Week of December 1-5

Important Dates:
*Conferences the week of 12/1-12/5
*Report Cards Tuesday 12/2
*Holiday Service project gifts due 12/10
*No school Friday 12/5


Classroom Chatter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!


Conferences are being held this week with your child's reading teacher. Please be on time for you conference. It is only a 15 minute time slot. We look forward to meeting with the parents of our reading students this week.


Science
We will finish up the introductory unit in science this week. A study guide will come home this week to help your child start studying. The test is scheduled for Tuesday 12/9.


Social Studies
We will begin chapter 3. In chapter 3 we will learn why people move from place to place. We will begin by talking about what an opportunity is and why people in a community may have come from different places.


Please visit the blog of your child's Reading teacher to find out information for Reading, Language Arts, and Spelling in that classroom.


Spelling
L. 11's words are spelled with double consonants in the middle of the word. The list will go home Monday. The test is Thursday (no school Friday). There will not be a pretest this week. The homework will be due on Wednesday. The workbook pages are p. 60-63. The abc order sheet will come home Wednesday and is due on Thursday.


English
We will resume learning about verbs. This week we will study about verbs in the future tense, helping verbs, and the special verb form of be.


Reading
This week we will continue with the self question strategy. Students will be reading a new story called Grandma's Records. We will have a vocabulary quiz on Thursday.


Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.


Math
This week we will finish up chapter 3. We will take the 2nd checkpoint on Tuesday 12/2. The chapter 3 test is scheduled for Thursday 12/4. We will take a mad minute in x8's this week.

Week of November 23-28

Important Dates:
*Thanksgiving Break 11/26-11/28
*Conferences the week of 12/1
*Report cards Tuesday 12/2
*Cancer family gifts due 12/10



Classroom Chatter
I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the terrific group of third graders I have for students! Enjoy your time with your family!!



Conferences will be held the week of December 1st. This year, conferences will be held with your child's reading teacher. Report cards will come home on Tuesday 12/2.


Last week information went home about Prairieview's Holiday service project. Each year Prairieview runs a service project around the holidays. Our efforts will benefit two organizations: a cancer family and a family shelter. Each classroom at Prairieview has a family that is in need at this time. In addition to the cancer families, we will also be making donations to Family Shelter Service.

This year our class has a very special family.
Our family includes:
~Mom
~17 year old young lady (cancer patient)
~16 year old sister
~15 years old sister
~10 year old sister
~3 year old sister

Sadly, the seventeen year old girl has cancer. Not only does this family struggle with the stress of treatments and illness, but they are less fortunate than us financially, too. In order to make this a special holiday, we have “adopted” them. If you could send in a NEW, not used, present for one or more of the family members, that would be appreciated. You may also send a “family gift.”
Directions:
*Please wrap the gift
*LABEL the item with what it is with a Post-It (so I know what it is and then can remove the post-it)
*Use a name tag sticker and write who it is for (example: Mom, 3 year old girl, 16 year old girl)


Some ideas for NEW (not used) gifts include, but are not limited to:
age appropriate games/toys, books, crafts, puzzles, winter hat/gloves, socks, winter hat/gloves, socks, bath and body, perfume, jewelry, candles, kitchen accessories, picture frames/albums, gift certificates, gift baskets, slippers, etc.

Gift cards to consider:
Jewel, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, K-Mart, Sears, JC Penney’s, Carson Pierre Scott, Chili’s, TGIFridays, Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, ETC.

Gift for the Family Shelter
We are accepting Cash or checks (payable to Family Shelter Service) gift cards in any denomination. NEW toys, games, books, puzzles, sports equipment, jewelry/other accessories, warm gloves and hats. Please DO NOT wrap these gifts for the family shelter.

Thank you in advance for your support and generosity!!!

Science
This week we will read lesson 3, the scientific method.

Check out this recipe to make GIANT soap bubbles!

Required ingredients and supplies to make 2 ¼ cups of liquid for blowing giant soap bubbles: You'll need ¼ cup of liquid dish washing detergent, 2 ¼ cups of distilled water, and 2 tablespoons of glycerin. You can buy glycerin at major craft supply stores, drug stores, or online. Glycerin is nontoxic and safe for use around children and pets. You'll also need a mixing bowl, spoon, a plastic container for storage, and bubble wands of your choice.


Procedure: Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl by stirring them gently. Avoid creating bubbles while stirring, and remove any foam that forms on the surface. Pour the liquid into a properly labeled container with a tight fitting lid until ready to use. It will keep indefinitely when properly stored after each use.

Giant Bubble Maker:
If you want to make giant soap bubbles, try using ordinary cotton string. Simply make a large loop with sturdy cotton string, and allow it to soak in a shallow pan filled with the bubble solution. After allowing it to thoroughly soak into the material, remove it from the liquid by holding it taut from opposite sides. Slowly open the circle until the strings are about an inch apart while keeping it taut and raise it into the air to form a giant soap bubble. It may take a little practice, but using this method, you can make amazingly giant soap bubbles.

Social Studies
When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will begin Chapter 3 in social studies. In this chapter we will learn why people move from place to place. To begin, we will learn about opportunity, immigrants, customs and ethnic groups.

Please visit the blog of your child's Reading teacher to find out information for Reading, Language Arts, and Spelling in that classroom.

Spelling
No spelling this week.


English
This week we will be sharing out turkey stories we wrote last week. Look for these wonderful stories to come home. Have your child share them with your family! Gobble! Gobble!

Reading
This week we will work on similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and author's purpose. Don't forget to continue working on your book reports. They are due December 18th.



Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.





Math
We will do some problem solving and dividing by 7, 8 and 9. There will be no mad minutes this week.


Next week after break, we will start x8's. We will finish up chapter 3 with a checkpoint on Tuesday and then the test on Chapter 3 on Thursday, 12/4

Week of November 17-21

Important Dates:

*Roller Skating Party Tuesday 11/18

(Mrs. Csorba will be chaperoning!)

*New Kids Assembly Wednesday 11/19

*Trimester One ends Friday 11/21

*Thanksgiving Break 11/26-11/28

* Yearbook orders due by 12/1

Classroom Chatter

We will be having an assembly in 3rd grade Wednesday. Students will be learning about students with special needs. Please ask your child about it! Due to this assembly we will not be switching for reading/english/spelling.

Announcing Prairieview 2008-2009 Yearbook. Order your yearbook today!!! The cost of the yearbook is $10.00 and make payments to Lifetouch. Order deadline date is December 1, 2008. No orders will be accepted after that date. Parents just a reminder-- Prairieview yearbooks are not paid for at registration. Please place your order now. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 14th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is. Students will receive their yearbooks in June!

Science

We will continue with the introductory unit to science with lesson 2. Lesson 2 teaches us about inquiry skills. Students will be completing another investigate (experiment) with bubbles this week. Our class did a SUPER job last week with our first bubbles investigate.

Social Studies

We will take the Downers Grove/Chapter 12 test on Friday 11/21. A study guide went home on Friday. Use the study guide, learning log, yellow Downers Grove packet, lesson reviews and notes (in the social studies folders labeled "save to study") to help prepare for the test.

Please visit the blog of your child's Reading teacher to find out information for Reading, Language Arts, and Spelling in that classroom.

Spelling

This week we will have a Thanksgiving spelling list. The test will be on Friday. I will be giving a pretest on Monday. If your child receives a 100% on Monday's pretest, they don't have to take the test on Friday. The homework for this week is a little different too. There will be a list of different spelling activities your child can pick for homework. It will come home on Monday with the students and will be due on Friday.

English

This week we will be spending a week on writing. Students will be writing a Thanksgiving story from the point of view of a turkey. This ties in nicely to what we're doing in reading with author's point of view.

Reading

We will be reading The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco this week. While we read, we will practice the self-question strategy. Students will also learn about author's viewpoint and how the author's opinion effects how the story is written. If you or anyone you know who is a quilter and would like to come in to our reading class to talk about quilting, please contact me. We would love to hear more about this special talent!

Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.

Math

We will continue with chapter 3. This week we will talk about division. We will not finish chapter 3 before the Thanksgiving break. I tentatively have the test planned for Thursday 12/4. I will keep you posted as we get closer to the date. This week we will be taking a mad minute on x7's.

Week of November 10-14

Important Dates:
*Veterans' Day No school Tuesday 11/11
*Book orders due Thursday 11/13
*Roller Skating Party Tuesday 11/18
*New Kids Assembly 11/19
*End of 1st Trimester 11/21
*Thanksgiving Break 11/26-11/28


Classroom Chatter
Thank you to the many who have donated books to our Book Angels book drive. The book drive ends on Friday 11/14.

Book orders for the month of November and December went home on Friday. Don't forget you can view and order them online as well. They will be due by Thursday. Books make great presents or stocking stuffers! If there are any books you order as gifts and want me to set them aside for you to pick up when your child is not around...just send me an email. I'd be happy to do so!

The Social Studies Committee is looking for two parents who have an educational or history background to be involved in the adoption of new Social Studies textbooks. You would have to meet with the committee and provide input for choosing our next textbooks for the coming years. The committee will be meeting once every month for the next 2 years. Please email Ms. Pellin if you would be interested in joining the committee. Thank you. mpellin@ccsd66.org



Science
Information went home last week with your child's user name and password to view the textbook online. Students were shown this in class last week as well. We will finish up the first lesson in the introductory unit this week by taking some notes and doing an open book review. We will complete this as a class. I will show the students how to use their notes and book to help them answer the questions.


Social Studies
We will be finishing up our Downers Grove unit in the next two weeks. I am planning on giving a combined test on Present Day Downers Grove and Ch.12 (lessons 1 & 2 only) on Friday 11/21. Students will get a study guide at the end of this week to help them start studying.


Please visit the blog of your child's Reading teacher to find out information for Reading, Language Arts, and Spelling in that classroom.


Spelling
This week we will begin lesson 10. There will be no pretest due to no school on Tuesday. Lesson 10's words are spelled with words that end in double consonants. The list will come home on Monday. I will go over workbook pages 55, 56, & 58 (skip 57) on Monday. They will be due on Thursday. Students will have an ABC order on Thursday for homework. The test is on Friday.


English
We will learn about verbs in the past tense this week. Just a heads up, we will be having an open book graded review on Thursday covering the first 5 lessons on verbs. Students are welcome to bring their textbook home to review. After this, we will be done with verbs until after Thanksgiving break.


Reading
Parent/Teacher conferences for December are being held with the Language Arts teacher this year. Most of you signed up for a conference at Curriculum Night. On Monday, I will be sending home a confirmation sheet. Please look over the date and time and confirm your conference with me by filling out the bottom portion and returning it with your child as soon as possible.

We will be taking a vocabulary quiz on Monday on Cliffhanger's words. We will begin our next strategy self question. A good reader always asks themselves questions as they read and can find answers as they read. We will read The Keeping Quilt. We will also learn about metaphors/similes, alliteration, personification, and onomatopoeia.

Check out www.puffinpalooza.com to view our Mrs. Csorba's students' drawings online!


Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.


Math
This week we will cover x5, x7, x8, x9, and x10. We will spend a day on problem solving. Students will be taking the first checkpoint in chapter 3. Feel free to look over the checkpoint in the textbook this week. The checkpoint can be found on p. 100-101 in the textbook. We will be taking mad minutes x6's this week.


“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.” (Quote borrowed from Ms. Steka's blog)