Friday, August 31st, 2007
Dear Parents,
Things are going smoothly in class 3-1, and we had a very interesting week while learning many new things. We now have a pet praying mantis in class, and we even measured everyone to figure out the “average” height for all students in class. Before I update you on these things, however, I would like to introduce more about the EOP rules (English Only Policy). So far, it has proven effective. With the help of Mrs. Choi, students are beginning to respect my demands for less talking and more listening. The rules for the system are as follows:
1-Student is told to be quiet.
2-If student continues to talk, his/her name is written on the board in the “Warning” box.
3-If student continues not to listen, they are taken out into the hallway and spoken to, and his/her name is moved to the “EOP Violation” box.
4-Once three students names are in the box, they are taken to the office to speak with Mrs. Choi and principals, and a small punishment (Special Training) is decided on.
5-After three EOP violations, parents will be contacted and asked to visit the school
As well, I would like to remind that each student should have at least one ClearFile folder for loose papers that I give to them.
Now, I will update you as to what we covered in class.
We are finished with the Harcourt book, and from now on I will be using copied books from the library. These books are much more interesting, and more appropriate for our level of study. This week, we read a book from the famous “Curious George” series. We read “Curious George Flies a Kite.” I gave the students a homework assignment where they have to answer questions about the story. Please make sure students respect these books, and do not write in them or fold the pages. Students can take them home over the weekend, but they must be back on Monday.
English with Mr. Bean
This is a new activity I am beginning, which is similar to the Weekly Pop-Song we had last semester (we will continue to learn songs as well). I have included this on the class website for this week. Students watch an animated Mr. Bean cartoon which is 10 minutes long. They are then given a question sheet where they must fill in the blanks while watching Mr. Bean. We will do this activity every Monday or Tuesday. All of these episodes are available on the YouTube website.
Science
We are now using the Earth Sciences Unit B book, and learning about weather and forces of nature (tornados, volcanoes, hurricanes etc).
Megaflash
We are on Unit 7, page 110. We are focusing on prepositions, and opposites. A test will be scheduled soon. I have noticed that students are finally beginning to understand verb-tenses more effectively. Learning how to use past-tense is the most important thing third graders should master at this level. If I can see evidence of this in their journals, I am happy.
Math
Math is not something I plan to do continually, and I just wanted to spend a week on it to ensure students know the English terms for simple math equations. They now know them, so I will not continue with it.
Now here is the spelling list for next week. Many deal with Science and the “water cycle.” Others deal with “homonyms” – words that sound the same or have same spellings but have different meanings. Example: Which witch is which? Where should I wear my hat? They’re over there with their friends. As these are simple words, students will have to use them in a sentence for the test and know which spelling to use.
1. curious
2. exchange
3. helicopter
4. vapor
5. evaporate
6. condense
7. water cycle
8. cause
9. camouflage
10. precipitation
11. homonym
12. which
13. witch
14. their
15. there
16. they’re
17. wear
18. where
19. praying mantis
20. enjoyable
Now here is this week’s Daily English:
1. Curiosity killed the cat!
2. Which witch is which?
3. Heat causes water to evaporate and become water vapor.
4. Cool air causes water vapor to condense, and turn back into water.
5. Water moves up to the sky and down to the earth in a water cycle.
6. My favorite season is _______________, because I like _____________ and __________ weather.
7. The praying mantis is a predator and a carnivore. It is very good at camouflage.
8. I promise to listen in class and stop talking when my teacher is teaching, because I don’t want an EOP Violation.
9. I think it would be funny if Mr. Bean (think of something funny Mr. Bean could do).
Ex: I think it would be funny if Mr. Bean became my new teacher at KISQ.
10. They’re (doing something) over there (use a preposition and a place) with their (use a noun of something they own).
Ex: They’re playing soccer over there next to the mountain with their ball.
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