December 5

This week, we will take the math mid-year scrimmage on Monday and Tuesday. Last week, students completed the reading mid-year scrimmage and the Achieve mid-year levelset. We are so proud of their growth and look forward to their accomplishments in math. It is amazing to see the progress they are making and how much effort they are putting into showing what they know!

Resources this week:
Cox:
Tuesday: pe
Wednesday: art
Friday: music
Kluge:
Monday: music
Wednesday: art
Friday: pe

ELA: New RAH logs and spelling words were passed out on Friday. The RAH log is due this Friday and we will also have a spelling test. I changed the format of the spelling list so students could easily cut out the words to work on their sorting activities at home. The list is always posted on the spelling tab above.

We will continue to read sections of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle. The main gist of this book is how the adaptations of the bullfrog help it to survive in it's habitat. Key vocabulary words students must be able to understand and apply are:
adaptation     physical adaptation     behavioral adaptation     habitat predator     prey    survive
This book is filled with great vocabulary and vivid words. We will connect the text with the illustrations to aid in comprehension. We will also work on describing how events, ideas, and concepts in the text are related.  

In writing, we are exploring poetry about frogs. We will read several types of poems and learn that all poems don't have rhyme and rhythm. Below is one of the poems we are reading right now.

“Frog” by Valerie Worth

The spotted frog 
Sits quite still 
On a wet stone; 

He is green 
With a luster 
Of water on his skin; 

His back is mossy 
With spots, and green 
Like moss on a stone; 

His gold-circled eyes 
Stare hard 
Like bright metal rings; 

When he leaps 
He is like a stone 
Thrown into a pond; 

Water rings spread 
After him, bright circles 
Of green, circles of gold 

MATH: This week in math the students will apply the distributive property and the fact 9 = 10 - 1 as a strategy to multiply as in the example below.  They will identify and use math patterns to multiply and continue to interpret the unknown in multiplication and division to model and solve problems.   We will focus on the study of patterns as they relate to the fact 9 = 10 – 1.  Students discover that the tens digit in the product of a nines fact is 1 less than the multiplier, and that the ones digit in the product is 10 minus the multiplier. 

For example,

9 × 3 = 27, 

2 = 3 – 1, and 7 = 10 – 3. 

They also see that the digits of nines facts products produce a sum of 9, as in the example above

2 + 7 = 9

Students analyze multiplication and division problems drawing models and writing equations using a letter to represent the unknown.  The students will also reason about and explain math patterns using units of 0 and 1 as they relate to multiplication and division. 

Example of 9=10-1 strategy:

9 × 8 = (10 × 8) – (1 × 8)

9 x 8 = 80 -8

9 x 8 = 72                                                       

Things to practice and review at home:

Use problems in mid-module 3 study guide to help prepare for test on Wednesday 12/7.

Practice adding and subtracting numbers within 1000.

Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes.

Continue practicing multiplication facts 2 to 10

Continue practicing division facts

SCIENCE: This week in science the students will identify that light can come from different sources, such as the sun or an electric lamp.  They will recognize that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels from one medium to another.

November 28

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe it is almost December!

Our field trip to Fort Menendez is tomorrow, Monday, November 28. Please bring a sack lunch, wear your BSE t-shirt, and dress for the weather! We will be outside the entire time we are there. 

Wednesday is early release at 1:30.

We will begin our mid-year testing on Tuesday. This week, we will have our ELA mid-year scrimmage on Tuesday and Wednesday. Each day will be 75 minutes. This will be similar to the baseline test taken at the beginning of the year. The math mid-year scrimmage will be next Monday and Tuesday.

Resources this week:

Cox:

Tuesday: art

Friday: music

Kluge:

Tuesday: art

Wednesday: music

Friday: pe

ELA: There will be no spelling this week. We are beginning a new module of study this week! In this module, students will use literacy skills to become experts—people who use reading, writing, listening, and speaking to build and share deep knowledge about the topic of FROGS! Our first text is Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle.

     

As we explore this new text and topic this week, we will read closely and focus on main idea, supporting details, and vocabulary. Not only will we look at details in the text which support the main idea, we will look at illustrations and think about key details they have that help us understand the main idea. In our vocabulary work, we will look at specific words and phrases and determine why we think the author chose them for this text. Although this text is written in a narrative format, it is filled with great information that will help students become experts on the topic of frogs.

Math:

This week in math the students will continue counting by sixes and sevens, composing up to and then over the next ten.  For example, students might count 6, 12, 18, and then mentally add 18 + 2 + 4 to make 24.  This skip-counting method utilizes make ten strategies. Students will begin to understand that multiples of 6 can be thought of as (5 + 1) x n to make 5 and 1 more groups, or 6 groups of n.   Multiples of 7 can be thought of as (5 + 2) x n to make 5 and 2 more groups, or 7 groups of n.  The students will continue using the distributive property as a strategy to multiply and divide and interpret the unknown in multiplication and dividison to model and solve problems using units of 6 and 7.  The students will begin to understand the function of parentheses and apply to solving mathematical problems. 

                                                    

Things to practice and review at home:

Practice adding and subtracting numbers within 1000.

Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes.

Continue practicing multiplication facts 2 to 10

Continue practicing division facts

November 14

We hope you all had a super three day weekend! We will not have a blog post next week due to Thanksgiving break.

Wednesday is an early release day.

All science fair projects are due Tuesday. Our BSE Math and Science Night is this Thursday, November 17 from 6:00 - 7:30.

Next week, we will only have school on Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22. School will resume the following Monday.

Resources this week:
Cox:
Tuesday: pe
Wednesday: music
Thursday: art
Kluge:
Monday: music
Wednesday: pe
Thursday: art

ELA: The week of Thanksgiving, there will be no spelling or RAH log. During the holidays, please try to work on your assigned online reading program a few times... iReady reading or Achieve3000.

We will work with our final text in our module this week, My Librarian is a Camel. This book is written by a woman who contacted people all over the world to find out how they access books in challenging physical environments. We will read about mobile libraries on boats, camels, wagons, buses, and more.

We will look closely at several countries: Peru, Kenya, Finland, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Canada, and Mongolia. We will work in groups and independently, to closely read and research the countries. This will prepare us for our end-of-unit assessment in which we will independently read about another country to do the following activities. 

We will: 

• note words we are unfamiliar with
• determine the "gist" of the text excerpts
• think about the physical features that make it difficult to access books
• find out how people overcome these difficulties
• explore text features such as, illustrations, photographs, and maps of the countries
• answer text-dependent questions 

MATH: This week in math we will begin our module 3 lessons revisiting the commutative property of multiplication introduced in module 1.  The students will recognize that if they know 3x6=18, then they also know 6x3=18.  Students will apply the commutative property with the n + 1 strategy to solve unknown facts. For example students will relate 5x8 and 8x5, and then add one more group of 8(n) to solve 6x8 and 8x6.  The students will be using a letter to represent the unknown in various positions within multiplication and division problems.                                          

   Example problem:  Twenty –four people line up to use the canoes at the park.  Three people are assigned to each canoe.   How many canoes are used? 

Homework:

Study for end of module 2 assessment (using study guide provided last week)

Module 3 Lesson 2

Module 3 Lesson 3

Module 3 Lesson 4

2 i-Ready lessons

Things to practice at home:

Use place value understanding and vertical number line to round numbers to nearest 10 or 100. 

Practice adding and subtracting numbers within 1000.

Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes.

Continue practicing multiplication facts 2 to 10

Please check out our DCPS site for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems.  

SCIENCE: This week in Science we will be learning about ways that energy changes form.  The students will learn about energy causing motion and change through examining the cause and effect relationships and sequence of events.  

November 7

Bartram Springs Elementary will be participating in a school-wide mock election on Tuesday, November 8th. We will have a special election room where students will be able to vote privately in a voting booth and then cast their ballots in a ballot box.

BSE FLAG RAISING!

Don't forget to wear your red, white, and blue this Thursday for our flag raising in honor of Veteran's Day. It will be at 8:45 and all parents and community members are invited.

BSE PTA presents Movie on the Lawn
Thursday, Nov. 10th Gates open at 6:00 p.m. This is a FREE event!
*Movie begins at 6:30pm
*Bring chairs or blankets & bug spray
***PRE-ORDER only***
Papa Johns Whole Pizzas OR Chick Fil A Box MEALS

No school on Friday, November 11.

The BSE Student Council is sponsoring a food drive for the Salvation Army. Collection boxes will be around the school for donations. Our class representatives shared this with our classes on Friday.

Resources this week:
Cox:
Monday: pe
Tuesday: art
Thursday: music
Kluge:
Tuesday: art
Thursday: media and pe  Please return all library books by Wednesday!

ELA: I hope you all enjoyed the letters your children wrote to you about their reading "glows and grows". Thank you for sending them back. They will bring them home at the end of the year. 

The RAH log will be due this Thursday because of no school on Friday. Also, we will have the spelling test on Thursday.

Last week we worked for a few day exploring and learning a lot about maps. We located all of the countries we have read about and we also studied physical maps, landforms, and water features. Below are photos from the activities. 

We continue to learn about different librarians around the world in the third unit of module 1. We will read a narrative informational text, Waiting for the Biblioburro. This book was inspired by the heroic efforts of real-life librarian Luis Soriano, who established a mobile library that journeys over mountains and through valleys to bring literacy and culture to rural Colombia. Click on the book cover to listen to the book!

After reading Waiting for the Bibioburro, students will work in groups to compare and contrast the book with another book we have read in this module. The groups will be creating a graphic organizer to share with the class. They will compare characters, settings, challenges of accessing books, physical land features, etc. 

MATH: 

Our end of module test will be next week on Tuesday Nov. 15th.

The following link is for math homework help. We are currently working on module 2.

http://www.oakdale.k12.ca.us/ENY_Hmwk_Intro_math

This week in math the students will decompose to subtract three-digit measurements with a zero in the tens or ones place.  They will solve measurement word problems drawing tape diagrams.  The students will round to estimate the sums and differences of measurements and then solve problems determining the reasonableness of their solutions.  The students will use the standard algorithm for subtraction to solve two and three digit metric measurements and intervals of minutes within 1 hour problems.

Example Problem and Answer Two and Three Digit Measurement and Subtraction-Using Place Value Chart

Sabrina had 726 milliliters of water when she started her hiking trip. She had 182 milliliters of water after her hiking trip. How many milliliters of water did Sabrina drink?

Partner activity rounding to nearest 10 mL and 100 mL to determine solution to word problem:

Homework:

Lesson 18 (End of Module Study Guide)
Lesson 19

Lesson 21

2 i-Ready lessons

Things to practice at home:

Practice using analog clocks to determine elapsed time of various activities.

Continue practicing multiplication facts 2 to 10

Discuss the liquid volume of milk, juice, and water containers found at home.

Talk about how much certain objects weigh and differences in total weight of specific things at home.

Use addition and subtraction strategies to solve measurement word problems.

SCIENCE:  

We will continue our discussion of energy and the different forms or energy.  Students will identify forms of energy and understand that energy can cause motion or create change.                                             

October 31

Thank you all for supporting our school fun run! We had a great time. Please help to collect all pledges by Thursday, November 3rd. 

PICTURE RETAKES are Tuesday, November 1st. Please write a note in your child's planner if you would like a retake!

We have another early release this week on Wednesday.

On Thursday, November 10, we will have a school wide flag raising in honor of Veteran's Day. It will be at 8:45 and all parents and community members are invited.

No school next Friday... Veteran's Day holiday.

Resources this week:
Cox:
Monday: art
Thursday: music
Kluge:
Monday: art
Wednesday: pe
Thursday: music

ELA:  Wow! Everyone did such a great job on the RAH log this week! Lots of parent signatures too! Thank you and way to go!

This week in reading, we will be integrating social studies with our study of physical environments around the world. We are completing scavenger hunts with all types of maps and will locate all of the countries our books have taken us to so far this year. The climate, landforms, and water features of a place are important parts of the physical environment. Click on the map below to look at climates around the word. Choose the legend tab on the right side to understand what climate the different colors represent.

Click on the map below to see several maps of the United States with map keys.

There is a link to the right under social studies that has 

many interactive geography activities too!

MATH: We will continue rounding two-and three digit numbers to the nearest ten on the vertical number line.  The students will apply the rounding strategies to round to the nearest hundred on the vertical number line. We will use the standard algorithm to compose larger units once and twice.  The students will decompose once to subtract measurements including three-digit minuends with zeros in the tens or ones place.

Examples of rounding three-digit measurements:

Rounding 387milliliters to the nearest hundred:

 Rounding 117 milliliters to nearest ten: 

Rounding 1,387 milliliters to the nearest hundred:

Example problem subtracting using the standard algorithm:

Nooran buys 507 grams of grapes at the market Tuesday. On Thursday, he buys 345 grams of grapes.  How many more grams of grapes did Nooran buy on Tuesday than on Thursday?

Homework:

Lesson 13

Lesson 14

Lesson 15

Lesson 16

I-Ready lesson

Things to practice at home:

Practice using analog clocks to determine elapsed time of various activities and to practice telling time.

Continue practicing multiplication facts 2 to 10

Discuss the liquid volume of milk, juice, and water containers found at home.

Talk about how much certain objects weigh and differences in total weight of specific things at home.

Practice using rounding strategies to round numbers at home on a vertical number line.  For example the number 57 is between 5 tens (50) and 6 tens (60).  The number 57 is rounded to 60.  Use the rounded number to estimate the weight.

SCIENCE: The students will continue learning about energy.  They will identify some basic forms of energy, such as light, heat, sound, electrical and mechanical.  The students will begin to compare objects that use different forms of energy.

October 24

This week is Fall Literacy Week at Bartram Springs!

Monday, October 24-    

Book Goal Kick-Off Event-    Faculty Play

Tuesday, October 25-        

“Dudes Do Read” Guest Reader Day

Thank you Mr. Pasket and Mr. Harris for coming in. We appreciate you!

Wednesday, October 26-  

“Book Character Parade”

We will watch the K-2 Book Character Parade and cheer them on. 3-5 grades are NOT dressing up.

Wednesday is Early Release.

THURSDAY IS THE FUN RUN!

Thank you for your support in helping the PTA purchase and install a water fountain on our playground and also purchase more laptops for our students at BSE. Mrs. Kluge's room loved our crazy sock day and Mrs. Cox's class will have their crazy sock day on MONDAY! 

Resources this week:

Cox:

Tuesday: music

Wednesday: art

Friday: pe

Kluge:

Tuesday: pe

Wednesday: art

Thursday: music

ELA: The spelling list that was sent home Friday says 10-31 but it is for this week. Sorry about that!

 Also... The RAH logs require a parent signature. Please help your child remember to ask you to sign. This is their responsibility. We had a BIG discussion last week about the importance of daily reading. It really does make a huge impact on success in third grade. : )

This week we are working on reading with fluency. Below is a chart showing the 4 elements of reading fluency.

The way students can improve their fluency is to find a short poem or paragraph. They need to reread the text aloud at least 3-4 times, which will increase their rate and allow them to read more smoothly. In class, they are reflecting on their own oral reading and determining their fluency strengths and where they want to improve to be a more fluent reader. During the week, I will meet with each one of them for a fluency check. I will listen for the 4 elements and also the number of words read per minute. 

MATH:  This week in math we will estimate and measure liquid volume in liters and milliliters using the vertical number line.  The students will solve mixed word problems involving all four operations with grams, kilograms, liters, and milliliters given in the same units. We will be reviewing rounding strategies and applying these strategies to our lessons.  The students will be rounding two- and three-digit measurements to the nearest ten on the vertical number line.  We will continue applying our rounding strategies to round to the nearest hundred on the vertical number line. 

           What is one more tens than 7 tens?                                  

           Which number is halfway between 7 tens and 8 tens?

Homework:

Module 2 Lesson 10 (Mid-Module Study Guide sent home/Mid-Module Assessment Thursday)

Module 2 Lesson 11

Study for Mid-Module Assessment

Module 2 Lesson 12

i-Ready Lesson

Things to practice at home:

Practice using a vertical number line to round numbers.

Continue practicing using a number line and analog clocks to solve elapsed time word problems.

Continue comparing the capacities of different shape objects using metric units of measurement.

Compare and contrast the weight of different objects at home using kilograms and grams.

SCIENCE: This week in Science we will complete our studies on matter and begin learning about energy.   The students will be able to recognize that there are different forms of energy and identify basic forms of energy.         

                                                      

October 17

Because of our missed days due to the hurricane, the BSE Boosterthon Fun Run has been moved forward.

Monday, October 17th  

Boosterthon Fun Run Kickoff Pep Rally 

Thursday, October 27th  

Fun Run (run times to be announced)

Friday, October 21 is a teacher planning day. No school for students.

Resources this week: 

Cox:

Monday: music

Wednesday: pe

Thursday: art

Kluge:

Monday: pe

Tuesday: music

Thursday: art

ELA: Our spelling test will be on Thursday this week due to the teacher planning day on Friday. Also the RAH log will be due Thursday. There are examples this week on how to record iReady or Achieve lessons. 
This week in reading, we will finish a special project / assessment. We are looking at our reading progress using data from a variety of diagnostics and assessments. Students analyzed their individual information and determined their "glows and grows". They are in the process of writing a letter to parents to share their reading strengths and what they want to work on. They have chosen things they can do to help them reach their personal reading goals. The letters will come home this week. I will have a parent signature sheet attached to the letter and will ask that it be returned. I'm so proud of the effort put into these letters! 

Our reading focus will be main idea and key details this week. We will read a great article about "Little Free Libraries" around the world and how the organization started. Click the photo to watch a short video about this great idea!
We will also read an article, "Following a Dream: The Appalachian Trail" about a group trying to make the Appalachian Trail longer by adding the Georgia Pinhoti Trail to the southern end.

MATH: This week in math we will measure weight and liquid volume in metric units.  We will build and decompose a kilogram with hands-on exercises to reason about the size and weight of 1 kilogram, 100 grams, 10 grams, and 1 gram.  We will work on developing estimation strategies by reasoning about the weight in kilograms of a series of familiar objects to establish mental benchmark measures. We will solve word problems involving metric weights within 100 and estimate to reason about solutions.  We will decompose a liter to reason about the size of 1 liter, 100 milliliters, 10 milliliters, and 1 milliliter.

Example:

                   Decomposing 1 kilogram using a number bond:

Example word problem:

Math Homework this week:

Module 2 Lesson 6

Module 2 Lesson 7 (study for multiplication quiz 5’s facts)

Module 2 Lesson 8 (multiplication quiz 5’s facts)

Module 2 Lesson 9

1 i-Ready lesson

Things to do at home:

·         Important metric words: gram (g), kilogram (kg), liter (L), milliliter (mL), centimeter (cm), meter (m)

·         Discuss the capacity (the amount that a container can hold) of different containers around the house. 

·         Use a clock to tell time and to solve elapse time problems

·         Practice decomposing or taking apart  a number for example; 333 = 300 + 30 +3

·         Talk about the different units of measure and practice solving problems using different units of measure

·         Continue practicing multiplication facts 2-10

SCIENCE: We will continue learning about matter.  The students will learn how to measure and compare length, volume, mass, and temperature of objects.  We will identify and describe the different states of matter and learn the changes water undergoes as it changes state.