Third Grade with Ms. Barry

Edna Maguire's First Young Author's Fair

2012-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

Next week, a notice about Edna Maguire’s First Young Authors’ Fair will go home in your child's homework folder. It will be
a morning filled with fun activities for writers: storytelling, bookmark making, a bookmobile tour, and a special visit by author, Mac Barnett on Thursday, April 19th. Children are encouraged to write stories for the fair, but this is optional. I will be working with all of my students to help them choose a story to develop for the fair and I will be providing them time during Writer's Workshop to work on these stories. I will also assist them with editing their stories. I will need volunteers to help type the finished products. If you would like to help with this, please send me an email. The stories will need to be given to Lisa Monge by Thursday, March 22nd, so typing of the stories will happen before this date.
In addition to the support I will be providing in the classroom, students will also be getting:

#1 Library Lessons
Lisa Monge will give each class three lessons during library about developing a plot, writing a title, and brainstorming ideas.

#2 Lunch Time Writing Sessions
Lisa Monge and Adam Sanchez will be in the library during lunch on the following dates to give feedback and allow time for students to write.

Wednesday, February 22nd

Wednesday, March 7th

This event is funded through a Kiddo! mini grant.

Writing Prompt

2012-02-07T09:23:00.002-08:00

This week, third graders began working on pre-write activities for a personal narrative writing prompt that all students at Edna Maguire will be completing. The topic is an experience at Edna Maguire they will never forget. I have been reading examples of personal narrative and discussing how the authors use descriptive writing to paint a picture for the reader. Students completed a pre-write that included ideas for the beginning, middle and end of their stories. We listed descriptive language from various texts and then students wrote their own descriptive phrases they could use in their stories. After all students have written their stories, teachers will meet and discuss the results. We use these school wide prompts to inform us about our teaching across the grade levels.

Moon Journal

2012-02-03T13:05:00.001-08:00

Beginning on Wednesday, we will take a break from Home Reading Journals and begin writing in Moon Journals. The instructions inside the journal indicate that your child should write something each night. I explained to the class that, for now, I would like them to notice the moon each night, but they do not need to write about it. They should record the phase of the moon and write a long entry (at least a page) Wednesday and Thursday nights. It is a very open writing assignment. They may record observations in a scientific note-taking format. They may write poetry, a story, a letter, descriptions, create artwork, etc. I will write comments once a week in their journals and encourage them to try something new each week. Please don't hesitate to write me a note or ask if you have questions. Thank you for your support with this project.

Leaders for Change

2012-01-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

As part of our comprehension study of Big Ideas/Supporting Details, I am reading aloud a number of books that are about individuals who have become leaders for change. Some of the titles we have discussed are Aani and the Tree Huggers, The Ballot Box Battle and Your Move. In addition to rich opportunities to find some big ideas, these books have led to discussions about standing up for what you believe in.

Famous African Americans

2012-01-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

After learning about the Civil Rights Movement, each child chose a famous African American to research. They are reading books and using the on-line Encyclopedia to find important facts about these individuals. Each child is creating a card that includes facts. This is an introduction to research for the biography projects students will be completing in a couple of months.

Multiplication Facts

2012-01-31T13:04:00.001-08:00

Help! With the exception of a few students, the class needs to memorize their facts. Please help your child make this a priority at home. With the increasing demands for math standards, I cannot use valuable classroom time to practice facts for memorization. Your child will really be behind with 4th grade math if they do not have these facts memorized. The only way to do it is to practice, practice, practice. I recommend requiring a certain amount of time each day to practice and, additionally, use those laptops, Iphones, Ipads, Itouches to download applications that include math facts. Look for the results of our second multiplication facts test in your child's homework folder.

Garden Happenings

2012-01-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

Last week in the garden we learned about horseradish root. The kids learned about root vegetables: carrots, turnips, radishes, beets... And about different types of radishes: horseradish, wasabi, common red radish like we grow in our bed, Daikon... Each child then tried to gently pull an actual horseradish root out of the container where it is growing. Not a chance!! They learned that unlike a carrot it does not grow straight down but like a hand in many directions and must be dug out with care so as not to break the many "fingers" holding it tenaciously in the soil. All encompassing fun. Next week we will be making horseradish cream.

Additionally, we began to clean our garden plot, harvesting the last Easter egg radishes we had planted 1 1/2 months ago. Soon we will turn the soil adding new compost and resow the plot with new seeds...

Multiplication Tricks

2012-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some tips to help with memorizing facts:
for 2's: double the number 2 x 7 = 14 or 7 + 7 = 14
for 4's: double the answer for the 2's 2 x 7 = 14, so 4 x 7= 28
for 9's: the tens will be one less than the number you are multiplying by nine and then the tens and ones digits add to equal 9
8 x 9=
I know the tens place is a 7.
Seven plus what equals 9?
Seven plus two equals 9 so the answer is 72.
for 10's: add a zero 5 x 10 = 50

There are a lot of I phone apps for math facts. These are a great way for your child to practice facts. Just search in the apps store.

Interactive Art Show

2012-01-20T08:13:00.001-08:00

Please join your child to create an art project on Monday, February 6 from 2:00-2:50 in the Multipurpose Room.

New Field Trip/Event Dates

2012-01-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

Please mark your calendars for the following dates:
Friday, March 23rd Mill Valley Library and history tour of Mill Valley
Thursday, June 7th Wetlands Day
Monday, June 11th Third Grade Picnic at Eastwood Park

Dictionaries

2012-01-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

A special thanks goes out to the Rotary Club for their donation of dictionaries to every third grader at Edna Maguire. This is a wonderful tool for your child to use at home. Please encourage your child to look up two words, once a week, they have misspelled in their Home Reading Journals. This will be great practice beyond our use of dictionaries in the classroom.

Big Ideas/Supporting Details

2012-01-17T08:14:00.001-08:00

This new prompt is challenging, but the kids are slowing getting it. I have been meeting with reading groups and students individually to prod them along. You will see my notes in their Home Reading Journals. For most children, it is easier for them to find the supporting details- examples of what is happening in their books. If you then ask the questions, "What is this teaching you about people in general (outside of the characters in this book)?" or "What does the author want you to know about life?" or "What are the lessons the author wants you to understand?", your child will probably come up with a big idea. It is still a stretch for some and we will keep working on it. These are some examples of big ideas that students included in their journals last week:
When you find a new friend, be nice, kind and generous to him.
Always think about the right thing to do.
Doing the right think is better than winning.
Love is more powerful than evil.
It's hard to concentrate when you're full of pressure.
Friendships are sometimes tilted off balance.

Civil Rights Movement

2012-01-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rm 14 is learning about the Civil Rights Movement. I will be reading a number of books that teach the class about various ways that activists protested. Students will be reading interviews that children conducted of adults involved in the movement. They will identify examples of discrimination. We will discuss how the brave actions of activists in the movement have helped all minority groups. The children will be choosing famous African Americans to research and create a written biographical project about these individuals.

Big Ideas/Supporting Details

2012-01-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

Third grade readers are learning how to identify the big ideas and supporting details when they are reading fiction and non-fiction texts. Today, we did this together for a non-fiction text and then discussed these ideas about the books they are reading with their groups. They also started charts for their own "just right" books. Beginning this week, students will do this at home in their Home Reading Journals. Instructions are glued to the back of the front cover of their journals. Since we do not have school on Friday, they can create the chart on Wednesday for homework. Next week, they will create the chart on Wednesday and write a letter to me on Thursday in their Home Reading Journals.

Word Study

2012-01-03T12:59:00.001-08:00

Third Grade writers have been busy learning about and using homophones and homonyms. This week, we will switch our focus to synonyms and antonyms.

Matter Experiments

2012-01-03T12:58:00.001-08:00

Please remember to look at the calendar in your child's homework folder for his/her date to perform an experiment about matter. Thanks!

Big Ideas/Important Details

2012-01-03T12:53:00.001-08:00

We began a new comprehension study in Reader's Workshop this week. Beginning with the genre of fables, we discussed morals and the Big Ideas. Students will move on to identifying Big Ideas and Important Details in their reading groups as well as their
"just right" books. Soon, they will be writing letters to me in Home Reading Journals and including what they believe are the big ideas with supporting details from their reading at home.

U.S. Symbols

2012-01-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

What is the purpose of the Liberty Bell? Who wrote the Constitution? What does the Presidential Seal look like? Why is the bald eagle our symbolic bird? These are some of the questions we are exploring with our studies of U.S. symbols and government. Students researched a symbol with a partner and took notes to write a riddle for a slide show in Keynote. Following the structure of the text, The Important Book, students will be choosing their own symbols and writing a report.

Holiday Party

2011-12-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

This Friday, we will be having our holiday party. The class will wrap gifts for the family we sponsored. As of last week, we had collected $300 to spend on this family! Your child should create and wrap a gift for our white elephant exchange. The gift should be made from materials you have at home, or can find in nature. Please have your child speak to me if they do not have materials or an idea. I will be giving the class pizza as a reward and a yummy treat will be provided.

Multiplication

2011-12-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

Rm 14 third graders are enjoying learning about multiplication. Most of the lessons we are doing in the classroom focus on the mathematical concepts. Students also engage in various activities to assist with memorization of facts. These include building arrays, creating multiples booklets, playing game and investigations with calculators. Since we do not spend a lot of time reviewing flashcards, it is important to review facts at home. Students will begin making their own flashcards next week for homework. Using on-line or handheld electronic games can also be helpful for memorizing facts. Thanks for your support with this!

Reader's Workshop- Thinking Spots

2011-12-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

Room 14 readers have been discussing their thinking spots for a variety of texts. Children have shared their thoughts about fiction and non-fiction books and are noticing how these thoughts differ. They are talking about thinking spots when reading with their groups, as well as recording them when they read independently. Thank you for your support at home with recording thinking in the Home Reading Journals. Encourage your child to write 4 different types of thinking spots.

Matter

2011-12-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Scientists in Room 14 have been busy learning about matter. Our study of matter began in science with a simulation of atoms moving in a solid, liquid and gas. I read Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss to the class and then they had a chance to explore with their own solution of Oobleck. They cut, rolled, poured, mashed, punched, squeezed, etc. with their Oobleck. They talked about their observations and recorded the properties of this unique form of matter. We will also be exploring chemical reactions and discussing density while creating a chemical solution with various liquids. Students will experiment with how air takes up space, weighing solids, using water drops on a penny to explore surface tension and creating collages about solids, liquids and gases and conducting investigations with ice.

Thank You and no homework tonight

2011-11-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all the wonderful conferences! It was so helpful to meet with all of you and share the details about your amazing children. I wish you all a happy, healthy Thanksgiving break! Start it off with no homework tonight. :)

Story Telling and Tule Creations with Ane Rovetta

2011-11-21T14:31:00.001-08:00

Accomplished story teller and artist, Ane Rovetta, visited the third graders at Edna Maguire today. Ane told 3 Miwok legends and illustrated while she told the stories. She also worked with the children to create tule dolls and rope from cattails.

Geometry

2011-11-21T14:26:00.001-08:00

Third Graders in Room 14 have been busy learning about geometry. We began with identifying 3 dimensional shapes and discussing vocabulary like edges and vertices. The class created parallelograms with triangles and classified them by numbers of sides and vertices. After break, we will focus on classifying triangles by sides and angles. Geometry is a nice break from all the multiple digit addition and subtraction. Soon, we begin our focus on multiplication and memorization of times tables.

Addition with Carrying

2011-10-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Room 14 third graders have a strong understanding of place value through the thousands place at this time. We are moving on to addition with carrying. Students will be engaging in activities that reinforce the concept of trading a group of 10 for tens, hundreds and thousands. In addition to working with manipulatives to gain conceptual understanding, students will practice the basic steps for carrying when adding numbers up to the thousands place. If your child doesn't have the one digit math facts memorized (a second grade benchmark), they will have difficulty completing the more advanced problems. Please spend time working on memorization at home since most third graders do have this skill at this time.

Home Reading Journal: Character Webs

2011-10-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Beginning this Wednesday Rm 14 third graders will be completing a new assignment in their Home Reading Journals. We have been learning about making inferences about characters using various books. After reading several books aloud, students shared inferences about character traits and supported these inferences with clues from the book. They also created webs in class for characters from their own "just right" books and the books they are reading with their reading groups. They are now ready to do the same for their "just right" books they are reading at home. There is an explanation for the assignment and an example of a web we created together in the front of the Home Reading Journal. This assignment replaces the striking sentence assignment. Each child should work on creating a web for no more than 30 minutes on Wednesday night. Sometimes, an entire web will be completed in one night. Other nights, your child may only complete part of a web and should continue adding to this web the following week. In an effort to reduce making copies, I would like children to attempt to draw their own webs. If we discover this is too difficult, I will provide a form that can be filled in. All webs should be written in complete sentences and the clues should include examples of actions and dialogue from the book to support the inference. I will also provide a list of character traits to help children generate ideas for the assignment. Thank you for your support at home!

Edna Maguire Garden

2011-10-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate this year to have many instructors/parent helpers in our garden. Since the beginning of the year, Russell Lyman and Onie Burge reintroduced the class to the garden. The class met at the picnic table and made the rounds including: the chicken coop, the tool shed, the class bed, and the orchard. They learned/ relearned garden rules including how to feed the chickens, tool maintenance, and use of the new garden kitchen. They all took and signed the new Edna garden Pledge to care for and maintain the garden Lastly, using an apple, Onie cut it into pieces, smaller and smaller representing the amount of land on earth available for humans to farm and talked about how fortunate they are to have a garden!! They finished with a fabulous apple splitting trick. On another visit, the class learned how to use the granite metate and hand stones. ( these artifacts come from a valley in southern California near Escondido were the Luiseno Indians lived 300-500 years ago. The Luiseno Indians like the Miwoks, were peaceful, ate acorns...were put into Missions by the Spanish, then decimated by hardship and disease) They ground pumpkin seeds with two different sized hand stones, a small, childs', and large, adults'. Students also picked green tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and lemon cucumbers. They washed, peeled and cut the veggies and packed them into clean glass jars and made a delicious brine to cure the 'pickles' which were enjoyed later.
Rebecca, formerly of Next Generation, and a passionate environmentalist, is also teaching lessons in the garden along with help from Barbara Bleckman. The class will benefit from their instruction and assistance monthly.

Addition/Subtraction Facts

2011-10-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

This week, I sent home the results for an assessment for one digit addition and subtraction facts. This was a timed assessment, and the children had 3-5 seconds for each fact. Once the facts are memorized, they should be able to know the answer in this amount of time. As we begin 3/4 digit addition and subtraction, this will be necessary. Please remind your child to review these facts every day. Thanks!

Hudson's Collection for Guide Dogs for the Blind

2011-10-04T09:34:00.001-07:00

Hudson decided to teach the class about Guide Dogs for the Blind for his Lifeskill project about Caring last month. He is collecting money for this worthwhile organization. Please remind your child to bring in a donation from his/her allowance or piggy bank.

Descriptive Writing

2011-10-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

We have been focusing on descriptive writing and word choice in Room 14. After many weeks of noticing striking sentences and specific words that help to create mental images and/or mood, students are applying this in their own writing. Each child created a drawing of a scene. They wrote a description of this scene and I met with each child to help them find the words to describe their image. They traded with a partner and the partner had to read their description and create a drawing. After this, they met and compared their images and discussed what could be added to their writing for clarification and a more accurate description.

Home Reading Journals

2011-10-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Third graders should continue recording striking sentences and writing about their mental images in their Home Reading Journals once a week. Also, please remind your child to complete their Reading Log daily.

Archaeologists at Work

2011-09-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

This week, third graders acted as archaeologists. After a lesson about archaeology and a discussion about Miwok artifacts, they searched in middens for hidden artifacts. Each child had one of three jobs: excavator, museum curator and map maker. After using tools to uncover and clean their discoveries, they identified them and drew a sketch of their location in the midden. We met as a group and discussed the possible ways the Miwoks may have used these artifacts.

Conflict Resolution Using "I Messages"

2011-09-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Recently, we reviewed a very important skill that we all need to remember. Student volunteers modeled a conflict with accusations and put-downs and the children were quite skilled at recognizing how ineffective this approach was for understanding each other and building trust. We then modeled the same conflict using "I messages" and the children wrote their own "I messages" for typical situations they may encounter in their own interactions. They were given sample scenarios from actual third grade conflicts and practiced giving "I messages" for these situations. We will continue to review this important skill throughout the year. Please reinforce this skill outside the classroom and encourage your children to use "I messages" with you and their peers. I can certainly use a reminder myself from time to time. :)

Mental Images/ Home Reading Journal

2011-09-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

Third graders have been busy drawing and talking about their mental images for the past few weeks. I have read several books to the class and children have underlined striking sentences that have helped create mental images for them. Students have been reading their own "just right" books and drawing images as well as recording the sentences that helped them have the image. For the next two weeks or so, your child will be doing the same at home in his/her Home Reading Journal. If your child is having difficulty choosing a sentence, you can guide them to a section of their book with description about a character or an action. The drawings should be quick sketches and take no longer than 15 minutes to draw. All sentences should be copied correctly, without errors, from their "just right" books at home.

Lifeskills Projects

2011-09-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

In this week's homework packet, there is the first Lifeskill project for the year. I will send these home monthly. I reviewed the choices with the class yesterday. I told everyone they could choose one of the projects and complete it independently or with a friend. I expressed that some months, they will have the time to create a bigger, more involved project, and other months, they will only have the time to do something quick. This is entirely up to your child and will be determined by how much time they have free after school to do this. I am very flexible about these projects, too. The descriptions are mainly to present an idea, but your child can add their own ideas, too, or modify what is asked in the directions. Basically, any project that teaches about the month's Lifeskill is appropriate. Don't hesitate to send me an email if you have questions. Thanks for your support with these projects.

What is a "just right" book?

2011-09-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

We have been discussing the difference between easy, just right and challenging books. I am working with children individually to make sure they are choosing books that are just right for them. A just right book is one that they can read fluently with very few errors (less than 3 on a page). A just right book is one that they don't want to put down because they are enjoying it so much. Please take the time to review the books your child is reading at home to make sure they meet this criteria. If you need help finding books, please ask me! I am working with children individually in the classroom to get a true sense of just right reading levels.

Place Value

2011-09-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Mathematicians in Rm 14 are learning about place value. Using place value blocks as a model, students are visualizing numbers up to the hundred thousands place. They are learning how to write these numbers in standard (1,234), expanded form (1,000 + 200 + 300+ 4) and word form (one thousand two hundred thirty-four). Reading and understanding larger numbers is a new concept and a challenge to grasp for most third graders. Please reinforce this concept in real-life situations and point out when you see large numbers. Students will soon be comparing and ordering numbers.

Homework Packet

2011-09-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

The first homework packet will go home in your child's green folder today. Please encourage your child to complete the homework assignment each night. I will review the nightly homework with the class, and your child should be able to complete the assignments independently. This week, the home reading journal assignment will not be reviewed until tomorrow. The folder and completed homework should be returned to school every day. It is okay if homework is done on a different night due to activities, but I would like the folder returned daily, even if an assignment isn't completed. I will talk more about homework expectations at Back to School Night next week. Thanks for your assistance with this.

Welcome Back!

2011-09-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

I hope you are as excited as I am about beginning a new school year. I can't wait to get to know all my new students and families. I will be using this blog to keep you informed about classroom happenings, homework assignments and third grade events. I will send a group email every time I make a change on the blog. You should also check the Edna Maguire website at ednamaguire.org regularly since I will not duplicate all the school-wide information available at this site. There is also general information about third grade curriculum and expectations under questions on my old web page linked to the Edna site. We are transferring to a new system, so this website has not and will not be updated for awhile, but my philosophies are the same. I'm looking forward to a terrific year together!