We will have Scholastic book orders available to students this year!  I will have reminders and the link available on my classroom blog for you.

Book orders will be going out on the last day of every month.

All orders will be done online–I will not be collecting money at school.  If you are interested in donating books to the classroom library that I use for book clubs, I will always have those listed as well.  I usually order 4 of each title so I can have up to 2 groups reading the same book together.

I will make sure that I update recommendations so you can help your child choose books that are currently of interest in our classroom!  Please use the link below to access the website.

Book Order Link

Next week, we will be celebrating Halloween in our classroom.  If you would like to help with the event, please come to a parent meeting on Thursday for 15 minutes after school from 3:45-4:00ish in Room 32 (our classroom).  We will go over the plans, assign some “jobs”, and answer any questions!  All are welcome!

Please remember to send in $2 for pizza.  We will be ordering cheese pizza to enjoy in the classroom for lunch on Halloween.

Students may wear their costumes to school for the entire day on Halloween.  We will not be changing into costumes at school.  Please remember, we will be doing some regular school activities (math, reading, writing) and we have young children in lower elementary, so use good judgement when it comes to dressing up. No weapons or masks, please.

We are currently working on myths in reading. The students were interested in learning more about gods and goddesses from Greek culture that are characters from these fictional stories. Here is a link they can use to read and learn more about both the heros and the villains of popular Greek myths!

Greek Gods and Goddesses

Our end of unit test will be on Wednesday 10/17.  Your child will want to begin working on the study guide on Monday night.  Here are some tips to help develop great study habits!

Study Guide Study Skills for Math

Talk it out. Have your child review the major math concepts he’s studying and either say them aloud or write on index cards the general gist of each topic. For example: “Factors are two numbers you multiply together to get another number: 2 x 3 = 6, so 2 and 3 are factors of 6.”

Work it out. Do actual problems on paper or a dry-erase board.  Have your child use problems from his textbook or go use the study guide. Re-create the same problem using different numbers and have your child solve several.

Play “beat the buzzer.” Write out several problems that are similar to the study guide. Time your child on the first problem.  Then, have your child try to beat that time for each of the next problems. If your child gets frustrated about his progress, remind him that it’s just a game and he’ll become faster and better the more he does it.

Draw it out. If your child is having a hard time figuring out a problem, encourage your child to draw simple pictures (such as a rectangle with the length of each side marked for figuring out area or perimeter) — while studying and on scratch paper during a test — particularly for story problems involving shapes, sizes, distances, or lengths.

Module 1 Review

7th Annual Robert Cipriano Run set for Monday, October 15, 2018

The seventh annual Robert Cipriano Cross-Country Run will get underway at 4 pm Monday, October 15 at Dearborn’s Ford Field Park, 500 Monroe St. The event features runners in fourth through eighth grade from across the Dearborn Public Schools District. Seventh and eighth grade students will run two-mile races starting this year with the girls at 4 p.m. followed by the boys at 4:25. Fourth and fifth grade boys and girls will participate in races against others of their grade and gender. Those one-mile races start at 4:50.

Once again, the district has teamed up with the Dearborn Track Club and the City of Dearborn to coordinate the event. Last year, close to 800 students signed up for the meet, but cool, rainy weather kept many away on the day of the race. The run takes place rain or shine. However, for safety reasons it could be canceled in case of severe weather such as lightning, thunder, heavy rains and/or winds. In the case of bad weather, students and parents are asked to visit the Dearborn Athletics Blog at https://athletics.dearbornschools.org to check the status of the race.

We have been doing some amazing work and going to some amazing places!  Here are some photos that document our third grade experiences this week!

Student Blogs with Mrs. Gwizdz

Firehouse Field Trip

We are beginning a very exciting project in our classroom: student blogs. I am working on this in a co-teaching model with one of our district Technology Coaches, Mrs. Amy Gwizdz. If you have any questions about the technology aspect, please contact Mrs. Gwizdz at gwizdza@dearbornschools.org.  I want to clearly state my goals for this project and address any concerns you may have.

Goals

1. Students will create Booksnaps by creating a blog entry about books that are read inside and outside of the classroom.
2. Students will present Booksnaps to classmates by completing an oral presentation that highlights one blog post.
3. Students will read and write comments on books that classmates have created on student blogs.
4. Students will understand safety and appropriate responses regarding the internet: creating online posts and writing comments that are shared with a broad community.

FAQ

Will my child’s work be posted publicly on the internet?

No.  Their work will be posted on a blog that is viewable ONLY within Dearborn Public Schools.  The only people who are able to view this work are people who have a dearbornschools.org extension on their username.  So, their classmates, teachers, principals, and superintendent can view their work. It’s basically like posting work out in the hallway (virtually).  So, parents cannot view the work unless they are logged on with a student account. Take the time to look at this work together.

Why are we doing student blogs?

We live in a tech-centered society.  I think it’s important to teach students to use the internet as a tool.  And, as with any tool, it’s important to learn to use it correctly and safely. Students are interested in using computers and I want to take this natural interest and explore it in a fun and creative way.  I also want students to have a platform on which they can share good books with each other, make recommendations for reading material, and see examples of top-notch work.

Are students allowed to work on this at home?

Currently, students are NOT allowed to work on this at home.  They have been explicitly instructed not to make comments or complete work on the blog at home.  We are still in the process of learning how to use the blogs.

I want to encourage everyone to consider participating in our Red Wings Ticket Fundraiser.  Proceeds for ticket sales will go toward our third grade Lansing Field Trip.  Click on the link to access more information from our PTA website on this fundraiser.  Due Date: Thursday, Oct 4!

PTA Red Wings Ticket Information