Volume

We have been exploring volume in math, and have done so with the use of these blocks. The students were challenged to use 36 blocks to create as many different rectangular pyramids as possible. They had many different strategies to help them solve this mystery!

Surfs Up!

We just finished reading a story called Seal Surfer in our shared reading time. We decided to invite a "real" surfer to tell us about surfing.... Mr. Wetzel! We enjoyed learning about what it's like to surf. Thank you to Mr. Wetzel for sharing this COOL information with us!

Mystery Reader

Our latest Mystery Reader was Kyle's cousin, Adam!

Kyle started to become suspicious that it was someone who lived on a farm, but he knew it was Adam for sure when I read the clue...

The Mystery Reader is a senior in high school!

Thank you to Adam, and his dad, Steve for coming to visit our class!!

Marley: A Dog Like No Other

The kids begged me to read Marley: A Dog Like No Other, so I willingly agreed!!

Acquired by Grogan and his wife in Florida when he was a puppy, Marley, an oversize, energetic, and supremely loving yellow Lab, was expelled from his first obedience school but successfully auditioned for a part in a movie. He bolted his food, chewed everything in sight, and went berserk in thunderstorms. After moving to Pennsylvania with the growing Grogan family, he discovered the joy of snow, tobogganing down the hill on his master's stomach. Although never really well-behaved, Marley made his home in their hearts for 13 years. Grogan has trimmed down his best-selling account, Marley and Me (2005), for younger readers, leaving out considerable detail about the family but keeping all the deeds and misdeeds that made Marley so entertaining. The dog's poignant last days are detailed as well. Young readers with pets of their own will recognize the unconditional affection Marley gave and the love he earned in return. Both humorous and sentimental, this should attract a broad range of readers.

Small Steps

We just finished reading my FAVORITE book of all time....

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

I cannot read it without letting a tear go at the end because of the joy I feel in the success of overcoming this GIGANTIC challenge.

This heartfelt memoir takes readers back to 1949 when the author, at age 12, contracted polio. Using fictionalized dialogue, she describes her seven-month ordeal--her diagnosis and quarantine, her terrifying paralysis, her slow and difficult recuperation--and the people she encountered along the way.

Fine Arts Day!

We had a great time at our annual Fine Arts Day! Today was a day to learn about the planets. We heard the Des Moines Symphony play 3 movements from The Planets, made booklets about the planets, created an art project about the Milky Way galaxy, and blasted off in our rockets (see the pic above) and learned about the planets. Thank you to the PTO for organizing this AWESOME event!!

Monument Open House

Families--

Join us for a Monument Open House!

Who: All 3rd Graders
What: Monument Open House
When: Friday, April 10th 3:00-3:30
Where: We will be stationed in our classrooms ready to present to friends and families!

***Please feel free to take your child's monument with you at the end of the day. I know many of them are hard for the children to take home on their own.

THANKS!!

Mystery Reader

Our latest mystery reader is none other than... Lauren's dad!

Lauren wasn't sure if it was a family member, but then she heard that our Mystery Reader was a CYCLONE fan and she knew who it was!!

Mr. Allen read a new version of the popular tale, The Three Pigs. It was hilarious!

Thank you for being our Mystery Reader!!

Spelling- Week #34

Regular List

1. there's
   
2. haven't
   
3. he's
4. couldn't
5. that's
6. I'll
7. isn't
8. didn't
9. they're
10. we'll
11. mustn't
12. shouldn't
13. wasn't
14. won't
15. I'd

Challenge List

1. Alaska
2. Idaho
3. Iowa
4. Kansas
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota
7. Missouri
8. Nebraska
9. North Dakota
10. Ohio
11. Oklahoma
12. South Dakota
13. Texas
14. Utah
15. Wisconsin
    

Spelling- Week #33

Regular List

1. rename
2. remind
3. sharing
4. hoping
5. rewrite
6. making
7. lately
8. dancing
9. reload
10. serving
11. replace
12. lovely
13. racing
14. closely
15. rebuild

Challenge List

1. abdomen
2. bicep
3. eyelash
4. forearm
5. forehead
6. hamstring
7. shoulder
8. skull
9. stomach
10. thigh
11. tongue
12. triceps
13. underarm
14. waist
15. wrist
    

Spelling- Week #32

Regular List

1. unseen
2. unable
3. discover
4. unload
5. unclean
6. unsure
7. uneven
8. dislike
9. displease
10. distrust
11. unwrap
12. untrue
13. unlucky
14. unchanged
15. untouched

Challenge List

1. alligator
2. bison
3. butterfly
4. elephant
5. ferret
6. giraffe
7. guinea pig
8. hippopotamus
9. iguana
10. kangaroo
11. penguin
12. praying mantis
13. raccoon
14. squirrel
15. walrus
    

Spelling- Week #31

Regular List

1. clown
2. join
3. town
4. crowd
5. enjoy
6. round
7. loud
8. point
9. coin
10. toys
11. about
12. proud
13. allow
14. foil
15. power

Challenge List

1. avalanche
2. cloud
3. earthquake
4. hurricane
5. lightning
6. meteorologist
7. mountain
8. monsoon
9. precipitation
10. rain gauge
11. sleet
12. thunder
13. tornado
14. tsunami
15. volcano
    

Spelling- Week #30 (Review Week)

Regular List

1. swimmer
2. biggest
3. slipped
4. winner
5. stepping
6. beginning
7. admitted
8. group
9. clue
10. again
11. said
12. brook
13. choose
14. soothe
15. fight
16. calf
17. eight
18. would
19. highway
20. fright
21. half
22. lost
23. caught
24. crawl
25. bought
26. long
27. awful
28. haul
29. soak
30. speak

Challenge List

1. activities
2. bookshelves
3. carriages
4. continents
5. contractions
6. countries
7. dictionaries
8. duchesses
9. experiments
10. laboratories
11. locations
12. packages
13. patios
14. statements
    

Spelling- Week #29

Regular List

1. already
2. because
3. almost
4. flaw
5. cost
6. wallet
7. laws
8. lost
9. long
10. belong
11. across
12. all right
13. bought
14. August
15. chalk

Challenge

1. carriage
2. disguise
3. esteem
4. exercise
5. ingredient
6. invitation
7. leather
8. legible
9. lemonade
10. master
11. mineral
12. parade
13. sponsor
14. sufficient
15. surround
    

Spelling- Week #28

Regular List

1. fight
2. half
3. sight
4. would
5. night
6. light
7. calf
8. might
9. highway
10. moonlight
11. bright
12. eight
13. thought
14. through
15. weight
    

Spelling- Week #27

Regular List

1. sciip
2. shoot
3. afternoon
4. cooler
5. roof
6. broom
7. pool
8. choose
9. goose
10. soothe
11. loose
12. stood
13. goodness
14. wool
15. brook

Challenge List

1. champion
2. continent
3. country
4. county
5. duchess
6. executive
7. journey
8. lantern
9. legislative
10. location
11. pastime
12. rural
13. statue
14. suburb
15. urban
    

Spelling- Week #26

Regular List

1. teacher
2. feel
3. speak
4. clue
5. fail
6. soak
7. below
8. lie
9. needle
10. said
11. group
12. feast
13. ready
14. cheap
15. again

Challenge List

1. absence
2. activity
3. adjective
4. adverb
5. arrangement
6. attendance
7. bookshelf
8. computer
9. contraction
10. dictionary
11. easel
12. entrance
13. schedule
14. statement
15. window
    

Spelling- Week #25

Regular List

1. swimmer
2. biggest
3. winner
4. cutting
5. faced
6. setting
7. stopped
8. wetter
9. slipped
10. stepping
11. beginning
12. admitted
13. jogger
14. flexing
15. waxed

Challenge List

1. biologist
2. chemical
3. cycle
4. engineer
5. evaporate
6. evidence
7. experiment
8. forecast
9. gravity
10. habitat
11. investigate
12. laboratory
13. observation
14. thermometer
15. uninhabited
    

Spelling- Week #24 (Review Week)

Regular List

1. large
2. before
3. garden
4. morning
5. clear
6. appear
7. early
8. first
9. honor
10. sugar
11. earth
12. learn
13. inches
    
14. watches
15. bunches
16. bushes
17. puppies
18. babies
19. children
20. geese
21. wolves
22. heroes
23. women
24. rained
25. studied
26. worried
27. copying
    
28. hurried
29. flying
30. replied

Challenge List

1. absolutely
2. accordingly
3. beautifully
4. certainly
   
5. conveniently
6. delightfully
7. healthy
8. independently
9. innocently
10. interestingly
11. loosely
12. necessarily
13. separately
14. sincerely
15. successfully
    

Mystery Reader

Our Mystery Reader was Nathan's mom!

The clue that helped Nathan discover that it was his mom was the one about loving to BAKE. YUMMY!!

She read a book about monsters and another about germs.

Thank you for being our Mystery Reader