Monday, March 7, 2011

More Fluency Practice


For details about the importance of fluency practice, see this previous post.

Do you know what is meant by balance of nature? When nature is in balance, living things have plenty to eat and homes in which to sleep. When nature is out of balance, animals find surviving hard. A balance in nature is best and it is something we can all work toward.


It was a few hours before dawn in the forest. The dew seemed cool to the squirrels as they scampered around the trees. The birds woke as the first hues of sunlight struck the leaves. It’s a peaceful morning in this wildlife forest.

We have been learning about the importance of balance in nature. In “Wolf Island,” the wolves left the island for a new home. When the wolves left it disrupted, or threw off, the balance of nature. There were too few wolves to keep the population of other animals down, and there was not enough food for all of the animals. Nature requires balance to thrive.

Animals learn to adapt to their habitats. We have read about animals that adapt to life in trees, about a family of ducks that adapts to a big city, and about wolves that move from one place to another. Natural wonders are all around us. If we respect and protect nature, it will continue to amaze us.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Kids' Meal Toy Debate

In this week's edition of TFK features a debate that has been argued in the media for months ~ Should toys be banned from Happy Meals? I will be asking the kids to choose a side and write about their opinion this week.


The teacher's guide mentioned a website that provides great information about food nutrition and food marketing to children, Fast Food Facts. We will be talking about this in class as well.

Upcoming Events ~ Science

The New Children's Museum
Learn from Dr. Zoolittle. At a special animal presentation on March 19, discover how researchers at the San Diego Zoo are making important strides in preserving habitats and wildlife around the world. Dr. Zoolittle includes the entire family in an exploration of disappearing wildlife as kids help solve the mystery of one amazing animal.
For more information, click here and then click on the bottom half of the box for March 19th.


We have been excitedly awaiting the release of this movie! The Landmark Theater in Hillcrest will be showing it beginning on March 11. I contacted the theater and it looks like they will only show it through Thursday, March 17. Show times will be not be available until Tuesday, March 8 so that makes it difficult to plan a study trip to go see it during school hours.
As an alternative, I thought we could meet there on Saturday, March 12. Once I have confirmation about the times, I will put out the word and if your family is available, maybe you all can join us! Stay tuned...

Sunday, February 27, 2011

6 Hours of Reading = a Free Ticket to Six Flags!


Read to Succeed is a free educational program sponsored by Six Flags to inspire kids in grades K through 6 to engage in recreational reading. Students who complete six hours of recreational, nonschool-related reading are eligible to earn a free admission ticket to a participating Six Flags theme park. Teachers whose classes participate and complete the program are also eligible to earn a free ticket. Schools must be within a 250-mile radius of a participating Six Flags theme park in order to participate.

My apologies for the late notice but I wanted to at least give you a chance to earn your free ticket! Click here for more details about this offer.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Lioness and Her Cubs

My dad sent me this video today and I couldn't resist sharing it with you. I was so surprised by the size of the lioness compared to the man (she's huge!) and loved hearing the cub "talk" to his dad at the end... what observations do you make when you watch it?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Wonderopolis

I wanted to share a really cool website with you...


National Center for Family Literacy launches new Wonderopolis™ site. Start exploring today!

Wonderopolis™ is for parents and children to nurture a sense of wonder and build a brighter world for children through the power of discovery, creativity, learning and imagination. Through the guidance of the National Center for Family Literacy and the support of Thinkfinity.org, Wonderopolis™ shows families, and reminds us all, that learning is fun. Whether it's a curious question or an everyday adventure, learning follows us wherever we go. Wonderopolis™ helps bring fun family-learning experiences to the dinner table, in the carpool line or at the park.

Each day, visit Wonderopolis™ for the Wonder of the Day® a simple activity for parents to share and explore the wonders of everyday life with children. Talk about what makes popcorn pop while preparing a snack for a movie. Go stargazing and chat about where shooting stars come from. Take a break from rereading the same story and ask a child to create a new one on the spot.

Monday, January 17, 2011

I have a dream too!

We have been talking a lot about heroes in the past couple of months. The Dr. King holiday this week gave us another opportunity to talk about how heroes can inspire us to be great. We watched a video version of the book Martin's Big Words and will be using an online template to create our own books.


Kids: When you are ready to print out your own Big Words book, click here to type it up. Remember that you will not be able to save it - work quickly!



Martin Luther King Jr. from Online Bucket on Vimeo.

Here are the historical photographs we looked at in class: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/photogallery/1956-62/thumbs.html

Monday, January 3, 2011

Vacation Fun!

Our Tuesday writing homework is to think about something fun/a special memory you have from your winter vacation and describe it in detail. Here's my assignment for you to read...


      There were a lot of special moments during my vacation but one of my favorite memories was watching my nephews wrestle during lunch one day. We had just ordered our food and we were relaxing in our booth, waiting for it to arrive. Sam started grabbing his older brother Jake around the neck and squeezing him and wrestling him down to the bench seat. He was making the funniest noises and angry faces. We couldn't stop laughing at how silly he was being. He would start to settle down and then suddenly start up all over again. Jake was such a good sport and didn't even mind being attacked. He was laughing about it too because it was so funny and unexpected. My sister and I snapped a bunch of pictures and I caught a little bit of the craziness on video with my phone. I had never seen him act like that before. He was a total wild man! It makes me smile even now just thinking about it all again...


Have fun writing about your memory and feel free to type it up and include a picture too!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Reading Dahlathon


One of my very favorite authors is Roald Dahl. I fell in love with his books when I was young and have been sharing him with my students since I started teaching. I'm not sure if this site is new but I stumbled across it for the first time today... http://www.roalddahlclub.com/

In September, in honor of Dahl's birthday, they began a reading challenge. Any child, living in the United States between the ages of 7 and 13 can earn The Official Dahlathalon Award for reading just three Roald Dahl books.

Whether or not your child chooses to participate, the website is great fun!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Letters to Lions


One of our third grade writing standards is letter writing.
Write personal and formal letters, thank-you notes, and invitations:
a. Show awareness of the knowledge and interests of the audience and establish a purpose and context.
b. Include the date, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature.


National Geographic Kids website offers a great opportunity to practice this form of writing while doing something good! From the site - "Lions are in danger of extinction across Africa. Filmmakers and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert want you to help save lions! Write letters to lions and the Jouberts will deliver them to African leaders to let them know how important lions are to kids everywhere. And we may feature a few of them in a gallery on the National Geographic websites and in print!"


For more information about these beautiful animals, click here. Nat Geo Wild will be supporting National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative with Big Cat Week starting December 6th. Check it out and
cause an uproar!