This week in Language Arts... last updated 09.04.08
The First Friday Weekly Family Letter!
If things go according to plan tomorrow (Friday 9/5), we will compose our first weekly letter. We will brainstorm ideas together and then write a letter to Mom and Dad. It would be great if Mom and Dad
(eh hem) could write a sentence or two back to the student to encourage them along. This can be a very enjoyable activity and even increase writing scores and abilities when children have inner motivation, knowing that you will be looking forward to reading his/her letter every week. Please don't take this opportunity to correct your child's grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes; rather, discuss what s/he's written about with him/her and really focus on what s/he did well in the letter.
Please sign the letter clearly and allow your child to return it on time Monday morning so s/he can be paid three cents from our class cash. The letter will be collected, stored in a file, and returned in the spring to be made into a memory book of third grade.
Thanks in advance, Moms and Dads, for being a part of this special activity each week! :o)
*Parents of students in Mrs. Jimerson's class: we did NOT get to this today. Our first letter will be next Friday, however, all Mrs. Lewis' students DID write their letters today.
Let's go, Boxtops, LET'S GO!!
09.02.08
WELCOME TO SCHOOL YEAR 2008~2009 IN MRS. JIMERSON'S THIRD GRADE!! :)
This week we will become familiar with classroom rules and procedures, as well as getting to know each other, myself, and Mrs. Lewis. One way we will do that is by taking turns (alphabetically) taking home our classroom "Suitcase Journal." The first few pages are about me, Mrs. Jimerson. The rest of the journal will be all about YOU! I can't wait to learn more about each of you and what makes you, you!! Each student will have one night and one night only to take the journal home. Read what was written before your pages, and think about what you will write with Mom and Dad. Then, use your neatest hand writing and tell us all about you. You can even include small pictures too! Please only use one page per student, using the front side of the paper only. When you're done, be sure to pack up a several items that help tell your story. They can be important to you or just special items; one or two pictures, hobbies, sports, sentimental gifts, etc. On the day you bring the Suitcase Journal and your Suitcase Items back to the classroom, you get to share them with the rest of us to help us get to know you better. It's really neat to learn new things about others and see what we have in common. Have fun with this homework!!
The Smallest Habits Can Make the Biggest Difference
Moms, dads, and students: begin a routine this week that sets the pace for the rest of the school year. It sounds simple, but routine is a very often overlooked and underestimated element of the school day. Have ONE place for your school things and ONE place you always work on homework. Don't let homework travel around the house with you or it might not ever make the trip back to school! Talk about what you learned in each subject every day. This is a very easy and fast way to reinforce learning and enhance meaning and to check for understanding. Also, please be sure that your planner remains in your binder all year long and is never, ever taken out. Think of your binder as your planner's home; it's lost without it. It's also a good habit to keep your homework inside your homework folder, and in turn to make room for that in your binder as well.
Student Planners
We have brand new planners this year!! Why am I so excited? These planners are awesome, that's why. Please take 10 minutes tonight with your child and explore this great tool. Here's just some of the neat stuff you will find inside:
~All kinds of tips for time management, studying, testing, etc.
~Math facts/symbols/measurements third graders MUST know
~An awesome LANGUAGE ARTS section with tricky words, parts of speech, literary terms (also on SOLs), and great tips for Spelling- check this section out!
~An additional section on plurals, punctuation (great for DOLs- Daily Oral Language), and sign language, which we will use a bit in class
~Each week/day has a section already assigned for homework in each subject... the neat part is it looks almost exactly like the homework charts displayed and used on our whiteboards! This will make it easier for your child to copy homework on a daily basis.
~Each day also has a space designated for you to sign off, as well as any teacher comments I or Mrs. Lewis may have about the day. Please check this every night!!
~The bottom portion of each page is probably one of my favorites... there is a space for your child to record the title and author of the current book they are reading. How great is this for all that AR reading we'll be doing this year??
~Next to the space for books your child can be introduced to a new and interesting word, made to look just like it would in a dictionary- if s/he chooses to read it.
~On every right page (opposite left) there is a box for spelling words. I would suggest using this for the words your child finds especially tricky or challenging. The more s/he sees a word, the more familiar it will become. Repetition is the key to learning... Repetition is the key to learning... Repetition is the key to learning...
~Page 103 in the back has a page that can personalized- how fun! There's even a space just for your child's picture. On the back of this page is an area for keeping track of friends and how to contact them. Make sure your child is using this section appropriately.
~Lastly, the hardcover back has English and Metric rulers and a space for your child's contact info. Help them fill this out. The blank space will be used to record your child's book set numbers for his/her textbooks in my class. These numbers will not change and will be used to turn the correct books in at the end of the school year.
*Please note we will remove the month of July from the planner in class so that September is more accessible.
*Above all else, please never, ever, ever, EVER remove the planner from it's home- the binder. These planners look like they are on the expensive side and I doubt the school purchased extras if any become misplaced or abused. Thank you!
BOXTOPS!!
Last year my class earned the reputation for nearly always coming in second place with the BoxTops contests. They loved it! If our kids are as motivated as mine were last year, we can have a lot of fun doing these contests. A great way to start (if you haven't done this already) is to go through your cabinets this week and see what still has a BoxTops label on it. Soup cans, toilet paper and ziplok bags usually are top hits. Remember with the cans you need to have the UPC attached- not just the little picture. Sams Club has some items in bulk that are also BoxTops compatible. I've also heard that there are some great deals going on at some stores where we can get 100 BoxTops for purchasing 10 certain kind of cereals. Sorry I don't have more specific info- I only heard the info once! :( ...And yes, I have already "attacked" the school supplies that came in for BoxTops. Let's keep going!!
As always...
If you ever, ever have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to let me know!!
I AM HERE FOR YOU!!
Best wishes for a new year,
Mrs. Jimerson