Classroom Issue 25

Odds and Ends

*ISAT Celebration: Cheeseburger in Paradise! The students have worked very hard this year preparing for the tests and deserve a celebration! The party is scheduled for Thurs. 3/20. We will be ordering McDonald's for lunch and the PTO will be providing a treat for the students. We will watch Lilo and Stitch as part of the celebration. In honor of spring break and thinking of warm weather, your child can wear "tropical" clothes: bright colors, Hawaiian themed clothes, shorts over pants, and other tropical ideas you can think of. This will be a fun day for all!

*Monthly Book Project: Due to spring break and many other school projects during the months of March and April, we will be taking a break from a monthly book project for the month of March and April. I will assign the final book project at the end of April to be completed by the end of May. Your child should still be reading 20 min. each night.

*Thank you to the following families for providing healthy snacks during ISAT week:

Imgruet Family
Sarros Family

McNamara Family

Rovella Family

Seelander Family

*Thank you to all the parents who I spoke with during conference week. It was nice to discuss your child's successes and progress this year. If you have any questions or concerns in the future, please do not hesitate to email or call. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

*Fri. 3/14: No School

*Mon. 3/17: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Wear Green =)

Reading: Stone Fox ch 1-4 vocab. quiz

*Tues. 3/18: English: Unit 4 Adjective Test

*Thurs. 3/20: Math: Geometry ch 10 Test

Spelling: List 23 test

Cheeseburger in Paradise Party

*Fri. 3/21: SPRING BREAK begins! See you back in school on Mon. 3/31

A Look at Next Week!

*Math: We will go back to reviewing Geometry (ch 10) next week. We will take our final checkpoint from the 2nd half of the chapter, play Geometry jeopardy, and take the final chapter 10 test on Thurs. 3/20. I will send home a study guide on Mon. I will also be explaining and assigning the Geometry Project. This project will be due the week of April 7th. I will also introduce division concepts. We will begin testing division in the same style as multiplication when we return from spring break. I will send a schedule home with your child next week. We will begin with 2's division.

*Science: Your child has been working hard on their animal reports. We are currently typing them up in the computer lab. We will work on our illustrations next week. Next week I will be sending home the instructions on how to make your animal diorama. They will be due the week of April 14th, so your child will be able to get a head start over the break if they would like. We started our unit on ecosystems as well.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up our maps. The students will share their creative maps next week. We will begin our Downers Grove unit next week.

*Reading: The students are working on Stone Fox. We will finish this book the week after spring break. There will be a short graded quiz on the vocabulary from ch 1-4 on Mon. 3/17. Your child should have a study sheet of these words in their binder.

*English: Our Unit 4 on Adjectives is coming to an end. Your child received a review over the entire unit today in class. We will go over the review on Monday and the final test will be on Tues. 3/18. Our next unit will be a writing unit on Expository writing.

*Spelling: Next week we will be on List 23. The list contains words with the ending er and est. We will not have a pretest due to the shortened week. The final test will be on Thurs. 3/20.

Thanks for reading this week's newsletter. Have a nice, relaxing LONG weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 24

Odds and Ends

* ISAT Week: The ISAT's are upon us and the students (and teachers) are ready to go! We will be taking math and reading tests Mon. 3/10 - Thurs. 3/13. As always, be sure your child gets plenty of rest, eats a healthy, hearty breakfast, and as always, they will do their best and be great! A practice packet was sent home last week to let you get a glimpse as to what will be on the test. If you want to learn more about the importance of these tests or have your child practice, you can check out the ISAT website(http://www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm)

I strongly encourage you to check out the website and try some practice work in the packet and/or website.

*Testing Week Treats: The students work very hard during testing next week. As a nice treat and break, I am asking for any donations of drinks or healthy snacks for the students. Bananas are a great source of protein, so that would make a great snack! We have 24 students in our class. If you would like to participate, please send the snacks in with your child any day next week. Thank you in advance!

* Art to Remember: A magnet displaying your child's work was sent home this week. If you would like to keep the magnet or order any other item with your child's work on it, please return the envelope and money by Mon. 3/13. If you are not interested in ordering, please return the magnet and envelope by Mon. 3/13. Thanks!

*Reading Party: Our next reading party will be during lunch on Thurs. 3/13. If your child would like to join us, please have them turn in the reading folders NO LATER than Wed. 3/12 with 28 days of reading completed. Thanks!

*Parent-Teacher Conferences: I am looking forward to meeting with parents next week for Spring conferences. I am holding conferences Mon-Wed. Please return the confirmation sheet as soon as possible so I know if the time and date I gave you works out. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon-Thurs: ISAT Tests

*Mon-Wed.: Parent-Teacher Conferences

*Tues. 3/19: Report Cards Sent Home

*Thurs. 3/13: Reading Party

Spelling: List 22 Test

*Fri. 3/14: No school! Enjoy the long weekend!

Spirit Day: Wear GREEN in honor of St. Patrick's Day =)

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are keeping busy as we review geometry, t-charts, and other math concepts. Please study over the practice tests that are in your child's math folder to help them understand some tricky concepts. We will be taking ISAT's in math class next week Tues.-Thurs. We will continue finishing geometry the following week.

*Reading: The students are doing a tremendous job on their extended responses. We will continue to apply our reading strategies to Stone Fox next week. I will be giving the students an optional assignment to practice extended response over the weekend if they would like to do it for extra credit on their point cards. This will be in their IL workbook.

*English: The students are continuing to work on adjectives and adverbs. The test is tentatively scheduled for the week of 3/17. We will try to finish the chapter before spring break.

*Science: Your child has chosen an animal to do a research on and make a non fiction book about. The students searched for information about their animal in the computer lab and now we are learning how to "research" information with color coding tips and note taking. I will be reviewing topic, support, and closing sentences within paragraphs as we work on writing this non-fiction report. We will complete most of the work in class, however, your child may have some writing and researching to do at home if they do not complete it in class. The animal they chose will be the subject of a habitat diorama...more information coming soon! We will begin ecosystems next.

*Social Studies: The creative juices are flowing during map making in our class! The students are coming up with very creative and fun towns and islands as we learn about map skills. Our next unit will be Downers Grove as we get ready for an upcoming field trip (more information soon!)

*Spelling: Next week we will work on list 22. Due to the shortened week, there will be no pretest. A final graded test will be given Thurs. 3/13.

Thank you for tuning into my blog this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #23

Odds and Ends

*ISAT Testing: We will be taking the ISAT tests during the week of March 10th-13th. A yellow packet explaining some portions of this test was sent home with your child today. Please review this packet with your child and try out the sample problems. In the packet there is a written example of the extended response for the Pig story. We write our responses a little differently, using the "cheeseburger" model found in your child's reading folder. I will be sending home another sample of this response and how we would write it in our class for you to review with your child. Thank you for all of your help and cooperation!

*Testing Snacks: Once again, we would appreciate any healthy snacks or drinks you would like to volunteer to bring in for the class! This is a nice treat during testing week. We would appreciate any treats brought in during the week of testing, 3/10-3/13. Thank you!

*Spring Conferences: Thank you to those of you who sent back the conference request form. I will be making the schedule this weekend and send home your time and date with your child on Tuesday. If the time/date does not work, please return the form and I will reschedule it for you. If I did not get a request form back, I will schedule you a conference. Thank you and I look forward to meeting with many of you the week of 3/10-3/12.

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 3/3: No School: Casmir Pulaski Day

*Fri. 3/7: Spelling: List 21 Test

SPIRIT DAY: Character Counts Day: Join me and wear orange for Fairness.

A Look at Next Week:

*Math: We have completed all of the lessons in chapter 10 for Geometry. However, we will not take the chapter test until after ISAT tests. We will continue to review the concepts in class next week. We will also be working on coordinate grids, probability/fractions, and review problem solving and t-charts. We have finished up practicing the multiplication test in class. If your child has not passed, please continue to practice at home. We will be doing retakes next week. Thank you for all of your cooperation at home!

*Reading: The students have enjoyed reading Stone Fox. We will being continuing working on that book as well as extended responses. I will be sending a story home for your child to read and answer questions on. There will be an extended response section. Please have them refer to samples and the cheeseburger paper in their reading folder to help them. I will be taking a story for a grade by the end of the week. They are doing a FANTASTIC job on writing these responses!

*English: We will continue to work on adjectives this week.

*Science: The students did an awesome job on the animal unit. Next week they will be picking an animal to do a research paper on and eventually make a habitat diorama about. We will be researching the animal in the computer lab and starting the rough draft in class. The next unit we will work on is ecosystems.

*Social Studies: Map making sure is fun in 3rd grade! The students are full of wonderful, creative ideas for the imaginary islands and towns. We will continue to work in cooperative groups as we finish our maps next week.

*Spelling: Next week we will work on list 21. The list is nouns with "er". There will be no pretest due to the shortened week. The final test will be on Friday 3/7.

Thank you for checking out our newsletter. I hope you have a fun and healthy LONG weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 22

Odds and Ends

*Spring Pictures: We will have our spring pictures taken on Thursday, Feb. 28th. No order forms are needed and each child will have their picture taken. In a few weeks, the actual pictures and an order form will be sent home for ordering. Thank you!

*Independent Reading Project: The book mobiles are due Wed. 2/27. The mobile should be made about the book your child chose in January (either Animal Fiction or Mystery). We are looking forward to sharing and seeing each others mobiles. If your child needs paper or string, please let me know. Thanks!

*Spring Conferences: A note was sent home today with your child regarding spring conferences. The spring conferences are held on an as needed basis, so I will not be meeting with all parents. You can request a conference (in school or phone) or I may request the conference. Please return the note with your preference by Wed. 2/27. I will be sending home your scheduled conference time later in the week. Conferences will be held Mon 3/10-Wed. 3/12. Thanks for your cooperation!

Upcoming Events:

*Wed. 2/27: Book Mobiles are Due!

*Thurs. 2/28: Spring Picture Day: SMILE =)

*Fri. 2/29: Spelling: Prefix/Suffix Test

Science: Animal Test

SPIRIT DAY: Backwards Shirt Day

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK!

* Math: We are continuing to work on geometry concepts. We will cover area, perimeter, volume, and space figures this week. We will also be working on problem solving and t-charts. The students are doing a great job with mixed multiplication! The students will have a practice multiplication timed test Mon.-Thurs. I will be taking them for a grade on Friday 2/29.

*Reading: The students are doing a great job on their "hamburger" extended responses. What smart thinkers and writers! We will continue to practice our extended response as we prepare for the ISAT test (the week of March 10th). We are also starting a new novel, Stone Fox.

*English: We will continue adjectives this week.

*Science: Our animal unit is coming to an end. Students received a study guide this week with an attribute chart attached. We will go over the chart and review for the test on Thurs. 2/28. The test will be on Fri. 2/29. Students will be writing a report on their animal of choice the following week, so please help your child to decide on what animal they would like to research and eventually make a habitat diorama for.

*Social Studies: We started our map unit this week. This is a fun unit that the students LOVE! As they learn about scales, keys, and coordinates, they will be making their very own towns. This is a fun way to apply all that we are learning about maps!

*Spelling: We will take a break from the traditional spelling list as we focus on prefixes, suffixes, and root words. We will be doing a variety of practice sheets and activities in class, so please use those sheets to study each night. Your child will be storing them in the spelling section of their binder. There will be a graded review covering this material on Friday. This unit will be in place of the regular spelling unit this week.

Thank you for checking out this week's newsletter. Have a great weekend and

THINK SPRING =)

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 21

Odds and Ends =)

Thank you to all of the parents who made our Valentine's Party fantastic! The students had a great time! Thank you to Mrs. Kuhn, Mrs. Burton, Mrs. Patera, Mrs. Seelander, Mrs. Gonzalez, and Mrs. Laban. Your hard work and generosity helped to make the party wonderful!

Also, thank you to Mrs. Imgruet, Mrs. Burton, and Mrs. Kuhn for helping in the computer lab this week as the students work on their frog power points. It helped us A LOT!

Spring pictures are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 28th. All students will have their picture taken. At a later date a packet, including the photo, will be sent home and you can decide to order or not.

Way to Go! The students did a fantastic job on IOWA's this week. They worked very hard and were outstanding students. Thanks for a job well done!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
It’s that time of year again...the school supplies are running low and disappearing! Please ask your child if they are in need of any of the following supplies: #2 pencils, dry erase markers, scissors...anything else they may need to get us through the rest of the year! Thanks!

Roller Skating Party: If you want to go, please turn your permission slips in as soon as possible. They are limiting it to the first 150 students!

Friendly Reminder: In an effort to reduce waste and not waste uneaten food at lunch time, please pay attention to your child's lunch and what you're packing. There is so much food that students are throwing away. Please encourage your child to bring food that is uneaten home and not to throw it away. Thank you.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 2/18: No School: President's Day

*Fri. 2/22: Spelling: List 20 test

Reading: IL Workbook Lesson 5 Graded Review

Spirit Day: Clash Day: Join me and wear a silly, mis-matched outfit!

Six Flags Reading Program sheet due Fri. 2/22.

*Wed. 2/27: Book Mobile Due

*Fri. 2/29: End of First Trimester

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

* Math: We are busy working on geometry concepts. The students are enjoying all of the hands on activities, songs, and movements we can do as we learn about geometry. We will start our mixed multiplication facts next week. The students will be responsible for knowing all of the facts from 1-10 and be able to do 40 various problems in 3 1/2 minutes. They will be given a practice test all of this week and next week Mon-Thurs. The actual test will be on Friday 2/29. If they pass the test any time before Friday, 2/29 they will pass and receive the full 10 points. Please practice with the practice pages I will be sending home and flashcards. The Internet is a great source to "Google" multiplication games as another fun way to practice math facts.

* Reading: The students will be working on Lesson 5 in their Illinois workbooks. We are focusing on elements of a story and genre this week. There will be a graded review of the material on Friday, 2/22. We will be doing a review guide in class on Thursday to help prepare and study. We are also working on another extended response using the cheeseburger model (ask your child what that is! )

*English: We began Unit 4: adjectives this week. The students got to describe my silly outfit using as many adjectives as possible! We will continue adjectives next week.

*Science: The students are learning a lot about animals. They were incredibly quick learners using power point and made their very own power point presentations about the life cycle of a frog this week. I am so proud of their hard work! We will begin reptiles next week.

*Social Studies: We are starting our new unit in Social Studies: map skills. Students will be studying maps, legends, map scales, and coordinates. They will eventually apply these skills as they create their own cities.

*Spelling: We are back to the spelling lists this week. We are on List 20, words that are spelled with er. There will be no pretest due to the shortened week. The final test will be on Friday, 2/22.

I am thankful for such great students and parents~ Have a great long weekend and see you on Tuesday!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #20

Odds and Ends

*Valentine's Day Party: Our classroom Valentine's Party will be on Thursday, 2/14 from 1:30 until 2:20. We will be passing out Valentine's immediately before the party starts. If your child is interested, they can bring a valentine for each student in the classroom. A class list was sent home last week. A new student will be joining our room on Monday, making our class total 23 student. I will be sharing the name of the new student with the class on Monday, so they can write it down and add a Valentine for their new friend.

* IOWA Week: IOWA testing will take place in our classrooms next week The tests will on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday To help your child prepare that week, please make sure they get plenty of rest and eat a healthy breakfast each morning. We will do GREAT!

*Parent Helpers: The students will be working on a power point presentation in the computer lab on Wed. 2/13. I am looking for 2-3 parent helpers to help "float" around the computer lab to help the students as they work. There will be on the site training in power point =) Please email me if you are able to help out on Wed. 2/13 from 12:45-1:35. Thanks!

*Disposable Cameras/Film Needed: I have been able to take a lot of great photos of the students as they learn and explore in 3rd grade. We are almost out of film/cameras, so if you would like to donate one to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance for your generousity and help!

*Friendly Reminder: When sending notes to school for the teacher or office, please remember to write the following on the envelope:
1. Student Name
2. Teacher Name
3. What it is for
Thanks for your help!

UPCOMING EVENTS!

*IOWA Testing: Mon. -Thurs.

*Mon. 2/11: January Reading Party: I will be accepting reading folders Monday morning to attend the reading party.

*Thurs. 2/14: Happy Valentine's Day!

Party: 1:30-2:20 pm

*Friday: Spelling: Analogies Test

Math: 9's Multiplication Timed Test

Spirit Day: Wear Red in honor of Valentine's Day!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: This week we started Geometry (Chapter 10) and we have learned about plane figures (polygons), angles, and different types of lines. We will continue to work on geometry as well as problem solving and t-charts in the upcoming weeks. We are going to be on 9's multiplication. Please continue to review EACH night with flashcards or some other form of practice. The facts are becoming more challenging and mixed tests are just around the corner!

*Science: We have been busy learning about mammals, birds, and fish. We have learned about what traits those animals share. We will begin learning more about fish and amphibians next week.

*Reading: We are continuing to read various texts, explore authors purpose,setting, plot, and character development, as well as learn about different genres. We will continue to practice writing our extended responses as well.

*English: We are finishing writing our friendly letters. Your child has chosen a new person to write to: perhaps a friend, family member, or celebrity. This letter will be done in class and taken for a grade. I will be looking for the proper structure (5 parts of a letter), capital letters, and the 4 commas needed when writing a letter. Our next unit will probably be Unit 4, adjectives.

*Spelling: We will be working on an analogy review next week. We will be studying antonym and synonym analogies. There will be no pretest, but a test will be given on Friday over the analogies. Look for the packets in your child's spelling folder to see what we are learning in class. There will be no list to study next week.

Happy February! Have a great weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 19

Odds and Ends

*Snow Day...those 2 words are music to a child's ear. I hope you enjoyed the snow and the surprise long weekend. We will pick up with any missed tests or work scheduled for Friday, on Monday, 2/4. This includes the spelling bee, which will take place at the same time (12 pm) on Monday.

*IOWA Testing: This years IOWA Basic Skills test will take place the week of Feb. 11-15th. A more specific schedule will be posted next week.

*Looking for Volunteers: Can anyone take a roll of film in for me to be developed? The pictures are of the students and will be used for an end of the year project. Send me a note or email and I'll send the roll home with your child. Thanks in advance.

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 2/4: Spelling: Test for Review List 17

Social Studies: Chapter 3 Test

Math: 7's multiplication timed test

*Tues. 2/5: No School: Teacher Institute Date

*Thurs. 2/7: Early Dismissal: 11 am

*Fri. 2/8: District Spelling Bee: 1:15 pm

Spelling: List 19 Test

Math: 8's mulitplication timed test

Please join me in showing school spirit for Friday's Prairieview Spirit Day!

A Look At Next Week:

*Math: We will be finishing up chapter 4 measurement this week. There will be a comprehensive test covering both customary and metric measurement on Wed. 2/6. We will also be working in 8's multiplication. Our next unit will be chapter 10: Geometry.

*Science: We are continuing to work on animals, studying mammals and birds this week.

*Social Studies: The students did a fantastic job on their culture day presentations. It was so fun and interesting to learn more about each other and our diverse cultures. The treats shared by many students were delicious. Thank you for making the presentations a success! The chapter 3 test will be on Monday, 2/4. We will take a break from social studies as we focus on science for the next week or so. Our next unit will be map skills.

*Reading: We finished our unit on summarizing. The students did a great job either writing a summary or drawing a cartoon series that summarized the stories they read. We will work in our Illinois workbook lesson 5 next week.

* English: The students are doing a great job writing their friendly letters. Some of the letters are already in the mail and the rest will go out on Monday. Next the students will pick a famous person to write to. Last year we even got mail back from our favorite celebrities!

*Spelling: This week is list 19: words spelled with "or". There will be no pretest this week and the final test will be on Friday.

Thank you for checking our our classroom website. I hope you have fun playing in the snow!!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 18

Odds and Ends

* Spelling Bee: Congratulations to Brianna and Paige for advancing to the 3rd grade spelling bee which will be held on Friday, February 1st!! I was proud of all of the student's hard work...Way to go! You all worked hard and did a wonderful job.

* Culture Day: Presentations will be on Monday, January 28th. I explained to the students today that if you are sharing any food, you can bring in a portion for each child or just a bite. It's up to you! Please remind your child of any allergies that they may have and write down the ingredients of the dish so I can share them with the children before we eat. Thank you for your help! Also, I spoke with the class about length of presentation. To ensure that all students can present on Monday, please limit your time to no longer than 5 minutes. 1-3 minutes would be perfect. Please practice at home so you know how long or short your presentation is. Thanks!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 1/28: Social Studies: Culture Day Presentations

*Wed. 1/30: English: Unit 3 Verbs Test

*Fri. 2/1: Social Studies: Chapter 3 Test

Spelling: Review List 17 Test

3rd Grade Spelling Bee

SPIRIT FRIDAY: Wear your favorite pro football team (in honor of the Super Bowl) -- even Bear's shirts =)

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK:

*Math: We are working on metric measurement this week. We will learn metric length, weight, capacity, and temperature. We will be reviewing the material each day in class. Also, we are working on 7's multiplication. There will be a timed test on Friday. Keep up the great work practicing! The student's hard work is showing!

*Science: We started our new unit on animals this week. We will focus on classifying animals into different categories. We will learn about mammals and their characteristics next week.

*Social Studies: We are almost done with Chapter 3. Your child received a study guide today. I encouraged the students to spend 5-10 minutes a night per lesson starting on Monday, so by Thursday they have reviewed all 4 lessons. Please refer to any notes in their social studies binder, textbook, and workbook as study aides. Culture Day is Monday and the test will be on Friday, 2/1.

*Reading: We are reading a variety of interesting stories as we practice and apply our understanding about main characters, setting, problems, solutions, and MAIN events. The students are writing super summaries. This is a skill that can be applied to the books read at home. The students loved reading about real animal rescues. Our next book will be Stone Fox.

*English: We are almost done with Unit 3 on Verbs. We will have our test on Wed. 1/30. We are also working on friendly letters. Please help your child get the address of the person they have chosen to write. By the end of the next week your child will also need 2 stamps. Thank you for your help!

*Spelling: We are in a review week for list 17. There will be no pretest on Monday. We will spend the week working on reviewing the spelling rules for the past 6 weeks. The test on Friday will be similar to a test done earlier this year, in which your child will have to find the misspelled word in a group of words. No list will be sent home to study. Your child should be taking their spelling workbook home all week to use to study.

Thanks for checking in this week! Stay warm and have a wonderful weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 17

Odds and Ends

*Classroom Spelling Bee: We will be holding our classroom spelling bee on Friday, January 25th. The top two spellers in our classroom will advance to the 3rd grade spelling bee that will be on Friday, February 1st. We will have a practice bee on Tuesday in the classroom and the "real" spelling bee will be on Friday. This will replace the spelling list for the week. Good luck and keep practicing over the weekend!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 1/21: No School: Today we honor the great work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

*Tues. 1/22: Spelling Bee Practice

*Wed. 1/23: IMC today (Monday schedule)

Reading: Lost and Found comprehension and vocabulary graded review

*Thurs. 1/24: Math: Customary Measurement Quiz

*Fri. 1/25: Classroom Spelling Bee

SPIRIT DAY: Wear a shirt of your favorite vacation spot!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We will finish up customary measurement early next week. We have covered measuring in inches/feet/yards/miles, measuring capacity using cups/pints/quarts/gallons, weighing objects using ounces/pounds, and will use thermometers to measure temperature. There will be a graded quiz covering this information on Thurs. 1/24. We will also work on our 6 multiplication tables. We will start metric measurement at the end of this week.

*Reading: We are working on sequencing events and writing excellent summaries using sequenced events and "leap frogs" (transition words). We will continue to read a variety of short stories, both fiction and non-fiction, as we practice these skills. Please continue to review the vocab flashcards from the story Lost and Found. We will have a graded comprehension and vocabulary review on Wed. 1/23.

*English: We are BUSY working on verbs. The students are learning about helping verbs, the special verb "be", and irregular verbs. This can be tricky, so please review with your child. We will also start friendly letter writing next week. We will be working on both verbs and letter writing.

*Science: We will begin our next unit on animals this week. We begin by looking at the needs of all animals and classify them into vertebrates and invertebrates.

*Social Studies: The students are very interested in learning about immigration and different cultures. As an extension of chapter 3, the students will participate in "Culture Day". A note was sent home with your child today explaining what culture day is and what they have to do to participate. This is an assignment that will be taken for a grade. Your child will need to prepare a presentation about some aspect of their culture and ethnicity. This can be with a poster, sharing food with the class, listening to cultural music, dancing, etc. The note goes into more details about this assignment. All presentations will take place on Monday, Jan. 28th. Please email if you have any questions. Thank you for your help! This is a great opportunity to get out old photos, call grandparents, and talk to your child about their ancestors and "roots"!

*Spelling: As previously mentioned, there will be no spelling list this week. Instead we will be practicing the spelling bee in class on Tuesday and having the "real" classroom spelling bee on Friday. The top two spellers in the classroom will advance to the next round, the 3rd grade spelling bee. Please review the list sent home last week with your child. Thanks!

Thank you for reading this weeks newsletter. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

STAY WARM!!

Wishful Thinking! =) Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 16

Odds and Ends

Welcome back to a new year and a fresh start! It was so great to see the students again and get back into the swing of things. I hope your break was as restful and relaxing as mine was!

Thank you to the families who provided healthy snacks for this weeks marble party. We really enjoyed our "slumber" party!

Upcoming Events:

*Tues. 1/15: Science: Matter Quiz

*Fri. 1/18: Spelling: List 16 Test

Spirit Day: Show your school spirit: Prairieview Day!

Upcoming Spirit Days:

Here is a schedule of the upcoming spirit days. I will provide this list each week.

1/18 = PV School Spirit wear
1/25 = Shirt from favorite vacation spot or State
2/1 = Favorite pro football team (in honor of the Super Bowl)
2/8 = PV School Spirit Wear
2/15 = Red Day (in honor of Valentine's Day )
2/22 = Clash Day
2/29 = Backwards Shirt Day

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK:

Math: We finished up our logical reasoning problem solving unit. We will being the second half of Chapter 4 on Monday. We will start with customary units of measurement and then move onto the metric system. We will look at units of measuring length, volume, capacity, mass, and temperature. In multiplication, we are moving on to 4's. The students are doing a great job on these weekly reviews. Keep up the good work!

Reading: We are continuing to work on reviewing concepts in our IL workbook. We will complete lesson 4 early this week and the students will take a graded review in class. The packet is stored in their reading folders if they would like to review the information. We will work on summarizing and sequencing next.

English: We have finished up our narrative writing unit and the students wrote a story about something that happened over winter break. I am looking forward to reading about their adventures =) We started verbs this week and will continue this unit next week.

Science: We are finishing up our States of Matter unit. The study guide was sent home this week. We will review in class on Monday and the quiz will be on Tuesday, 1/15. Did your child tell you about our chemical changes experiment? We made homemade ice cream as we learned about physical and chemical changes. Many of the students wanted the recipe to try it at home. The quantities listed below are enough for one serving.

Homemade Ice Cream

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups crushed ice

4 tablespoons salt

2 quart sized ziploc bags

1 gallon sized ziploc freezer bag

Mix the milk, vanilla, and sugar in one small bag. Seal the bag and place in other small bag (to prevent leaking and salt getting into the mixture). Place small bags into large bag. Add ice and salt to large bag. Wearing gloves (your hands get cold!) shake and massage bag, making sure milk mixture is always touching the ice. After several minutes, voila...homemade ice cream!

See if your child remembers WHY this works. Do they remember why we need to use salt?

Social Studies: We started our next unit, Ch. 3, about moving to new communities, cultures, and immigration. This unit provides a chance to learn more about each other and our cultures and heritages. The students will have an opportunity to share a little about their culture in class. Look for a sheet coming home explaining this project next week.

Spelling: We will work on list 16, 1+1+1 words ending with ed and ing. These are words that have one ending consonant, one vowel, and one syllable. For example, wag or stop. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday.

Thank you for reading our blog. Happy New Year!

~Miss Carlstrom