PBIS REWARD CELEBRATION

Dear Parents,                                                                 December 17, 2013

I am happy to write that your children have earned 129 Bumble Bucks for being kind, responsible and respectful, especially in the hallway. For their reward, they will be watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as it ties into our Reading Street lesson on the Literary Elements—narrator, character, plot and setting. We will watch the movie on Thursday December 19^th at 2:00PM. 

I’m sorry for the short notice, I would like the students to enjoy a little refreshments—I will bake brownies in the size of bite-sized cupcakes.  If you would like to donate anything such as water, juice, cups, plates, napkins, chips, other snacks, please do, so that the students will have a good variety to enjoy during the movie.

This has been a great group of students to teach. I am proud of their progress and am very proud that we have received so many compliments that they earned over 100 Bumble Bucks on compliments alone!

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season. Please remind your children to read everyday so that they can improve their fluency and comprehension skills.

Thank You,

Ms. Chuk

Last week before vacation!

Good evening!

We have rearranged the classroom seats/tables/desks again and this time the students are in love with the new arrangement! Students are able to work well together in this set up as there is a heterogeneous type of grouping in which there is at least one very responsible student in each group.  Also, for Walk to Read, there will be less movement and the students are seated closer to their small group materials.

If any parent needs the names of all the students for Christmas gifts or a holiday treat, please email me at Thay.Chuk@ppsd.org. Also, there are 17 girls and 9 boys in our classroom of third graders.

Students are very excited about Santa Claus; please keep the dream alive because it is so sweet to see their faces and hear their discussions about Santa Claus.  One of the girls shared her letter from Santa and it was a very loving letter.  The students were in awe.  They are asking to write or email to Santa and hoping to get a response back from him, if you can do that at home.

Have a wonderful week and drive safely on the icy roads.

International Night/Book Fair/Open House

Happy Friday Everyone!

Room 205 Parents, please note that there are a few students who have NOT brought in their signed report card envelopes.  Please sign and send them in as soon as possible so that I may use them for the next quarter.

On Wednesday, December 11th is International Night/Book Fair/Open House from 5-7 PM.  Please join us in a night of cultural deliciousness.  If you would like to make a dish to bring to share, please fill in the lime green form I sent home on Thursday and send it in with your child as soon as possible.  There will also be a Scholastic Book Fair all week starting Monday through Friday.  Students will have a chance to go to the book fair during library time.  On Wednesday, parents may come in to the school to buy books and other Scholastic items with their child.

Please replenish supplies: 

Many students do not have any notebooks for Reading, Writing, Math or Science.  The students need 4 notebooks and at least a homework folder.  I gave each student a red homework folder at the beginning of the year and they no longer have them to use.

Also, please send in tissues and hand sanitizer.  Many students are in need of several tissues daily and because there are 26 students, one box of tissues does not last us more than 3 days.  I would appreciate any donations of tissues, hand sanitizer and table wipes so that I can keep not only the students, but also the room clean and sanitized.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

December is here!

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends.
We are learning lots of stuff in Room 205!

In Math, we are working on finding Perimeter and Area.
To find Perimeter, the students understand it best to ADD ALL SIDES.  They need to remember to label the units before after they solve for  Perimeter.
To find Area, students are multiplying two sides, A=length x width. They can also use the grid lines on the rectangles and squares as arrays to help them count the square units if they are having trouble multiplying. They need to remember to label the product in square units.

In Science, we worked on the thermometer and the students' hypotheses were that the water would "expand" instead of "contract" when placed in the hot water.  It was interesting to see and hear the excitement of watching the green water expand in the glass flask and move up the straw, and eventually overflow onto the tray.  They were oohing and aahing as the green water moved up the straw while they were watching relentlessly. We will be comparing how water evaporates in different areas of the room and determining if the temperature of the space is a factor in how much water evaporates.

In Reading Street, we have begun Unit 3, People and Nature.  The students have so much background knowledge about how people interact with nature; the discussions are fascinating. We are also discussing homophones and they truly know so many.  We discussed hair and hare and I had to explain why a rabbit is called a hare.  So I drew a picture of a lady with big hair and a big rabbit to represent the hare. But they gave me a long list of homophones and they made me proud.

In Writing, we are learning about contractions and how to keep contractions just in conversations rather than using them in writing so that our writing can sound more fancy and formal. The students enjoy speaking in complete sentences.  They are really having a hard time understanding why the contractions are spelled certain ways.  Truly, some of them have no rhyme or reason, so I told them to try to remember the spelling and understand which two words they mean when spoken formally. 
We are also distinguishing between action verbs and linking verbs.  One student asked, "Why don't they just call them verbs?!!"  My thoughts exactly.  I did have to explain to her that action verbs show what someone or something is doing and linking verbs are just "to be" verbs.  It was still hard to understand as it is not easy to explain.

Hoping we have more amazing learning days!

Fun and Productive Week

Good evening,
The past couple of weeks has been very fun and productive in Room 205.  We learned how to measure mass using grams and kilograms as our choice unit of measurement.  In pairs, we were able to decide and choose which the best unit to use for each item we had in our hands.  Students had the opportunity to use a grape to represent  the unit gram, and a cantaloupe to represent kilograms.  They used these items to compare the mass of the three items they had to choose the best unit of measurement for.  Students had fun figuring out what food product they had in their hands as I brought all the packaged food items from home and many had words written in Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai. 

Many students called the cantaloupe watermelon.  When I asked each  individual student what the fruit was, there were multiple responses that claimed it was a watermelon.  Many even said, "I always thought that that was a watermelon!" I took out the iPad and showed them an image of a watermelon and the whole class went, "ooooohhhhh!"  Needless to say, it was a fun and funny lesson! 

There were a few squished grapes on the rug but overall, fun and productive lesson. Students were able to tell that mass is how heavy an object is and we use grams and kilograms to measure mass.

Furthermore, we also spent a great deal of time "telling time" using a clock that tells the time for them.  We learned how to say "clock" in the different languages that we have in our classroom. We also learned the difference between clock and watch. We learned that the clock can be broken up into 4 sections, which we call quarters and that each quarter is 15 minutes.  We learned to tell time using quarter after, half past, quarter to.

In reading we reviewed our Unit, Smart Solutions, and all of the literary elements, conventions and phonics, and vocabulary they would be assessed on.  We started the first part of our Benchmark Unit Test Friday and will continue to work on completing this assessment by Wednesday.  We will begin Unit 3 Monday after Thanksgiving.

In Social Studies, we have begun talking about the history of Thanksgiving and the reasons for Thanksgiving.  These students are so insightful and smart!!!

This week, we will continue to work with water and discussing the different properties of water and how heat and the absence of heat affects water.

Have an amazing week!
Enjoy your time off and be thankful for all that we have!

Convert Time Units Instantly

Convert Time Units Instantly

 http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/time/

 

 

Great site to learn about the Metric Unit

Great site to learn about the Metric Unit:

http://www.convert-me.com/en/metric_conversions.html


Convert any number in any unit to the measurement unit you want.

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/weight/

Customary and Metric Units of Measurement

We have learned how to choose the best measurement tool to measure length when using the customary units of measurement, inches, feet, yards, miles.  We will be learning more about the metric units of measurement of length, centimeters,decimeters, meters and kilometers.

We learned that the abbreviation for pounds is lbs because the word libra has a Latin origin and means pound.  So lbs means pounds.

We will be learning about the metric unit of measurement used to find out about mass which means how heavy an object is, grams (g) and kilograms (kg).

With all these lessons, the students have been using real world objects that they can touch and feel to help them choose the appropriate measurement tool to measure each object.

We have also had some time using clocks to learn how to tell time using quarter hour, half hour, quarter to the next hour; learning that the clock can be cut into four parts and each part is called a quarter but with a clock the quarter means 15 minutes, not 25 like in 25 cents.

So far, it has a been a fast and fun week in math in our classroom!

Video from Boo Bash at Providence Children's Museum in the Providence Journal

Video from Boo Bash at Providence Children's Museum in the Providence Journal

Check out my baby Super Krishna!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4CqhGzLMAM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What are we learning now?

Good evening parents,
Report cards went home today.  In the envelope you will find 3 sheets.  One is the report card, the pink letter is me asking for your feedback on this blog, and the other sheet is regarding a survey students may take about their schooling.  Please sign and return these forms and the envelope labeled 1st quarter and return them as soon as possible, no later than Friday please.

In Math, we have been working on telling time to the minute, to the half hour, and to the quarter hour.  We will also work on measuring length using inches, feet and yard.  We will also be measuring mass, weight, using grams and kilograms.  I will be bringing in real world objects such as grapes and packaged foods to demonstrate the weight of the objects.

In Science, we will be building a thermometer with bottles, rubber stoppers and straws with colored water, placed in hot and cold water.

In Reading, we are finishing out Unit 2, Smart Solutions. We will review Main Ideas and Details, and learn about Consonant Digraphs, /ch/, /sh/, /th/, /ph/, /ng/.  We will also move forward to Plural Possessive Nouns as we learned about Singular Possessive Nouns last week.

In Social Studies, we will be studying about the learning about Rhode Island, as well as continuing our BUILD CHARACTER lessons.

In Writing, we will carry forward what we are learning in Reading, Consonant Digraphs and Plural Possessive Nouns. We will use these phonics and convention skills to help us create better action narratives.

Lady Central Knights Volleyball RIIL State Champions!

Congratulations to my husband's team, the Lady Central Knights Volleyball team, for winning the Division III State Championship title at URI Saturday! It was an amazing game to watch. Good things are happening ladies! Best of luck to everything you do in your future!

Feedback please!

November 5, 2013

Dear Parents,

The intent of this letter is to remind you of our classroom blog that has been up and running since the first day of school, mstchuk.blogspot.com.  The blog is an extension of our 3rd grade ELL classroom and consists of helpful information and fun resources for my students and their family.   It also includes educational games to enhance student learning in math, reading, writing, science and social studies.  

I've been updating this blog every week to keep you informed of what is happening in our classroom or provide you with tips I come across.  I know that some students have been practicing by playing games on my blog to enhance their learning.

I would like to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, and other feedback.  It is my intention to make the classroom blog not only informative, but also interactive and fun.  It serves to be an extension of what we do in our classroom, and to enhance the student learning experience, reaching the visual and kinesthetic learners of today.

The blog is also a great platform to use to communicate with me your needs and concerns, or just to share what you like about our classroom.

Please sign to acknowledge you received this letter and to leave me with feedback on my blog.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chuk

mstchuk.blogspot.com

Thay.Chuk@ppsd.org 

Please continue to visit and subscribe to my blog: mstchuk.blogspot.com

Student Name_________________________________________________________

Parent Name__________________________________________________________

Comments________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Picture Day, Chocolate Fundraiser, Grant Opportunity, Report Cards

Happy Fall Back! 
I hope you turned the clocks back one hour.  Woohoo! I gained one extra hour of sleep this morning!

Lots to share this week:

1. Just a friendly reminder that PICTURE DAY is Tuesday, November 5th. Reminders were sent home over a week ago and on Friday, I sent home the Lifetouch order forms.
2. Last Thursday, I sent home the annual chocolate fundraiser order forms.  There is a choice of milk chocolate, crispy, almond and caramel. Each bar is $1, what a bargain.  Please support our school by selling these chocolates to your friends and family.
3. We have an opportunity to win a grant from Stanley Security. Starting on November 5th, please help our school win a grant up to $200,000.00 of STANLEY Security installed products and services through the TOGETHER FOR SAFER SCHOOLS. Everyone can vote daily and we can’t do this without your help!  Please post the information below on your Facebook and/or Tweet all your friends and family to help our school get all the votes we can! Visit stanleysaferschools.com or text ASF@Broad to 99222 and vote for Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary School November 5th – December 13th.
4. The first quarter ends on November 5th. Report cards were distributed to teachers last week. Please note that report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, November 12th.

Math Practice

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3

Happy birthday Tahiri!

Thank you Ms. Villanueva for sharing Tahiri's special day with our class! The students were grateful to enjoy such a delicious treat. Happy birthday Tahiri!

(Permission to post given by Ms. Villanueva October 30, 2013)

Mr. Heywood's website

Check out Mr. Heywood's website!  There are very interesting things to learn about reading on his page.  Have fun learning!

mrheywood.weebly.com

POWER OF THREE Method for Multiplication

Room 205 is in the process of learning our times tables and we are using a variety of strategies to be able to solve multiplication problems.  So far the class has learned how to use arrays, repeated addition and patterns to help find the product.  We understand that factors are the numbers you multiply in a multiplication sentence.  We understand that a multiplication sentence has factors that you multiply to find the product, which is the answer in a multiplication sentence.

I've also empowered the students to practice on their own using the POWER OF THREE Method of learning, thank you Mrs. Winter!  Students are given three new multiplication facts each day on 3x5 index cards.  They then write the multiplication sentence on the each card leaving a big space betweeen the equal sign and the product (so there is room to cover up the product when practicing). 

POWER OF THREE Method for Multiplication:

• First, they practice each fact by using their index finger to touch each fact as they read the sentence out loud to themselves: ex. 2x3=   6:  Students will repeat out loud to themselves three times: 2 times 3 equals 6, 2 times 3 equals 6, 2 times 3 equals 6.
• They practice the three facts given each day. 
• When they want to test themselves, they would take any three facts they choose, hold the card with the thumb underneath the card with they four fingers covering up the product (answer) and they guess the answers.  
• If they get the answer right, they place the card on the table in front of them.  
• If they get the answer wrong, they put the card THREE cards back in their pile of cards and they will see it again.  
• If they get it right the next time, they still KEEP the card in the pile of cards they are testing themselves for three more sightings, until they've gotten it correct three times straight.
• Students should do this everyday so that they can master their multiplications tables.
• Students have a Ziploc bag with their names on them and they are to take the bags of cards back and forth from school home and back to school each day so that they always have it with them to practice their multiplication facts.

Also, if you can please send in more Ziploc or Hefty, or any bags that zip close, we can really use more of them to keep our index cards of spelling and vocabulary words as well as math facts.

 Happy practicing!

http://www.kidsknowit.com/

http://www.kidsknowit.com/

Join this page and become a follower on my classroom blog.

Please sign up to become a member to follow me on my classroom blog.  You can SUBSCRIBE TO, FOLLOW BY EMAIL, and JOIN THIS SITE.

You will receive immediate updates as I add more tips, fun resources and educational GAMES, and blog about the interesting happenings in our classroom, the school, and the community around us.

You are welcome to SHARE my page on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and Blogger, as well as any other appropriate sites you feel is relevant. 

You may even leave me a message in the CONTACT FORM section of this page. 

Last, but not least, you can TRANSLATE my page into 72 languages! 

Please join me!

mstchuk.blogspot.com

~Ms. Chuk

EPHS Percussion Ensemble plays Escape from Pirate Cove (+playlist)

EPHS Percussion Ensemble

Click here to view the EPHS Percussion Ensemble video.

The Jack O' Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo October 13, 2013

Seal of the City of Providence

 

The Jack O' Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo October 13, 2013

Translations!

You are now able to translate my blog posts into 72 languages! Hooray! Happy blogging! Please sign in and FOLLOW ME on this blog so that you can provide me with some feedback and/or suggestions! Have a great day!

Update

The students have been working very hard at completing their NECAP assessment. They will complete the final session of math tomorrow. Yay!

In reading, in unit 1, we have worked on many skills. We learned to sequence the events in a story, we've learned that a sentence must have a subject and a predicate. We've also learned compound words. The students are participating very well during whole group discussion and working nicely with partners to complete their tasks.

Many students are so very helpful; I've witnessed many instances of kindness in the classroom. Many students have been rewarded with stickers, skittles, or pencils because I've caught them being good and making the right choices. Let's keep up the great work in room 205! :)

~Ms. Chuk

NECAP

NECAP is under way! Today we took the Reading Session I test. Students did an amazing job working at their very best to complete the test.  Tomorrow, we will be working on Reading Session II.  

During the testing time, our principal has provided us with lollipops to help keep the students engaged, and as a sweet treat for hard working kiddos. 

We will be working on Reading Session III on Thursday and  we will have a break from testing on Friday.  Testing resumes on Tuesday through Thursday again next week for Math.  

Students will notice that there are a few students who have gone to other rooms during the testing; they have accommodations that we need to adhere to. 

I hope my students are practicing for NECAP testing every night since your homework has been fun multiplication worksheets. 

I hope the children are already tucked soundly in bed and not playing games on Ms. Chuk's blog! Happy testing!

~Ms. Chuk

ASF NECAP CHANT

ASF is here to say
NECAP's gonna go our way
We are ready for this test
You will see our very best
STRONGER,
SMARTER,
We are ready for this
NECAP!!!

http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/
More fun games to practice for NECAP!

NECAP

Good evening,
NECAP, the New England Common Assessment Program, testing starts Tuesday October 1st! We have been practicing some of the released test items in the past few weeks.  We have worked on problem solving and reading comprehension, as well as practicing different strategies in finding the best answer for multiple choice questions.  We have also looked at samples of answers with different scores to help students understand how to earn the best score. I have found a couple of FREE websites where you can help your child practice for the assessment.  Good luck!

~Ms. Chuk


Click on the following sites to look at NECAP Practice Resources.


NECAP Practice


NECAP Practice through RI Department of Education

English Language Game

Click this link to learn English while having fun: http://www.vocabulary.co.il/english-language-games/

Behavior and Preparedness

In our class, we have been doing an awesome job walking with zero voices in the hallway.  We are walking in line nicely and entering the building in a very calm and quiet manner. The students have line order at all times to help prevent potential issues.  As a class, we have received so many compliments from our principal and other teachers that we have earned 22 Bumble Bucks! 

However, a few students still need to keep their hands to themselves at all times.  Also, many students need to start their classwork sooner than later. 

Some students are still without notebooks, therefore, they are walking to the back of the room to get paper in order to write down their assignments.  Also, they need pencils already sharpened.  This takes up too much time.  Students need to come to school prepared with their materials.  Please review my Welcome letter in the earlier post as a guide.

Also, there will be homework 3-4 days a week.  This will include math worksheets that is a review of the day's lesson or a review of previous lessons.  Furthermore, they will at times receive writing worksheets to help them practice their writing skills.

I hope that as we prepare them together, our students will have a productive year full of "knowledge".

Math

Students took the STAR Math Assessment last week which will be used as a baseline for where I need to begin teaching my math class. Results will be coming home in the next few days once the printer gets fixed. Parents may review them and sign and comment on them.  Please return the signed form when you are done reviewing it.

In the past few days, we have been focusing on making 10s and 100s using 2 to 3 numbers. We are also practicing some NECAP samples in order to prepare for our assessment starting October 4th.  We are practicing answering word problems and using the question in our complete answers to help get the full points.

TODAY in Room 205

REMINDER: Please send in the emergency forms (yellow) by the morning of September 13th.
Send in all other forms as soon as possible.

Our classroom consists of a high percentage of students who are not only new America, but also new to formal schooling.  Many students had not had formal schooling in their homeland.  We will be working on a substantial amount of basic foundational skills at the beginning of this year.

In MATH, we are working on making 10 and 100 using two and three numbers.

In READING, we are on Unit 1, Week 2, Day 3 in Reading Street.  We read a fable called, "What About Me?" and are discussing how we can learn new things by trading with one another.

In WRITING, we are learning about the parts of a sentence: subject, predicate, nouns and verbs. Also, reviewing, or just learning, the alphabet.

In SOCIAL STUDIES, we are working on community building and how to treat one another kindly.

 

Man in the Mirror

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror.

I'm asking him to change his ways.

If you want to make the world a better place,

take a look at yourself and

MAKE A CHANGE!"

Dear Parents of Room 205,
Please remember that your child needs a notebook AND a folder for Reading, Writing, Math and Science.  They have the RED folder I gave them to use for Homework if you cannot get another one. For Social Studies, I will provide the materials.  For students sitting at tables, I have provided a sturdy, plastic magazine holder to hold their notebooks and folders.  For students sitting at desks, they are allowed to place all their belongings inside to keep their desk organized.

4 Notebooks

4 Folders

Pencils

Those are my only REQUIREMENTS to help keep my students organized.  Please take time to get these this weekend if you haven't done so already.  It will help your child keep organized and focused on learning instead of worrying about not having something. If need be, you are welcome to email me at Thay.Chuk@ppsd.org with any concerns and I will do my best to make accommodations.

Have a wonderful weekend!
~Ms. Chuk

Providence Schools:

No School Thursday and Friday in observance of Rosh Hashanah

Click on Academic Calendar

Click here for: FunBrain Place Value Puzzler

My three hearts.