Dickens of a Christmas

Story Problems Explained

Two more "Math Problem Explained" videos were posted today. Some of the students brought home these pages for homework; these videos could be a great resource if they have problems.

Bird Adaptations

In the last science chapter we studied animals and some of their adaptations. The students took this knowledge and created their own fictional bird. Using the app VoiceThread, the students explained some of their bird's adapations. 

One of the fun things about this app is the ability for other people to comment on the presentation. I encourage you to view your child's work, and comment back to them on it using the website or app. You can create a comment using your voice or by typing. Consider asking a question about the bird, pointing out a unique detail, or asking your child to add further explanation in his/her description. 

To see the presentations, visit the student work page of our classroom website. Not all of the students have completed their work, but they should have them done by the end of today. I will post them as I receive them. 

Math Problems

The students have been having a little bit of trouble understanding story problems. One of the strategies that I have been teaching them is the use of numberlines to help clarify the problem so that the students know for what they are to solve. Some of the students needed to finish up pg 62 for homework. The math homework today, pg 63, is a little bit easier than what we had in class; however, numberlines could be helpful here as well. To help with this, I have posted some of the inclass explanations I gave individual students. You can find those videos here.

Operation MOVE

Kozy students in grades 3-5 have the opportunity to attend the Operation MOVE field trip event on December 11. For those parents with older children, this trip is being presented by the same organization that held the Read it to Beat it read aloud that your child participated in last year.

The event, part of WinterFest, is held at the US Cellular Arena and will stress the importance of exercise as part of a healthy life style. As part of the event, students will hear from local celebrities, community leaders, and athletes such as Greg Jennings from the Green Bay Packers.

For full details, go to: http://www.milwaukeewinterfest.com/event/operation-move

We needed to use a new permission slip form, and we were rushed to get it out to you early enough, so we are lacking two pieces of information usually found on our field trip forms. If your child would like to order a bag lunch, or if you would like to chaperone, please indicate that anywhere on the form where there is space.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Homework Club

Homework Club starts next week. It will be held immediately after school in room 101 on Mondays and Thursdays.  Watch your child's folder for permission slips; they should be sent home soon.

Something New

During work time in math I circulate the classroom and help students with their work as they need it. Usually, I help them directly on their paper, but today I tried something different and used the iPad. I then recorded this explanation and posted it to the Internet.

My hope is that these recorded explanations will help other students as they work through their homework. The only problem explained today was #1 on pg 58. The explanation can be found by going to the "Math Problems Explained" link on our website.

Playlists

I added something new in the "For Parents" portion of our classroom website. As I added more "How To..." videos, I realized that it might be hard to find what you needed. To help with this, I created some playlists on my YouTube channel. Videos are organized within the appropriate playlists and all playlists can be accessed from the "For Parents" portion of the site underneath "How To..."

New "How To" Videos

Today I posted three new "How To..." videos on our classroom website. The first video explains how to use a numberline to subtract and related, second video, explains how 100 can help you to subtract. The final video explains how number lines can help students better visualize a story problem.

This third video is especially important. Many students struggled with today's assignment, not because they couldn'd do the math, but because they didn't know if they should add or subtract. Number lines can help to clarify this.

Book Orders...Again

Normally I wouldn't send out book orders until next week but, because I want to be sure that any orders are back before our winter break, I'm sending them home early. If you would like to order, please have them turned in with payment by Friday. As always,  you can order online at www.scholastic.com. Our class activation code is: GVWB3

Happy Thanksgiving

No School

Remember, there is no school tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday (November 21-23). I will see everyone on November 26. Have a great break!

Thanksgiving Activities

Thanksgiving is only a few days away, so I thought I'd share some Thanksgiving related activites with you to do at home. Some of these have been done at school during social studies, some have not.

Investigating the First Thanksgiving 
This is an activity that walks students through what really happened on the first Thanksgiving and allows them the opportunity to seperate fact from myth.


Scholastic has three great activities as part of their website. 

Voyage on the Mayflower has an interactive map of the Mayflower's journey across the Atlantic. It also the students to see inside the ship and learn about it.

Daily Life compares the lives of the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims. 

Virtual Field Trips The last portion has videos of Plimoth Plantation, a Wampanoag homesite, and a Pilgrim homesite that act as a virtual field trip. 

Book Orders

Because I first passed the book orders out yesterday, they are not due until Tuesday, November 20. If you would like to order, please have them turn them in with payment by this date. As always,  you can order online at www.scholastic.com. Our class activation code is: GVWB3

Parent Teacher Conferences

Thank you to all of the parents that attended parent-teacher conferences last night.  I enjoyed meeting all of you and look forward to working with you throughout the remainder of the year. I know that some of our conferences were cut short because of time. If there are some things that you would still like to discuss, or if you have any further questions, please contact me.

High Interest Day

On November 15, students at Kozy participated in High Interest Day. On this day students were able to participate in activites ranging from juggling to scuba diving; from fire fighting to scrapbooking; and from quilting to martial arts. Some students were even lucky enough to play a game of Quiddich. To see the pictures, click here

Hometown Holiday at the Library

Next Saturday, November 24, the Cudahy Family Library is hosting it's annual holiday event.

12:30-Santa arrives
2:30-Children's commedian and ventriloquist
4:00-Cocoa & Cookies
4:30-Tree Lighting

This is a wonderful annual event and the library does a great job. Please consider stopping by for part, or all, of the day. For full details, go to the library's website.

Lollipop Sale

Tomorrow, November 13, and Friday, Nobember 16, Kozy will be selling lollipops before and after school. Lollipops are 50 cents each and are sold in the gym hallway.

Science Test Flashcards

We are finishing up the latest science chapter this week and will have our next week. To help students study, I'm trying something a little different. Using the website Quizlet, I have created a study set of the vocab words for the chapter. Click here to see the set.

From this site, the students can study the vocab words like an ordinary set of flash cards, get quizzed on the words, and take practice tests on the words. There are also two games that the students can play that will help them to study the words.

Also, for those of you with an iPhone or iPad, your child can study using a free app called Flashcards*. To download the app, click here. Once you've downloaded the app, open it and click on "Flashcards." From the flashcard library, click on the plus sign in the upper right and and choose "Download from Quizlet." By searching for "borzickj" as the author, you will see the

Community Resources

With the holidays quickly approaching and the nature of today's economy there are many families that are in need. If you know someone who could use some help, here is a list of community resources in the area that families can use. 

Class Dojo

For parents who have been monitoring your child's Class Dojo account, you may be concerned with an increase in negative behavior reported. While I would still like you to discuss this behavior with your child, I also wanted to explain why there was an uptick.

This week I realized that while I had been documenting participation and other positive behaviors consistently, I had not been documenting the times that students speak without raising their hands or talk to friends. This last week I made a distinct effort to record negative behaviors as much as positive. As a result, you will see their reports looking much different than they had in the past. This is
not because their behavior has changed, but because I have been making note of it.

 My goal now is to help children reduce the number of negative behaviors recorded by improving their behavior so that their reports can look as exceptionally positive as they had before.

Substitute Teacher

On Monday and Tuesday, November 12 and 13, I will be at a training/conference. I will be checking my email, but if you write a note or leave a voice mail, I will not receive it until Wednesday when I return.

The substitute teacher is Mrs. Huber so the children will be in good hands.

Report Cards

Report cards were sent home with your child today. Please check his/her back pack.

Letter From Your Child

Dear Mom and/or Dad,

     Today you saw my report card, and next week you will speak to my teacher.  This report card is my teacher’s attempt to describe my actions and accomplishments at school.  When you read the card, and talk to my teacher, please remember that he is describing someone near and dear to you, so please don’t get “uptight” if you see something you do not agree with.  I hope you will accept me as I am.

     Remember that all children do not learn to walk and talk at the same age, nor do they learn math and reading at the same rate.  Please do not compare me to my brothers and sisters or friends, because I am unique to this world.  Be realistic in setting my goals.  I need to be challenged, but not pushed beyond my ability.  I want to be successful and I need time to “smell the flowers” while I am still a child.

     Please remember that my report card is a picture of me at school.  It is a whole different world from the one at home.  Can you imagine having 22 children my age at the dinner table tonight, or 200 children in our backyard playing?  Don’t be surprised to find that I respond in a different manner at school.

     My teacher knows me as I am at school.  You know me as I am at home.  The “real me” may be somewhere in between.  I know you see me as a unique individual who can make you proud and bring you much happiness.  I will try my best.

With love from your child.                  

Food Drive

Kozy will have it's annual food drive Monday, November 12-Friday, November 16th. All food donated will go to project concern. Each day we will have a different themed item to bring in. The class with the most food will win an ice cream party!

Monday-Peanut Butter
Tuesday-Canned Tuna
Wednesday-Canned Fruit or Vegetables
Thursday-Canned Soup
Friday-Anything

Tree Decorating

On Saturday, November 10, Kozy students will have the opportunity to decorate their tree at Cathedral Square Park in downtown Milwaukee. Please join us at 10am for this event.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent-Conferences are next week Thursday. Please review the schedule to see your assigned time. If you are unable to attend during your time slot, please contact me. 

"How to..." on expanded form and breaking apart numbers to add.

I have recently posted two new topics in the "How To..." section of our website. One is related to place value and writing numbers, the other is an addition strategy.

There are times when students are asked to write a number in "expanded form." To do this, students need to break up a number into its place value parts.

One of the strategies students learn to help them add is to break the numbers up into their place value parts. This video explains the process so that you can better help your child.

Accelerated Reader

As we end the first quarter and begin the second, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate the students that reached their AR goals and to explain what I expect of the students in the second quarter.

The Accelerated Reader program assigns each book a point value based on its length and difficulty. Near the beginning of the first quarter, each student was assigned a point goal that he or she was expected to reach prior to the end of the quarter. The point goal was based on each child's reading level; stronger readers were expected to read more points. The following students reached their goal.

Endings

Along with the end of the week, yesterday brought with it the end of two other things- the quarter and the WKCE.

The students devoted a great deal of their time to taking the WKCE tests the last two weeks. They were hard, they were long, and, some might say, they were boring. Regardless of how your child felt about them, everyone worked really hard and tried their best throughout the testing process. There were several students who were absent for one or more of the tests. These students will complete their WKCE tests the week of November 5. You should receive a copy of your child's results this spring.

Friday also saw the end of the first quarter. I was truly shocked to see that listed on my desk calendar at work. It doesn't seem possible that we have really spent one full quarter together, but the

Field Trip Movies

On our field trip to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, the students took their iPads and used them to take pictures of the various events. Back at school, the students worked in groups and turned those pictures into videos using the iPads and an app called Pinnacle. The all worked hard and did a nice job creating their first movie.

To see all of the videos, visit the "Student Work" portion of our classroom website, or click here.

Referendum

Below is a fact sheet on Tuesday's referendum. For full details, go to: http://www.cudahy.k12.wi.us/2012referendum.cfm

New "How To" Videos

This morning I posted three new "How To" videos on our classroom website, www.3grade.ws.

The first two posted videos relate to the homework the students had yesterday where they needed to find ways to make 100. The videos relate how students use known combinations to find other numbers that sum to 100.

The third video relates to today's homework. Students will be given a three-digit number and will need to figure out how many 10s are in that number.

Since math is so different from how we learned it, you can use these videos to better help your child at home.

To view the videos, visit our class website. For a direct link, click here.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday your child should have brought home your scheduled parent-teacher conference time. Please review this time slot and check to see if you can attend. If you can attend this time slot, please indicate this on the form and return it to me.  If you need to reschedule, please indicate that on the form and I will contact you to schedule a different time.

Harvest Party

Happy Harvest Party!!!