Six Trait Writing with Rocky Mountain College

We were lucky enough to have a few visitors come from Rocky Mountain College to help us with some writing the last few weeks. Click on the link below to find your child's work (click on "view all" towards the bottom and then your child's first name".) https://sites.google.com/a/rocky.edu/rmc-elementary-education/home/grade-3---kane

No Spelling this week!

No Spelling this week! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating and giving thanks this coming long weekend.

Three Ring

Yesterday I sent out an email from a program called Three Ring. Three Ring is a great tool for me to keep records of a variety of work formats and share them with you. I will share audio, video, and photos of your child working in the classroom. Follow the link in your email, create a password, and dive in. If you would prefer another email, or an additional email, please let me know. Students can be attached to more than one email address very easily. If you got the text and email and reacted immediately yesterday, you might have been disappointed. I had missed one small step! I corrected that now and the student work is ready to view!

Reading for Stamina

We are working on reading with stamina. We have learned that stamina is the ability to do something for a long time without getting tired or giving up. We are working towards our goal of being able to read, focused and without stopping or pausing, for 50 minutes. We have been successful with 10 minutes so far. Next week we will make it to 15, I just know it! When we read for stamina we concentrate on REAL reading vs. fake reading. We talk about sitting up, reading to understand, rereading parts that are hard or that we missed because of daydreaming (everybody does it!). Encourage your child to practice reading for stamina at home. Our comprehension skills will soar!

Spelling #10

Spelling this week:

1. clown
2. round
3. bow
4. cloud
5. power
6. crown
7. thousand
8. crowd
9. sound
10. count
11. powder
12. blouse
13. frown
14. would

Scholastic Book Order

Remember that you can order ANYTIME on Scholastic's website. I do not send home the paper flyers. Click the link on the right hand side of the blog and dive in. They have some great deals for the holidays and great recommendations for third graders. Our class code is J42WC. Happy shopping!

Common Core

During conferences, I had a number of you ask me about the common core and how our implementation of the new standards has been going. I love that we are going deeper in mathematical practices and logical reasoning, writing more, and deciphering harder text with smart strategies. Here is a great video that helps explain the shift in education.

Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards from CGCS Video Maker on Vimeo.

Types of Writing

In third grade we learn about the different kinds of writing we can write and that we read every day! We go beyond fiction/non-fiction and we distinguish between narrative and expository writing. Today we sorted some examples of each.

Spelling #9

Thank you!

Thank you for a wonderful conference week! It is fun to share your student's successes with you and to have your support on areas where we can grow! I wanted to share this great article about reading with your child as he/she gets older! Happy Reading! http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/don39t-stop-now

Spelling #8