Science

Just a warning, you may be finding flashlights torn apart!  I told the kids to ask first, but just in case it is for science.  This week we were able to get out the batteries, bulbs and wires to see if we could get our lights to light.  We used a D cell battery, a lightbulb (like you have in a flashlight) and some insulated wires.  The kids had to do a lot of thinking, but they all managed to get their lights to light!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Day

We're very excited about an upcoming event in third grade - Laura Day!  The big day will be on Friday, December 2nd.  A note was sent home today requesting parent volunteers to help us with this special day (see info below).

In addition to needing parent volunteers for our big day, we could also use metal juice can lids (from frozen  juice containers such as orange juice) for one of our crafts.  If you have juice lids that you could donate, send them to school with your child anytime.




Below is a copy of the note sent home requesting volunteers  - drop your child's teacher a note or an e-mail if you can help out. :)

Dear Parents,

On Friday, December 2, the third graders will be having their annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Day.  We are reading  The Little House on the Prairie for our novel unit in reading, so we have a lot of background information covered.  Now it is time to try some real-life experiences that Laura and other pioneer families would experience.

Throughout the day we will be baking bread, cooking applesauce, making pumpkin pudding and doing crafts that pioneers would have done.  We will also be spending some time using some web sites about Laura and her family.  

This is a lot to squeeze into a school day, so we need some parent help!  Below is a form for our volunteers to complete and return to school by November 28th.  

Thank you for your help!

Mrs. Hartsock

Ms. Flynn

Mrs. Bender

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I can come and help at:

______ all day (8:30-3:15)

______ in the morning (8:30-11:30)

______ in the afternoon (12:15-3:15)

This 'N That

TGIF!  We had a great time celebrating the completion of the Iowa Assessment tests (ITBS) this afternoon.  Students loved the movie version of James and the Giant Peach, and were able to identify quite a few differences between the book and the movie.

• It was good to touch base with many of you this week at p/t conferences, and we look forward to meeting with the rest of you next week. If you are unsure of your conference time, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.

• We will be celebrating American Education Week, November 13 - 19 by dressing up on the following days:
 Monday - wear your favorite sweatshirt
 Wednesday - wear red/white/blue
 Friday - wear black/gold

• The Scholastic Book fair will be open through Tuesday, November 15.  Students may purchase books before school or during library time on Monday.  Parents may also purchase books on Tuesday evening during p/t conferences.  Remember, books make great incentive and rewards and are inexpensive gifts. Thanks for supporting our library program through the book fair!

Veterans Day

We celebrated Veterans Day today with an assembly.  Students recited the Pledge of Allegiance, watched a patriotic video, observed fifth graders folding a flag that will be retired, and listened to a reader's theater presented by fourth graders.

Rainy Day Recess

Once in a while, an indoor recess is a fun change of pace.  The rain this week kept us indoors for a recess, but it didn't keep the kids from having fun!

Kidblog

Third graders were thrilled to start using a new website this week: kidblog.org.  We took our first stab at logging in and posting a short journal post, as well as at commenting on others' posts.

As this project evolves, we plan to "open" our blog to guests, which will allow parents and grandparents to add comments to student posts.  For now, as we are just learning, only third grade students and teachers will be able to post.   All posts have to be approved by a blog administrator (teacher) for the post to show up on the blog.

Students have realized that they are able to log on to the blog from home (as it is web based, and they know their password) - and they can show you what our blog is like.  We do ask that for now, students do not do any posting from home.  Should a student log on from home and post/comment, Mrs. Bender and Mrs. Hartsock will be notified via e-mail, and those not following our guidelines will be removed from the blog.

Keep in mind that our first posts are not very "polished" - we were focusing on learning how to post and comment, and didn't take much time composing our posts.  Now that we know how the blog works (login procedure, how to post and comment), students will be required to write future posts in complete sentences and to attend to punctuation and capitalization.  It will be fun to see how the quality and content of the posts improves with time and experience.

Below is a copy of the letter explaining our blogging project that is in today's Friday folder.

We are excited to try something new with students this year – blogging!

As you know from reading our classroom blog (and possibly many other blogs!), a weblog (or blog for short) is a place where one can publish his/her writing online.  Our student blog will be online (kidblog.org), but is password protected, meaning that it will not be accessible to everyone. Initially we are only going to allow students and teachers in our classrooms to access the blog.  If you are interested in checking it out, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.  (Once we get the hang of blogging, we do plan to provide parents with a guest login and password so that you can read and comment on your student’s writing too).

Blogging will allow our students the opportunity to develop their writing skills as well as to write for an audience. Students will write “posts” pertaining to books they are reading, science reflections, and will also be allowed to use their blogs as a journal.  Students will also be encouraged to read posts written by their peers and to leave comments/provide feedback on their writing.  All posts and comments will be approved by a teacher prior to being posted for all to read.

We are hopeful that blogging will encourage our students to write, provide them an opportunity to publish their writing, become a way to both give and to receive constructive feedback, as well as become a forum for learning internet and blogging etiquette.  

The Way West with County Naturalist, Pam Holz

To correlate with our new novel unit, Little House on the Prairie, that we are reading, Pam came and helped us to better understand what it may have been like to be a pioneer family moving westward.

Students were divided into "families," consisting of a mom, dad, and two children.  Each family pretended to have sold their belongings and had $200 to purchase supplies for their trip from New York to Iowa via covered way.  

Pam explains the trip to the families

Students visited The Way West Store and chose the supplies they thought they would need for their trip . . 

 



Then Pam read to us about our journey.  As we "traveled," families earned points if they had purchased items they would need along the way.  For example, if they had a pot to cook in, the earned a point.  However, if they purchased Cholera medicine, they actually lost a point because medicine at that time was not actually of benefit.

At the end of the journey, we had about 4 families (between the two classes) who actually made it to Iowa.  Most of the families did not bring enough/the correct provisions and had to turn back.  A few families had so few "points" that they died during the journey.

Thanks to Pam for coming and doing this fun activity with us!

Reading with Mrs. Bender

We continue working on reading Little House on the Prairie in class.  The kids enjoy being able to answer some of the comprehension questions with a partner!  We also have been learning about the Adinkra cloth that is made in Ghana, Africa with our storyThe Talking Cloth.  Skill work has been focused on writing outlines, finding the main idea and supporting details.

American Education Week, Nov. 13 - 19

MPEA is again celebrating American Education Week from November 13-19, 2011.  During this year’s celebration millions of educators, parents, students, and community leaders will join the NEA in raising awareness about the critical need to provide every child with a quality public education.  The theme this year is “Great Public Schools:  A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.”  Here at Mid-Prairie we will be showing our educational pride by wearing appropriate clothing on special days:
Monday, November 14th – Favorite Sweatshirt Day
Wednesday, November 16th – Red, White, and Blue Day
Friday, November 18th – Black and Gold Day
Please join us in celebrating American Education Week!

This 'N That

• Look for report cards on Monday, November 7.  Please take time to review your child's report card, then sign and return it.  We look forward to meeting with 3rd grade families at your scheduled conference. If you are unsure of your date/time, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.

• Many thanks to families who have provided yummy snacks as we take the Iowa Assessment (ITBS) tests!  Students really look forward to this "brain food," and it makes such a difference to have some extra fuel during testing.  Also thank you for making sure your child gets a good night's rest and eats a healthy breakfast each morning.

• On Friday, November 11 we will celebrate the completion of ITBS testing!  Since we didn't have a Halloween Party, we plan to have a "we're done with testing" celebration.  Students may bring a personal drink (or can get a carton of milk) as well as a snack to for themselves or to share with the class.  We plan to watch the movie James and the Giant Peach (we read the book aloud earlier this year). If anyone as a copy of this movie on DVD that we could borrow, please let your child's teacher know.

•  Don't forget!
Wednesday, Nov. 9 - early out and the KE boosters are sponsoring a Spaghetti Supper.  Click HERE for more info. Plan to eat a yummy supper and visit our book fair!

• November has arrived, and so has colder weather.  Be sure your child is dressed warmly for outdoor recesses.