Mrs. Monson's Class

Mrs. Monson's Class

Hill-Roberts Elementary School

Today is: Tuesday,06 January,2009 04:35:47 AM

Hello and Happy Holidays!

The children read a total of over 14,000 minutes in November. We were the second highest class in the school. What was especially wonderful was that all of the children participated. I'm hoping for 13,500 minutes this month. I know how difficult it is to concentrate during the hustle and bustle of this time of year. Thank you for being so supportive. Without your encouragement your children would not have been so successful. Please remember to initial the reading minutes every night and sign the calendar on the 31st of December. A special thank you to Mrs. Ferreira for creating the calendar.

Please remember to pack a snack for your child, or better still, remind your child to pack his or her own snack every day.

We completed the Unit Two Benchmark Test on Friday. I have been reviewing the results and have to say the children did well. We still need to work on some skills; like identifying the genre, drawing conclusions, using context clues to find the unknown word to name a few, but most children have a good grasp of the material we have been working on so far this year.

On Monday we will begin Unit Three. Our overall theme of this unit is People and Nature.

The spelling skill for this selection is contractions, that is combining two words into one using an apostrophe to take the place of the missing letter or letters.

let's he'd you'll I'd you'd haven't hasn't can't

all of the above and

when's we'd they'd wasn't didn't

challenge word group

all of the above and

should've would've could've you've needn't

The vocabulary words that will be tested for meaning are

beauty blooming bulbs doze humor recognizing showers sprouting

The grammar skill for this week is to identify linking verbs in sentences. Some linking verbs are;

is am was were am been

The children have begun timed tests on multiplication facts. They began with the 0-1 table and are working their way up to the twelve table. In order to move on to a new test they must get 95 out of 100 problems correct in five minutes. We will be doing this every day until the last day of school. Please help your child memorize the facts. A few children are already on the four table.

Thank you for your comments when the spelling books went home. Because most were returned on time I may be sending the reading logs home too. They will need to be returned the next day.

Please remember if you have any questions or concerns either write a note or call the school (508-399-7560) and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I will not have a list of spelling words or vocabulary words until Monday. Please check back.

26 days until Christmas

When the children return to school on Monday we will total our reading minutes. Third graders should read 400 minutes per month. Please check your child's calendar. The month is half over so he or she should be close to 200 minutes.

On Tuesday we will begin a new selection in Reading Street. It is called Tops and Bottoms. I think the children will enjoy this story.

Our new spelling words begin with the consonant clusters spl, thr, squ, and str.

splash throw three square throat strike street split

10 word group all of the above and

all of the above and

strength squeak throne strawberry squeeze

squid squander arthritis instrument strategy

Our vocabulary words are

bottom cheated clever crops lazy partners wealth

The grammar skill we will be working on is to identify and spell correctly singular possessive nouns. An example would be The dog's bone. The bone belongs to the dog. Dog is spelled with an apostrophe and then an s.

We will be focusing on the author's purpose for writing something. It could be to entertain, to persuade, to inform, or to express ideas and feelings. We will also discuss how predicting what we think will will happen in a story gives us clues as to the author's purpose

We are beginning a new week in Reading Street.

Our spelling words for this week are all compound words. The children have been creating a chart with compound words that they find while reading. The words are

8 word group sunglasses football homework haircut popcorn railroad snowstorm

all of the above and scarecrow blueberry

all of the above and butterflies lawnmower campground sandbox toothbrush

all of the above and thumbtack earthquake scrapbook courthouse whirlpool

My goal for our spelling program is that the children are successful while practicing the weekly skill.

Vocabulary Words (not checked for spelling)

Each weekly selection has seven or so vocabulary words. The children are tested on these words. The words are listed with the definition on the Family Letter that is sent home on Day 1. The children can use the glossary in their book to look up the meaning but if they practice the meaning during the week it would help they make the correct choice on the test.

The words are collection enormous realize scattered shiny strain

We are having so much fun doing Unit 3 in math. The children are identifying and listing the different properties of polygons, measuring the sides to find the peRIMeter of polygons, and finding body measurements using standard and metric tools. We have been working in the auditorium and you should be very proud of them for both their effort and their behavior. I have a super class!

14,912 minutes!!! After totalling the class minutes on the children's calendars, the amount was 14,912. That's because my children's parents support them, care about them being successful in reading, and encourage them to accept their responsibility for doing their homework. Thank you.

Concern Some of the children have been forgetting snack. We have set time aside at about 10:00 everyday for the children to eat. During this time I usually read aloud to them. If your child does not bring something in, they sit and watch everyone else eat. And lunch isn't until 12:00. So please set up some type of routine where your child puts something in his/her backpack either the night before or in the morning for that time.

Week of October 27th (already)

Congratulations to all of the children in my class. Every one of them has earned a hat from the Accelerated Reading Program. They are now working very hard on earning patches for their hats. Sorry parents, those patches are really tough to sew on. Sore fingers!

The children have been waiting for this week for a year. Friday is Halloween! Just a reminder, please do not allow your child to come to school wearing either a costume or make-up. It is very distracting to both your child and the other students. Because of allergies and other medical concerns I will not be asking any parent to send in any kind of treats. Thank you for your understanding.

We will be having a busy week, as usual. On Monday the children will have the first part of the selection test on Penguin Chicks. On Tuesday we will have the written part of the test. Most of the written test we will done in a whole group so that the children get a good grasp on what the question is actually asking them.

Also on Tuesday, we will be having our spelling test. The skill we have been working on is how the vowel sound helps to determine where the word breaks into syllables. pilot - pi lot, finish - fin ish

Wednesday is Day 6. We will continue working on our personal narrative on when we have worked very hard to earn something. Most children will be either continuing their draft or beginning to writs their draft.

On Thursday we will begin a new selection, A Day's Work. The vocabulary words are; excitement gardener motioned sadness shivered

The spelling words are;

handle trouble simple people middle table little

gentle poodle pickle

20 words, all of the above and

noodle saddle juggle uncle riddle example throttle

obstacle miracle muscle

Today is Day Two in the fifth week of Reading Street.

Spelling and Phonics

Our skill for this week is the sound oi as in oil and the oy sound as in boy. We will also be identifying the ou sound as in loud and the ow sound as in cow. Our words for this week are

proud shower hour avoid thousand amount prowl voyage

20 Word Club - all of the above plus

bounce annoy poison appoint broil however coward mountain

bundles arranged steady errands dangerously unwrapped excitedly

We will be working on combining two simple sentences into a compound sentence using the words and, but, or nor.

Children will identify and describe the setting of a story, that is where and when the story takes place. They will also sequentially retell events that happened at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of a story.

Welcome to the classroom information page for Mrs. Monson's Third Grade Class

Your children are amazing. The days fly bye and the weeks too. I just hope they are enjoying school as much as I am. The children try hard, work hard, get along together wonderfully, are respectful, and fun.

Week Four Reading Street

The story we are reading is "If You Made a Million" by David Schwartz.

Our words for this week are million thousand value worth earned check interest expensive amount

Spelling and Phonics Skill

When two vowels appear together in a word or syllable, the first vowel usually stands for its long sound, and the second vowel is silent. (When two vowels go walking the first does the talking.)

We are starting a new "spelling club" for our weekly tests. Some children will be responsible for learning ten words while others will learn twenty. The clubs will change throughout the year. More information will follow this week.

FOR THE 10 WORD CLUB

clean agree teeth dream grain coach display window shadow cheese

FOR THE 20 WORD CLUB

all of the 10 above and

peach braid Sunday float thrown entertain complain

bleachers willow wheat

The skills this week are realism/fantasy and monitor and fix-up. A realistic story tells about something that could really happen. A fantasy is a story about something that could never happen. Some realistic stories may include events that are fantasy.

To monitor means to stop reading occasionally, and check to be sure you understand what you are reading. Fix-up means to do something if you don't understand or are confused. For example, if you're not sure whether a story is fantasy or realistic, reread parts. A fantasy will have parts that couldn't really happen. So the genre for that story is fantasy.

We will be working on telling the difference between sentences that command and sentences that show strong emotion. A period goes at the end of commands and exclamation marks go at the end of sentences that show strong feelings.

Our focus for this week will be on the purpose for writing. This purpose may be to persuade, to inform, to describe, or just to entertain. Your purpose is important because it helps focus your main idea. Good writers focus on a main idea and develop this idea with strong, supporting details.

We made it through Unit One and will begin Unit Two this week. A Family Letter will be sent home on Monday containing an overview of the Unit.

There are still children who are forgetting to bring in a snack.

WOW! The children are doing a great job doing and returning homework. Please have them keep the reading calendar in their folder so I can check it daily. I like to put stickers and comments on them to let the children know how proud I am of them. If the children read 400 minutes a month they will have a "surprise". Thank you Mrs. Ferreira for making the calendars. I am also planning on using the book summary sheets later on in the year.

The first book order arrived on Friday. The children will be receiving their books on Monday. I will be sending order forms out again in a week or two. Thank you. I added some really good books to our classroom library.

individual wrapped packages of snack food

Don't forget, if you have any questions or concerns, call or write. I'll get back as soon as I can.

Our vocabulary words for this week are college nickels dimes quarters

downtown rich fined retail merchant allowance

Vocabulary words are not tested for spelling.

We will be working on two comprehension skills. The first is sequence. Sequence is the order in which things happen in a story. Sometimes a writer uses clue words like then, next, and finally.

The other skill is visualizing. Visualizing is when active readers make pictures in ther minds as they read a story. This skill helps you keep track of the sequence of events.

Some base words do not change when adding -ed, -ing, -est, and -er. Others do change.

using getting easiest swimming heavier greatest pleased

emptied leaving worried worried strangest freezing angrier

The spelling test will be on Day 5 which is Wednesday of this week. Please practice the words a little every night . It usually does not work to cram on Day 4.

We will be working on decoding and recognizing base words.

We will continue to work on writing complete sentences, identifying both the complete subject and complete predicate, and distinguishing what the difference is when writing a declarative sentence and an interrogative sentence.

SNACK Some of the children are forgetting snack. Three hours is a long time for a child to go whithout eating something.

individual packages of animal crackers, cheese-its, anything without STRAWBERRIES and NUTS

The children and I had a great full week of school. We will be starting Week 2 in Reading Street on Monday. This week' spelling and phonic's skill will be singular nouns to plural nouns. The words are:

pennies inches plants families bodies glasses wishes

pockets lists copies parties bunches crashes supplies

pencils September Sunday Monday Tuesday

We will be having a spelling test on these words on Tuesday, September 23rd. Please practice the words a few minutes each night.

Our grammar skill this week is to recognize subjects and predicates in sentences. We have already started to review this skill while writing complete sentences last week.

This week's comprehension skills are to sequence and summarize the important events in a story using transition words like; first, second, next, finally, etc.

Our vocabulary words for the story, What About Me?, are:

carpenter merchant carpetmaker plenty knowledge straying marketplace

The children will be tested on the vocabulary words on Monday, September 22nd.

In math we have been comparing two sets of data and constructing bar graphs to display our results. The vocabulary for this lesson includes the words mode, and range. We have also been completing puzzles by adding or subtracting one in a row and adding or subtracting ten in columns. It's fun and the children are doing a good job with the math. We still need to practice.

Thank you for the class supplies. We have already used the baggies. I will be occasionally posting a "Wish List" for necessary items we will need for either the math or reading programs.

SNACK!!! Please make sure your child brings a snack every day. We have a strawberry allergy so be sure to check the ingredients of all food products containing fruit.

IMPORTANT! If you ever have any concerns or questions don't hesitate to call or write. Your children should look forward to coming to school. They should be eager to share our day's activities with you. If this is not happening please let me know.

Welcome! Our first five days have been very busy. The children have adjusted well to a new and busy schedule. Every day we have become more and more comfortable working together as a new class.

8:45 to 9:00 Get Ready to Learn

9:05 to 9:50 Special; Monday-Art, Tuesday-Physical Education, Wednesday-Technology, Thursday-Library, Friday-Music

9:50 to10:40 Reading Street,

10:40 to 11:00 Snack/Read Aloud or Working Snack

11:00 to 11:40 cont. Reading Street

11:40 to 12:00 Social Science

12:05 to 12:30 Lunch, 12:30 to 12:50 Recess, 12:50 to 1:30 DEAR

1:30 to 3:00 Everyday Math

3:00 to 3:10 Homework discussion

3:10 to 3:20 Prepare for dismissal

Homework has begun this week. The children will have homework every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They will have one paper that will include written work. This paper will be a review of something we have previously covered in the classroom. It should not take more than 15 to 20 minutes. The other 20 minutes of homework should be spent reading.

Last Modified: 14 December,2008