Pumpkin Math 2012

Wow!  What an exciting few days we've had!  Thanks for being so flexible with all of our special activities!  Here are some pictures of our Pumpkin Math on Thursday.  Enjoy!!

measuring

predicting how much it weighs

holding 5 lbs. of sugar to predict the weight

What does it really weigh??

checking predictions of how many seeds there are!

measuring the diameter

counting seeds

How many do you have?

Finishing up with a word find.

Making butter, map work, and our classroom bank!

Making Butter!

Shaking the cream!!!

What's better than making it?? Eating it!!!

Doing some map work with partners.

Our Classroom Bank - making economic choices!

Happy Friday! Well, my day is winding down from back-to-back conferences, so I wanted to get this out before I leave school! Here's what is going on: Language Arts: We've been working with During Reading Strategies - connections, questioning, visualizing... Next week we'll be using two new strategies - inferring and fix-it-up. Inferring happens when something isn't explicitly said, but you can "infer" that it is happening. Fix-it-up strategies are what we use when we aren't understanding the text. We'll be reading some great books to practice these skills. Math: We're working on addition and subtraction strategies so we can apply them to larger numbers. We covered using Base 10 Blocks to draw pictures and expanded form this week. Next week we'll work with number lines and 300's charts. We'll also be practicing what we know with word problems. PLEASE practice addition and subtraction facts at home, even if it isn't on the agenda. Computer fact games, flashcards, etc., are wonderful ideas to use. Social Studies: After talking about continents and countries, we're focusing on Maryland. When we finish with Maryland, each student will be choosing a state and writing a brochure about it. We'll be using laptops in our classroom to get the needed information. I can't wait to see what state each child chooses and their finished product! Writing: We've been talking, talking, talking about Ideas for writing! Every day we make lists that we could write about. Next week we'll be learning about Peer Conferencing for our Writer's Workshop. Word Study: Our focus next week will be homophones. Word that sound the same but the meaning and the spelling are not. Cursive: Different curves and how to form letters properly will be our focus. Information: Some parents needed to know how to access Find Out First. Go to FCPS.org and there will be a place to click on to sign up. Math fact practice - UESLearn has some great places to go on the computer for fact practice. NO SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY! October 8 is a two-hour dismissal day. PLEASE check the blog sometime this weekend! I'm going to be putting pictures on of butter making, map work, and our banking system. Have a great weekend! Faith Humerick

A busy week!

Happy Friday! Can you believe two weeks have already flown by?? We have been soooo busy! Here's what's been going on: Language Arts: We are continuing with During Reading activities. We've been talking about visualizing - especially using sensory imagery (ask your child about "Smelly Socks"!). Making connections, text features, and questioning will be our focus next week. Math: While continuing to revisit place value and rounding, we are talking about addition strategies. Drawing pictures, using blocks, and expanded form are strategies we'll be working with next week. Social Studies: Using cardinal directions and intermediate directions have been our focus this week. Next week we'll be looking at famous cities and the landmarks in them. Writing: I can't wait to have the students begin writing about the pictures they brought in. We'll share in small groups first - then...we'll write about them!! Word Study: There will not be any words next week since it's only a three-day week. Cursive: We'll be starting next week!! This is always a hit with the class! Important information: There are other opportunities for volunteer training. Please read your UES News on Find Out First for information. Conference slips will be coming home today. Please complete and return the form at the bottom. If you did not sign up for a time, one was given to you. If it doesn't work, please let me know and I'll reschedule you. Weekly Checklists: There are quite a few checklists coming home today that have /'s on them. Please speak with your child about their behavior. I will admit I am really strict with talking and not following directions - I've explained this to the class. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Also, on the bottom of your checklist will be a question about having your child's picture taken during activities to put on my blog. Please be sure to answer and return the checklist on Tuesday. Conferences: If you have a conference on Friday, September 21, you will have a questionnaire to complete and return with your child on Tuesday. It's just some information that we can discuss at the conference. At Back To School Night it was mentioned that there was a Math website students could go to practice facts. I'm still looking into it. If you're looking for some fun Math skill reinforcement, there are great ones on UESlearn (you can get to it from my blog). Well, I think that's it for now! Have a wonderful LONG weekend! Faith Humerick

LOVE THIS CLASS!

Happy Weekend! First, thanks to everyone that was able to make it out for Back to School Night. I know that all of you are busy, and for those who couldn't make it, the folder that was handed out was sent home on Friday. I have so much to share with you - some information I may have gone over before, but I think it's important to share again... SOARING WITH PRIDE This is the theme for our positive behavior support system at Urbana . The students have reviewed the expectations and have been informed how they will be rewarded (classroom stickers and star student stickers) and how they will be reminded/what consequences they will face if those expectations are not met. "Think Sheets" are one of the ways we're asking kids to think about their actions. A think sheet is given after a warning...a silent warning. In my classroom that silent warning is a "Thinkman" card...this is a picture of the same "man" that is on the Think Sheet...it is supposed to warn the student that "I've asked you to stop that behavior and now I'm leaning toward giving you a Think Sheet." This positive behavior support will bring consistency throughout our school...our entire staff is involved and we like what we've seen the first two weeks back! DONATIONS If you are so inclined...throughout the year I appreciate donations of these supplies: tissues hand sanitizer Ziploc bags (sandwich and/or gallon) Lysol wipes Behavior checklists came home on Friday. Please review with your child, sign, and have your child place it back in the Take Home folder. They will receive a ticket for returning it on Monday. If you have any questions about the marks on the checklist, please email me. Volunteer Orientation - If you have not taken a volunteer orientation class in the last three years (or completed the online course), you can attend either of two sessions: Monday, Sept. 10, 9:30-10:00, or Tuesday, Sept. 11, 6:30-7:00. If you need more information about this, please call the front office. You will need to have completed this orientation to attend any field trips. PTA meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 7:00. Please come and support a very important part of our school! Classroom Volunteering - At Back to School Night I had a sign up sheet at the back table for volunteer opportunities. If you missed it, or you didn't make it to school that night, please let me know if you're interested in volunteering in the classroom, in the library, or in Art. Just let me know what you're interested in and days and times your available. I LOVE having parents in the classroom!!! UES is going green! Please be sure to read informative emails from Find Out First and the UES News. If you have questions about how to access these, please let me know! Class Directory - I have updated any changes that you gave me. Copies will be coming home on Monday. These past two weeks we have accomplished a lot...here is a quick snippet from each subject area... Language Arts: We have been reviewing Before Reading strategies. Setting a purpose with asking questions... Previewing the text - looking at pictures, reading the cover,etc. ... Planning why you would read the book. We have been practicing this skill with fiction and nonfiction texts. We will be continuing with During Reading and After Reading strategies in the next few weeks. Math: In Math this week we've been focusing on numeration and place value. We've been working with numbers to the thousands and using many different ways to manipulate these numbers. The students have worked with a place value chart, had to read numbers aloud, shown their ability to write the numbers in expanded form, composed and decomposed the numbers and played some games with digit cards to reinforce these skills. We've also been working with rounding to the nearest 10 and nearest 100. We will continue this skill next week. Social Studies: This first unit is all about Geograpy! We have been focusing on maps and globes. Our focus these past two weeks have been from our large Maryland county to our very small place on Earth. Continents, oceans, hemispheres, lines of latitude and longitude...we're covering it! We read a fabulous book, The Armadillo From Amarillo, by Lynne Cherry, to introduce our "place in space". Ask your child about it! Writing: We LOVE Writer's Workshop! So far we're filling up our journals with ideas! I find this is the hardest part for some students. I hear, "I don't know what to write about.." all of the time! We've got so many ideas written already!!! Homework for next week will be to bring in a personal picture that can be glued into their journal - you'd be surprised what ideas can come from one picture!!! Word Study - We just completed the /f/ sound. Your child will be getting a list on Monday... will have class work and homework during the week....and a test on Friday. Please work with these words with your child. Not only do they need to spell them correctly, they need to understand the pattern. I know this is a lot of information! I wanted to end this post by telling you how much I am enjoying this class! They come to school ready to learn and they keep at it until they're done! They're respectful and responsible and I just LOVE having them! A heads up - Tuesday will be PJ Day for those who choose to participate. We've earned 10 Soaring with Pride stickers and it's what they voted on! Have a wonderful and relaxing rest of the weekend.... enjoy the weather!! Faith Humerick

WECOME NEW THIRD GRADERS!!! I'm so excited for the 2012-2013 school year to start! I have soooo many fun things planned for us! I can't wait to see everyone at the Open House on Friday, August 24th, from 3:00-4:00. Rest, relax, and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Happy Spring Break!!



Just a quick update on what we'll be doing when we come back to school in April.



Language Arts: We'll continue reading our novels and meeting as Literature Circles. We've also been completing Reader's Response papers and answering comprehension questions for chapters. It certainly looks like everyone's enjoying their books!



Math: Angles! Right angles...obtuse angles...acute angles... we'll be measuring and identifying angles most of the week!



Science: Our composting is coming along quite nicely! Our worms are comfortable in thier dirt, food, and paper strips. While watching them, we are also talking about rocks and minerals. There are sooo many ways you can sort minerals - ask your child about the "hardness" test we did! We'll also be talking about erosion and weathering.



Cursive: Our next letters will be V and W.



Writing: We're continuing writing narratives during our Writer's Workshop.

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I'm sure you've heard by now that our teachers' union, FCTA, has initiated a work to contract action with its members beginning today. I want to assure you that your child's instruction will not be impacted by this decision. Your kids will continue to have challenging, thought provoking lessons and assignments...the same quality of instruction they have had all along.



However, there will be a few things impacted and I just wanted to give you a heads up.



My 45 minute planning periods will HAVE to be spent preparing lessons...in order to make sure instruction is not impacted. I use my mornings, evenings, and weekends to write my weekly emails, do my blog, grade papers, write weekly checklists, and plan for the week . I'm not sure I'll be able to do as thorough a job as I like during this time ahead. Also, I respond to and answer many emails in off hours - This is something I like to do...but will only do during my planning time.



Typically, I am at school every morning at 7:00 am and I leave around 5:00...that is NOT a complaint...I happen to LOVE what I do and I like having time to plan, organize, and make sure I'm 100% ready for my week...I will not be doing that, so something will have to give. And last, I really do try to get your kids' work back to them graded as quickly as I can...and that quick turnaround will definitely be affected.





It is my hope the work to contract action will be resolved as the BOE and FCTA enter into negotiations. Your support is always appreciated, and I just hope I have yours as I join my colleagues and stand up for something I am incredibly passionate about....teaching your kids.



I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Spring Break and I look forward to seeing your kids on April 10th!! Can you believe we'll be apart that long?!?!



Faith Humerick

Happy Thursday!



We have survived a "regular" week again... except for the early dismissal tomorrow!



What a great week we've had - here's what we've been doing and what we'll be doing next week:



Language Arts: Discussion Director, Super Summarizer, Literary Luminary, Artful Adventurer, Character Captain...... Ask your child what these jobs have to do with Literature Circles!!!!



Math - We'll continue with our instruction with Geometry. Points, lines, rays, parallel, perpendicular, intersecting... all of these terms are being studied - WATCH OUT... they'll be looking for them in your home and neighborhood!!



Cursive: Our next two capital letters are U and Y. You may have realized that I am expecting a lot more work to be done in cursive. This is a county and school-wide expectation. These kids are really stepping up to the challenge. Please let me know if your child is having difficulty with this at home.



Science: Well, the fun begins next week. We have our compost containers ready and the worms are coming! At this time we have plenty of food scraps - I'll have them write it in their agendas when we need more - Thanks!



Writing: We are finishing up stories that need to have all story elements - characters, setting, problem, solution... beginning, middle, and end. Writer's Workshop has really helped this class become great writers!!



Please remember that tomorrow is an early dismissal day. Monday is a teacher work day. Can you believe Term 3 is over tomorrow??? Third grade will be over before we know it!



Please keep an eye out for important dates from the PTA - so much goes on near the end of school, I don't want you to miss out on anything!



Have a great, relaxing weekend!



Faith Humerick

Happy Friday!


Well, the testing is over! And... this class did an awesome job! The persevered and stuck with it until the end! Please tell them how proud I am of them!!!


So... next week will start with some new units.


Language Arts: We are starting our Novel Unit. I'll be working on story elements through Literature Circles. Ask your child which book he/she is reading for this.


Math: We will be taking our third quarter post assessment soon, so we'll be reviewing for it. Can you believe third quarter is almost over???? Then, we'll start with fourth quarter skills. A list of these skills will be coming home on Monday or Tuesday.


Science: We've ended our Chemical Tests unit and will begin Rocks, Soil, and Fossils. We'll start with sorting rocks and minerals and learning the difference between the two.


Word Study: Our list this week will be vowel combinations.

Cursive: Our letters this week will be H and K.


I hope you have a wonderful weekend. The weather looks beautiful - I hope you get to enjoy it!


Faith Humerick

Happy Thursday!!



I wanted to get this out before things got really crazy!!



As you know, our MSA's (Maryland State Assessments) are next week. PLEASE be sure your child is well rested and has had a nutritious breakfast.



We will be doing our Reading tests on Monday and Tuesday. We have Wednesday off, and then finish with our Math tests on Thursday and Friday.



The afternoons will consist of our Novel Unit and Science - very low key... It's amazing how 1 1/2 to 2 hours of testing will completely wear you out!!



There will also be no homework next week! The kids were thrilled with this news!



If your child is a car rider, please have him/her here on time (before 8:55). Testing will begin promptly at 9:00. If your child is late, he/she will have to sit in the office and wait until the next section... no fun!



I think that's it for now. Please know that your child is completely ready for these tests. Now... if they just read directions carefully and take their time........



Have a great weekend!

Faith Humerick

Happy Friday!



These past two days have been really crazy! Lots of things going on!



Here's what's happening in the classroom:



Language Arts: We have finished our "Reading Science Texts" unit and are moving on to our "Novels" unit. I'll be using Literature Circles during this time. At any given time, your child may be a discussion director, an illustrator, a connector, a vocabulary enricher, or a summarizer. Next week will be spent understanding these roles and practicing them.



Math: We'll be doing lots of review of different skills to be sure we're ready for the "BIG" test.



Science: Testing our mystery powders with heat is the last experiment! Then...we'll try to guess what the powders really are!



Word Study: We'll be working with different prefixes and how they change the meaning of the root words.



Cursive: Our next two capital letters are H and K.



Writing: We'll be continuing with Writer's Workshop.



*** You are receiving some very important information today - Please be sure to check your child's backpack for it!

1. There is a note from FCPS explaining the dates for our MSA testing. Our first day is Monday, March 12. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your child have a good night's sleep the night before and a nutritious breakfast the morning of the testing. If nothing happens (weather, etc.), we will be testing Reading on the 12th and 13th. Our Math testing will be the 15th and 16th. Testing begins right after announcements, so if you are driving your child please have him/her here on time!



2. A big brown envelope will be coming home with a note from me in it. Each year we like to have parents write a surprise note of encouragement to their child. Please send the note back in the envelope to me. It's such a nice surprise for the kids to have something to open and read on the first morning of MSA's.



I think that's it for now... Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the MSA's or anything else. Have a great weekend!

Faith Humerick

Happy Friday!


I hope the nice weather continues into the weekend for all of you!



Here's what we're up to:



Language Arts: We should be finishing our animal reports this week. Those who have finished are comparing their animal to someone else's. They've done really nice work with this "Reading Science Texts" unit. Next will be "Novels".



Math: We're finishing up with fractions and we're starting on Geometry on Monday. We're trying to get a lot done before MSA's in March. Can you believe it's almost March!?!?



Science: We've been testing all of our mystery powders with different liquids. So far we've used water, vinegar, and iodine. Next week we'll use red cabbage juice. Then we'll look back on all of our observations and see if we can figure out what the mystery chemicals really are!



Word Study: Our focus next week will be with plurals.



Cursive: Our two letters for next week will be N and M.



Please remember our schedule is changing next week. Thursday is a half day - starting 4 hours later than usual. Friday is also a half day - ending 3 1/2 hours earlier than usual. There will be no lunch served on Thursday.



Another note: I am still having problems with students not doing their homework completely. Please do not sign or initial your child's agenda until everything is done and packed up - Thanks!



Have a wonderful weekend!!

Faith Humerick

Happy Friday!



Another long weekend coming up! Can you believe we're missing ANOTHER snow day opportunity!! Hopefully the kids can get out and enjoy it (parents, too!).



Here's what's been going on:



Math: We've really been working on 2-digit by 1-digit multiplication. Using tens and ones blocks and drawing pictures are really helping with the deep understanding of the skill. Next week we'll be doing the same, but with 2-digit by 1-digit division. We'll also be talking about growing patterns.



Language Arts: I am soooo impressed with the animal reports these kids are writing. They're turning into 4-5 paragraph informative pieces that are wonderful! I can't wait for you to see them! We'll continue with these next week.



Cursive: We skipped new letters this week, but we'll be doing C and E next week.



Science: Well, we've observed the mystery chemicals... next we mix each chemical with different liquids. Water, vinegar, iodine, and red cabbage juice are the liquids we'll be using. The class always gets so excited when each mixture is different!



Word Study: Our focus next week is the "doubling rule". The students will have words that need consonants doubled before a suffix can be added.



That's about it! Thanks so much to Rose Ann Shapiro and Becca Clark for a great Valentine's Day party. Thanks to all parents who came to have some fun, too! I was pleasantly surprised how well-behaved the class was on Wednesday!



Have a wonderful LONG weekend!

Faith Humerick

Happy Thursday!



I am sooo sorry! I realized I never sent a weekly update last week. I'm sure all of you were on pins and needles waiting to read it! Anyway, my excuse is that both of my boys were home and we had some great family time!



Here's what we've been doing and what we'll be working on:



Reading: We are now in a new unit - "Reading Science Texts". One of the skills in this unit is to get information from more than one source. I decided to have each student choose a book about an animal. After being given an organizer, we've been looking for facts about 1. what the animal looks like, 2. where it lives, habitat, and environment, 3. what the animal eats, predator or prey, and 4. interesting facts. It's amazing the information they've gotten already! Tomorrow we'll be using encyclopedia entries to find even more information. The end product of all of this research will be a report with two or more text features. If you aren't sure what a text feature is - ask your child!!



Math: We're continuing to work on multiplication and division readiness skills. We're also reviewing subtraction from money with zeros. Please work with your child on this! Next week we'll be covering multiplication of two digits by one digit and division of two digits by one digit.



Writing: I have been reading some great stories from our Writer's Workshop. We've been working with word choice and how to make our vocabulary "splendid"!



Cursive: Next week will be C and E. I am making them use cursive more and more. Their word study test tomorrow will be in cursive. We've gone over all of the lower-case letters, so they really need to use them.



Word Study: We'll be working with suffixes next week.



Science: Mystery Chemicals!!!! We have started our new unit "Chemistry Tests". We've already mixed water with a chemical to make "goo". We made observations of properties and then wrote them down. It was fun to watch the properties change when the water was added. We'll be doing this same experiment with five more SAFE chemicals.



Other information:

The students have been doing so well on their "Global Scholar Testing". It is a pilot program our grade is doing for the county. I explained to the kids that it is a "smart" test that will continue to get more difficult as long as they are getting questions correct. When the student reaches their "limit", they are done. We did one last week for Reading. Tomorrow we will do one for math. Since it's a pilot program, there are no scores to share. More information will be coming out in the UES News.



Thanks to everyone - we had 100% participation for our Valentine's Day party. Sorry for the many reminders! Also, thanks to all who have donated, or will donate, to our Silent Auction basket. It looks to be a wonderful one! Thanks so much to Becca Clark and Rose Ann Shapiro for all of their work for both functions.



Have a wonderful weekend! Hope to see many of you at our Valentine's Day Party! If you decide to come, please take time to walk through the library hallway and see all of the cultural projects from third grade!



Faith Humerick

Happy Friday!



What a week! It seems like we did a lot of testing - but... the kids really hung in there and did well! The Mock MSA on Wednesday went VERY WELL! The tests themselves aren't graded, we go over them as a class. What I want them to get out of the whole exercise is the test-taking experience. Please ask your child how they think they did.



Next week, although there's no school on Monday, will be a "regular" week!



Language Arts: We will be finishing up Ancillary Texts - places we can go to for information... reference books, web sites, articles, etc.



Math: We'll be taking our 3rd quarter pretest. You'll also be receiving the new list of skills we will be covering this quarter. Be aware - multiplication and division are on the horizon!!! If your child is not proficient in addition or subtraction, this may present a problem. PLEASE practice these facts at home! Along with the pretest we'll be doing some calculator practice and some additional work with problem solving.



Social Studies: We'll be discussing Taxes, who works at City Hall, and Voting. Ask your child to tell you some information we've been talking about in class!



Writing: The class finished a persuasive writing piece about whether to allow dodge ball to be played in schools or not. They did a nice job! Next week we'll continue with our writer's workshop.



Cursive: We're done with all of our lower case letters! So...that means there will be more writing in cursive! Next week we'll be starting with some upper-case.



Word Study: Our focus next week will be words that make the /j/ sound.



I think that's it for now. Our Valentine's Party will be on February 14th. A letter will be coming home soon asking for donations for the party.



Don't forget!! Your child's Cultural Project is due Thursday, January 26.



Have a wonderful weekend - remember there's no school on Monday - it's the end of Term 2 and I'll be working on report cards!



Faith Humerick