Week 32 Announcements

Dear families, 

We had a lovely weekend with gentle sun and wind.  Hopefully our class plants in our garden are still growing well. We have two more weeks before STAAR. If your child has missed school days or has forgotten some concepts and skills, please use the Mock STAAR as a reference to review with your child. I'll do my best to help my students in class. In the following week we will focus on reviewing the skills below:

1. Compare fractions with the same denominator in word problems by reasoning about their sizes and justifying the conclusion using symbols, words, objects, and pictorial models. 
2. Compare fractions with the same numerator in word problems by reasoning about their sizes and justifying the conclusion using symbols, words, objects, and pictorial models. 
3. Represent and solve one and two- step multiplication and division problems within 100 using arrays, strip diagrams, and equations.
4. Relate subtraction and division word problem solving 
5. Classify and sort plane figures
6.  Classify and sort two- and three- dimensional figures based on attributes using formal geometric language such as faces, edges and vertices
7. Investigate how environmental conditions affect populations within an ecosystem
8. Explore how adaptations help an organism survive in its environment
9. Fun Friday - rewarding students who maintain excellent conduct and have a good work ethic.  They will have a fun and relaxed lunch in class with me. Snacks and drinks will be served while watching fun and healthy educational movies such as PBS's Planet Earth during lunch block. Students who are invited by Mrs. Waters will bring their own lunch or pick up school lunch. Parents are welcome to donate snack such as gold fish, tangerines & juice boxes starting Monday April 25th.
10. Cycle 5 Report Cards will go home Friday April 29th.

                                 How is our garden growing?

           Wow, 26 inches!

Week 31

Dear families,

Happy Easter Sunday!

The Mock STAAR test result is out. Most of our students did a great job.  If your child rushed through or didn't do their best this time, please encourage them to work hard in the following weeks.  Please keep in mind that we have 16 days to learn, to review and strengthen our knowledge and skills before the real STAAR test on May 10th.

This week we will focus on the following:

1. Review Mock STAAR TEAKS
2. Students will be able to find the appropriate units and tools to measure the weight of objects using the customary system of measurement.
3. Students can find the appropriate units and tools to measure liquid volume using the customary system of measurement.
4. Students can find the appropriate units and tools to measure liquid volume using the metric system of measurement.
5. Students can identify the appropriate units to measure liquid volume and weight.
6. Kamico Assessment
7. Science research project: students will create their own imaginary animal, analyze what components are needed for survival, and design a 3D model of an ecosystem to ensure the survival of that animal
8. Continue planting vegetables in the school garden
9. Spiral Up 2D and 3D figures

Have a great week!

Mrs. Waters

Happy Easter!

Time for a Smile

Congratulations Scarlett!

       John Henry's Math Mock STAAR

           John Henry's  Math Mock STAAR 

Week 30

Dear families,

Texas students 3rd grade and up are required to take the STAAR. Our goal as educators, is to increase our students' performance. The STAAR is one important way to help us know how we are doing in educating our students. The results that we get from the test also help us know where we can concentrate our efforts for continued progress.

As you have received a letter from our school last week, this coming week our 3rd graders will have Mock STAAR Math on Tuesday and Reading on Wednesday. This will help our students get familiar with the format of the test. My goal is to help my students reduce their test taking anxiety and prepare to do the best job possible on the test.  It's important that your child gets plenty of rest each night before the test and has a nutritious breakfast each day that the test is administered.

Thank you for your support.

This week we will focus on the following:

1. Students will be able to explain that credit is used when wants or needs exceed the ability to pay and that it is the borrower's responsibility to pay back the lender, usually with interest.
2. Identifying decisions involving income, spending, saving, credit, and charitable giving. 
3. Students learn Test Taking tips
4. Learning Strategies for reducing students' test anxiety
5. Tuesday: Math Mock STAAR
6. Wednesday: Reading Mock STAAR
7. Science research project: students will create their own imaginary animal, analyze what components are needed for survival, and design a 3D model of an ecosystem to ensure the survival of that animal
8.  Planting vegetables in the school garden

This Friday is a school holiday, the school will be closed.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Waters

                    Sample Student Work

I wonder why ... this one worked out the correct answer first but ...

Week 29

Dear families,

I hope you enjoyed the Spring Fling and had a great weekend.  Spring is finally here. We have prepared seedlings to plant in our school garden. This week we will be focus on financial literacy.

1. Students can determine the value of a collection of coins and bills.
2. Understand the connection between labor(human capital) and income.
3. Understand what credit is and the borrower's responsibility to pay it back to the lender.
4. Understand the benefits of saving.
5. Students can make decisions involving money matters, including identifying costs and benefits of planned and unplanned spending.
6. Understanding the relationship between availability and scarcity of resources and cost.
7. Compare the ways living organisms depend on each other and on their environments such as through food chains.
8. Understand animal decomposition and the organisms that feed on decomposing animals.
9. Students can create food chains to show and describe such as the flow of energy in an aquatic ecosystem.
10. Spiral Up Perimeter and Area.
11. Students will use Kamico Assessment and create their own data tracking bar chart.

Cheers,

Mrs. Waters

               This Bird Pattern is Made Out of a Triangle

                               Cilantro Roots Day One

Cilantro Roots Day Three

                                        Our First Seeding

                      Our Class Bulletin Board of April

                                Mr. A's SEL Lesson on April 1st