Plimouth Plantation

Moon journals

 

We have begun our study of the moon, and a month long project went home yesterday.  Please ask your child for details about the project, and look for more information in your child's folder today.  The journal page will be sent home each Monday, and should be returned the following Monday completed.  Please see the rubric on the back of each page, and review with your child so that they understand the expectations.  We have also reviewed this in class.  

Of note, there are several excellent resources for this project right on this blog.  Look at the websites to the right, and encourage your child to use them to find interesting facts about the moon.  There is a terrific website that can be used when the moon is not visible.   Here is a digital list of resources that was sent home to be used as well.

http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/phasenow.php

http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_challenge/moon_challenge.html

http://www.space.com/30546-supermoon-blood-moon-total-lunar-eclipse.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBc8QHSsFgE&app=desktop

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/index.html

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/solar-system/moon.htm

Please let me know if you have any questions about this project.  We hope that you and your child will enjoy studying the phases of the moon together.

A Snapshot of the Beginning of the Year

We have had a terrific start to the school year. Routines are already in place, and the children are working hard to learn new things.

In math, we have just finished introducing all of the multiplication facts, and patterns for each fact family.  The children will be bringing home flashcards soon to practice their facts at home daily.   It is important that the practice is focused on a small group of facts at a time.  We will spend a little more time practicing multiplication at school before moving on to division in the coming weeks.  

In reading we have finished reading The Year of Billy Miller as we launched Reader’s Workshop.   Be sure to ask your child what they thought of the story, how the character changed throughout the story, and ask them to include specific details from the story while telling you about it.  The children have learned many strategies to use while reading, and we created a poster to help us remember to use these strategies throughout the year.  See how many they can remember to tell you about so that they can use them at home, too.  We have just started looking at reading Informational text.

In writing we are still working on personal narratives.  The children have written some interesting stories about themselves.  We are working on creating strong leads that include the setting, some action and dialogue, using specific details in the heart of their story, ending with action, dialogue and a possible author's message, and using transition words and phrases.  We have also studied and used the revising and editing processes.  We will be writing information text next.

We are just about ready to introduce our study of space.  We will be focusing on the phases of the moon, the order of the planets, as well as how the revolution of Earth causes day and night.  Be looking for a project to come home Monday involving the moon.

We will be starting a study of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag soon. The kickoff for this will be a trip to Plimouth Plantation.   Permission slips went home today, please sign and return as soon as possible.  If you would like to be a chaperone for the trip, please check the box as indicated.  You must have a CORI on file at Parmenter School in order to be considered.

Book fair starts next Wednesday.  It will be open during the Pumpkin Stroll, as well.  We hope to see you there.

Finally, tomorrow is our next spirit day.  Please have your child wear his/her Parmenter t-shirt if possible.

December Conferences

I am using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming conferences. 

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/WQHSuE
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

I am looking forward to meeting you all Thursday at Curriculum Night.  If you have any questions about conferences, I would be happy to answer them at that time. 

Welcome to a New School Year

     Welcome Room 20 Families to our classroom blog.  I hope you will check in often to see photos of what we are learning in our classroom, and read tips about how you can help you child succeed this school year.  This blog will be my primary means of communicating with you as a group, however I am always available by email or phone if you would like to chat.
     It has been a pleasure getting to know your children for the past two weeks.  They have put their best effort into their studies already, and have made a terrific impression on me.  It is exciting to think of all of the learning that will happen with such enthusiastic learners.
     I am looking forward to meeting you all in person at Curriculum Night on September 29.  Until then, I wanted to share a tip that we have started using in class that I feel is very important to reading growth.  The children have heard since kindergarten that they should choose just right books when reading.  One of the activities that we did last week was "Fist 5ing" a book. Your child should open a book to the middle and read it to a partner.  The partner should be reading the book as your child reads aloud.  Each time the reader makes an error, the listener will put a finger up.  If there are four or more mistakes, it is a good idea to save that book for a later time.  The children have done this with a classmate at school, so they can show you how it is done.  This is a terrific strategy because you can do it at a book store or library any time your child is choosing a book.
     I look forward to working with you over the course of the year to ensure that each child has the best year possible.

Math morning

Thank you to all of the families who came to Math Morning. It was such a fun time! The children were excited to teach you some games. We hope this will become a regular event at Parmenter School.

Franklin: Garden advances science learning

We met with the school committee last night to celebrate all of the learning happening with the third grade garden. See the following article from the Milford Daily News for details.



Franklin: Garden advances science learning