in January...a new look. Cursive writing is very important for exercising fine motor skills and developing control. As time goes on, the children will develop their own individual style. Wishing you the happiest of holidays this year. Keep Christ in Christmas! http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/12/almost_christmas.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/12/almost_christmas.html Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:18:40 -0600 It was nice to see some of you at the Parent Teacher Conferences last week. It's always a good thing to review your child's progress, whether at a formal conference or a more casual one. I am always available to address your concerns. Just call or email me to set up a time. Now that the children have had a good start and are becoming familiar with all of our routines, they should be working on improving the "look" of their work. I really want them to develop a sense of self pride. Therefore, there may be times when your child will be asked to "Do Over" an assignment because of poor quality or incorrect/incomplete answers. I know what they are capable of by now, and I will refuse to accept anything less than their best. Please try to help them review their work at home to develop self pride and alleviate this problem. I really believe it will be in their best interest. Thanks in advance for your help. The holidays are fast approaching, and our time in class is very valuable. There is a lot of material to cover this quarter. The children need to work at memorizing the multiplication tables since we will begin the chapters on multiplication shortly after the New Year. I recommend the three-corner flash cards that can be made at home or purchased at the teachers' store (on 95th St.next to Holy Redeemer School). They utilize the fact family concept, and they really work very well. Also, remember that after we complete the last chapter of Unit A in Science, we will have a unit test, so don't dispose of the study packets from Chapters 1 - 4. Our next unit will be on Physical Science...tough stuff ! I wish your families a LOVELY Thanksgiving holiday together ! ! ! God Bless ! http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/11/second_quarter.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/11/second_quarter.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:28:49 -0600 Our mealworms have arrived!!! This year the two third grade rooms will be observing the 4-Stage Life Cycle of the beetle. Last week, we created the habitats for each group's insects. The boys and girls were excited to fill their tubs with a mixture of oat bran and grits and include a slice of raw potato to nourish and provide water for their mealworms. They even came up with creative names for their developing beetles. 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 the pupa stage where they remain in a chrysalis. This stage may take a while to complete, but the end result will be a fully developed adult beetle. The project will be an ongoing one. Along the way, the students will chart their observations in their Lab Manual Logs, noting such things as feeding habits, behavior, and body changes. It's a fun experience for the children. Don't forget to ask, "How's your beetle doing?" http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/10/science.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/10/science.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:55:50 -0600 For those of you wondering about how the Internet can enhance your child's learning this year, I'd like to mention 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 opening page to our blogs, 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.sfcscience.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 at home, I can arrange fro your child to complete these assignments in the classroom or the computer lab after school...just let me know. Other sites can be found in the front of the textbooks. Some of those I know of are: Religion www.blestarewe.com Vocab/Spelling www.sadlier-oxford.com (Vocab. Workshop, Level Green) Math www.mmhmath.com More... www.teachersfirst.com/getsource 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/2009/10/fun_internet_sites.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/10/fun_internet_sites.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:41:57 -0600 Three weeks into the year, and I'd like to say that I am pretty well pleased with the way the boys and girls are falling into a real routine already this year. Most of them are showing me that they can handle the third grade work load and schedule. There have been, however some instances when children have forgotten books or materials to complete their homework assignments. At the end of the day, the students copy their assignments from my board, an exact duplicate of their tablet page. I encourage them to write these assignments down as they are given if they prefer, or to copy whatever is on the board at lunchtime if they feel rushed at the end of the day. It's their choice...three options. While they are packing up, I tell them what they will need to take home, and they say, "Check," if they have it ready. It's very important that they LISTEN at this time. Nevertheless, some children have come without assignments the following day. While I do understand that circumstances arise, most excuses are simply, "I forgot." I will accept notes that explain situations, but I discourage parents from just "getting their child off the hook". I will circle the missing assignment or write it in the assignment book and note, "See previous day" in the tablet. After three missing/late assignments, I will send a notice home requesting that the child remain with me after school for 30 minutes to complete his/her assignment. This is usually enough to make the impression, and it rarely happens again. More serious problems will be dealt with by taking other steps. Please check over your child's assignment tablet each day and encourage him/her to be neat and accurate when writing things down. Also check to see when upcoming tests are scheduled (at the end of each subject line), as I try to post them a couple of days ahead of time. Responsibility doesn't just happen...it needs to be practiced. Your little ones are growing up! Thanks for your help in this matter. http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/09/homework_policy.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/09/homework_policy.html Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:55:49 -0600 Our first week of school 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! 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! Next week we really get down to business! We will begin the first chapters (or units, as they are sometimes called) in each subject. We will also switch classes for Social Studies and Science - Mrs. Moran will teach Social Studies, and I will teach Science. You may see the dreaded onset of HOMEWORK emerge! (Really, it's not so bad. I try not to give more than 40 minutes of reinforcemenr work a day. I do usually ask children to finish seatwork from the day also. If they use their time well, however, that won't be an issue.) 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 doing so 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. You should initial the page to keep them on track. If we have any difficulty with incomplete work, we can both get on board and initial each day. I do prefer that they learn to monitor this themselves eventually though. 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 kids 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 whenever they do not understand directions or new material. 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 Wednesday, September 2, at the Parent Orientation Night. See you then......... http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/08/were_off.html http://www.stlblog.org/gmcgovern/2009/08/were_off.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:12:01 -0600