Holiday Homework

Holiday Homework

Dear Students,

I would like to wish you a very happy, safe and restful holiday. You have worked hard these last few months and you should feel very proud of what you have accomplished. So that you do not forget the things that you have learned during this long vacation, you have a few assignments to work on over the break. As always you should try to read as often as possible!

1) Book Review - You should pick a chapter book, it can be one that you read over the vacation or one that you have read this year and have particularly enjoyed, and write a review of it, using the form I have given you. You should answer the questions in sentences, of course! We will be sharing these when you return.

2) Reading Please take some time to read! You do not have to use your reading log, but please make sure you do some reading over the break.

3) Math – Have fun with numbers!! Study your times tables 1-10. Make up games with your family and friends to help you study. You should already know the 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables and should start working on the 6, 7, 8, and 9 times tables. Play on Mathletics as well!

Most of all, Have Fun and Happy Holidays! I look forward to seeing you all in the year 2011!

Best wishes,

Ms. Beeton

Weekly Times December 17, 2010

HEADLINES

Language Arts

Spelling - Review

Grammar - Review of parts of speech

- Comparative adjectives

Writing - final project for the Dig It Unit

Reading - Readings on the Rock Cycle

Math

Review for assessment and assessment

Units of Inquiry

Dig It - How the World Works

Field Trip - to the Museo Geopaleontologico a Rocca di Cave - Presentation about the changing geology of the region over the last 90 million years including a walk to see fossil proof that Rocca di Cave was once on the sea.

Final Project - planning and making a poster demonstrating an example of the rock cycle

Important Dates and Events

December 21, 2010 - Last day of school before the holidays

December 22, 2010 - January 10, 2011 - Holiday

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - First Day back to school

I wish you all very safe and happy holidays. See you in the New Year!

Feel free to contact me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

Weekly Times December 10, 2010

HEADLINES

Language Arts

Spelling - Review of the last few weeks

Grammar - Review of Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives and Adverbs

Reading - readings about the Rock Cycle

Read Aloud: Magic School Bus Inside the Earth

Math

Data Handling:

Tally Marks

Frequency

Pictograms

Time on the clock to the minute

Review for the upcoming assessment

Mathletics - data handling, time

Units of Inquiry

Readings on the Rock Cycle

Rock Cycle coloring activity

Beginning to work on coming up with the grading rubric for the final project as a class

The final project is a poster with a rock cycle which will be completed at school

Important Dates and Announcements

Thursday, December 16, 2010 - Field trip to the Geopaleontological Museum of Rocca di Cave - please have children to school by 8 a.m. as we will be LEAVING school at 8:15 a.m. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - Last Day of school before the holiday

(Please let me know if you are leaving early for the holidays)

Please feel free to contact me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

Weekly Times December 3, 2010

HEADLINES

Language Arts:

Spelling - Dig It Adverbs, sentences, crossword

Reading - guided reading groups, reading about the rock cycle

Writing - stories from pictures

Read aloud Magic School Bus Inside the Earth

Math:

Fractions -

- coloring fractions

- fractions as division problems ( 1/5 of 20 = 4 20 divided by 5 = 4)

- equivalent fractions

UNITS OF INQUIRY:

Rock Hound - Types of rocks

Looking at rocks, sorting them based on properties chosen by students and by scientists

Differences between rocks and minerals

The Rock Cycle (edible project)

Special presentation by Andrew Nadeau

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - Concert at 9:30 in theatre, followed by panettone in class

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - Holiday, no school

Thursday, December 16, 2010 - Field Trip - Letter to follow

For the concert - children should wear black pants or skirt and a white shirt, with dress shoes.

Scientists at Work!

Over the last few weeks, during our unit "Dig It", 3B students have been participating in all kinds of experiments. They have made Earth sandwiches, showing the layers of rocks and then manipulating them to show the different ways the plates move together and how they can cause earthquakes. They also made rather explosive volcanoes and discovered the properties of a number of rocks and minerals. They examined them according to a series of criteria such as porosity, presence of pattern and grains, etc.

Here are a few photos from their explorations:

Weekly Times, November 12, 2010

November 12, 2010

Headlines

Language Arts
Spelling – Dig It Verbs, Dictionary Races
Grammar – Verbs
Writing – 3 Favorite parts of my vacation
Reading – Guided Reading Groups
Read alouds: Magic Schoolbus Blows Its Top by Joanna Cole and Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day by Robin Pulver

Maths
Multiplication – 3’s and 4’s
Fact Families – multiplication and division
Multiplication and Division Gropus
Introduction of 2 digit times 1 digit numbers

Mathletics Update- We are offically registered with Mathletics for the rest of the year. I am still working out how best to use it, but we have been using it in class and going extra times to the computer room as well. If you would like your child to continue practicing what we were working on this week, he or she should work on Algebra Groups, Algebra Arrays and Algebra Problems. Under Algebra Problems, we worked on FactFamilies: Multiplication and Division this week. Children should try again until they get a gold bar (85% or more). They also really enjoy the Times Table Toons.

UNITS of INQUIRY:
DIG IT – How the World Works
Plate Tectonics
Pangea

Announcements and Notices
Thursday and Friday, November 25 and 26 – Thanksgiving Holiday
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 – Grades 2 & 3 Winter Recital
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - Holiday no school


Feel free to email me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

Halloween at School

This week there were lots of Halloween activities around school. I have put up some pictures of some of those events, such as the cupcake decorating, the class in costume, the pumpkins and buddies!

Weekly Times October 29, 2010

Please Look in the Archives to see a post from toady with Pictures of Halloween at School!

Headlines

Language Arts

Spelling – Dig It Vocabulary

Reading – Guided Reading Groups

Writing – Halloween Stories, Story order

Grammar – Proper and Common Nouns

Read alouds: finished Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me by Louis Sacher

Maths

Ordering Numbers

Number patterns

Odd and Even Numbers

Halloween Math - Rounding review and multiplication

Mathletics –

We have decided to sign up for Mathletics for the rest of the year. Our trial is set to expire on November 1 and the actual purchase may not have gone through by then, so there may be part of the vacation when it doesn’t work. Further explanation of the program will be sent home after the vacation.

UNITS of INQUIRY:

DIG IT – How the World Works

Questions we have

Soil and Sand Laboratory

Announcements and Notices

• Monday to Friday, November 1-5 - Holiday – school closed. For homework, students should do some reading and work on their 3 and 4 multiplication tables. Have a wonderful, restful week!
• Thursday and Friday, November 25 and 26 – Thanksgiving Break
  
• Feel free to email me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

Weekly Times October 22, 2010

Headlines

Language Arts

Spelling – More Irregular Verbs, Quiz on Monday

Reading – Guided Reading Groups, Reading Log letters

Read alouds: Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me by Louis Sacher

Maths

Review for first assessment

First assessment

Mathletics –

Mathetics is a web site that many schools are now incorporating into their math curriculum. In 3B we are trying out Mathletics to see what it is like and if it could be useful at Ambrit. Today children are coming home with their user names and passwords to be able to log in and use the site over the weekend. They have not been given any specific tasks. I encourage families to have a look. Any feedback you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

UNITS of INQUIRY:

HOME SWEET HOME - Sharing the Planet

Presentations of our homes

Self-Evaluation of the presentation

*Homes should now be taken home – we must make way for the pumpkins!

DIG IT – How the World Works

Brainstorming ideas about what we already know

Homework to collect sand or soil sample for Monday

Announcements and Notices

Tuesday, October 26 - cupcake decorating at school to prepare for the bake sale, pumpkins due for contest

Thursday and Friday, October 28 and 29 – Bake Sale at school

Friday, October 29, 2010 - Haloween at school – Children may dress up, there is a bake sale and a pumpkin carving contest

Feel free to email me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

I am still working on how best to upload the videos to the blog. I hope to have them up soon!

Weekly Times October 15, 2010

Language Arts
Spelling - irregular past tense verbs
Writing - Pen Pal letters, Target Setting reflections
Reading - reading groups, introduction to reading log letters
Read aloud: Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me by Louis Sacher

Math
Perimeter and Area
Points on a grid

Units of Inquiry
House Presentations
World Food Day speaker - Ms. Ward from WFP

Announcements and Notices

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - Ms. Wilson's last day, we will have a small party at the end of the day to say goodbye

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - Cupcake decorating at school

Thursday and Friday, October 28 & 29 - Bake Sale

Friday, October 29, 2010 - Halloween celebrations at school, children may dress up, there will be an assembly

November 1- 5, 2010 - Holiday

Weekly Times October 8, 2010

PLEASE NOTE: The DUE DATE for the homes project has been changed to WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010

Headlines

Language Arts

Spelling – Verb Endings -ing, -ed – 2 Rules:

1. DOUBLE the consonant to keep the vowel sound short when adding –ed and –ing

2. DROP the final e when adding –ed or –ing

Grammar – Verbs

Writing – sentences for research, sentences for spelling, about the weekend

Reading – Starting with the Raeading Log

- Choosing “Just Right” books

- Writing a reading log entry letter

Read alouds: Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me by Louis Sacher

Math

Geometry

- perimeter

- Polygons – 2-D shapes, sides, vertices, right angles, symmetry

- Triangles – equilateral, isoceles, right-angle

UNITS of INQUIRY: HOME SWEET HOME

Sharing the Planet

ICT- using Google Maps to look at a neighborhood

Researching our homes – looking most importantly at the effects of climate and landforms on the types of houses built in a place, as well as how the type of house is built and where the materials come from (locally or not, so links to other places)

Announcements and Notices

· Friday, October 15, 2010 – Target Setting Conferences – no school for STUDENTS, please use the wiki to sign up (www.ambritplanning.pbworks.com)

· Wednesday, October 20, 2010 – Ms. Wilson’s last day

· Tuesday or Wednesday, October 26 or 27 - cupcake decorating at school to prepare for the bake sale – volunteers appreciated (you can let me know by email if you are available in the afternoon)

· Friday, October 29, 2010 - Haloween at school – Children may dress up, there is a bake sale and a pumpkin carving contest (which is judged on the Friday) - more information to follow

· Feel free to email me anytime at courtney.beeton@ambrit-rome.com

Change in Due Date of the Homes Project

The due date of the homes project is now Wednesday, October 13, 2010. On that day, students should bring in their model and their visual (poster, booklet, power point, etc.). We will do presentations on Wednesday and finish up on Thursday. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

Wednesday Homework October 6, 2010

Dear Parents and Students,

Tonight is the first time that we are trying the reading log and I am sending home the Homes research pack for you to take a look at, so I will not ask students to do spelling homework. Thank you!

Home Sweet Home Final Project

Dear Parents and Students,

We have been working very hard on our Home Sweet Home unit and are ready to begin our final project.

Students are asked to:

• Research a particular type of home
• Present their findings clearly as a booklet or poster
• Construct a model of the home they have chosen
• Present their model home orally to the class

The students will be selecting and researching the home of their choice in school. We ask that you help your child construct their model home and in preparing their oral presentation. The model should be finished and brought to school on Monday, October 11, 2010. The presentations will be going on all week and you will be able to visit the display of the childrens' homes on October 15^th when you come for the Target Setting Conference.

Please see the "Home Sweet Home" page for helpful links and the "Home Sweet Home Final Project Guidelines" page for ore specific information. I have also prepared a slide show of pictures of all of the houses. It is located at Houses around the World (as well as on the links page on this blog, as well as on the curriculum links page of our Ambrit Class Web Site).

Have fun!

Nikolaos	Romanian Farm House
Noemi	North American Brick House
Aurora	Houseboat - Holland
Veasna	Indonesian pointed roof house
India	Himalayan stone house
Blasco	Indian Kutch house
Giovanni	Eco house in Rome
Annalisa	Arctic house
Lucie	Trullo - Puglia
Ginevra	Amazon Yanomami
Matteo	Container homes
Noah	Traditional Japanese House
Giulia	Spanish Guadix cave house
Sebastian	Togan mudhouse
Matthew	Log cabin (Canada)
Nicholas	Skyscraper (New York City)
Edoardo	Mongolian Yurt
Eilidh	Botswana hut
Veera	Lighthouse Thacher Island Massachusetts
Loet	South African Rondavel