Hour of Code, extra credit, winter break project

This week the class participated in the Hour of Code which a global initiative to interest students in computer science and related careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There were some technical difficulties at first owing to the fact that we were trying to share the Hour of Code website with millions of other people at the time. We did eventually get coding, and I think it was a good experience for the students. They learned the basic concepts of computer programming, namely the need for accurate, detailed directions given in a logically thought out sequence.

In case you did not see the note, I am offering an extra credit math grade for any student that does another coding tutorial on their own. To earn the extra credit, students must complete and of the tutorials found  at code.org and write a paragraph describing the experience, and telling how the skills needed for successful computer coding apply to their other school work. This is due by Monday the 15th.

Over the coming winter break, the students will have an assignment to complete. It will be a book report of sorts, the directions for which will be posted in the links next week. Student will need to read a chapter book, write a report, and design a book cover. This directions will go home on the 17th and the project will be due January 12th. To encourage the students to complete the project over the break, there will be an ice cream reward for those who turn the assignment in on January 6th. This assignment will count as a project grade. It should be considered a warm up for GT Expo #2, coming in early February.

If you do not follow the class on Twitter, I encourage you again to do so. It is a great way to keep up with what we are doing in class day to day. Follow us on Twitter here.

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for a great first half of the year! I hope everyone enjoys some time with family.

Updates as we head into December

As I am sure you know, this is a short week. However, we will be working, so please be sure your child is at school both days.

Speaking of this week, there is no homework this week, nor is there a spelling test. The students will be expected to keep a reading log which will be due December 1st.

Going forward in reading in reading, we will be finishing up with reading procedural texts and finish the quarter with a unit on folk tales. In math, we will spend the next week and a half on comparing fractions and representing equivalent fractions. Natural resources will be our next topic in science after we complete our work on energy. The next 3 weeks in social studies will cover government and economy.

I have some room in my Monday after school tutorial if you are interested in your child staying. The tutorial time is used for extra practice and extension of skills. Tutorials occur Monday after school and last until 4:15. Let me know if you are interested.

The week of December 8th, the class will be participating in the Hour of Code as part of Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code aims to introduce students to computer programming in order to raise interest in STEM careers. No prior experience is necessary and it should be a good experience. This past week, the class practiced some "unplugged" coding. Using symbols, they wrote directions, "code", for creating an image on grid paper.

The Best GT Expo Ever!

Thank you so much to the parents and classes that came to see our GT Expo projects on Friday. I am so proud of the class and all of their hard work. Below you will find some pictures and here you will find the song "I Am a Paleontologist", originally by They Might Be Giants, that we sang.

Something to share

One of our class parents asked he to share this flyer with everyone.

I apologise for the image being sideways. The technology is fighting back.

GT Expo Number One Approaches!

Perhaps you noticed that your child was more covered with chalk dust when they got home today than usual. This is why. Today we measured the life size lengths of the dinosaurs we've been researching for GT Expo. As you can see, there was a great deal of crawling on the ground.

The Expo is next Friday, November 7th. I hope you will be able to attend. The students have worked hard and are eager to share their learning. There will also be a musical number that you won't want to miss. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Wednesday Early Dismissal

I still have a bit of time left for conferences Wednesday afternoon if you would like to meet to discuss your child's progress. Let me know if you are interested.

Upcoming

I hope everyone will be able to make it out to Open House and the PTA meeting tomorrow night, 10/23. This will be less formal than the orientation we had in September. There is not presentation, just drop in, check out your child's work, and see what we have been up to.

Next week we have early dismissal on Wednesday. School will end at 12:45. However, we will be working, so please make sure your child is at school.

The 31st of October is Sinclair's annual Book Character Day, not to be confused with Halloween. Students may dress as a character from their favorite book, but they must have a copy of the book with them. Also, this is not one of the designated party days, so, sadly, there will be no party.

Beginning next week, there will be a new homework schedule and set of spelling lists. There are some changes that I would like to make you aware of. For starters, the format of the spelling assessments will change, as will the words tested. In an effort to improve each child's word study skills, half of the tested words will not be on the spelling list that is posted. We will study the list words and the particular pattern they follow. Through the week, we will add to a class list as words that follow the pattern or rule are studied or discovered. The non-list words that are tested will come from this class word list, so they will not be totally unfamiliar. The Friday assessments will continue to have the passage with multiple choice questions. Added to this will be 10 more words selected from the list complied during the week. All of this means there will be a change in the homework as well. Next Monday, I will have the class set up a page in their homework journals where they are to collect the spelling words we work on in class. The homework schedule will also indicate that they should add 3 words of their own that follow the pattern for the week to share the next day in class.

Another addition to the homework schedule will be the addition of the "Book Talk" assignment. More information will be forthcoming, but what it means is that each student, twice per nine weeks, will be expected to give an endorsement of a book they have recently read independently and enjoyed. Essentially they will be giving a short commercial for a book. More on this next week.

If you are not already following the class on Twitter, I encourage you to do so. I update that a bit more regularly than I do this blog. It is quicker to post photos of our activities.

I hope to see everyone tomorrow night.

Oops

I forgot to distribute the conduct reports this afternoon. They will go home tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

GT Expo projects are GO!

Today students were paired and assigned a dinosaur to research. They were given a checklist with due dates, a copy of the rubric, and a spec sheet on which to record information. I also gave them a note for their parents and an explanation of the items on the checklist. I did not give them full directions for every part of the project so as to not overwhelm them. For now they are gathering information. The items on the spec sheet should be viewed as minimum amounts of information needed to complete the project. The more they learn and are prepared to share, the better. In the coming days we will discuss in greater detail note taking and research. Next week we will get into using the information they gather to make models etc. for their presentations. If you have any questions, please let me know.

I will post the documents that I gave to the students in the links to the right.

Updated homework schedule

I am changing the homework schedule for the remainder of the grading period. This is to better align to where we are in the curriculum. I will give the students a new copy on Monday, but if you would like to see it now, I have updated the document in the link to the right.

It sure didn't feel like a half day

Thank you parents for getting your children to school today. I know that these early dismissal days can cause some scheduling headaches. It has been a busy week. Rather than write about everything, I'll post some photos, each of which is worth a thousand words.

Conduct the experiment.

Describe results, draw a conclusion.

Record data.

Science is a taxing business, but we're up to the challenge.

A visit from the Mobile Dairy.

Language arts journal page about suffixes.

Theme vs. Topic, who will win?

Upcoming events

1. This Wednesday, 9/24, school dismisses at 12:45. However, it is important that your child be at school, as we will be taking a reading snapshot test and preparing for the math snapshot that will be given on Thursday.
2. What is a snapshot you ask? The snapshots are district level assessments administered about every 4 weeks to gauge student progress through the year. The window for administering these tests is this week
3. I am still looking for one more volunteer to join us on the field trip to the MFAH on the 1st of October. You will need to be approved by the office and that process takes a about a week.
4. If you did not get a chance to see it yet, please check out our Constitution Day video. You can find the link below, in the previous post.

Happy Constitution Day 2014!

As you may know, we have been studying the Preamble to the US Constitution. We also learned a song from way back in the 1970s to help us remember the words to the Preamble. Our 3rd grades had visitors from the Houston Bar Association come to read a book called "John, Paul, George, and Ben" by Lane Smith. Thank you Ms. Christine and Mr. Danny!

You can watch our class singing "The Preamble".

Parent Orientation Night and a Field Trip

Tomorrow night, September 11, is parent orientation night at Sinclair Elementary. We will begin at 5:30 in the classroom with a presentation regarding policies and procedures. Also covered will be the academic expectations for 3rd graders at the district and state level. Finally, I hope to answer any questions you may have about the curriculum, testing, and anything else you would like to know about. This meeting is informational. It is not Open House. That event will be in October and will provide an opportunity for you to come in and dig into all of the work your child has been doing.

On October 1, from noon until 2:30, we will be taking a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. I will need one or two parent volunteers to go along as chaperones. These people will need to be VIPS approved. This approval needs to be redone every year so even if you were cleared last year, you will need to fill out the form in the office once again. It takes a week or two to get back, so if you can help out with this, check with the office to see if your VIPS registration is current.

I hope to see everyone tomorrow night. If you cannot make it, fear not, I will post a link to the presentation so you will not miss anything.

We had a great first week!

As it always does, the first week of school flew by. The children enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. We jumped right in to our work, and began reading the novel "Sideways Stories From Wayside School". It is an excellent book for learning about character, setting, plot, and summarization. We worked with parts of speech; nouns, verbs, and adjectives. In math, we covered basic problem solving strategies and reviewed place value. Science safety rules and procedures were covered as well, and we began working on map skills by learning to read a coordinate grid.

Perhaps most importantly, we talked about setting goals for the year. Before beginning any endeavor, it is best not just to know what it is you want to achieve, but to make a plan to help you get there. I told the class that I have certain goals for myself for this school year centered on what I want all of my students to accomplish. I described some of the practices and procedures that I have put in place that will help me to reach those goals. After talking about the goals I have set for the class, and discussing what goals they might set for themselves, Friday morning each child selected a goal for reading/language arts and one for math that they will work on through the year. Additionally, they had to come up with an action step; something they will do to help them attain their goals. All of our class goals are prominently posted near the door. We will revisit these frequently and assess our progress towards these goals.

Below are some pictures of some of the things we worked on this week. I am excited by the energy and enthusiasm this group has for learning. It's going to be a great year.

Welcome to the Best School Year Ever

It was great to meet those of you who were able to make it to Meet the Teacher on Friday. I am looking forward to meeting the rest of the class on Monday.

The first few weeks will consist of establishing classroom procedures and routines and getting down to work. We will begin the year in reading with a unit of realistic fiction in which we will learn about the elements of fiction and write summaries. We will also read the novel "Sideways Stories From Wayside School". Math begins with problems solving procedures and place value to 100,000. In science we start with safety and measurement. Maps and geography will be our focus to start the year in social studies.

On Monday, the students will bring home a packet of forms that will need to be read, signed,and returned to school at you earliest convenience.They will also have the homework schedule for the first 9 weeks as well as the spelling lists for the quarter. Please know that the homework schedule is not set in stone. If I feel that it need adjusting to better serve the class, I will change it. In the event that the schedule is altered, I will provide the students with a new one and post the updated copy in the links to the right. The reading log is to be returned, completed, the following Monday, I do not check it daily.

I am excited to work with your children this year. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for a wonderful year!

I cannot say enough how very much I have enjoyed working with your children this year. They are one of the best groups I have ever had, and I will miss them next year.

There are just a couple of final things to pass along:

1. A note went home today from the PTA regarding HISD's budget plan for next year and its potential impact on Sinclair. In short, the school would lose about $145,000 from its budget over the next 2 years. If you are concerned about this, please contact the Board of Education and Superintendent Grier. You can read about the proposal here: HISD Magnet Budget Proposal
2. It probably goes without saying, but please make sure your children read over the summer. A note went home today with information about the summer reading program HISD and Sinclair are sponsoring. They can also use TTM over the summer. If they have forgotten their login information, just email me and I will send it to you. A little bit of reading and math, say, a couple hours a week each, will keep them from losing the skills they have worked so hard to acquire this year.
3. Finally, I encourage you to get out and explore some of the city's wonderful museums and performing arts groups. Many of the museums in the Museum District have free days once a week. Miller Outdoor Theater has a great array of free performances going on all summer. My personal favorite thing to do in summer is to go to Padre Island National Seashore to watch a hatchling sea turtle release. The Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is highly endangered, so when nests are found, the eggs are collected and incubated until the turtles hatch. When they are ready, National Park Service scientists release them on the beach at sunrise. I have found that if you leave Houston at 2am, you can be at the release site by 6:15 or so, even if you stop for donuts. You may prefer to stay overnight in a hotel in Corpus Christi which would leave you with just a 30-40 minute drive to the release. Park admission is waived if you are attending the release. Read all about it here: Padre Island National Seashore sea turtle releases

Baby sea turtles crawl across the beach at Padre Island Nat'l Seashore





Nearly there...

Thank you parents for coming to our awards ceremony today. I am extremely proud of all of your children and the progress they have made this year.

Tomorrow they will empty their desks, so please make sure they have sufficient bag space to take home all of their things.

Don't forget Thursday is the last day for students. We will have our celebration after lunch.

If anyone made a video of our song from this morning that you can send me, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you for coming to GT Expo

Here is a link to the first performance of "The Rainbow Connection" from today. I will post the send take when I get a chance.

Rainbow Connection, Take 1

The End is Near!

The end of the school year is fast approaching. Here are some dates etc.to keep in mind for the next couple of weeks.
1. I am canceling all homework for the week with the exception of the reading log. So there will be no math or spelling, but there will be a reading log, due Monday the 25th.
2. GT Expo will be this Tuesday, the 20th from 1:30 to 2:30.
3. Third grade field day will be the 21st. Students need to come dressed to play outside. That means sneakers and a hat. A water bottle would also be a good idea.
4. Monday the 26th is a school day. This will make up for the second ice day we had back in February.
5. Our awards ceremony will be the 27th at 8:30. Students may wear "Sunday best" clothes or their regular school uniform.
6. On the 28th students will take all of their belongings home. Please make sure your child has a bag sufficient size to take everything away.
7. This Wednesday I will send home a note regarding the last day party.

It has been a great year and I thank you all for the support you've given me and the class.

Stanford and Thank You

Next week the students will take their final round of testing for the school year. That's right, it's time for Stanford testing. Most of the students will be familiar with this test as they have taken it every year that they have been in Houston ISD. The third grade level is a bit different in that less of the test is read to them. Each sub section of the test has a time limit that they will need to be mindful of. If you have any questions about the test, please let me know. Like with STAAR testing, it will be important that the students are here on time and ready to work.

I would like to thank all you for the outpouring of gifts for teacher appreciation week. I am truly overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you for everything, most particularly for the privilege of working everyday with your wonderful children. I will miss each and every one of them next year. They are a great group of students. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

STAAR Wars and other news

The STAAR test is practically upon us. Next Tuesday, students will take the math portion, and on Wednesday, the reading. It is imperative that students arrive on time. They need to be well rested and have a good breakfast. They will have an uninterrupted block of 4 hours to complete each test, and it is my expectation that they use most of that time. Breaks are allowed, but the clock does not stop. We will be discussing test procedures in class over the next few days. Obviously, I do not want the children to stress, but a passing score on the STAAR tests is a promotion standard, so they must take the test seriously. I expect them to use all of the strategies they have learned this year. They know that they are to show work for every problem, and when they finish they are to go back and check that work to be sure that it is correct. I am seeing an uptick in careless mistakes on the practices we are doing. I know they will all do their best and achieve at the highest level. If you have any questions about the test, please contact me.

You probably heard that we have started gardening over the last week. We did some clean up work in the habitat where we will be working to install a butterfly garden. The class also assembled a raised garden bed and planted some vegetables. Below are some pictures.

No Graded Work This Week

There will be no graded work this week. It will go home next Wednesday as usual. Thank you.

STAAR release test results

Today, your child will bring home a note containing the scores they earned on the Math and Reading STAAR practice tests we took this week.This is the actual test taken by last year's third graders, which was made public by the Texas Education Agency. I am using this information to plan targeted instruction for each child's particular areas of need. If you have any questions or would like to have a conference to discuss your child's performance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please sign and return the slip with your child tomorrow. Thank you.

Important Dates

Tomorrow and Wednesday, the third graders will be taking a STAAR practice test. The third grade team will be simulating actual test conditions in order to prepare the students for the actual tests which they will take on April 22nd and 23rd. They will be held to a 4 hour time limit, the desks will be spread out so that they are not too close to another student, and one of the other 3rd grade teachers will be monitoring the test. (HISD does not allow teachers above 2nd grade to test their own students.) It is extremely important that the students be here and on time these next 2 days. The results of these practice tests will be used to design review lessons and activities for the next 3 weeks leading up to the real testing. Please talk to your child tonight about the importance of taking these practice tests seriously.Thank you for all you do.

HAPPY SPRING BREAK!

We made it! Spring break is finally here. I hope everyone enjoys a well deserved rest. I am definitely in need of a few days off. I have not assigned any homework for the break. HOWEVER, I certainly hope that everyone will read and continue to work on TTM while they are off. When we return, there will be exactly 4 weeks before the STAAR testing begins. That time will include a great deal of review and practice, so it is vital that everyone be here every day, on time. 

Have a great break! 

Graded Work

My apologies. I was not able to get the graded work ready to go home in time today. It will go home tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

Making every day count...

Dear parents,

Unbelievably, it is nearly March. After today, there are only 34 school days until the students take the STAAR Math and Reading tests. This is what we might call crunch time. Passing scores on both the Math and Reading tests are promotion standards for students to move on to the 4th grade. While we are not "teaching to the test", part of each day will include important practice exercises and assessments that will help me determine for each student what particular skills need sharpening over the next 30 days. For that reason it is imperative that your child is at school and on time every day, unless they themselves are genuinely ill (feverish/ uncontrollably vomiting/ etc.). In this class, and in others around the school, we are experiencing a rash of tardies and absences. With so much going on, this lost time is extremely difficult to make up, and, inevitably, students with frequent tardy arrivals and absences miss instruction. Please do all that you can over the next few months to get your children to school every day. Quite aside from the instruction absent students miss, HISD and the state fund schools based, in part, on their average attendance. Fewer children at school means less money for the school. Thank you so much for all that you do to support our work here at Sinclair. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Here's the video

http://vimeo.com/87239329


This is the class performance of "Space Oddity". Enjoy!

GT Expo Pics

 Thank you to everyone who came to see our Expo projects. We had a great time sharing out work with you! I will post a link to our performance of "Space Oddity" shortly.

GT Expo Projects Due Monday! (and other news)

The GT Expo Projects are due Monday. That includes the brochure and the oral presentation. I will give each student a large sheet of white construction paper for their final copy of the brochure. However, they are not obligated to use it if they wish to use another paper or computer based brochure maker. Students should be practicing their "commercial" for a few minutes each night so that it sounds natural and well prepared. They will start presenting to the class on Monday. The GT Expo is scheduled for Thursday the 20th, from 1:15-2:15. I hope you are able to stop by. From what I have seen, the planet presentations will be awesome.

Also, with all of the miserable weather we have had to endure, we are running low on tissues. If you can send a box or two, we should be able to last the rest of the year. Thank you!

News for a Foggy Morning

First of all, I apologize, but the conduct reports for last week will not go home today. I have left them sitting safe and sound on the kitchen table. I will send them home tomorrow.

Today is the day that I asked the students to return their rough drafts of their brochures and oral presentations. This revised due date is due to the missed days of the last few weeks. Students wrote the new date in their agendas on Thursday and Friday of last week. I will still accept the drafts any time this week. The drafts are not a grade, they are so that I can provide any needed guidance or feedback. The sooner I get their draft, the sooner I can have it back to them. They got a large sheet of construction paper to use as a draft brochure. If you need a copy of the directions, I will attach one to the links on the right. Students need to be ready to present to the class on Monday, the 17th. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Change of plans

Graded work and progress reports, both scheduled to go out today, will be sent home tomorrow. This is because of the 2 missed days of school and the early dismissal today. Thank you for your understanding.

Since you'll be sitting at home tomorrow...

Dear Students,

Now that HISD has decided to call off tomorrow. Here are a couple of ideas for the profitable use of your unexpected leisure time.

1. Log on to TTM. Carlie is leading in TTM points for the week so far, can you catch her? And don't forget our charity. I think it would be great if you finished your second goal before the 5th graders finished their first.
2. Do some IStation.
3. Do some research on your solar system object.
4. Read a book, be ready to AR test on it Wednesday.
5. Study your spelling and vocabulary words.

You may also play in the snow if there is any, but you may not get sick because we have WAY too much work to do. See you Wednesday.

Mea culpa!

Parents and students, I am so sorry, but I got myself distracted at the end of the day and forgot to do the homework examples with the class. Do not worry. No one will be marked for not doing the homework tonight. Tomorrow morning, first thing, we will do the example problems so that everyone will know what to do. Thank you for your understanding.

And while I am here, tomorrow the students will be bringing home information about the GT Expo project we are beginning. They should know all about it when they get home, but as always, feel free to contact me with questions.

Happy New Year!

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful and restful break. I know I enjoyed catching up on some of my other interests and just generally unwinding.

However, now it is time to get back to business. The third nine weeks is when we get serious about preparing for STAAR. That is not to say that I will be teaching to the test. Rather, there will be a fair amount of practice on how to take the test. As you know, every test has its quirks and peculiarities, and STAAR is no different. As this is the first year that the students have taken this test, it is imperative that they have opportunities to practice and become familiar with the format. That is what we will be doing at least once each week. I will communicate your child's results to you periodically so that you can see how they are progressing.

I realized as I sat down yesterday to update the homework and spelling word schedules that, in my haste to leave for break, that I forgot to post the directions for the Winter Break Book Project. These went home with the students on Wednesday the 18th, but I had intended to post them as well. That has now been done. The project is not due until 13th, however, students who turn it in on Tuesday will get an ice cream treat. This in not extra credit like the Halloween book poster. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Near the end of February, we will be having our middle of the year GT Expo. I believe that it is scheduled for the 20th, but that may change. Details about the project will come along in a couple of weeks. This project will be a bit different than the first GT Expo. First, it will be individually produced and presented. Second, some of the work will need to be done at home. When we are ready to begin, I will send and post the directions and a timeline of dates by which various tasks will need to be completed.

The third term of the year is always by far the busiest. With so much going on there is very little time for reteaching and make up work. Please do all that you can to make sure your child is at school every day.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday morning. Have a great weekend!

At long last... GT Expo pictures