Week of 12/14

Ahoy! Sorry for the late post!

It is a crazy week here in 204 and 205! We have been busy studying and researching the different holidays that are celebrated around the world, doing holiday math, and writing about being stuck in a snowglobe! We have also seemed to have a constant flow of art projects! This is such a fun time to be an elementary student.

Here are a couple reminders for y'all!

~Friday is the auction! It will be at 11:00. If you would like to come help students with bidding and keeping track of their bank accounts that would be AWESOME!
~Friday is also our holiday party and school sing a long. We will be having hot chocolate and a movie at 1:00 and the sing along starts at 2:30.
~Friday is also a holiday themed dress up day! Send the students as their favorite winter character, or dressed in their best holiday sweater.

Rounding Song:
This is the song we use to help students round. If they have it memorized they can get $50 Blair-win bucks right before the auction!

To the tune on "We Will Rock You"

We will we will round you, huh, round you, huh
We will we will round you, huh, round you, huh
Find the number look next door
Five or more raise the score
Four or less let it rest
To the right put zeros in sight.
We will we will round you, huh, round you, huh
We will we will round you, huh, round you, huh

Mystery Questions:
1) In what city does the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" take place?
2) How many reindeer hooves are there on Santa's sleigh?
3) What were Frosty the Snowman's final words?
4) What's Scrooge's first name?
5) What Christmas song did Elvis Presley record in the 50's?

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday break!
Miss Irwin

Week of 12/7/2015

Ahoy!

Auction! 
Our class auction is coming up on the 18th of December. It will be at 11:00. Let me know if you would like to come help and watch. We need as many people as possible. We are also in need of more auction items! If you could go through your old toys, books, or games and bring them in we would appreciate it! 

Reading:  We are finishing up our unit on Tigers, and are starting a mini unit on holiday traditions around the world. The students had a unique opportunity of Face Timing with my sister, Camryn, who is currently in Sweden. She talked with them about all of the traditions in Sweden and showed them various goodies from the Christmas Markets. 

Writing: Students are beginning to research a specific country around the world to write their holiday report on. Students are practicing finding information and then putting it into their own words. 

Math: We have started a new math unit! Unit 3 is all about multi-digit addition and subtraction. Your student needs to continue to practice their multiplication facts, but they also need to make sure that their basic addition and subtraction facts are down pat! 

Spelling: 
there
their
know
write
too
place
while
next
something
together
food
once
mother
light
country
father
let

Reminders: 
Students need to continue practicing their typing skills
12/11- Family Game and Movie night, 6-8.

Mystery Questions: 
1) What's the best selling Christmas song of all time?
2) Name the three ghosts of Christmas in "A Christmas Carol".
3) Which country created egg nog?
4) What is the main ingredient in gingerbread cookies?
5) What Florida town has a Christmas tree up all year round in its town square?


Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 11/30/2015

Ahoy!

I can't believe that we are in the final stretch of 2015!

Reading: We are finishing up our unit on Tigers. Next week we will be taking our assessment.

Math: Finishing up our unit 2. We will be taking a math assessment on Thursday and Friday. Continue practicing multiplication facts!

Writing: We are beginning our unit on persuasive writing. This week the students are writing a friendly letter persuading you to get them their holiday wish list! Students are on the hunt for apostrophe catastrophes! If they seen one, snap a picture and send it to me! It is worth $100 Bl-irwin bucks!

Spelling: 
thought
something
school
there
need
could
hand
important
don't
far
your
high
again
once
they
year
than
enough

Challenge Words: 
jingle
choose
crimson
further
evaporate

Mystery Questions: 
1) Who created Rudolph, the most popular reindeer of Santa Claus?
2) Who invented electric Christmas lights?
3) Which American President banned Christmas trees in the White House?
4) Who designed the first Christmas card?

Reminders: 
Stuff the Bus ends FRIDAY!

Week of 11/23

Ahoy!

This week is going to be nice and short! There will be no homework, or spelling words this week.

Look for a fun thanksgiving project to come home tomorrow :)

Enjoy the break and time with your family!
Miss Irwin

Week of 11/16/15

Ahoy!

Can you believe that it is almost Thanksgiving! I cannot believe how fast this year is rushing by! Here is what were are working on in class.

Reading: We are in the middle of our unit on Tigers! Through learning about Tiger's students are also learning how to find the main idea of an informational text, how to find the main message of a literary text, how to ask and answer questions about the text, comparing and contrasting characters, and looking at how characters in a story change! One of the most difficult concepts for our students to master is the difference between main idea and main message.

Main idea: Informational text. The who, what, when, where, why.
Main message: Literary text. What is the author trying to teach us through this story? Often looking at the events that the character goes through is helpful. Can be a universal truth.

Writing: This week is all about figurative language. Students are learning about similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, idioms, and personification.

Math: We are continuing to work on our conceptual understanding of multiplication and how to use it. This week is focused around using facts that we know to help us solve facts we don't yet know. We are also having a strong focus on using visuals and diagrams to help the students solve word problems.

Typing:
Please have your student practice typing. Come the spring students will be participating in SBAC (state testing) this is all on the computer. It is really beneficial to the students if they are comfortable typing. We are also working on it at school.

Spelling: 
live
without
life
different
off
Earth
through
first
head
there
because
almost
always
new
too
page
got
another

Challenge Words: 
bicycle
habitat
consumer
endangered
threatened

Mystery Questions: 

1) Write down two similes and two metaphors.
2) What are three words uses as onomatopoeia in people's writing?
3) The book "The Giving Tree" is an example of (choose one): a) metaphor b)simile      c)personification
4) Name three other types of figurative language that we haven't learned in class yet.

Reminders:
Now-12/4: Stuff the Bus collection. Any non-perishable foods are accepted.
11/25-11/27: Thanksgiving Break
12/11: Game and Movie Night

Thanks for all you do!
Miss Irwin

Week of 11/9/2015

Ahoy! It has been another great week in 204!

Mrs. Blair and I are noticing that a few of our students are really tired, I don't know if this is related to the time change or what! Just a reminder that 8 and 9 year olds need 11 hours of sleep. Here are some articles related to children getting sleep.

http://nymag.com/news/features/38951/

http://www.webmd.com/children/features/good-sound-sleep-for-children

Reading: This week we are working on finding the main message of a story called "The Banza." We are looking at characters and how their actions help to move the story, and lead us to the main message. We are also working on the suffix -ing.

Math: In math we are continuing to work on multiplication. Please help your students to understand how to determine if a story problem is asking you to add, subtract, or multiply. We are working on this in class as well. Remember to underline the important information, and circle what the question is asking you to do.

Writing: We are finishing up our monster descriptions. On Thursday we will be doing our final drafts.

Spelling: 
often
use
kind
head
also
four
show
been
around
began
above
long
took
air
there
were
large
might

Mystery Questions:
1) Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?
2) Who were the first people to celebrate Thanksgiving?
3) Approximately how many pounds of turkey do Americans eat every year?
4) What is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and when did it start?
5) What is the busiest day of the year to travel on an airplane?
6) Do they celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada?

Reminders: 
11/11 No school

Thanks for all you do to support your children.
Miss Irwin

Week of 11/2/2015

Ahoy!

Happy November! Where has the last two months gone?!

Please make sure your student is reading 20 minutes every night! 

Math: We are continuing our work on multiplication this week. When working with your students ask them to explain their thinking. Often students learn more when they have to explain their thinking and teach it to someone else. Our strategies for multiplication are using a number line, loops and groups, arrays, or repeated addition. 

Reading: This week we are working on finding the main idea of an informational text. Students need to ask "Who did what when and why? We are also working on finding the important information in text as well ask asking questions while they are reading. 

Writing: This week we are finishing up our sensory paragraph. We are going to be learning about figurative language this week as well. 

Science: We are continuing our learning on sound. This week we are conducting an experiment about what are some of the different sounds that different materials make when they hit. We are also focusing on using our observation to prove or disprove our hypothesis. 

Spelling:
life
little
left
without
once
thought
another
house
took
animal
there
enough
know
something
these
find

Challenge Words:
launch
pitch
decibel
amplitude
frequency

Mystery Questions:
1) Name four things a tiger eats.
2) What is a poacher?
3) How many cubs do tigers usually have?
4) Name two big threats to tigers.
5) What are two things humans can do to help tigers?

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/27/15

Ahoy!

Remember this week is all short days! Release at 1:10!

Reading: We starting our next unit on endangered animals! This week we are learning what endangered means, what animals are endangered, and vocabulary that goes along with our unit! We are also continuing to work on our reading chants. Attached is a video that your students need to have memorized to receive 50 Blair-win bucks tomorrow.

Writing: This week we are working on writing our fall walk paragraph. Students are instructed to use a hamburger paragraph. This is all about the 5 senses.

Math: We are well on our way to understand that multiplication is groups of something! This unit is all about having a conceptual understanding of what multiplication is. Continue to work on your basic addition facts and basic multiplication facts!

No spelling this week! 

Mystery Questions:

1) In what continent do you find the most tigers?
2) How long have tigers been on the planet?
3) How many subspecies of tigers are there?
4) Which subspecies has become extinct?

***Mystery questions must be turned in the very next day on a piece of paper with name on it. It won't be accepted any day after***


Here are some great pictures from our fall walk!

Thanks for all you do!
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/19/2015

Ahoy!

This has been a great week already! The students are working so hard.

Reading:
We are working on finding the main idea of non fiction texts. On Thursday and Friday we are taking our Unit 1 assessment. Today we learned all about Little Free Libraries where children and adults can take a book or give a book.

Writing:
We are working on adding sensory details to our writing. We will be going on a fall walk around school on Thursday, recording our 5 senses, then turning our observations into a paragraph next week.

Math:
This week is the beginning of Unit 2. We are working on the beginning concepts of multiplication. Students need to know that multiplication is repeated addition. Please start working on multiplication facts with your students, they will need to have those concrete by the end of the year!

Science:
We are currently learning about sound waves. We did an experiment yesterday where they observed how sound waves transfer through water.

Spelling:
large
form
land
from
side
its
feet
without
home
different
boys
their
around
too
could
been

Challenge Words:
neither
furniture
subject
inside
you've

Mystery Questions:
1) How does a wind instrument (like a flute or clarinet) make sound?
2) What are the three bones in the ear called?
3) How do string instruments (like a violin) make sound?
4) How fast is the speed of sound?

Other Reminders:
10/24 4:00-6:00 Harvest Carnival
10/26-10/30: Early Release Half Days for Conferences
10/27- Book orders due.

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/12/15

Ahoy!
Things are off to a great start this week! It has been a blast getting to know your kids and see them grow! They have already learned a lot! Here are some of the things that will be happening this week in 204...

Reading: This week we are starting our informational reading and work on main idea. We are learning about how student around the world gain access to books. The book we are reading is called "My Librarian is a Camel".

Writing: This week we are finishing our final drafts of our personal narratives.These are due on THURSDAY! We have asked that anyone with a paper longer than 5 pages takes it home to finish it. Remember we are looking for:
Focus: Topic clearly stated and the whole story stays on topic.
Organization: The story is organized with sequence words and transitions.
Elaboration: Supporting the main topic with details and explanation.
Language and Vocab: Expresses ideas with interesting & diverse vocabulary.
Convention: Correct punctuation, capitalization, spells most high frequency words correctly, & sentences are complete.

Math: Tuesday and Wednesday will be the last two day's of our Unit 1 for math. Starting next week our students will be working on Unit 2! Unit 2 focuses on the beginning concepts of multiplication.

Social Studies: We are continuing to work on learning all about maps.

Spelling Words:
what
asked
always
want
world
help
school
each
going
show
right
important
around
there
write
another

Mystery Questions:
Where does sound come from?
What is the scientific study of sound called?
Can sound travel underwater?
Is there sound on the moon?
How is sound measured?

Here are some fun pictures from the Human Car Wash last week!

Dates to remember: 

October 24: Harvest Carnival

October 27: Book Orders Due

Thanks, 

Miss Irwin 

Week of 10/5/15

Special guest: A librarian from Camas library came to visit to talk about books and literacy. Your children asked super intelligent questions. We were proud of them! We're hoping everyone scurries off to get a library card.


Spelling Please ask your child to study spelling words this week and  for our test on Thursday:they, what, their, said, many, over, our, think, also, those, large, often, together, asked, house, don't


Math: Homework coming home tonight– due Thursday (b/c no school Friday). Double digit addition is all this week…going well!

Social Studies: Thank you for making the "Continent Song" a great success! Your children did great. We learned our cardinal directions today. I told them to ask you which way was north in your home. Check it with a compass on your phone (that's what I always do!) 


Reading: We're continuing to work on the message of a story. This involves determining what's important in the text. I used my purse as an analogy—we pulled out only the items I would need to go on a hypothetical walk outside. They did so well! I believe they understood the comparison with reading (and only highlighting text that is important). We venture into the land of nonfiction next week and learn how to find the main idea and supporting details.


Writing: We began the initial process of using "Mrs. Blair's amazing, awesome final draft paper" for their published pieces.The four categories we use for grading writing are:

Focus:              Topic clearly stated and the whole story stays on this topic.

Organization:   The story is organized with   sequence words and transitions.

Elaboration:     Supporting the main topic with details and explanation.

Language & Vocab:           Expresses ideas with interesting & diverse vocabulary.

Convention:     Correct punctuation, capitalization,spells most high frequency words correctly, & sentences are complete.

Extra reminders:
Title Reading night is Wednesday if your student is involved with Mrs. Woodson's amazing program.
Mystery Question:

1) What state is south of Indiana?

2) What state is north of Colorado?

3) Which ocean is west of California?

4) Name the 7 continents!

Have a great night!

Miss Irwin 

Week of 9/28/2015

Ahoy All!

Hope you are enjoying this wonderful sunshine! We are off to a great start here in 204-205! Here is what we are doing....

Reading: This week we are beginning the second source in our unit on Literacy Around the World. Students are working on finding the main message of fictional stories. They have learned that the main message is what the author is teaching us through the story.

Writing: This week we are learning how to edit our writing. Today Mrs. Blair introduced the students to rainbow editing and using our editing marks. We will continue to work on our personal narratives.

Math: This week is all about vocabulary review, and review of our addition facts. Today we started to work on double digit addition.

Social Studies: Our learning of maps is continuing with learning were the 7 continents and 4 oceans are. They learned a song today that will be worth 50 Blair-win bucks if they have it memorized by Friday. The link is below.

Spelling Words:
always
know
large
few
show
very
because
too
there
those
their
read
out
about
might
found

Challenge Words:
thirty
twenty
process
eighty
present

Important Events:

10/1- Fall Family Night @5:30
10/2- Book Fair Ends

Thanks for all you do to support your kiddos!
Miss Irwin

Week of 9/21/2015

Class Business:

-Your children brought home math on Monday (it's due Friday). Please make sure this assignment "lives" in the purple folder as it goes back and forth to school.

-We go up to the high school on Thursday and are very excited to participate with the students in Mrs. Dean's science class.

-We appreciate any donations you'd like to give to our class auction. These items can be from your home (maybe Goodwill-bound  ). Books, games, stuffed animals, etc. are great auction items.

Reading:  We took a look at "real reading" today. They totally understood the difference between reading the words and thinking while reading the words. Your child should be reading for 20 minutes every evening at home. We preach that "readers are leaders" in here daily!

Math: Homework will be coming home weekly now. Please email if any of the Bridges curriculum needs clarification.

Writing: Our personal narratives are going great! It was so exciting to finally start our "rough, rough, rough" drafts. The students have great ideas and are on their way. It made me proud to see them get in the writing zone today.

Spelling: We have a spelling test every Friday. These are our words for this week: 

from, there, their, said, could, first, back, right, help, between, never, below, saw, something, thought, both

Challenge words: choose, choices, shelter, quickly, quietly

Social Studies: The 7 continent song is coming at ya! It's a fun one. We will be covering the cardinal directions and how to read a grid on a map.

Mystery questions.

1) What is the name of the imaginary line that runs north and south through the earth?

2) Name five countries in Africa.

3) Name five countries in Europe.

4) Name our city, county and state (you must spell them correctly) 

Thanks, 

Miss Irwin 

A.C.T.I.V.E Chant

The A.C.T.I.V.E. reading chant:

Asking questions (talking hand)

Making connections (loop index fingers together)

Telling the story over again (talking hand, go "over the hill" with your hand)

I infer to make a prediction (point to brain)

Visualizing (swirl hands around brain)

Evaluating (hands out and "do I like this?" expression on face)

Summarizing (go out big with hands to "wrap it up")

Yeah! (jazz hands )

Learn this chant by Friday and receive 25 Bla-irwin bucks.

Extra reminders:

Please sign your child's planner each evening. This is a great place for me to communicate with you about goings-on at school. This is also the spot where we write down what we do each day. If you get a "fine" response to the question "How was school today?" items written on the planner can help to get the conversation rolling! Also please remind them to bring purple folders to and from school every day.

Auction: Mrs. Blair and I will be hosting an auction for your kids right before winter break. We are so grateful when parents donate to this event. We love having bid-worthy items that our classes can go for with their Bla-irwin bucks. Our currency system works so well and the auction is a great reward for their hard work!

 

First Post for this year! 9/14-9/18

Ahoy!

Welcome to the first blog post of the year. My goal is to update my blog every Tuesday. However, if you ever have any questions about what is happening in our classroom feel free to email me!

Reading: Yesterday we took our unit 1 pre-assessment. This unit is all about literacy around the world. Students will be reading and researching how children in other countries get books delivered to them.

Writing: We are in the prewriting phase of our personal narrative. Students are learning to "show not tell" when they are writing.

Math: Our big focus in math this month is making sure that we have our addition and subtraction facts down pat!

Social Studies: Tomorrow we will begin our unit on mapping and geography. This unit is a lot of fun! We start with an activity called "Me on the Map".

Spelling Words:
there
while
small
along
with
because
would
never
been
next
sound
great
one
think
little
might

Dates to Remember:
Book orders are due on the 22nd.
Picture day is the 22nd.

Thanks for all you do to support your kiddos!
Cassie Irwin

Week of 5/25-5/29

Ahoy!

There is quite a bit going on at school these next few weeks! I will do my best to make sure I am communicating it with everyone in a timely fashion!

Reading:
We are continuing to learn all about Native American's. This week we are working on legends and revising our own legends.

Writing: Students are working on their last writing piece. They will be walking through the whole writing process independently. It is amazing to see the growth that the student are showing in these final pieces.

Math: Today was the start of our last unit! Geometry! We are working this week on classifying shapes. Keep practicing your facts!

Spelling:
cold
morning
ground
it's
really
enough large
remember
your
table
water
because
they
first
learn
until
there people
some
United States

Challenge Words:
voyage
apology
Neptune
diagram
hurricane

Important Events:
5/27 - Volunteer Luncheon
5/27- Talent Show Auditions
5/27- Kindergarten Orientation
5/28- Our last day to check out library books
5/29- Dress Up Day: Sports
5/29- JWR last day

Thanks for supporting your kiddos! They are a great bunch of 9 year olds!
Miss Irwin

Week of 5/18-5/22

Ahoy!

What a crazy time of year here at Lacamas! There are so many fun and exciting activities going on. Our SBAC testing is over and we are buckling in for the last month of school! We still have a lot to learn!

Reading: We are elbow deep in our learning around Native Americans. Currently the students are using the legends that we have read and using them as a template to write their own legend.

Writing: The students are working on the rough draft of their own choice of writing. The editing and peer editing process will begin soon.

Math: We just finished unit 5 and will begin unit 6 focusing on geometry! The students are really excited for this unit to begin.

Social Studies: We are continuing the reading that is being done and are currently making dioramas to depict the 5 different native american regions.

Spelling:
years
were
life
living
needed
order
first
gave
food
its
important
such
open
their
run
these
told
book
there
find

Challenge Words:
tragedy
tremble
communicate
committee
particular

Events to Remember:
TOMORROW!- Lalooska field trip.
5/22-PALS Skate Night 5-7
5/27- Talent Show Auditions
5/27- Kindergarten Orientation
5/29- Book Fair Starts
5/29- Last day for students to check books out of the library
5/29-Spirit Day-Sports Wear
5/29- Last day of operation for JWR

Well I think that is the majority of what is going on here in room 204!

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 5/4-5/8

Ahoy!

How is it already MAY!? Room 204 is well on their way to being 4th graders!

Reading: We are working hard on our Native American unit. This week we are learning about legends.

Math: With the math SBAC coming up next week, we are working to get prepared for it. Reviewing everything that we have learned so far! Please continue working on those multiplication facts :)

Writing: Finishing our final drafts of our informational piece and beginning our last writing piece of the year!

Social Studies: Learning about the different regions that the Native American's are from, and mapping them.

Spelling:
living
life
United States
high
black
because
hear
city
white
along
across
use
pages
eat
after
short
about
there
could
story

Challenge Words:
express
further
ancestor
straight
financial

Important Reminders:
Our Lalooska permission forms will be coming home this week!
We will be painting tomorrow, wear clothes that you are not worried about getting paint on! 


Thanks for all you do to support your children!
Miss Irwin

Week of 4/27-5/1

Ahoy!

Reading: Our Native American studies has begun! It is a blast watching the students get very excited about what we are learning and some of the connections that they have to Native Americans.

Math: With our state testing coming up soon, our class is busy preparing for our testing. We are currently working on division, area and perimeter. This will be our focus for the next few weeks until testing starts! Please keep practicing multiplication facts.

Writing: Students are finishing the first drafts and editing process for their informational writing piece.

Spelling: (working on words with silent letters)
through
since
world
they
above
there
country
its
half
true
red
picture
animals
fish
plants
their
many
would
group
own

Challenge:
symbol
activate
application
loyal
production

Calendar Events:
5/1- PALS Movie Night at 6.
5/11-5/15 SBAC Math Testing
5/21- Field Trip to Lalooska
6/1-6/5 Book Fair

I hope that this covers anything. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 4/20-4/24

Ahoy!

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this last weekend! I sure know that I did! We took advantage of it in room 204 :) As the year continues to rush by, we continue to buckle down and get the last bits of learning in.

Math: This week we started our 5th unit. This unit focuses on multiplication and division. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL STUDENTS ARE PRACTICING THEIR MULTIPLICATION FACTS EVERY DAY! Having these facts down will really help the students to feel successful during this unit.

Reading: We are finishing our 4th unit on Salmon. Our unit test will be on Thursday and Friday of this week. Our next unit is focused on Native Americans.

Writing: The students are knee-deep in the informational writing process. I am looking forward to seeing all of the final drafts that the students have been working on.

Science: Our science unit is focused on the many different life cycles that occur in nature. We have investigated the life cycle of salmon, and are currently looking at the life cycle of plants.

Spelling:
there
between
always
hand
something
group
example
face
white
only
door
school
it's
turn
first
too
cut
second
done
important

Challenge:
breathe
succeed
surprise
horrible
invisible

Calendar:
May 11-15 3rd grade MATH Smarter Balanced Assessment
May 29- Last day of JWR

Have a great rest of your week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 4/13-4/17

Ahoy!

It has been a great first week back! The kids dove right back into our routines and are really showing how much they have learned. Here is what we are doing this week:

Reading: Finishing up our learning on salmon. We are always working on skills like finding the main idea, talking about characters, setting, and comparing and contrasting story elements.

Math: We ended up not taking our unit 4 test before spring break... this week we will take the post test and start our next unit. The next unit focuses heavily on multiplication and division! PLEASE KEEP PRACTICING FACTS AT HOME! Here is a website to help practice: http://www.multiplication.com/games/play/quick-flash-ii

Writing: The students are finishing up research on their animals and will begin writing their informational essays!

Spelling: (Working on words that sound alike, but are actually two different words... upon and up on)
There
several
animals
family
often
upon
it's
up on
most
move
along
a long
work
once
turn
its
sure
water
later
another

Challenge Words:
priority
sleeve
layer
desirable
melody

Calendar Dates to Remember:
4/15- Tacky Tourist Day
5/11-5/15 SBAC Math Testing
5/21- 3rd Grade Field Trip to Lalooska

Thanks for all you do!
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/30-4/3

Ahoy! I hope you all had a great weekend! We have one more week in room 204 before SPRING BREAK! I think we are all very excited; however, I reminded the students that there is still learning to be done! Please make sure your kids are getting to bed on-time, and are getting good breakfasts! 

This week is going to be packed full of all sorts of good stuff: 

Reading: We are continuing our learning about salmon and their life cycle. We are also focusing on how we summarize a story using character, setting, beginning, middle and end. 

Writing: We are really starting to dive in deep to our research on migratory animals. Each student has picked an animal to focus on. This research will turn into an informational writing piece. 

Math: We are really trying to buckle down and finish our unit on measurement and fractions this week. Tentatively we will be taking our unit test on friday. Remember to keep practicing your multiplication facts!! 

Spelling: 

I'm

because

said

car

morning

right

didn't

made

body

several

soon

thought

best

himself

usually

people

something

try

others

their

Challenge Words: 

explanation

leprechaun 

denominator

numerator

equivalent 

Have a great week! 

Miss Irwin 

Week of 3/23-3/27

Ahoy!

This week has sped by! Monday started with our students taking the first part of their state tests. I am so proud of the stamina that my students showed! Today (Thursday) is the second half of the English Language Arts test. After today our schedule will hopefully get back to normal!

In other news, report cards are coming home today. I wanted to remind you all that a 3 means that your student is progressing to where they should be at this time of year. It is difficult because it is a moving target. This means that your student has the potential to get a 2 in an area that they got a 3 last term. If you see this, it does not mean that your child has not made progress, they are just not as far as we would like. They still have the ability to be at a 3 by the end of the year. I will work to help all children succeed!

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

P.S. No homework this week!

3/16-3/20

Ahoy!

We are continuing to work hard to prepare for our SBAC testing that begins next week. We have been reviewing test taking strategies, doing practice tests in the computer lab, and working on improving our reading skills in class. I am so impressed with how hard the kids are working.

Reading: We are currently reviewing the skills that we have been working on all year. Finding the main idea or message of a text is our main focus. We are also working on inferring, as well as using the text to answer questions.

Writing: Our research is just beginning for writing our informational pieces. Today each student chose an animal of their choice that they will be researching. The kids are also learning the format of informational writing.

Math: Today was the beginning of our work on fractions. This is another one of those really big 3rd grade concepts that the students will need to be working really hard on. Continue to work on memorizing those multiplication facts.

Spelling:
himself
seen
however
usually
always
try
kind
paper
money
number
example
there
it's
five
sure
answer
seconds
would

Challenge Words:
including
amount
mystery
provide
application

Thanks for all you do!
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/9-3/13

Ahoy!

I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful weather that we have been having. I know the kids and I have! We have been doing read aloud and anything else that we can outside! With this nice weather please help me keep the kids focused with the understanding that it's not summer yet! Even though it feels like it!

Calendar Dates to Know!
March 13th: 2nd Trimester Ends
March 23rd: Smarter Balanced Assessment for Reading
March 26th: Smarter Balanced Assessment for Reading
March 26th: Report Cards come home
April 6-10: Spring Break

Testing:
Our class will be having our Smarter Balanced reading assessment the week of March 23rd. Please help me to get your students ready for this test by allowing them as much computer time as you feel comfortable with. The more comfortable the students are with typing, clicking, dragging, etc., the more comfortable they will be on test day!

Reading: In reading we are working on finding the main idea or main message of different sources, then finding text evidence to support our main idea or message. We are also working on testing strategies.

Math: We are continuing to work on measurement. Next week we will begin work on fractions. PLEASE BE WORKING WITH YOUR STUDENTS ON MULTIPLICATION FACTS!

Writing: Beginning to brainstorm for our information writing piece. Just finished our fictional piece.

Spelling: Same as last week

Thanks!
Miss Irwin  

Week of 3/2-3/6

Ahoy All!

Holy moly how is it already March! I cannot believe how fast this year is going! I must admit that I am so blessed to be working with this group of kiddos! They make me laugh and smile everyday. Thank you for letting me be part of their little lives.

Now on an academic note... we are knee deep in 3rd grade curriculum and material. I am impressed everyday at how much my students are learning.

Math: We have started our new unit. You should have received an overview of this unit. Currently we are working on measuring elapsed time, as well as using the metric and customary systems of measurement.

Reading: In reading we are working hard to get prepared for our SBAC test that will be administered the last week of March. We also started a new unit focusing on Salmon and their life cycles.

Writing: We are finishing our fictional stories. These have been a blast to read!

Spelling Words:
learn
little
children
play
city
there
point
about
which
its
young
toward
school
four
were ever
said
called

Challenge Words:
rhyme
spawning
instinct
smolt
vertebrates

Testing: Students are working hard to become familiar with the computer and testing in which they are required to take in a few weeks. If at all possible please allow your students to work on the computer. Things such as typing their homework journals, or some of the links that I have provided in other posts are great ways for students to practice. The more familiar students are with the computer the more comfortable they will fell on testing day!

Thanks for all you do!
Cassie Irwin

Week of 2/9/2015

Ahoy!

Wow has this been a busy time of year! I so impressed with the amount of learning that is taking place in our classroom.

Something I want to bring to your attention is a field trip that will be taking place NEXT WEDNESDAY THE 18TH! I know it's really soon! The field trip to Columbia Springs to the pollution levels of the Columbia River. Since winter break we have been learning about fresh water in both our reading unit and science units. This oppurtunity was presented to us, so we decided to take it! I will need parent volunteers to accompany us on this trip. The feild trip costs $8 per students. If your studnet could bring this in ASAP it would be very helpful!

On another fun note! We will be having a Valentines Day party in our classroom on Friday from 2:00-2:30. If you would like to send in Valentines please remember that all students need to get a Valentine; there are 24 kids in our class. If you would like to bring in a snack, please fill out the bottom of the sheet sent home on last Friday or Email me. We already have parents bringing in juice, popcorn, cheese, and crackers.

Reading: This week we are finishing up our freshwater reading unit. We will be taking the assessment for this unit on Tuesday.

Writing: Working on writing a persuasive piece. Students are focusing on elaborating on their reasons.

Math: We are also finishing up our Unit 3 in math. Our assessment will be on Thursday. Remember to keep practicing multiplication facts with your student.

Science: Continuing our lessons on water and the water cycle.

Spelling: 
there
thing
whole
since
young
knew
picture
little
across
through
sun
would
hear
however
said
don't
about
important

Challenge:

present
surface
competitor
exaggerate
thirty

Hope you all have a great week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 1/26-1/30

Howdy!

I hope everyone has had a fabulous week! Here in room 204 we are continuing to work hard! I am amazed everyday by how much these kids are learning! They are most definitely on their way to being 4th graders!

As we start the second half of the year I would love to see your students practicing their multiplication facts 10 minutes every night, as well as working on typing and computer skills. Having these computer skill will greatly benefit your students when it comes time to take the test. You could use websites such as...

Math Maven:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/index.htm

Dance Mat Typing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr

Story Starters:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/

This website has links to a lot of different techniques that the kids will need to know how to do!
https://drycreek-trusd-ca.schoolloop.com/SBACskills

Student can also just practice using Word to type stories or their journal entries. There are also quite a few student friendly websites on the Lacamas Website.

This weeks spelling words:
know
world
however
never
during
something
said
best
there
very
could
air
then
would
across
why
don't
today

Challenge:
invention
stomach
popular
attached
complete

Have a great rest of the week and GO HAWKS!!!
Miss Irwin

Week: 1/19-1/23

Ahoy!

It is another busy week in room 204! As a class we are staying pretty healthy; however, this is not the case for a lot of Lacamas students! Please make sure the your kids are washing hands, and getting lots of sleep the bug going around is NASTY! Also remember that your child has to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.

Reading: Working on finding what is most important in an article. Still learning about fresh water and the river system. We are also starting our Beverly Cleary book study this week. The students are very excited about this!

Writing: This week students are starting their presuasive writing pieces. This will be directly connected to what we are learning about in reading with our rivers unit. If your student brings home a final draft please return it the next day!

Math: We are continuing to look at multi digit addition and subtraction. Students are learning strategies to help with making this progress easier. I am seeing some huge improvements! :) Please keep practicing multiplication facts!

Science: Working on the water cycle and learning the different parts.

Spelling:
paper
place
near
now
something
hard
because
sentence
what
don't
through
until
think
better
without
your
their
were

Challenge Words:
dictionary
directions
ability
understand
included

Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!
Miss Irwin

P.S. Book orders are due on the 27th of this month!