November 30th, 2012
Greetings, families! This week we were able to cover so many different topics in class. It was a very exciting week for the students and for the teachers! Some different discussion ideas for you are:
* Which planet are you researching? Can you tell me some information that you have learned about it?
* What is your draft that you are publishing in writing about? How have you revised it so far?
* How can you combine different coins to make one dollar?
* Can you name any of the seven continents?
* What is a map used for?
Have a fabulous weekend and happy December!
November 21st, 2012
Hello families! This week, although short, we learned a few new things! Some topics you can discuss with your child are:
* What was the main idea of the Scholastic News story you read? (about bison)
* Can you make up an addition or subtraction word problem for me to solve? How did you create this word problem?
* Can you name all of the phases of the moon in order that you have learned so far?
Have a fantastic Thanksgiving and long weekend!
November 16th, 2012
Hello families! This week, even though it was a shorter week, we were still able to accomplish many tasks! Some things that you can discuss with your child are:
* What did you write about in your letter to NASA?
* What are you drafting about in writing?
* What is the inverse operation of subtraction? Can you show me how to use it?
Have a splendid weekend!
November 9th, 2012
Hello families and students! Thank goodness that we finally have power in Cambridge!
I know this week has been a strange and difficult week for some of us, but I’m happy to say that we’re beginning to return to some normalcy.
This week we were able to cover a few things in a few different subjects. Please discuss some of the following topics with your child so that he or she is ready to begin a new week on Monday feeling refreshed.
* What is the strategy you use to estimate a number? (Compatible numbers, friendly numbers, or rounding)
* What are some facts that you remember about the sun and sun shadows? (Is the sun a star? Where is your shadow the shortest? Longest?)
* What is one story you are using for CEWFARLL? Encourage students to explain what CEWFARLL means!
Have a wonderful, warm, and happy weekend! See you on Monday!
November 4th, 2012
Hello my third graders and families. I hope you are all safe and sound and hopefully with power. What a wild week it’s been. I just got my power back last evening and have learned to be quite creative without power!
I know we have been off for awhile but I am going to post some possible activities you can do at home until we are back to school. If you choose to do these activities, bring them into school when we return (hopefully soon)! If you want to post anything, feel free!
- Create a few plans for a personal narrative using CEWFARLL (characters, event, why it’s important, first, after that, resolution, and lesson learned). Perhaps you have some hurricane personal narratives.
- Create a list of 50 adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns.
- Make an addition and subtraction word problem using 3 or more digits in your problem.
- Continue looking at the sky to determine the phase of the moon. If you can’t see it and you have internet access, you may use the computer, Also, see what you can learn about constellations.
- Read nightly!
I look forward to seeing you all soon,
October 26th, 2012
Hurricane Sandy is quickly approaching!! Do you think that the lunar cycle (moon cycle) is related to the tides in the ocean?
Post a comment and tell us what you think!
October 25th, 2012
This week we learned about three new phases of the moon: the first quarter, the waxing crescent, and the full moon. We also watched a video all about stars.
Some questions you can discuss with your child are as follows:
* Which phase of the moon is the first quarter/waxing gibbous/full moon?
* What does the first quarter/waxing gibbous/full moon look like?
* What is something you learned this week about stars from the video you watched?
Encourage your child to share new information about anything he or she is learning in science to reinforce some of the topics we are learning about.
Thanks and have a great three-day weekend!
October 24th, 2012
I found this activity online and thought it would be great to share with parents. This can be done at home to reinforce the phases of the moon.
In this activity, you and your child will learn about the Moon phases using Oreo cookies!
What you need:
8 Oreo cookies
Plastic knife, spoon, or fork
What to do:
Twist open the Oreo cookies and leave the cream on one side of the cookie
Create the moon phase using the spoon, knife, or fork in the cream of the Oreo
Place the Oreos in order of their moon phases
Discuss the different moon phases with your child and have him or her name the different phases.
* What are the different phase names?
* Can you place the phases in order?
* What phase is the moon tonight?
* How does the moon’s appearance change?
* Which phase will the moon be in next?
October 19th, 2012
This week in science we learned more about the sun and the moon!
A few discussion questions you can talk to your son or daughter about are:
* Why do we have seasons?
* What are the first two phases of the moon and what do they look like?
Encourage your child to teach you about these ideas to reinforce their learning.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
October 15th, 2012
Here is a great website to see what the different phases of the moon look like when the moon is revolving around the Earth!