Reading Calendars

This will be my last post until after Spring Break! I wanted to leave the March reading calendar reminder at the top of the screen as a reminder for the kids. We will have our extra reading recess on Monday, April 2nd.

I did not send home the April calendar. I will send it home on Monday, April 2nd and the students will get a free day on April 1st (no joke!)

I also sent home a few books from the classroom library so students could finish them. They will need to be returned after break.

Have a safe and relaxing break and I'll see all you kids again in April!

Biographies

Your child will be presenting a biography to the class.

He/she will be expected to:
- Read the biography (this can be done during the 15 minute calendar homework reading). Take notes while reading it.
- Write a summary based on the book (not information found on the Internet).
- The summary should be written in the first person, as if the student IS that person.
- Practice reading the summary aloud (voice inflections are marvelous!)
- Dress up as the person they’re reading about and present the summary in class. (Remember, the student is reading their summary as if they are that person.)

This is an independent “at home” activity. You may guide your child through the process, but the student should complete the majority of the work. Students should jot down important ideas they want to share with the class as they are reading. These notes will help them to write the book summary once they are finished reading the book. I have attached an index card for your child to use for the summary to be turned in. The presentation may be typed too, but please keep it the size of the index card. Otherwise students have a tendency to cover their face with the paper when presenting.

Students will receive two grades:
1. Summary—accuracy of information, written in the first person (ex. “My name is Johnny Appleseed.”), written with proper punctuation, capitals, complete sentences, etc. and overall neatness.
2. Presentation—student is prepared, expression is used when speaking, is interesting to listen to, speaks in a loud and clear voice, does not cover his/her face with summary card while speaking, dressed in an appropriate costume. Does the student look like his/she is having fun?

Students will find it helpful to practice presenting their biography often in front of an audience (parents, sister, brother, grandparent, etc.) This presentation is meant to be FUN, not stressful. Practice at home will help to relieve the “jitters”.

If you have any questions about this project, please let me know. Every few days ask your child how their biography is coming along. They will probably be asking for your help finding a costume and practicing. Thank you in advance for your help!

In the letter home there will be a sign up sheet so you or another relative can come watch your child's biography presentations which are the week of April 23-27.

Spring Party

Our Spring Party will be on Friday, March 23 in the morning. Since it is a morning party we are going to try something different for treats. We are going to have every party member bring in chunks of different fruits. The students will then pick out which fruits they want on their fruit kabob. It'll be like Subway except we are building fruit kabobs instead of subs. Each child will have their fruit kabob and milk in the morning, but it won't be enough that it would replace breakfast.

Reading Counts

The Van Clan students have now passed over five millions words read for the year! That is a great accomplishment!

For the end of the year, I have challenged them to get to eight million words as a class. If they can do that they will earn an extra recess. The class read nearly 3 million words second trimester and have averaged 2.5 million words each trimester. Between their improving reading ability and hard work I think they'll make it.

Star of the Week

for March 19-23

Verbs!

Our latest part of speech are verbs and here is the Schoolhouse Rocks video to go with it.

Crowded House in Pictures

Thanks to everyone who could make it to our play, The Crowded House. For those of you that weren't able to come here are some pictures. I had taken several more, but they turned out too dark. These are the brightest ones I had to choose from. You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

The students did a great job of presenting in front of nearly 100 people!

New Student

This week the Van Clan welcomed another new student, Lindsaye, to the classroom. The students were very polite and friendly in helping her become accustomed to her new school. This has been quite a unique year in 3rd grade with only students moving in and none leaving. We have had four new students move into our class alone!

Penny War at IGEMS

The Student Council is doing their annual Penny War next week (March 19-23). Students can bring in their pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters to try to fill up our bucket. The elementary classes just collects as much money as possible, and all proceeds will go toward cancer research. The organization the money will be given to Relay for Life.

Upcoming Items

Here are a few things that are coming up between now and Spring Break.

Thursday, March 15 - Math Test (multiplication) and Report Cards go home

Friday, March 16 - Spelling Test, Crowded House Play (9:30 in Room 100), and Spring Music Concert

Thursday, March 22 - Spelling Test (a day early due to half day and Spring party)

Friday, March 23 - Early Release and Spring Party in the morning

March 24-April 1 - Spring Break!

Report Cards Thursday

Report cards for the 2nd trimester will be sent home on Thursday, March 15. Please keep everything inside the report card and return the envelope so it can be used to send home the last set of report cards.

Star of the Week

for March 13-16

No School Monday!

Just a reminder that we do not have school on Monday, March 12. It is the end of the trimester at IGEMS and grades will be coming out later in the week.

Harriet Tubman Home Project

The Harriet Tubman projects have been on display in the hallway for a couple weeks now. I will send home the student's grade sheet with their report cards next week. They are great projects, and I always enjoy listening about how they made them and who helped.

Also, since we are doing the play on Friday, March 16 I thought that would be a good day for parents to pick up their child's project. If you aren't able to make it to the play or will be at IGEMS before March 16 you can pick up the project anytime between now and then. Students who have a project who they can take home on their own will do that on Friday, March 16.

The Crowded House

We picked our parts for The Crowded House today. The students homework for tonight is to take the story home and read it. There will not be any writing that goes along with the homework tonight.

Here are the details of the play. I hope you can make it!
Who - Mr. Van Overmeer's Third Grade Class
What - The Crowded House Play
When - Friday, March 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Where - Room 100 (by the Cafeteria)
Why - Because it'll be fun!

The play will take about 20 minutes to complete. We are also inviting the entire second grade to come watch along with Mrs. Moen's third grade class. Parents are welcome to bring younger siblings or other relatives if they would like to come.

Matter and Energy

For the rest of the month in science we will continue to study matter and energy. Currently we are studying what matter is and how it changes. Beginning tomorrow we will investigate how matter can chemically change instead of a simple physical change. Then next week we'll begin studying energy. Something 3rd graders on the first 50 degree day in a few months have a lot of!

Star of the Week

for March 5-9

Weekend Game - More Multiplication

Here are several different multiplication games. You can also choose several of the older games too. For many of the games you can choose a number range. The best option to go along with this unit is 2-9. Although depending on where your child is you can adjust as needed.


Sketch World
Super Stars
Math Models
Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe

Early Dismissal

Iowa-Grant is dismissing at 1:00 today.

Have a great weekend.

February Reading Calendars

Congratulations to the following students for turning in their February Reading Calendars! The March calendars have been sent out and this will be the last month that students can earn a Pizza Hut pizza when they turn in their calendar.

Jaiden A.
Avery B.
Ryan E.
Luke F.
Josh H.
Isaiah L.
Jalen L.
Elly L.
Lauren L.
Madison M.
Colin M.
Olivia N.
Nic P.
Courtney S.
Brena S.
Brie S.
Austin T.
Grace V.
Brynna W.
Isaiah Z.

Unit Test and Play

Next week (March 5-9) we will be taking our unit test for language arts. Because of this we won't have spelling words next week. We will break the test up into smaller pieces and work on it for three or four days starting on Monday.

The following week (March 13-16)we will do our second play of the year, The Crowded House. We will present our play in Room 100 at 9:30 a.m on March 16. Parents are welcome to come watch and we will also invite another grade level to watch. We will begin reading the play The Crowded House and picking out parts while we take our unit test the week before. Students should know their part by Wednesday, March 7.