Wilson School

Room 2 third graders will be the featured book reviewers at Copperfield's from March 1 - 15th. d's work on display. They did a very fine job and I encourage you to go down and have a look! » read more...

Room 2 Newsletter Mrs. Janice Garrigan Grade 3 Thursday 2/25/10 General Please note we have a field trip on March 5th to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. If you’ve offered to drive, thank you. You will remain with your group throughout the day, taking photos and notes on the exhibits you see. We will use this information to make a podcast of streaming audio for the worldwide web. If you have a digital camera (or 2!) and you wouldn’t mind bringing and helping kids use it to take pictures, that would help a lot. We have two here and I can get a couple as well. Third graders are embarking on several new areas of study this week and into the coming months. These include keyboarding (daily from 1:15 – 1:45 except Weds), social skills lessons from Mrs. Libbey, powerpoint presentations (with Mrs. Ivarson) and song flutes (with Mrs. Farrarra, Mid March) and our podcasts and talent show (see below). Finally, your third grader will learn cursive handwriting in April and May. Curriculum: MATH Chapter 17 test is being administered tomorrow on decimals as used with money. This chapter has been relatively easy for our third graders and I anticipate success with that assessment. READING and GRAMMAR Students are testing on Theme 4 of 6 this week. They are doing a fine job with this as you will note in the papers going home today and next week. We begin Theme 5 with stories on adventures next week. Grammar is review this week, as well, for the theme test. I am wrapping up book groups for the trimester and your child is being tested on his/her reading level and fluency for the next two weeks. A new Accelerated Reading level will be determined and new goals set for the beginning of the final trimester. Those reports will go home with your child as soon as they are printed. WRITING Our “Meet the Experts” book reviews are finished and are gorgeous masterpieces we are proud to display at Copperfield’s. If you did not return the permission slip that has been sent home twice which allows your child’s picture to accompany their review and art, then I cannot add it. Please take a family trip to Copperfield’s to help celebrate your child’s fine job. Authentic writing tasks that actually HAVE a purpose and are USED for something real have great motivational qualities for kids. I think your our third graders in Room 2 did an outstanding job! They will be on display from March 1 – 15 at Copperfield’s downtown. SCIENCE Our Earth Science unit is completed and we have one more, physical science, which begins in mid April until the end of the year. We will focus on Social studies (see above) until that time, as well our scientific method through the Exploratorium visit. LARGE SCALE PROJECTS We will wrap up the year with two major impact projects – podcasting and the talent show production. We have Shannon Selstrom helping with the podcasts when we are ready with our pictures and words to produce. These will start, we are hoping, on the week of 3/15, after the scripts have been prepared. She and I will be asking for helpers to produce this, once we are ready. Room 2 is going to “facilitate” the talent show. Your child will help decide from beginning to end what is needed to put on a whole school event. They will decide how to advertise for it, how to plan for it, set up, make fair audition judgments, entry forms, permission slips and the like. All work will be done by Room 2 third graders. It is a super opportunity for them to learn organization skills, making decisions and judgments, following through, mathematical calculations, logical reasoning and problem solving skills. They will also be working on collaboration, brainstorming and cause and effect along the way. Dates to note: March 1 – Copperfield’s displays are up – go look! March 5 - Exploratorium field trip March 5- Family Fun night at Wilson School March 10-12 Early dismissal for conferences Report cards going home (no new progress reports before then) Room 2 ALWAYS NEEDS: New or Used toys/games/goodies for the store Glue (sticks and elmer’s) Paint (tempera, all colors) » read more...

Friday we will head off to the SF Exploratorium first thing in the morning. Monday I will send home a copy of the forms students will be working on as we travel in groups through the activities so that drivers know their responsibilities while we're there. We are looking forward to this day and it should be a wonderful learning experience. We will have lunch there before leaving to come home. » read more...