Spirit Week is Here!

This week is Spirit Week in anticipation for our FSA tests. Each day the school will show their spirit and support for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who will be testing upon returning from spring break. This is a great chance to build up their spirits and diminish any testing anxiety. Remember,  it is just a few days out of the year! Remind your child to do their best and that they have all the tools they need to be  successful.

Here are the spirit days this week:
Monday-Circus Day
Tuesday-Crazy sock and hat day
Wednesday-Wear any former or current Chets Creek t-shirt
Thursday-Wear green


There will be a spring break challenge  that will come home Thursday that I'd highly recommend your child completes. It involves reading each day and then completing a paired passage reading assessment. Enjoy spring break and come back refreshed and ready to go!

Placing fractions on a number line

Students learned how to compare fractions and place the fractions on a number line from least to greatest. 

Terrific Theories

In class we have been working on building theories about our characters. Students have learned to really dig deeper below the surface to build ideas. We have spent lessons identifying characters traits and then asking...Why are they like this? What do I see by their actions and words? What patterns have I noticed about my character?

These questions have helped students build great theories. They have been pushing themselves to really ask WHY and think hard about the choices their characters make. This is a very hard concept for students as it involves them to think actively synthesize information they are reading. We also have discussed the importance of using text support and constantly think back to prior events as support for their theories.

This week we will push their minds a little farther and build predictions based on theories as well as predict how the story will unfold based on what we know about story structure.

Powerful Persuasion

       We have begun writing persuasive essays in class. Students have learned about the basic format of a persuasive essay. We spent  a few days brainstorming meaningful topics at home, school, and in the world. Students then used a graphic organizer to write their thesis/claim and develop at least 3 STRONG reasons. ("Because I said" so was not an option.)

Next, they were to think of supportive detail for each reason. These could be life examples, details, or experiences they have had or witnessed others going through.  We are also talking about addressing the counterargument that our audience would most likely reply with. Students  had to embed transions for each new paragraph as well as throughout their reason paragraphs. Not only this, but they wrote engaging introductions and will be working on their conclusion in the next few days.

Below is an online tutorial that allows students to practice writing a persuasive essay.

Write My Own Persuasive Essay

New Structures

In Writer's Workshop we have begun informational writing. This week students have been busy taking notes and listing all they know about their topic. One topic we discussed in class this week was text structure. Students learned there are many ways to organize information. We discussed several types of structures and the signal words to look for that let us know which structure it is.

Problem/Solution
Cause/Effect
Chronological
Sequence
Pros/Cons
Compare/Contrast

Next, students tried an example of each structure and added it into their report. Knowing how to identify text structure is also a standard for reading. Below are a few practice quizzes for identifying text structure. Enjoy and keep practicing!

What is the Structure?
Practice 2
Hoop Shooting Game
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
 
*When you play any of these games, write the word BANANA in your planner so Ms. Evanko knows you have been practicing your skills to earn a special treat!

Science and Social Studies Books Online

I know many of you have had some issues getting on the websites for the science and social studies books.  I hope that having the direct link will help!

Science and Social Studies eBooks

 Follow the links below to access the sites. Keep stretching your brain and be a learner for life!

Science eBooks

Social Studies eBooks

Science:

Username:  scienceguestSS

Password:  grade3

Social Studies:

username: ssguest3

password: grade3

The Carnival is Coming!

 The annual Chets Creek Carnival will be Friday,  October 23rd. It will be from 6-9 starting with trick-or-treating in the hallways at 6. Teachers will be passing out candy and we love seeing familiar faces. Each classroom also runs a booth for games or food. Our class will be working the "Ring Toss'. We need parents to help operate the booth throughout the night. Shifts can be in 30 minute increments.  If you would be willing to work a 30 minute or an hours shift, please write a note in your child's planner so we can sign you up.

 We look forward to seeing you at the carnival!

Enjoy Scholastic Books!

If you are looking to add some new books to your child's library at home, look no farther! You can order Scholastic Books all year  long online in the convenience of your own home. No more trips to the bookstore. They are shipped right to me and students LOVE when it is book delivery day.  Not only this, but when you online the class gets coupons for free books as well. Your order is not only helping your child's reading life, but the students in our class. 

All you need to do is go online to Scholastic Books and enter our class code: GLLBL. Then, begin shopping! I get a notification an order has been placed and send it off for you.  Please consider this great opportunity to expose children to the books and topics they are interested in reading about. You can preorder the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book right now until October 19th and receive it on its release date of Nov. 3rd.

Happy shopping and reading!

Reflex Math

Reflex Math

September 2, 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians,

ExploreLearning Reflex is an online, game-based program that helps students build fast and effortless recall of math facts.

Research has shown that quick recall of math facts is critical for future success in mathematics. More advanced mathematical processes often require students to know a lot of math facts. So, it’s important to master these basic facts before tackling more challenging problems.

Your child can access Reflex from home with these simple instructions.  There is also a label inside your child's planner. 

1.    Using an Internet connected computer with Flash Player 10.1 (or higher) installed, type in this web address: http://www.reflexmath.com

2.    Click on the Launch button in the upper right corner

3.    Enter the teacher’s username (CorbettCircus)

4.    Click on our class name.

5.    Click on your child’s name

6.    Enter your child’s password

Reflex is structured to provide a short daily assessment of student progress, then coaching on new facts, and finally fact practice in the games. There are five games that students can choose from, and they can play as many as they want each day.

Because Reflex includes fun games, a student’s brother or sister might want to give it a try.  It is important that other children not use this account. Reflex continually monitors student progress and adapts to each student’s individual needs.  Because of this adaptivity, having multiple children use the same account will have a negative impact on your child’s progress.   You can sign up for a free 14-day trial at http://www.reflexmath.com for up to 5 other children to try Reflex.

If you have any questions about Reflex, you may contact ExploreLearning directly, via email at support@explorelearning.com or by phone at 866-882-4141(press option 4 for Support).

Thank you,

Mrs. Corbett

Elements of a Story

Today we reviewed the 5 elements of a story: Plot, characters, conflict, theme,  and setting. Students dissected a short story and identified each element. Then, we used a giant inflatable dice that each each element, plus main idea, was written on to practice.  It is vital for students to know the 5 elements when writing and be able to identify them in the books they are reading.  Ask you child to identify each element in the book they are reading from each night!

Here is a great video we sang to learn the 5 elements. WARNING!!!! It is quite catchy and will get stuck in your head all day! :)

Our Reading World in 3rd Grade

This week we have spent time learning the rituals and routines of Readers' Workshop. Students have learned habits of a good reader as well as how to choose books that are just right. Students learned what their expected behaviors are during workshop and got to enjoy the independence of reading where they'd like to read around the room. They are building a strong foundation as we kick off another great year here at Chets Creek!

 Students have learned basic editing marks and have worked on fixing all the errors I made every  morning. Geez, Ms. Evanko!

Great job, students!

Our first day under the big top

We had great fun watching the dog circus on the first day Under the Big Top

Welcome back to the greatest school on Earth!

Greetings new students and families,

We are so excited to start the year off circus style here at Chets Creek. Get ready for a year full of challenges, rewards, hard-work and of course fun! We will frequently post pictures and share the learning that goes on in our classrooms throughout the year. We want you to become more aware of what is happening at school and feel a part of our class as well. Share your comments and ask your child questions about the things you see on here as well.

We can't wait to have a dazzling  new school year!

Our Play is Almost Here!

Our class play is this Thursday at 7:15. Please have your child here by 6:45. We will be meeting in room 205 (Ms. Evanko's room).  We need students here a bit earlier to get  everyone in place and go over a few last minute reminders. They are to wear blue jeans/shorts and a plain white, red, or blue shirt. We have been working very hard on these songs the past few months. We hope you all come and enjoy the show!

Test-Taking Strategies

 As the upcoming FSA approaches, we have been reviewing several strategies to help on the reading test. Students are instructed to use each of these when they take they bi-weekly comprehension tests.  Below is a list of all the strategies we have taught and are encouraging students to use. Make sure you check over their reading tests when they come home to ensure they are following directions. 

*Remember, Achieve 3000 is a great tool to help build their reading comprehension and provides great practice. 

Read all answer choices before answering!

 Bubble in one answer for every question!  Bubble in more than one bubble  on questions with 5 choices. READ how many it wants you to find. If you leave the answer blank, it will be wrong. 

Check over your work! 

1.  Make sure you have an answer for every question

2.  GO BACK and make sure what you underlined matches what you bubbled in!

3.  Pretend you’re taking it all over again!

 Underline the key words in the question stem – so you understand what the questions is asking you to think about.  They are usually bold, italized, or in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Scramble Our Eggs: When answering a sequence of events question, locate each of the events listed as an answer choice within the story by placing the question number and letter beside the event.  Also locate the event listed in the question stem.  Then determine the order in which the events occurred to answer the question.

  STOP and THINK – Is What I’m Reading Making Sense? If not, go back and reread!

  SNAKE FINGERS- Skim the text using your “snake fingers” to locate key words from the question stem in the story and find the answers.  (Reread the complete paragraph where the key words are located to get all the important details/information within the text.)

  RIDICULOUS and WRONG (50/50 Chance Strategy) – Process of Elimination- look for answers that are ridiculous or obviously wrong.  By eliminating at least two answer choices you increase your chances of getting it right!

Plug-It-In – When answering a vocabulary question, replace the word from the story with all answer choices to determine which word means ALMOST the same and makes the MOST sense.

 The Tortoise and the Hare- Pace yourself!  Not too fast and not too slow.  Steady and consistent.

Jump Rope Strategy – Don’t spend too much time on a challenging question.  SKIP OVER IT and come back to it later!

Dictation Practice

One of the skills we continue to assess is a student's ability to properly write a sentence they are told.  We use dictations to check that students are using all of the skills they have been taught since kindergarten. Students are graded on punctuation, spelling,  and capitalization.  We expect students to be apply the knowledge they have been taught in class.  Students are expected to start with capitals, add commas, quotes, and ending punctuation. We also will use sight words in the sentences. 

Dictation promotes many skills at once:
* writing (accuracy: spelling, punctuation)
* listening
* vocabulary
* grammar

Every other week on their spelling test there are two lines where students record the two sentences that they are told. If you child is struggling with this, it is an easy skill to practice at home. Simply speak a sentence to your child and see if they can write it correctly. They can also dictate their favorite songs!

Please review over the dictation sections with your child if they are struggling. One of the common mistakes involves quotes. Students sometimes forget to start with a capital and add a comma after the talking tag. Another thing is putting a question mark after a question. Many students end with a period. 

We want to hold students accountable for their writing and hope all the skills they learn will always transfer into their writings. :) 

What's the Mystery?

This week we began mystery book clubs. Students voted on their top three books and were then placed in reading groups. At the first meeting, students decided on how much was a reasonable amount to read each night. Then, in class they were able to discuss and create a chart to monitor the suspects and clues. They held each other accountable for their reading.

Students have done an amazing job collaborating with their peers. They have had very productive talks with their group members. The students discuss vocabulary words as well.  We taught common words you use in a mystery book.

Alibi: An excuse that an accused person uses to show that he or she was not at
the scene of the crime
Breakthrough: A discovery that helps solve the crime
Clue: A fact or object that gives information toward solving the crime
Crime: An action that breaks the law
Deduction: Drawing a conclusion
Detective: An investigator looking for and gathering clues
Evidence: A thing or statement that helps to prove who committed the crime
Hunch: A guess or feeling not based on facts
Motive: A reason that a person does something — can include anger, hatred, love,
or greed
Mystery: Something that is unknown
Red herring: A false clue that throws the investigator off track
Sleuth: An investigator
Suspect: Person who has a motive to have committed a crime
Witness: Person who has knowledge about a crime

Everyone in class is so excited to keep reading on to solve the crimes in our books! Keep being dedicated students and good luck solving the crimes.

Inferencing time

Last week we reviewed what an inference was. Students learned that an inference was an educated guess using story clues and brain clues. Inferencing can be a harder skill for some students as you can not find the answer directly in the story. Students need to guess the answer using clues in the text and their prior knowledge (schema).

For example,  if you went to sit by your best friend at lunch and she got up and moved as soon as you sat down, you could infer she was mad at you.  Students are constantly making inferences to know how a character feels.

We practice inferring in class using a 'thinkmark'. A thinkmark is a bookmark where they record the book clues, their brain clues, and the inference they made. It is important that students use both text and brain clues. Often they rely solely on brain clues and do not notice details in the story.

Here a few websites to practice inferring. Many students had lessons on inferring on I-Ready Reading so they were ready to sharpen these skills!

Practice Quiz
Inference Millionaire
More practice site

Stop and Jot

Stop! Jot....and ROLL! Okay, not so much rolling, but we have been practicing a reading strategy in class called, "Stop and Jot" this  week.  Strong Readers "stop and jot" to think and interact with the book they are reading. They learned to write down their thinking after every few pages to ensure they are comprehending the story. Students learned what qualifies as a worthy "jot":
*You learn something new about a character
*The character acts unusual or does something surprising
* You or the character feel a strong emotion
*You notice a pattern in the text or with the character
*You have a prediction with evidence from the text
*When you disagree with an event or a character's choice
*When a  BIG moment or climax occurs
*When something in the text is just screaming at you to talk about
*When the story makes you wonder or you have a question

I hope students continue to use this strategy as they read from home. They can jot notes in a notebook or on post-its to monitor their thinking throughout the story. 

Remember to read yourselves awake and keep on jotting!

Science and Social Studies eBooks

Great news! We have eBooks for science and social studies that your child can take advantage of at home. Their user names and passwords are on a label inside their planner. Follow the links below to access the sites. Keep stretching your brain and be a learner for life!

Science eBooks

Social Studies eBooks



*Mention to your teacher  you were on the blog and the secret word "buckeye" and be entered in a drawing for a special gift!