Dear Families,
This week was filled with wonderful learning opportunities as the students continued to explore their critical thinking skills in literacy, social science and mathematics.
Our 3rd grade mathematicians finished their work in fractions with an end-of-the-unit assessment on Thursday. In this unit on fractions, the students have been exposed to complex thinking about fractions as equal part of various wholes. They learned to divide individual pieces, such as brownies and squares, into equal parts, but they also learned that wholes can also consist of parts of many smaller parts, such as in a whole class and a bag of apples. Fraction parts always indicate the equal parts of whatever whole you start with, regardless of size and shape. This concept can be challenging. The students also learned to write the fractions as mathematical representations in equations. Please visit our classroom digital portfolio for examples of actual lessons as we post smartboard lessons on-line (Click here). After the break the students will begin a brief study of probability and then move on to geometry. The students will perform two more Vermont state portfolio assessments in these areas before the end of the school year.
In social science, the students continued their research on Colonial America. This week, the students conducted their own independent research online for the first time. With the help of Mrs. Hoeppner, who is pursuing her teaching license in Technology Integration, the students accessed our classroom’s pre-linked search engines and learned how to cite and save images on-line (Click here for pre-linked search engines). The students not only learned how to cite their sources appropriately, but they also learned why it is important to cite them. We performed several skits in class and conducted several discussions on this topic. Please ask your child to explain why it is important to cite authors, illustrators and photographers on-line. The students did an amazing job and it is incredibly encouraging to see young students working so independently and confidently on-line. Nice job!
In literacy, the students fine-tuned their procedural writing skills. Please read the procedural writing examples sent home this week. Please note the introduction. The students learned about the importance of a poignant question and hook to start off the procedural writing piece. Hopefully, this procedure will serve as resources for your child as he/she prepares for out Science Fair on May 26th . All students should return their Experiment Question Forms to their parents this week. I met individually with all students to fine-tune the testable questions. Some students have some changes on their charts, some do not. If your child did not return the slip to you this week, please let me know as soon as possible and I will return it to you. I encourage students to start testing and experimenting next week, before actual writing begins. Only trough repeated testing, will your child discover some valid data. Thank you.
We have no school next week as we have our Spring break. The students return on Monday 3rd. I hope you all enjoy this time together and get a chance to relax. I will check my e-mail and voice-mail periodically in case you need to reach me.
I will miss the kids!
Have a great vacation!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Be a STAR using Technology
As the students learn to integrate more technology tools in their learning environments, it is important to discuss issues of technology safety, responsibility and respect. These types of discussions are part of our daily classroom conversation so when we had the opportunity to create a poster, show-casing this knowledge along with our Kindergarten buddies, the students were very excited. The students worked in small groups, utilizing various forms of technology tools to illustrate our changing learning landscape. Our final product now hangs in the school Computer Lab. Please visit.
Our new partnership with Ms. Stanley in PE
We are very excited to announce our new collaborative partnership with Ms. Stanley, our PE teacher. We will work together on various projects during our current theme, Colonial America. Ms. Stanley's classroom blog, filled with PE updates and news, has been linked to the sidebar on our own classroom blog. Please visit often for exciting news in PE. Thank you!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
It has been great to speak with all of you during our conferences this week and share all the learning that goes on inside our classroom! Your support and interest in your child’s education is appreciated and valued. Thank you!
This week, the students continued their work in fluency and practiced many Reader’s Theater scripts. We even recorded some with our Flip camera! The students also revisited various comprehension strategies that can be used during independent reading. Please ask your child to explain our “I wonder wheel” and bookmarks that encourages us to ask questions as we read.
We also started our new writing unit on Procedural Writing this week. This writing unit prepares the students for the Science Fair, which will be held in May. The students wrote procedures on various topics, such as how to ride a bike, how to make apple pie and how to make a paper airplane. They worked in small partnerships and as they “tested” the directions and instructions on each other, they discovered the importance of specific language and details. We will share more details about this type of writing next week as our writing pieces are completed. Their procedural writing pieces will be sent home and also posted on the wiki as a reference and guide for the Science Fair. Please be advised that the testable questions are due on Monday, April 19th. Parents’ signatures are required as we want to make sure the experiment is do-able.
Next week will be very busy here in our classroom. On Tuesday and Thursday, we are joined by researchers from the University of Vermont as our participation in their Peer Relationship study starts. We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity and are eager to share further information next week.
HCS celebrates “Spirit Week” next week. Every day provides various school-wide celebrations and fun themes. The schedule is listed below:
Monday: Tropical Day. Wear something tropical. Swim suits are not allowed.
Tuesday: Mismatch Day. Wear something that does not go together, such as a striped shirt and checkered pants.
Wednesday: Twin Day. Talk to a friend and wear the same colors, patterns, etc.
Thursday: PJ Day. Wear your PJs to school (must be school appropriate)
Friday: Charlie Fortin Day. Wear denim and suspenders (if you can) to school to honor Charlie Fortin as he retires after 22 years of service to the school. This is his last day.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
It has been great to speak with all of you during our conferences this week and share all the learning that goes on inside our classroom! Your support and interest in your child’s education is appreciated and valued. Thank you!
This week, the students continued their work in fluency and practiced many Reader’s Theater scripts. We even recorded some with our Flip camera! The students also revisited various comprehension strategies that can be used during independent reading. Please ask your child to explain our “I wonder wheel” and bookmarks that encourages us to ask questions as we read.
We also started our new writing unit on Procedural Writing this week. This writing unit prepares the students for the Science Fair, which will be held in May. The students wrote procedures on various topics, such as how to ride a bike, how to make apple pie and how to make a paper airplane. They worked in small partnerships and as they “tested” the directions and instructions on each other, they discovered the importance of specific language and details. We will share more details about this type of writing next week as our writing pieces are completed. Their procedural writing pieces will be sent home and also posted on the wiki as a reference and guide for the Science Fair. Please be advised that the testable questions are due on Monday, April 19th. Parents’ signatures are required as we want to make sure the experiment is do-able.
Next week will be very busy here in our classroom. On Tuesday and Thursday, we are joined by researchers from the University of Vermont as our participation in their Peer Relationship study starts. We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity and are eager to share further information next week.
HCS celebrates “Spirit Week” next week. Every day provides various school-wide celebrations and fun themes. The schedule is listed below:
Monday: Tropical Day. Wear something tropical. Swim suits are not allowed.
Tuesday: Mismatch Day. Wear something that does not go together, such as a striped shirt and checkered pants.
Wednesday: Twin Day. Talk to a friend and wear the same colors, patterns, etc.
Thursday: PJ Day. Wear your PJs to school (must be school appropriate)
Friday: Charlie Fortin Day. Wear denim and suspenders (if you can) to school to honor Charlie Fortin as he retires after 22 years of service to the school. This is his last day.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Friday, April 9, 2010
Explorer Letters as Photo-stories
Please listen to the students' historical fictional letters and diary entries as they imagined being passengers on-board one of the many ships that reached the Americas during the Age of Exploration.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
"Oliver"
The students had the opportunity to see the HCS poroduction of "Oliver"earlier this week. The show was filled with incredible acting and singing. Here is a picture of the cast on stage.
"Oliver" will be perfomed again on Friday April 9th, directly after the traditional HCS Spagetti Dinner which begins at 5:30pm.
"Oliver" will be perfomed again on Friday April 9th, directly after the traditional HCS Spagetti Dinner which begins at 5:30pm.
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
Time flies! Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for next week and we are already in our 4th quarter of the school year. Report cards will be distributed at conference times but the students will have a chance to sit down and chat with me beforehand as we go over the grades together. We already started talking this week about writing and we will continue next week with science and math, primarily. Student involvement in this process is important as academic engagement and accountability go hand in hand. I am very proud of their hard work in class and at home. I am also very proud of their genuine interest in their own learning. This interest shows real maturity!!
This week, two separate letters went home regarding our Science Fair in May. The letters have already been posted in the Link Library on the wiki and in the sidebar of the HCS Parent Community page, but please let me know if your child did not bring these two letters home so I can send home additional copies (Click here for direct link). In an effort to support the students as they explore physical sciences through constructivist learning, I have updated my Search Engines links on the wiki (Click here for direct link). The students will have the opportunity to use these on Monday in our Computer Lab but I also encourage that they utilize these resources at home as they formulate their own hypothesis and testable question. Please let me know if you need any additional help and resources for the home. I will gladly assist you.
Speaking of technology-HCS has transferred to gmail. All faculty, staff and students are now on gmail accounts. These accounts are not regular gmail accounts as CSSU has a domain within gmail. My new email address is mmccormack@cssu.org
Please note that although all emails have changed, my old email address at hcsvt.org still works until early June. It is preferred that all correspondence through email now goes to mmccormack@cssu.org
Thank you!
In the students’ homework folders this week, I have enclosed a "free and reduced lunch" form in case your family’s status has changed since the beginning of the year. Feel free to contact Deb Bissonette at 482-6241 if you have any questions or need any help with the form. Thank you.
We received a very special package from Sweden this week, filled with postcards written by our pen-pals. The students also received a large Spring card with a newspaper article and photograph of our Swedish friends. As you might recall, they had a very cold and snowy winter in Sweden and our pen-pals made it into the local newspaper as they were playing on a VERY large snow-bank! We have already started writing our responses; some students integrate technology, some write cards by hand and some draw lovely pictures. In addition, each student will make a Warm Fuzzy for his/her pen-pal. We hope to do a Warm Fuzzy greeting with them through Skype!! We will keep you posted.
Our unit on Explorers and Colonial America is in full swing. The students finished their imaginative diary entries or letters as explorers earlier this week. They had the opportunity to record these letters into photostories. Some letters are already posted on the HCS Parent Community site, under Student Celebrations (Click here). I will post them shortly on the Classroom Digital Portfolio. Please visit our classroom to see the hard copies which are hanging from our ceiling! The students did an amazing job assuming the role of these explorers so long ago. We are very eager to share these letters with you at conference time next week.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Time flies! Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for next week and we are already in our 4th quarter of the school year. Report cards will be distributed at conference times but the students will have a chance to sit down and chat with me beforehand as we go over the grades together. We already started talking this week about writing and we will continue next week with science and math, primarily. Student involvement in this process is important as academic engagement and accountability go hand in hand. I am very proud of their hard work in class and at home. I am also very proud of their genuine interest in their own learning. This interest shows real maturity!!
This week, two separate letters went home regarding our Science Fair in May. The letters have already been posted in the Link Library on the wiki and in the sidebar of the HCS Parent Community page, but please let me know if your child did not bring these two letters home so I can send home additional copies (Click here for direct link). In an effort to support the students as they explore physical sciences through constructivist learning, I have updated my Search Engines links on the wiki (Click here for direct link). The students will have the opportunity to use these on Monday in our Computer Lab but I also encourage that they utilize these resources at home as they formulate their own hypothesis and testable question. Please let me know if you need any additional help and resources for the home. I will gladly assist you.
Speaking of technology-HCS has transferred to gmail. All faculty, staff and students are now on gmail accounts. These accounts are not regular gmail accounts as CSSU has a domain within gmail. My new email address is mmccormack@cssu.org
Please note that although all emails have changed, my old email address at hcsvt.org still works until early June. It is preferred that all correspondence through email now goes to mmccormack@cssu.org
Thank you!
In the students’ homework folders this week, I have enclosed a "free and reduced lunch" form in case your family’s status has changed since the beginning of the year. Feel free to contact Deb Bissonette at 482-6241 if you have any questions or need any help with the form. Thank you.
We received a very special package from Sweden this week, filled with postcards written by our pen-pals. The students also received a large Spring card with a newspaper article and photograph of our Swedish friends. As you might recall, they had a very cold and snowy winter in Sweden and our pen-pals made it into the local newspaper as they were playing on a VERY large snow-bank! We have already started writing our responses; some students integrate technology, some write cards by hand and some draw lovely pictures. In addition, each student will make a Warm Fuzzy for his/her pen-pal. We hope to do a Warm Fuzzy greeting with them through Skype!! We will keep you posted.
Our unit on Explorers and Colonial America is in full swing. The students finished their imaginative diary entries or letters as explorers earlier this week. They had the opportunity to record these letters into photostories. Some letters are already posted on the HCS Parent Community site, under Student Celebrations (Click here). I will post them shortly on the Classroom Digital Portfolio. Please visit our classroom to see the hard copies which are hanging from our ceiling! The students did an amazing job assuming the role of these explorers so long ago. We are very eager to share these letters with you at conference time next week.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Friday, April 2, 2010
Traveling around the world
We continue to "travel" around the world in our classroom. This week we had the opportunity to learn more about Africa as we received two postcards from my sister who traveled there twice. She told us about the safaris and wild-life of Tanzania, a country on the African east coast. She also wrote us a post-card from South Africa, where she visited both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The postcard showed how farmers grow trees in rows in vineyards, and this reminded us of the Red Clover book, Wangari's Trees of Peace written by Wangari Maathari, who founded the Green Belt Movement (click here to view our textnical responses.
Why is it beneficial to grow trees in rows?
Another Smartboard Math lesson
Please view 3rd graders work in fractions. This week we continued our exploration in equivalent fractions and dividing many things into parts. Enjoy.
Kindergarten Buddies
Look at some of the pictures our students took today in our weekly reading meetings with our Kindergarten Buddies.
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
The warm Spring weather has finally arrived! The students are so excited to go out for recess now and it is great to have our windows open during the day so we can feel the warm breezes inside our classroom. Please keep in mind that our fields are still wet so appropriate, out-side shoes are still desired.
The students have finished their paragraphs in response to literature and are very eager to share them with you at conference times next week. If you did not receive a confirmation of your time slot, please contact me. Our next writing unit will be on Procedural writing as the students prepare for our Science Fair on May 26th between 5pm and 6pm. The students will learn how to write effective procedural pieces in class as we explore this exciting part of Writer’s Workshop together. The students will learn how to be very precise with the language as their writing pieces illustrate the step-by-step procedures for a particular experiment. Designing an experiment and creating a testable question with one variable are also components of this writing unit. More information will follow as web-sites with students resources, examples of projects and possible topics will be added to the wiki and blog. I will also discuss this assignment during our scheduled conferences next week.
The students are learning how to use our classroom Flip camera and we are very excited to share our first videos with you. Please check the blog periodically for more postings as the students learn how to record, crop, post and email these videos. Please view our videos of special shares, poetry readings and projects with our Kindergarten buddies as we assemble our “Be a STAR with Technology” poster. The students are also encouraged to use this incredible technological resource as we explore fluency in our Reader’s Workshop. Through recordings, the students are able to focus upon their prosody as well as look at their facial expressions and body language. We love this camera; it is a mini-stage for us inside the classroom!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
The warm Spring weather has finally arrived! The students are so excited to go out for recess now and it is great to have our windows open during the day so we can feel the warm breezes inside our classroom. Please keep in mind that our fields are still wet so appropriate, out-side shoes are still desired.
The students have finished their paragraphs in response to literature and are very eager to share them with you at conference times next week. If you did not receive a confirmation of your time slot, please contact me. Our next writing unit will be on Procedural writing as the students prepare for our Science Fair on May 26th between 5pm and 6pm. The students will learn how to write effective procedural pieces in class as we explore this exciting part of Writer’s Workshop together. The students will learn how to be very precise with the language as their writing pieces illustrate the step-by-step procedures for a particular experiment. Designing an experiment and creating a testable question with one variable are also components of this writing unit. More information will follow as web-sites with students resources, examples of projects and possible topics will be added to the wiki and blog. I will also discuss this assignment during our scheduled conferences next week.
The students are learning how to use our classroom Flip camera and we are very excited to share our first videos with you. Please check the blog periodically for more postings as the students learn how to record, crop, post and email these videos. Please view our videos of special shares, poetry readings and projects with our Kindergarten buddies as we assemble our “Be a STAR with Technology” poster. The students are also encouraged to use this incredible technological resource as we explore fluency in our Reader’s Workshop. Through recordings, the students are able to focus upon their prosody as well as look at their facial expressions and body language. We love this camera; it is a mini-stage for us inside the classroom!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
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