Thursday, April 11, 2019

Thursday, April 11th
Next week, we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.
Dear Parents,
Well, we certainly experienced Colorado spring weather this week.   I must say that I am ready for consistent warmth and sunshine.
We are excited to begin a collaborative writing project with BHMS sixth graders in Mrs. Eaman’s classes. We had our first meeting today!  Each third grader is partnered with a sixth grader. Together they will write, illustrate, and publish a book. This is an exciting and rewarding creative writing project.  We have participated in this project for many years now, and our third graders have loved the process.

We are planning our last field trip for Thursday, May 2nd to the Morrison Natural History Museum. Thank you to those of you who have returned the permission slip and money!This trip will be a great supporting activity for our Earth Materials science unit. We will only have one bus for this field trip, so we do not need parent chaperones. If you would like to join us for this trip, you are welcome to drive and meet us there. Thank you!
Our third graders will begin the CMAS test next week and will test on April 16th, 17th, and 18th.  Students will complete the Language Arts test each morning and a math assessment in the afternoon. During the testing days our lunch time will be from 11:15 to 11:50 and our specials time will be from 11:55 to 12:40.
We have spent time familiarizing ourselves with the testing format and practicing answering standardized test questions. If your child would like to do some more practicing at home for the tests, follow this link: http://download.pearsonaccessnext.com/co/co-practicetest.html?links=1
Here are some test taking tips that you can share with your child.
  1. Eat a good breakfast the morning of the test. Avoid eating sugary foods. High-protein foods are often best for aiding concentration and minimizing fatigue.
  2. Get a full night’s sleep before the test.
  3. Wear comfortable clothing.
  4. Don’t panic. If you start getting anxious, take slow deep breaths. Don’t worry about other people finishing early. It is good to use all available time to double-check your work. Students can bookmark questions that they are stuck on and come back to them later.
  5. Check to make sure you have answered all parts of each question.  Many questions are multi-step and/ or require more than one answer.
  6. On a multiple choice question, eliminate any answers that you know are incorrect, especially on questions where you are having trouble arriving at the answer. Eliminating a few wrong answers can increase the chances of a random guess being correct.
  7. Consider all the answer choices before selecting your final answer.
  8. If you have time left over at the end of the test, review your answers.
  9. Do your best!
Homework for next week:
  • ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
  • Complete nightly math assignments, Monday-Thursday.
  • Read at least 20 min nightly.
  • Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  
  • Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 daily.
Important Dates to Remember
April 12th and 15th- No School
April 16th, 17th, and 18th-CMAS testing
April 18th-Inspiration Exhibition 4:00-6:00
I hope you enjoy the long weekend.
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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Friday, April 5, 2019

Friday, April 5th
Next week, we have PE on Tuesday.
Dear Parents,

 I hope you had a wonderful spring break! Students did a nice job of getting back into our school rhythm this week.  Today, we enjoyed the talent show. It is always exciting to see our Kohl students share different strengths
We are planning our last field trip for Thursday, May 2nd to the Morrison Natural History Museum.  This trip will be a great supporting activity for our Earth Materials science unit. Please return the field trip permission slip and money as soon as possible. We will only have one bus for this field trip, so we do not need parent chaperones. If you would like to join us for this trip, you are welcome to drive and meet us there. Thank you!
We completed our work with Blue Sky Bridge on Tuesday.  Your child is coming home with a bookmark and a parent letter from the program in their Friday folder.  
As you know, third graders will be taking the CMAS tests on April 16th, 17th, and 18th.
The websites below have have some good practice problems, if you would like to use them at home too.  
Mathematics
Language Arts
Literacy:
We continued our nonfiction genre study.  We are reading expository nonfiction texts and discussing common characteristics of this genre.
We also started an informational state research project.  We will be sharing these with you during the Inspiration Exhibition on Thursday, April 18th.
Math:
This week we continued Unit 7 in our math books- Fractions. By the end of this unit, students will understand:

 How to write a fraction and a unit fraction for a part of a whole and for a number on a number line Write equivalent fractions including fractions that are equivalent to whole number
Compare two fractions with the same denominator OR the same numerator
Solve real world problems involving fractions

The unit test for Fractions is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 10th.
Social Studies/ Science:
We completed our social studies unit about the regions of the United States. Our next science unit is about Earth Materials. So far, your children have explored the difference between rocks and minerals.  
Homework for next week:
ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
Complete nightly math assignments, Monday-Thursday.
Read at least 20 min nightly.
Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  
Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through
sums of 20 daily.

 Important Dates to Remember
April 10th Class Pictures
April 12th and 15th- No School
April 16th, 17th, and 18th-CMAS testing
April 18th-Inspiration Exhibition 4:00-6:00
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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Friday, March 22, 2019

Friday, March 22nd
Week of April 1st- we have PE on Monday and Thursday
Dear Parents,
Happy Spring Break!  
Spirit week and our spring party made for a fun filled five days. We also continued our work with Blue Sky Bridge on Tuesday.  They will visit our classroom again on 4/2. Your child is coming home with a No! Go! Tell! reminder in their Friday folder.

Thank you to our room mothers, Heidi Siguaw and Sasha Davis, for planning our spring party and to all of the parents who contributed.  It was a great way to end our week and send student off for spring break.
As you know, third graders will be taking the CMAS tests on April 16th, 17th, and 18th.
 
We are doing some CMAS practice activities.  This practice helps students feel more comfortable about the test and familiarizes them with the testing format. The websites below have have some good practice problems, if you would like to use them at home too.  
Mathematics
Language Arts
Literacy:
We started a nonfiction genre study.  We will be reading expository nonfiction texts and discussing common characteristics of this genre.
Math:
We are well into our fractions unit. By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
  • Write a fraction and a unit fraction for a part of a whole and for a number on a number line
  • Write equivalent fractions including fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers
  • Compare two fractions with the same denominator OR the same numerator
  • Solve real world problems involving fractions
Social Studies:
We watched short videos about the five regions of the United States, took notes, and discussed similarities and differences between the regions.  
Suggested Homework for Spring Break :
  • ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once.
  • Use MobyMax to practice math skills.
  • Complete practice CMAS tests.
  • Read at least 20 min nightly.
  • Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 daily.
Important Dates to Remember
Monday, March 25-Friday, March 29th- Spring Break
I hope you all have a safe and relaxing Spring Break. We will return to school on Monday, April 1st
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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Friday, March 15, 2019

Friday, March 15th
Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

Dear Parents,
Our snow day on Wednesday made for an interesting week.  We continued our work with Blue Sky Bridge on Tuesday. They will visit our classroom again on 3/19 and 4/2.  Your child is coming home with a Trusted Adult Worksheet in their Friday folder.

Next week is Kohl Spirit Week.  Monday-Pajama day, Tuesday-Crazy Hair Day, Wednesday- Sports Day, Thursday-Mismatch Day, Friday-Kohl Spirit Day
We also have our Spring Party on Friday, March 22nd from 1:30 to 2:30.  There will be more details to come about this celebration soon. Please feel free to join us in the classroom for the party.
As you know, third graders will be taking the CMAS tests on April 16th, 17th, and 18th.  
We are doing some CMAS practice activities.  This practice helps students feel more comfortable about the test and familiarizes them with the testing format. The websites below have have some good practice problems, if you would like to use them at home too.

Mathematics
Language Arts
Literacy:
Students read and wrote about biodiversity and why it is important to have plant and animal diversity for the survival of our planet.
We completed our author study of Patricia Polacco and discussed the characteristics of her work.
Math:
This week we started Unit 7 in our math books- Fractions. By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
  • Write a fraction and a unit fraction for a part of a whole and for a number on a number line
  • Write equivalent fractions including fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers
  • Compare two fractions with the same denominator OR the same numerator
  • Solve real world problems involving fractions
Homework for next week:
  • ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
  • Read at least 20 min nightly.
  • Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  
  • Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 daily.
Important Dates to Remember
Monday, March 18th-Friday, March 22nd-Spirit Week
Friday, March 22nd- Spring Party 1:30-2:30
Monday, March 25-Friday, March 29th- Spring Break
Enjoy the weekend!
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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Friday, March 8, 2019

Friday, March 8th
Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.


Dear Parents,
We had a good full week!  We started our program with Blue Sky Bridge on Tuesday.  They will visit our classroom again on 3/12, 3/19, and 4/2.  Your child is coming home with short handout about body safety and touching rules.  We also had an educational, musical assembly today by Jeff and Paige. They do a wonderful job of bringing science and nature to life through music and stories.  
As you know, third graders will be taking the CMAS tests this year.  This is a state standardized test. The tests have been scheduled for April 16th, 17th, and 18th.  
We will be doings some CMAS practice activities.  This practice helps students feel more comfortable about the test and familiarizes them with the testing format. The websites below have have some good practice problems, if you would like to use them at home too.


Mathematics
Language Arts
Literacy:
Students read two texts about animal migration.  They then planned and typed an opinion piece about an animal from the text that has the most remarkable migration.  
We are almost done with our author study about Patricia Polacco and will start a nonfiction text unit next week.
Math:
We completed our Geometry unit this week and took our chapter test today.  We will begin our next unit on Fractions on Monday.
Social Studies:
This week we continued our unit on Regions of the United States by learning about how to find places on a map using latitude and longitude.  We also completed a geography challenge using population, elevation, and annual rainfall special purpose maps. Next week, we will explore the similarities and differences between the five regions of the United States.


Homework for next week:
  • ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
  • Read at least 20 min nightly.
  • Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  
  • Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 daily.
Important Dates to Remember
Saturday, March 9th-PTA Trivia Night-6pm
Monday, March 11th- Coffee at Kohl-8:30-9:30
Monday, March 25-Friday, March 29th- Spring Break
Have a fantastic weekend!
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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Friday, March 1, 2019

Friday, March 1st
Next week we have PE on Monday or Thursday.

Dear Parents,
I would like to thank all of the parents who joined us for our field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science yesterday. It was a great success.  We couldn’t do it without you!

As you know, third graders will be taking the CMAS tests this year.  This is a state standardized test. The tests have been scheduled for April 16th, 17th, and 18th.  
We will be doings some CMAS practice activities.  This practice helps students feel more comfortable about the test and familiarizes them with the testing format. The websites below have have some good practice problems, if you would like to use them at home too.

Mathematics
Language Arts
Literacy:
This week we reviewed and practiced how to answer questions using detailed complete sentences with words from the question.  Students also completed an informational writing about our field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
We continued our author study about Patricia Polacco.  We are reading many of her books and discussing the characteristics of her writing.  
Math:
We are well into our Geometry unit.  This week we spent time finding the perimeter and area of geometric shapes and calculating unknown side lengths in area and perimeter problems.
Students are learning many new geometry vocabulary terms. Please review them with your child: right angle, acute angle, obtuse angle, polygon, decagon, octagon, hexagon, pentagon, quadrilateral, rectangle, rhombus, square, trapezoid, parallel lines, parallelogram, perimeter and area. This will be a huge help for this unit. Please keep up with multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction tables! We are using all four operations in this unit.
Social Studies:
This week we continued our unit on Regions of the United States by learning about how to find places on a map using latitude and longitude. We also worked on building vocabulary to support our learning during this unit.

Homework for next week:
  • ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
  • Read at least 20 min nightly.
  • Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  
  • Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 daily.
Important Dates to Remember
Saturday, March 9th-PTA Trivia Night-6pm
Monday, March 11th- Coffee at Kohl-8:30-9:30
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

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