Classroom Issue 15

Happy Holidays!

I want to thank everyone for being so thoughtful and generous this holiday season. Thank you for thinking of me for the holidays. I wish you all a safe, fun, and relaxing holiday and we see you next year to start the second half of 3rd grade =)

Lunch Reminder: FORGOTTEN LUNCHES: Starting in January, 2008 students who do not have a lunch ticket or money will be able to borrow from the office providing there is not an outstanding balance due for lunch tickets. If your child forgets his/her hot lunch ticket or has used them all, he/she may bring $2.25 to school and purchase a ticket that day from the office staff. Students must have exact change to purchase a ticket; no change will be given. If a child has no lunch, no money and the parent cannot be contacted, he/she may borrow from school office, but only twice per trimester. Students will no longer be able to borrow lunch tickets from the lunchroom staff.

Upcoming Events:

We will be celebrating respect in the month of January. Please wear yellow on Friday!

Also, our December reading party will be held on the Thursday of the week we return to school. Please remember to keep track of any reading you do over break so you can join us for our classroom reading party! Thanks!

A Look at Our First Week Back to School in 2008

*Math: We will spend a week in problem solving when we return from break. We will be working with logical reasoning, as well as revisiting t-charts. We will work on 3's multiplication when we return. It's always a good idea to practice your multiplication facts over the long break.

*Science: We will continue with the remaining activities covering the states of matter. We will work on condensation, the water cycle, and physical and chemical changes.

*Social Studies: We will be starting Chapter 3 of the textbook when we return. We will explore the traditions and cultures of people around the country and world.

*Spelling; We will be on list 15 when we return from break. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test will be on Friday.

*Reading: We will start of the year with another story from our basal reader. This story will focus on the sequencing strategy and summarizing.

*English: When we return from beak we will revisit narrative writing. Your child will be asked to write about a special event that happened over winter break. Have fun thinking of a topic to write about! We will then begin unit 3 on verbs.

Thank you for visiting our website. I hope you enjoy the snow and the time you spend with your family and friends! I will see you next year!!!

Miss Carlstrom =)

Classroom Issue 14

*Odds and Ends*

*Field Trips: Thank you to everyone for sending in their field trip forms for the Polar Express and bowling. Both of these fun trips will take place next week. Please ask your child if they have not yet turned in the forms so you can do so by early next week.

*Roller Skating in Gym: The students will be roller skating in gym class following winter break. Ms. Stainman is looking for parent volunteers to help tie skates. The dates are 1/8-1/22. You can come in as many or as few times as you'd like and you may help in your child's class or any other class. Please email Ms. Stainman or myself if you can help out. Thank you!

*Thank you! Thank you to any parents who baked the delicious cookies enjoyed by all of the staff at this years cookie exchange! I always look forward to this day and love all of the home baked goodies. Thanks!

Upcoming Events!!

We have a busy week ahead =)

*Mon. 12/17: Choir and Band Holiday Concert at 1:15

*Tues. 12/18: Science: Bring in insulator for in class science experiment (ask your child for the cup and note explaining assignment given to them today in class)

*Wed. 12/19: Science: Matter Quiz covering activities 1-5

*Thurs. 12/20: Reading: Egypt Vocab. Test

Math: Chap 4 Time Test

BOWLING in the afternoon

*Fri. 12/21: Reading: Egypt Test

Math: 5's and 10's multiplication timed tests

No spelling test this week!

Polar Express at Tivoli in the afternoon (please pack a sack lunch!)

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK:

*Math: We are continuing to work in chapter 4, focusing on time. We will spend most of next week working with elapsed time, a tricky concept for the students. We will test out of time on Thursday, 12/20. We will continue chapter 4 following break, focusing on measurement. They will not be tested on time at the end of chapter 4, only measurement. We will also work on 5's and 10's in multiplication. These are easier facts for the students and we are learning all of the tricks in class =) Please see the note and schedule sent home with your child today about multiplication. The timed test for both the 5's and 10's will be on Friday, 12/21. Thanks!

*Science: We are having a blast learning about the states of matter. We worked on melting ice quickly and next week we will see if we can melt the ice slowly (using insulators), look at gases and liquids, and talk about evaporation. We will do activities 1-5 in class and there will be a short quiz covering the concepts learned in these activities, as well as the steps to an experiment. We will be reviewing a lot in class, playing games, and doing various assignments to help the students understand these areas better. The quiz covering this material will be on Wed. 12/19. A study guide has been sent home to be used to help your child prepare for the quiz. Also, please ask your child about the insulator they will be creating at home using the cup I provided for an experiment on Tuesday. Thanks!

*Spelling: This week we will focus on Egyptian words. There will be no pretest and no final test on Friday. We will work with these words as we work on alphabetical order, cursive writing, and grammar lessons.

*Reading: The students are enjoying reading about the discovery of King Tut's tomb in the book Tut's Mummy. We will focus on Egypt a lot next week as we finish up our Ancient Egypt unit. There will be a short vocabulary graded review on Thurs. 12/20 ( a list of words to know is in their reading folder) and a final test on Fri. 12/21. A study guide will be sent home on Monday. We will spend next week learning more about this fascinating civilization.

*English: The students did a wonderful job on their personal narratives. They loved sharing them in our "Author's Chair" on Friday and I was very impressed with their stories. We will take a short break from English this week as we focus on Egypt.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 13

Odds and Ends

* THANK YOU to all of the families who brought in gifts for Lutherbrook and our adopted family. Your kindness and generosity helped to make many childrens' holidays bright! We were able to collect an overwhelming amount of gifts and gift cards...we filled 5 boxes/bags! Thank you again for making this service project such a huge success!!

*Box Tops: We are continuing to collect box tops. Please send them in...perhaps our class can keep the lead in having the most collected!

*Winter Weather: Now that the snow and cold winds are here, please remind your child to dress appropriately for school and outdoor recess. We will continue to go out as long as it is not too chilly, wet, or windy. For your child to be allowed to play and roll in the snow, they must have snow pants and boots. They may walk in the snow if they have boots. If they do not have boots on, they must stay on the blacktop during recess. Don't forget to send in mittens, scarves, and hats to keep them toasty and warm! Also, please send in a bag large enough to carry their snow gear. Thanks for your help!

*Japan Day was a fun filled day as we learned about another culture. Thank you to those who sent in treats to share. They were enjoyed by all!

*Friendly Reminder: If you have not already sent in permission slips for bowling and Polar Express, please do so as soon as possible! Thanks!

Upcoming Dates:

*Tues. 12/11: Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: Chapter 3 Test

*Thurs. 12/13: English: Final Draft of Personal Narrative Due (we will do most of the work in class, but if not done in class, will have it for homework)

*Fri. 12/14: Spelling: List 14 Test

Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: 2's Multiplication Timed Test

English: Author's Chair: Share Narratives

Spirit Day: Friday, 12/14 is Prairieview Spirit Day. Show pride in your school by wearing Prairieview gear or our school colors, green and gold!

~A Look At Our Week~

*Math: We are finishing up Chapter 3 this week (adding and subtracting greater numbers). A study guide was sent home on Thursday. The final test will be on Tuesday, 12/11. Our next unit will be chapter 4, time and measurement. We will finish time before winter break.

We have also started multiplication. I sent home a packet of the times tables. We will work on a times table each day, starting with the 2's next week. We practice each day in class, starting on Monday. Every Friday there will be a timed test (for a grade-10 pts). The timed test is 26 problems in 2 minutes. Each week I send home a practice page full of sample problems for that week's number. Please use this sheet to practice timing your child. I can always send additional sheets home for practice. Flashcards also work great! Your child will pass on Fridays if the miss 0 or 1. If they miss more than 1, they will retake the next week (Mon-Thurs), deducting a point each day they retake. Remember if they are retaking the test, they still need to be practicing the new facts for that week. Before break we will work on the 2's and 5's. Thank you for your help and cooperation at home.

*Science: We will be starting a new hands-on unit on the States of Matter next week. This unit involves a lot of experiments where the students will learn the steps of a scientific experiment as we explore the different states of matter.

*Social Studies: We will be taking a break from Social Studies as we focus on Science. The chap 2 test has been graded and will be passed back next week. They did a fantastic job learning about different types of communities!

*Reading: We are continuing to explore Ancient Egypt. We have learned about some important people from Ancient Egypt, including Cleopatra. We will begin reading about one of the most well known Egyptians, King Tut, in a book called Tut's Mummy. This book will allow the students to practice their reading strategies as they learn about a fascinating part of history. The students will also be receiving Egypt vocabulary words they will be responsible for knowing.

*English: The students are doing a fantastic job on their personal narratives. We are almost done with our rough drafts and will begin editing our papers. We will edit and peer edit next week, revise our papers, and have our final drafts done by Thursday so we are ready to share them in the Author's Chair on Friday. This is an exciting time to show off our hard work and great writing!

*Spelling: Next week we will be on List 14, irregular past tense words. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday. Keep up the wonderful work studying your words!

Thank you for checking out our classroom blog and keeping updated on our classroom happenings! Have a safe and fun weekend in the snow!

Happy Winter~

Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 12

Odds and Ends:

*Parent-Teacher Conferences: Thank you all for your time and support during last week's conferences. It was great to see you all and have a chance to discuss the most important little people in our lives...the students! If you have any questions or comments regarding your child's progress in school, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or voicemail. Thank you!

*Service Project: We are still collecting gifts and gift cards for our school wide service project. Our "adopted" family for the holiday season includes 3 year old Madison (a cancer patient), her 14 year old sister, Jozelyn, and her parents. So far we have collected the following items:


Madison:
Dora Memory Game

Candyland

Jozelyn:

journal

candle holder

Mom:

lotion

bracelet

slipper socks

Dad:

no gifts have been received

Family:

Christmas tree lights
Target gift card

Lutherbrook Foundation:

Target gift card

Please remember to send in any gifts by Wednesday, December 5th. Let's work to be caring and make the holidays bright for our family and the children at Lutherbrook! Thank you!

*Bowling: A permission slip has been sent home about our gym field trip to the bowling alley. We will be going bowling in the afternoon on Thursday, December 20th. There is no cost for this trip, but you may send a little money for your child to purchase a drink or snack from the snack bar. Please send the permission slips as soon as possible. Thank you!

*All Aboard! In lieu of classroom holiday parties this winter, we will be going to see The Polar Express movie at the Tivoli theater in downtown Downers Grove on Friday, December 21st. We

are excited about this special holiday event! If you signed up to bring a snack for that party, I will be contacting you about bringing a snack to share with the class during lunch that day.

Upcoming Events:

*Wed. 12/5: Social Studies Chapter 2 Communities Test

*Thurs. 12/6: Japan Day: Please bring in your pillow, dress in a robe, Kimono, or any other Asian apparel, and bring an Asian dish to share (if you would like) as we explore another urban community today.

Reading Party: Those students who have completed reading 28 days for the month of November are invited to attend this reading party. Look for more details to be sent home regarding lunch for the party. Thank you!

*Fri. 12/7: Spelling: List 13 test

A Look at Next Week:

*Math: We are continuing on in Chapter 3 this week as we subtract greater numbers. We will be working on subtracting across zeros as well as problem solving with greater numbers. The final chapter 3 test is scheduled for Tuesday, 12/11.

*Science: There has been a change of plans...instead of starting space, we will begin our unit on states of matter in the upcoming week.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up Chapter 2 on the types of communities this week. Your child has learned about rural (Bridgewater, VA), suburban (Levittown, NY), and urban (sweet home Chicago) communities. The final test will be taken on Wednesday, 12/5. The study guide format has changed and now consists of a list of things your child should know for the test. We will spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing in class, but your child can use any papers in their social studies binder, textbook, and workbook to study. In class I showed the students how to take notes, make flashcards, or make a study t-chart to help them prepare for the test. These important study skills will help them with the rest of their academic careers!

Japan Day: As a fun culminating activity, we will be exploring another urban community by learning about Tokyo, Japan. We will learn about the Japanese culture and celebrate their traditions on Thursday, 12/6. If your child would like, they can come to school with a pillow (we will use that in place of our desks and chairs), a robe, Kimono, or other Asian apparel, and an Asian dish to share (fortune cookies, egg rolls, etc). This a fun day of learning for all!

*Reading: Walk like an Egyptian! We are continuing to work on our Ancient Egypt unit. The students have read and learned about the importance of the Nile River, the Egyptian afterlife, and more. We are continuing to practice various reading skills as we find facts and opinions, compare and contract present day and ancient Egypt, and find the main idea and details within the book.

Monthy Reading Project: The project for the months of November and December is to read a non-fiction book and design a new book cover for the book. I shared a fantastic sample with the students so they have an idea of what they could do for their project. This is due on December 14th. Thank you!

*English: We have started on our new writing unit, Personal Narratives. We are focusing on the organization of this 4-5 paragraph narrative and using our voice as we tell stories about ourselves. Your child should come to school on Monday with a great topic to write about for or first narrative.

*Spelling: We will work on List 13 this week. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday. Keep up the good work studying!

Also, I will be looking for the student's application of the weekly spelling words in their everyday writing. I will have them be more aware of their spelling, especially the "word wall" high frequency words in their narratives. I will encourage the students to circle the words they are unsure of and go back and fix the spelling by the final draft.

Thank you for checking out our classroom blog. Have a great 3 day weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Update

Welcome back from fall break! I hope everyone had a relaxing and fun break. The second trimester begins this week. I am looking forward to meeting with parents this week for conferences to discuss your child's progress so far in 3rd grade. Thank you for being on time...15 minutes passes by quickly! You can expect report cards to be sent home Tuesday of this week. Please keep the report card at home, but sign and return the envelope to school with your child. Thank you!

*New Late Slip Policy: The homework grade (late slips) will be 5 points instead of 10. Each late slip will result in a point deducted from the subject areas homework grade. Thank you for signing the sheets so we can keep this line of communication about your child open!

* Reminder: The holiday service project is still going on in the classrooms. All gifts, gift cards, and donations are due by Wednesday, December 5th. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Thank you and check back here later in the week for more updates!
~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 11

Odds And Ends

* Congratulations 3rd Graders! We won the Box Top competition for 3rd grade after the first count! We will be awarded with a pizza party in the classroom on Tuesday, November 27th! Way to go! Keep up the good work and keep collecting and turning in those box tops!

*HOLIDAY SERVICE PROJECT: Two notes were sent home on Friday explaining our school wide holiday service project. Each classroom is assigned a family to "sponsor" this holiday season, as well as work to collect gift cards and money for the Lutherbrook Foundation, a safe home for abused children. As a class, we will be working to make the holidays bright for a family struggling with cancer. Our family includes Madison, a 3 year old girl with cancer, and her 14 year old sister and mom and dad. We will be collecting gifts for the individual family members and entire family, as well as monetary donations and gift cards for Lutherbrook through Wednesday, December 5th. Please see the note in your child's binder for details explaining these special and incredible projects. Any questions, please contact me. Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness!

*CONFERENCES: Thank you for sending in your confirmations about conferences. I will look forward to meeting with you the week of 11/26-11/28. Please remember to be on time for your conference as time is precious and 15 minutes can go fast!

*YEARBOOK ORDERS: Now’s the time to place your orders. Yearbooks are $9.00 and the deadline for your orders is Monday, December 3, 2007. No orders will be accepted after that date. This is the only time this year to place your yearbook order. Please make checks payable to Lifetouch. Please make sure your student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level are marked on the order form. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 15th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $9.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:
*Tues. 11/20: English: Chapter 5 Open Book Test
End of 1st Trimester
*Wed. 11/21-Fri. 11/23: No School! Happy Turkey Day!!
*Mon. 11/26: Class Resumes: Welcome Back
Parent Teacher Conferences
*Tues. 11/27: Parent Teacher Conferences
Report Cards Sent Home
*Wed. 11/28: Parent Teacher Conferences
*Fri. 11/30: No School

*Math: We are working on chapter 3 in the textbook, adding and subtracting greater numbers. We will continue to work on exact and estimated answers, as well as learn some "tricks" to add and subtract greater numbers.

*Science: Our next unit will be Space. More information to come! =)

*Social Studies: We completed Chapter 1, Communities. The students did a wonderful job learning so much new information. We loved playing Jeopardy in class to prepare for the final test. Our next unit will cover 3 new cities as we learn more about rural, urban, and suburban communities.

*Spelling: There will be no spelling next week. We will resume on Monday with list 12. There will be no pretest that week due to no school on Friday, 11/30.

*Reading; This week we finished reading Mulan and practicing our inference skills. We made our own rap to remember how to inference..."It's what you read plus what's in your head". =) We will continue to practice making inferences, as this is a tricky skill to apply to our reading. We have also been working on our Illinois workbook, lesson 3, which covers various reading strategies. The children will take a graded review of this information on Monday, 11/19. After Thanksgiving break, we will be traveling back in time as we explore Ancient Egypt. We will be reading and learning all about the ancient civilization of Egypt.

*English: This week we have been reviewing Chapter 5. The skills in this unit have been taught since September in our weekly DOL's. The students have been working to review the different grammar and conventions skills. We will continue to review on Monday. Tuesday, 11/20 the students will take an open book test covering Ch. 5. Since we have been using these skills every day this year and spent a lot of time practicing in class, the students are well prepared to apply their knowledge. Not much time needs to be spent at home studying...we have done a lot in class! Our next unit will be narrative writing and main idea.


Thank you for reading our classroom blog! I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing, and fun Thanksgiving break with your friends and family! Happy Turkey Day! =)

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 10

Odds and Ends

SPECIAL PROJECT:
A worksheet is being sent home on Monday for a special class project. Please fill this form out with your child and return it to school on Tuesday, November 20th. Thank you !

THANK YOU to all of the parents who sent in delicious, healthy snacks for Friday's health fest. We really enjoyed the healthy snacks as we practiced healthy habits all day long!

BOX TOPS: Our classroom is currently in the lead in box top collections!! Let's keep up the great work on this project that helps out Prairieview school. The next collection date is November 15th, so please send in any box tops before then to go towards the next count. Ask your family members and neighbors who don't have students at Prairieview to save their box tops for our collection. Thank you !

FALL CONFERENCES: A confirmation of the time and date of your child's conference was sent home this week. If you have not yet confirmed the date and signed the bottom portion, please send it to school with your child on Monday. Any conflicts will be rescheduled and a new date and time will be sent home next week. I appreciate your timely response and look forward to talking with each of your about your child's progress so far in 3rd grade. Conferences will be held Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after school the week of November 26th.

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 11/12: Reading: Mulan Comprehension and Vocabulary Test (open book)

*Wed. 11/14: Social Studies: Chapter 1 Study Guide Due

*Thurs. 11/15: Turn in Box Tops by today!

English: DOL Quiz #5 (quotes)

*Fri. 11/16: Spelling: List 11 Test

Social Studies: Chapter 1 Test

SPIRIT DAY: Support your favorite sports team by wearing their team colors or jerseys!

A LOOK AHEAD AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: A great big THANK YOU for all of the hard work of the students (and parents!) as we worked effortlessly on problem solving and t-charts over the last 2 weeks! I know it is a very challenging skill for the students, but their hard work paid off and their progress in problem solving and writing t-charts was tremendous. We will take a break from problem solving for awhile and start Chapter 3 next week, Addition and Subtraction with Greater Numbers.

*Science: We will take a break from science until after Thanksgiving break, when we begin our next unit on Space.

*Social Studies: We are wrapping up our chapter on communities. We will continue to learn about Denver, Wilmington, and Astoria next week and learn about a new community, Timbuktu. The study guide was sent home on Friday and included a game on the 3 cities, Denver, Wilmington, and Astoria. We played the same review game in class, so they should be familiar with the format and facts about each city. The study guide is due on Wed. 11/14. The final chapter 1 test will be on Friday, 11/16.

*Spelling: We will work on List 11 this week, words with double consonants in the middle. There will be a pretest on Monday and final test on Friday.

*Reading: We will finish up our work on Mulan early next week. The students will take an open book test on the story on Monday. This test also includes the vocabulary words the students have been working with all week. If they want to practice the words this weekend, they have flashcards in the reading section of their binders. The students will be introduced to reading extended responses this week. They will learn all about our "triple decker answers". Look for a packet sent home early next week so you can see what that means. We will also be focusing on making inferences this week.

*English: We finished up our unit on Nouns and I am proud of all of the hard work! We will be reviewing Unit 5 (through DOL we cover Unit 5). The final DOL quiz will be on Thursday. We will review all of the concepts from Unit 5 this week and it is tentatively planned to have an open book test on Unit 5 on Tuesday, November 20th. We will also be working on various reading strategies from our Illinois workbook lesson 3 this week.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather! ~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 9

Happy Fall!!

Odds and Ends

Friendly Reminder:
Please remember to check and initial your child’s assignment notebook each night. Your child should get into the habit of cleaning our his/her binder (keep at home section ONLY) each night to help keep organized and share his/her work with family at home. By looking through the binder and assignment notebook, your child will be forming great study habits that will help them become independent, responsible, and organized students. Thank you!

THANK-YOU: A great BIG thank-you to all of the parent helpers at the Halloween party on Wednesday. We had a great time playing games and having fun together. We could not have done it without the help of Mrs. Patera, Mrs. Paskvan, Mrs. Rovella, Mrs. Tonietto, Mrs. Charles, and Mrs. Gonzalez. THANK YOU!!!

Also, thank-you to the Imgruet, Armouti, and Sarros family for donating disposables cameras and prizes for our prize box. You can always send in gently used toys, etc as well. We appreciate your generosity!

Independent Reading Folders: Our next reading party will take place on Thursday, 11/8. Please have your completed reading log pages turned in NO LATER than Wednesday, 11/7 to attend this party. Thank you!

**In preparation for a Thanksgiving art project, our classroom is collecting empty toilet paper tubes. Please send in any of these tubes to school with your child. Thanks!

Upcoming Events:

*Tues. 11/6: After school Roller Stating Party 4-6 pm...See you there!

*Wed. 11/87 Reading: IL WB Lesson 2 Graded Review
Science: Health Test

*Thurs. 11/8: English: Chapter 2 Nouns Test

Independent Reading Party

*Fri. 11/9: Health Fest: send in healthy snacks! Don't forget a pillow, stuffed animal, and toothbrush/toothpaste =)

Spelling: List 10 Test

Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: Make A Table /T-chart Quiz

SPIRIT DAY: Friday is School Spirit Day...show your support by wearing PV gear or gold and green! Go Panthers!

*Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: We are becoming Terrific T-chart writers! Your child brought home a packet explaining t-charts this week. I hope you had a chance to read over the information. We will continue to work on t-charts next week, with a quiz over the 3 types of tables (we have learned 2 so far in class) tentatively scheduled for Friday, 11/9. We will learn the last "type" of table on Monday and review the 3 tables the rest of the week before the quiz. The quiz will consist of doing 3 problems (reviewing each of the types of tables) and then choosing one problem to write a t-chart on. Keep up the hard work!

*Science: We are finishing up our health and nutrition unit. We went over the study guide today in class and your child's health chapter test will be on Wednesday, 11/7, instead of the previously mentioned date, Tues. 11/6. We will review in class next week before the test. Your child will be encouraged to take home the textbook Monday and Tuesday night to help them study. A note went home today explaining our "Health Fest" taking place on Friday, 11/9. This fun "fest" helps us to celebrate healthy choices and lifestyles and makes a great end to our health unit. We are looking for families to donate healthy, nature made snacks for that day. Please send the snacks/drinks to school on Friday. Your child can also bring a pillow and stuffed animal for our 5 minute nap and his/her toothbrush/toothpaste to brush our teeth after lunch. Thanks!

*Social Studies: We will be finishing up our city brochures this week. The students will be given time in class on Monday to work on their brochure. Any unfinished work will be sent home to be turned in no later than Friday, 11/9. Please refer to the rubric for the brochures in your child's social studies folder to see what the expectations are for this project. We will begin lesson 2 of the chapter this week, getting a closer look at 3 U.S. cities.

*Spelling: We will back to our typical spelling week, working on List 10, words that end in double consonants. There will be a pretest Monday and the final test on Friday. Keep studying those words..the lists are getting more challenging!

*Reading: We will begin a story from our anthology, Mulan. This story will help reinforce the students inferencing skills, as well as build vocabulary skills. We will be making flashcards of the vocabulary from the story on Monday. These flashcards will be kept in your child's binder. Please review them each night! In our Illinois workbook, we tore out all of the Lesson 2 pages and they can be found in your child's English or Reading section of their binder. The students will review the concepts in this lesson (appositives, antonyms/synonyms, find meaning of words in context) and a graded review will be on Wednesday, 11/7.

*English: The students are continuing to learn about nouns. We will focus on possessive nouns next week. The students will receive their study guide on Tuesday and the final Nouns chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, 11/8. Our next English unit will be a writing unit.

Thank you for checking out my blog! Happy November! Have a wonderful weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #8

Odds and Ends

*Halloween!! We will begin the day by going to Robert Crown (without costumes) and then come back for lunch. After eating, we will change into our costumes for our school wide parade and the come back into the room for our party. Our classroom party will be on Wednesday, October 31st at 1:30-2:20. We will have our whole school parade from 1:15-1:30 outside (weather permitting). Any parents who have been contacted to help at our party should arrive no earlier than 1:15. Thank you in advance to all of the parents who are planning our party!

If your child would like to dress up at school, please send their costume with them in a large bag labeled with their first and last name. There are some guidelines to follow when choosing a costume:

1. Please make sure your child can change into his/her costume easily and by themselves. We allow about 15 minutes for costume changes. It is best if the costume can go over their clothes to reduce the time to change and the chances of losing any clothes!

2. Make up can be used, but please do not send your child with it on that morning. There will be no extra adults around to help with make-up, so your child has to be able to apply it themselves. 3. Please no weapons. Save those for trick-or-treating.

4. Your child will wear their costume home. We do not change back into our clothes for dimissal due to time contraints.

THANK YOU~

*SMILE (again!) =) Photo Retakes will take place on Tuesday, October 30th. If your child needs retakes please send them with their original pictures. If your child missed the original picture day, please send your order forms on Tuesday. Thank you!

*Classroom Donations Needed:

Our classroom is in need of the following items.
*Disposable Cameras

*Film for camera
*Prizes for boys and girls for prize box (pencils, toys, etc.)

THANK YOU!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 10/29: No School: Teacher Institute...Enjoy the long weekend!

*Tues. 10/30: Photo Retakes

*Wed. 10/31: Happy Halloween! Robert Crown Field Trip 9-11:30

Halloween Parade: 1:15-1:30

Classroom Party: 1:30-2:20

*Thurs. 11/1: English: DOL #4 Review

*Fri. 11/2: Spelling Test

Spirit Day: Character Counts: We are CARING this month: Please wear RED =)

*Math: We have completed chapter 1 from our textbooks. The tests will be sent home next week. We will start our next unit, Make-a-Table problem solving next week. This unit focuses on a problem solving skill as we introduce the students to t-charts. T-charts require students to solve a problem and then write what they did and why. They are a skill used on the ISAT test in March. We will continue to cover this higher level skill through out the year. I will send home a "how-to" t-chart packet next week that you can use to practice with your child and help them understand this often difficult concept. Each night sample problems and t-charts will be sent home to help complete the homework. Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation!

*Science: We are continuing to learn about germs and will begin learning about harmful and helpful drugs next week. Our human body and health unit will be reviewed at Robert Crown on Wednesday. Your child will be receiving a study guide on Tuesday that will be due on Friday. The test is scheduled for Tuesday, 11/6. Look for a note coming home about Health Fest next week.

*Social Studies: We are busy learning about various US communities. We learned about El Paso and started making our own brochures highlighting the geopgraphy, history, and community life of different US cities. If your child is doing a city other than El Paso, there is some extra research that should be done at home. I sent home a tradebook on the city that your child can read and choose facts from to include in their brochures. We will work on these again in class on Tues. Depending on the students progress, they may receive another day to work on them in class or they may be sent home to be finished. Look in their assignment notebooks to find out when they are due. Please have your child refer to their rubric when creating their brochure to make sure they include all of the necessary parts. Your child may print photos from the internet of their city if you would like. Thanks!

*Spelling: This week we will take a break from the spelling book due to the shortened week and Halloween party and do a Halloween word list. The list will be sent home on Tuesday and we will do various activities throughout the week. The final test will be on Friday.

*Reading: The students did a great job on their "book commercials" today and I think they encouraged their classmates to read many different books. The posters looked great. I handed out the next project, which will be due Friday, December 14th. This project is working with a non-fiction book. The students will need to create a new book cover, listing 3 facts on the inside, and a summary of the book on the back. I will provide the paper necessary for the project. I will be approving books next week. Please look in their binder for a detailed assignment sheet. We will work in various word analysis, fluency, and comprehension skills next week.

*English: Nouns and more nouns! We are continuing to work with nouns, focusing on plural nouns and possessive nouns in the upcoming days. Our final test is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, 11/8. A study guide will be sent home before the test. Your child can expect a graded review of nouns (common/proper, nouns in a subject, plural) next week.

Have a wonderful, long weekend and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom News Issue 7

Odds and Ends

The students will celebrate Halloween in our classroom during the afternoon on Wednesday, October 31st. If you would like to participate, your child can bring a costume to school to change into. It must be a costume your child can change into by themselves. The Prairieview Halloween Parade will be starting around 1:15pm.

Independent Reading Folders: Just a reminder...if your child reads from a text book at night for homework, those minutes can count towards the nightly goal of 20 minutes of reading, written down in the independent reading folder. Keep up the good work! Our next reading party will be Thursday, November 8th. Keep Reading!

Thank you to those of you who have been donating prizes to our classroom prize bin. The students have been working hard to earn goodie tickets to pick from our new prizes. They are always appreciated!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 10/22: Social Studies: Hemispheres Quiz

*Fri. 10/26: Reading: Monthly Book Project report due: Advertise A Book poster

Spelling: Review Week Test

Math: Chapter 1 Test

Character Counts Assembly

SPIRIT DAY: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26th: WEAR YOUR SLIPPERS TO SCHOOL!

Photo Retakes will be on October 30th. Please send in your photo packet if you want retakes. Thank you.

Math: Thank you to the Imgruet, Sarros, and Wascher family for donating supplies for our classroom store. We really appreciate your generousity! In math class, we are in the money =) We are working on counting back change. This is a great opportunity for your child to get some real world experience while shopping or looking at sale ads at home. Get out your change and let your child work with making change from $1-$5. I sent home a great website for your child to play with to work on their money skills. It is on http://www.gamequarium.com/. Click on 3-6th grade math, then try out the games Money Drills, Change Maker, and Working with Money. We will be going to the computer lab next week to play these games. The chapter 1 test will be on Friday, October 26th. A study guide will be sent home on Monday. We will have the Carlstrom Classroom store on Wed.

Science: We will continue to learn about health and nutrition. We are going to learn about excercise, germs, and helpful and harmful drugs. This will give us some good background information as we get ready to visit Robert Crown on Wednesday, Oct. 31st. If you have not yet sent in your child's permission slip, please do that on Monday. Thank you!

Social Studies: We are wrapping up our map skills unit. We will have a quiz covering hemispheres, North and South pole, Equator, and Prime Meridian on Monday. Please use the study guide to help your child prepare. Our next unit will be on different communities, starting with El Paso, Texas.

Spelling: Next week will be our review unit, where the students will review the rules and words of the previous spelling lists. There will be no pre test and no list of words to study will be sent home. The students are responsible to know the spelling rules we have learned for the past 7 weeks. We will take a sample test on Wednesday so your child can practice with this different test format. It involves them reading 4 words and choosing which word is spelled incorrectly. The test will be on Friday.

Reading: The students are enjoying reading their non-fiction stories about animals. They will continue to work on the posters with their partners on Monday. They will begin an animal story on their own on Tuesday. This story will be taken for a grade. You can look in their reading folders to see a sample of what the stories look like. We will spend the rest of the week practicing reading fluency with poetry and sharing our book posters on Friday. The next monthly book project assignment will be introduced this week as well.

English: Our spooky haunted house descriptive paragraphs are turning out great! We are learning how to use varied sentence starters to make the story interesting for others to read. Your child may have to finish their rough drafts over the weekend. I will be taking a grade on their "work in progress". We will be working on our final drafts on Monday. The students are also having an opportunity to have an individual conference with me during our writing workshop as we talk about their strengths in writing and what we are going to work to improve. Our next unit will be nouns.

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the fall weather!!

Miss Carlstrom

ODDS AND ENDS

Opps! I had the wrong times for the Book Fair that will be held on Thursday, October 18th. The times are 6:30-8:00 pm, not 6:45-8:30 pm. Sorry for any confusion.

Also, if your child has headphones from Elizabeth Ide last year, you may send them in to be used later this year. Your child will store the headphones in their lockers until we need to use them. Thank you!

PICTURE RETAKES: are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 30th . Students must have original picture packets in hand to have a retake. If your child was absent on the first picture day, they will have to have their original order envelope with them at the time of retakes.

Classroom Issue 6

Classroom News

Thank you to all of the parents who brought in prizes for our prize box and treats for math class. We could use prizes for the prize box anytime, so if you have anything to donate, it will be greatly appreciated!

Reading Parties: The next reading party is Thursday, November 8th. Continue to read 20 minutes each night and fill in the reading log. The last day to turn in the reading log for the next party is Wednesday, November 7th. Also, at the end of the year we have a party for students who have attended each reading party for the year. I will allow one "freebie" month that your child can miss, so if they attend every party but one, they can join us for the final party at the end of May. Thanks!

Magazine Drive Winners: We are one lucky class! Nick Paskvan and Bradley Burton each won our class a special treat during the magazine drive. Nick chose doughnuts for the class that will be enjoyed on Wed. 10/17 and Bradley chose cookies that we be shared on Friday 10/26. Yum!

Field Trip: We enjoyed our "recess" at Elizabeth Ide playing on the brand new playground. Even in the chilly weather the children had a great time!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 10/15: English: DOL #3 Quiz (covering book titles and introductory words)

Spelling: List 7 Pretest

*Wed. 10/17: Reading: Illinois Workbook Lesson 1 Review (see practice review coming home on Mon.)

Early Dismissal: School out at 11:00 am

*Thurs. 10/18: Book Fair at school 6:45-8:30 pm

*Fri. 10/19: Spelling: Test List 7
Spirit Day: Wear A Crazy Hat!

*Math: We are busy practicing place value and logical reasoning. We will begin money next week, so please have your child bring in their coins by Thursday of next week. We will have a graded place value review on Tuesday, so you can review any worksheets on place value in your child's math folder. They will need to know the names of the different place values up to 100,000 and the different forms of writing numbers (standard: 391, expanded: 300 + 90+ 1, and word form: three hundred and ninety-one). Also, thank you to those parents who sent in candy for our store in math. This is an activity where we will practice counting change from $1. The store will provide non-edible treats as well. Each child will only be able to purchase 2 items. We are still in need of the following individually, mini wrapped treats(like you see at stores for Halloween) for our store (which will take place on Tues. 10/23):

*Twix

*Starburst

Thanks!

*Science: We started on unit on health and nutrition. We will be learning about the food pyramid on Monday. We will be making a food pyramid book in class for a grade. The students will be given class time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to work on the book. If the students do not finish the book in class, it will be sent home on Wednesday to be turned in on Thursday. Thank you!

*Social Studies: The students are working their way around the world in Social Studies! We finished learning about the continents and oceans and the students did a wonderful job of locating and naming these places on the map. We will start our unit on hemispheres next week. We will cover the 4 hemispheres, North and South pole, Equator, and Prime Meridian. A graded review of these concepts is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 22nd. A study guide will be sent home next week.

*Spelling: We will work on list 7 this week, irregular plural nouns. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday. Keep up the good work practicing and studying the words at home. The students are doing a great job on their weekly tests.

*Reading: We have finished up The Chalkbox Kid and made our own chalk gardens. They look great! We will begin reading non-fiction short stories on animals. The students will do one as a whole group, work with partners on another story as they read, answer questions, and make a poster on the main ideas and details of the story, and finally read and answer questions on their own for a grade. This is a great way to learn new vocabulary, answer different types of questions, and locate and highlight answers within the text.

Also, we are working on various word analysis concepts in our Illinois workbook. We will be finishing up lesson 1 on Tuesday and a graded review will be given on Wednesday. All of the pages have been ripped out of the students workbook and stapled together and put in their reading folder of their binders. The review will cover prefix/suffix, vowel and letter sounds, and compound words. A review will be sent home on Monday for homework and we will go over it Tuesday in class.

*English: We are busy writing our descriptive paragraphs. The students have learned how to narrow a topic and choose just one idea to write about. We are using all we have learned about descriptive writing and applying it to our work. We are using WOW opening sentences, specific color words, sensory details, similes, and "wrap it up" ending sentences. We will continue working on descriptive writing next week.

Classroom Issue 5

UPDATE: The continent and ocean quiz is changed to FRIDAY, 10/12 rather than THURSDAY 10/11. This gives the students an extra night to prepare. Thanks!

Reminder: There will be no school on Monday, October 8th due to Columbus Day! Please enjoy the long, warm weekend!

Thank you to those parents who have signed and returned the permission slip to go to play on the new playground at Elizabeth Ide on Wed. 10/10. Please return the slip by Tuesday, if you have not already turned it in. Thanks!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 10/8: No School: Have fun!

*Wed. 10/10: Field Trip to Ide Playground (weather permitting) from 10-10:30

*Thurs. 10/11: Reading: The Chalkbox Kid vocabulary review

Social Studies: Continent and Ocean Quiz

*Fri. 10/12: Spelling: List 6 Test

Spirit Day: Show your School Pride: Wear your favorite Prairieview shirt or school colors.

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK!

*Math: The following news is for Miss Carlstrom's math class only. Please look at your math teacher's blog for your child's math news. Thank you!

We are continuing the second half of chapter 1. We will be working on place value and money. Look for a place value game coming home for you to try out with your child.
Also, look for a note coming home about sending in coins for your child to use during math class. The money will be returned, but this gives the students a "hands-on" approach to using money. Soon we will be working with money, practicing how to give change, write, and count money. We will be working on how to count change in our “classroom store”. We will set up a Carlstrom Classroom store to have a "real world" experience using money and counting back change. Please see the list below if you’d like to donate any supplies to our classroom store. All candy should be the individual, wrapped candy you see in the stores for Halloween. Thank you in advance for your help!

*Skittles

*Starburst

*Tootise Rolls

*Twix

*Lollipops (any kind)

*Science: We finished up our body systems unit. We had a great time learning about our amazing body systems. We are going to be starting our next unit on health on Monday.

*Social Studies: We are working with map skills. We started exploring our world’s continents and oceans. We will have a graded review over the world's continents and oceans on Thursday. A study guide will be sent home on Tuesday. Your child will need to know the location and spelling of the continents and oceans. We will still continue to practice our directions.

*Spelling: Next week will be List 6: plural consonants + y words. (i.e. flies). Due to the shortened week there will be no pretest on Monday. The final test will be on Friday. Expect spelling homework on Wednesday night.

*Reading: We have finished reading The Chalkbox Kid and the comprehension journal. Chapters 5-9 in the journal were collected for a reading grade and the conventions (complete sentences, capital letters, end marks) will be taken for an English grade. We will work on summarizing the story and characterization next week. Your child will be given a vocabulary and comprehension review of the book on Thursday. They will not need to know the dictionary definition of the vocabulary word, but rather the context definition (or how it is used in the book). A list of the words and there "book" meaning will be sent home on Tuesday.

*English: We are continuing to work on descriptive writing. We are learning about similes, color words, and sensory words. Ask your child about their new crayon color and mystery object. We will be writing our paragraphs next week.

Classroom News Issue 4

Reading Takes You Places READING PARTY:
The next reading party will be on Thursday, October 4th. Please have your completed reading log turned in by Wednesday, Oct. 3rd if you would like to join us. We will be watching a video in the room during lunch. I will provide a treat for the students. They will need to bring a lunch from home or order hot lunch from school. The students who have completed 28 days of reading 20 minutes each day will be invited to join us! Celebrate Reading!

Johnny Appleseed Celebration! We had an "apple-solutely" wonderful Wednesday as we celebrated Johnny Appleseed's birthday. Our room had a wonderful cinnamon and apple aroma all day as we anxiously awaited the tasting of our homemade applesauce. The students enjoyed making apple glasses and kettle pot hats to wear. Thank you to all of the families who donated supplies to make our celebration complete!

October Spirit Days:
The following Friday's will be "Spirit Days" at Prairieview. Please feel free to join the teachers on the following spirit days:
Friday, October 5th: Character Counts Day : Wear Green
Friday, October 12th: Prairieview Day: Wear your school colors or clothes
Friday, October 19th: Crazy Hat Day
Friday, October 26th: Slipper Day

UPCOMING EVENTS:
*Mon. 10/1: Goo, Glob, and Guts in the classroom
*Tues. 10/2: Last Magazine Turn-in Day
*Wed. 10/3: Social Studies: Directions Quiz
Independent Reading Folders Due
*Thurs. 10/4: Reading Party during lunch
*Fri. 10/5: Spelling: List 5 Test
Science: Human Body Chapter Test
*Mon. 10/8: No School: Columbus Day

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK

*Math: This week in math we will continue to work on rounding and estimation. We will not have math on Monday or Wednesday due to the Goo,Glob, and Guts program. The students will have their first checkpoint on Friday, Oct. 5th, covering the first part of chapter 1.

*Science: We will be finishing up our first unit on the human body and 6 body systems. We have spent the last days working in cooperative groups to create life size models of the human bodies with all of organs we have been learning about. A "fill-in-yourself" study guide was sent home on Friday and your child should have their science textbook with them for the weekend. They will be encouraged to bring the book home each day next week to study. The study guide is due Wednesday, 10/3. I wanted to give the students plenty of time to study and prepare for the test on Friday, 10/5. The study guide covers most of what will be on the test. Also, look through your child's science folder in their binder to find graphic organizers on each body system that will help them study. I will be playing review games next week and will go over the correct answers of the study guide on Wed. Our next unit in science will be health.

*Social Studies: We are continuing to practice and review our cardinal and intermediate directions. The students made their own compass roses and we practiced the helpful saying, Never Eat Soggy Waffles (North, East, South, West). Today we had a scavenger hunt where the students worked in groups and followed directions (written in cardinal directions) to find prizes hidden all over Prairieview by the "social studies Fairy". =) They had a lot of fun following their directions and did a great job! Our direction quiz will be on Wednesday, 10/3. A study guide was sent home today. We will begin studying continents and oceans next.

*Spelling: Next weeks list, unit 5, will be covering words that are plural nouns that end with “y” or vowel + “y”. Continue the great work studying and doing a great job on the weekly tests! There will be a pretest on Monday.

*Reading: We are continuing to apply our reading strategies as we read The Chalkbox Kid. We are also working in our Illinois workbook, practicing with prefix, root word, suffix, and letter sounds. We will continue to work on both areas next week.

*English: We have finished our first unit, The Sentence. The students did a great job on their first English unit in 3rd grade! We will now take a break from the textbook and do a writing unit. We will work on descriptive paragraphs and the writing process. We will apply what we have learned about sentences and grammar as we write using vivid language.

Classroom Updates

Scholastic Book Order:
It was brought to my attention that the Prairieview Book Fair is Thursday, October 18th and our classroom book order is due Friday, October 19th. I accidently sent out a book order for October ( I usually skip the months that we hold the book fairs), so please use the orders that were sent home as a guide as to what you might see at the book fair on Oct. 18th. If you know you are unable to attend the book fair or would still like to order through the classroom, feel free to send in your scholastic book order by Oct. 19th. The most important thing is that the kids are reading and we are encouraging them to try out new books! Thank you!

Subject and Predicate:
The students have been working hard on this tricky concept. As a fun way to learn about this concept, I show the students a School House Rocks video that sings about subjects and predicates in a song about a man named Mr. Morton. Many students wanted to watch this video at home. If your child would like to view this video at home, please supervise them on www.youtube.com. Search for Mr. Morton School House Rocks and click on the video. There are 2 versions, the original cartoon version and the updated rap version. Your child should recognize which ones we have watched in class. They might even know the words! Have fun!!