Week of 1/7/13 - 1/11/13

Our good behavior “marble” party was a huge success. We got into the Christmas spirit watching The Muppet Christmas Carol. A great big thank you to Juliana's mom, Jackie's mom, and Emma's mom for bringing in all the healthy treats and drinks. You are all very appreciated!

Thank you, also, for all the terrific Christmas gifts. I am one spoiled lady with wonderful students AND parents!!

I hope you all have a joyous and healthy holiday. Enjoy your families and keep them close; I know I will. See you all in 2013!!

Coming up the week after the 2-week break:

Spelling: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 13; test on Friday. Cursive HW due Tuesday. Two challenge activities OR wb page 237 (Vol I) & write a story due Thursday.

English: We will take a break from our text book for a short time while we work on our New Year's resolutions and then write our autobiographies.

Reading: We will be reading Night of the Pufflings from our reading basals this week. We will also be exploring facts and opinions. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Friday.

Social Studies: We are starting chapter 3, “People Move from Place to Place” this week.

Science: We continue chapter 11, Properties of Matter. Lesson 3 “How Does Matter Change” will be read and discussed on Monday and Tuesday. There will be an open book/note graded review on Thursday. The chapter 11 test will be on Tuesday, 1/15.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: There will only be 3 days of math the week we return because MAPs testing will be going on. We'll continue chapter 20 with measurement on Monday. There will be a checkpoint quiz on Thursday. We'll then continue the chapter the following week. Thursday, 1/17, is our tentative test date for chapter 20.

Important Dates:

12/21 – Winter break starts at the end of the day

1/9 – Reading MAPs testing (Mrs. Klacza)

1/11 – Math MAPs testing (Mrs. Klacza)

1/14 - “Matter Matters” in-school field trip

1/21 – Martin Luther King Jr. bday – Day off

Have a great holiday break! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/17/12 - 12/21/12

There are lots of fun activities going on this week. Bowling is Monday morning and I'm requesting that all students bring a lunch from home on that day. Children typically end up eating a bunch of snacks at the bowling alley and then the food they order from our food service goes to waste because they either don't take a lunch or they throw it away.

Also, many children enjoy buying snacks at the bowling alley. This is optional and I suggest $5 as a good amount for food. I would not go any higher than $10; trust me, they will find a way to spend every last cent!!

Please make sure you also write your child's shoe size in their assignment notebook.  They will pick up shoes as they enter the bowling alley.

My students have just won another good behavior party!! Yay!!! We will watch Muppets Christmas Carol on Wednesday. If any parents would like to send in a healthy treat for the class, it would be much appreciated.

Please read on to find out more about the “happenings” revolving around room 105 this week.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Pretest on Monday, Holiday Words!! The only homework this week will be to put the words in abc order. There are no challenge words. If your child passes the pretest on Monday, they won't have to take the test on Friday.

English: Our Verbs test (unit 3 in textbook) will be on Thursday.

We will be studying adjectives when we return from break.

Reading: This week we will be studying Christmas around the world! We are exploring 7 countries and the ways they celebrate Christmas. Each group includes 3-4 students. They will each make a poster and present their information to the class on Thursday. I've given them a “heads up” on their country and told them to do a little research over the weekend and early next week. Pictures from the internet would be a great thing to look for. Can't wait to see what they produce!

Social Studies: We are taking a little break from social studies this week. I've decided to cancel the test I had originally planned. We will start up again after the holiday break with chapter 3, “People Move from Place to Place.”

Science: We continue chapter 11, Properties of Matter. Tuesday there will be a lesson 2 graded review (open book/notes.) We'll start up again with lesson 3 after the break.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Our test on graphing, chapter 6, is Monday. Students have study guides in their binders.  Our 3rd week of multiplication will include 5's and a review of the last 2 weeks.  Timed test will be on Friday.  We will also start chapter 20 this week on customary measurement. I'm happy to report that the children earned a marble party for good behavior which they redeemed today. Ask them about it...

Important Dates:

12/17 - 3^rd graders go bowling (no hot lunches/please bring lunch from home)

12/18 – All school concert at 8:05 a.m.

12/19 – Good Behavior Party

12/21 – Trip to the Tivoli to see Polar Express (no cost to you; THANK YOU MRS. SCHULTZ!!!)

12/21 – Winter break starts at the end of the day

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/10/12 - 12/14/12

After reading the book The Elf on the Shelf, Jingles, our elf, has been found in some interesting situations... Can't wait to see where we find him next week!

If you haven't already sent in your signed permission slips for our Tivoli theater outing, please do so as soon as possible.

We are more than halfway through the second quarter; please make sure you check your child's grades on line! Also, children should be coming to school in warm coats, hats, and gloves as we will go out to recess if it's not raining.

I hope to see many of you at our district fundraiser this Tuesday at Barnes & Noble at the Promenade. I'll be working there at 6:15!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 12. Cursive HW due Tuesday. Workbook pages 222 & 223 due Thursday. Students with challenge words will be doing 2 challenge activities instead, also due Thursday. Test on Friday (none for challenge students.)

English: As we continue our chapter on verbs, we will focus on verbs in the future tense, the verb “be” and helping verbs. On Wednesday we will have a graded review on the first 6 lessons.

We are also having a D.O.L. Quiz on titles and introductory words on Monday. A study guide should be in your child's binder.

Reading: We will continue working with visualization using our story Dogzilla. However, we'll also work with cause and effect, point of view, and author's purpose as we plow through the weeks ahead.

Social Studies: We have started chapter 12, lesson 1, in our textbook which focuses on local government. There will be an open book graded review Monday on lesson 1. Looks like later in the week we should be finishing up lesson 2 which also includes a short (open book) graded review. The tentative test date for this chapter is Tuesday, 12/18.

Science: We have started chapter 11, Properties of Matter. Monday we will do our own sink or float experiment, leading up to an open book, graded review on lesson 1 on Tuesday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We are doing a great job studying chapter 6 on data. This involves graphing and reading graphs. We are also continuing “Multiplication Facts in Seven Weeks.” We'll start week two on Monday with the “2s.” Tentative math test for chapter 6 is Monday, 12/17.

Important Dates:

12/10 – Choir concert at LV

12/11 – District fundraiser at Barnes & Noble

12/17 - 3^rd graders go bowling (permission slip coming home on Monday

12/18 – All school concert at 8:30 a.m.

12/21 – Trip to the Tivoli to see Polar Express

12/21 – Winter break starts at the end of the day

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/3/12 - 12/7/12

Even though this was our first full week in a long time, we had a great one. We enjoyed 2 assemblies: Rockin Science and an assembly on quilting, which goes along with our reading story, The Keeping Quilt. Thank you to Mrs. Vanni who activated our schema with information on Downers Grove history and then presented her beautiful quilts.

Can you believe it's almost December?? Enjoy the beautiful weather that's been forecasted.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 11. Cursive HW due Tuesday. “Write a story” and WB. p. 202 due Thursday. Students with challenge words will be doing 2 challenge activities instead, also due Thursday. Test on Friday (none for challenge students.)

English: We will start the next session of daily D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language) and it includes titles and introductory words. There will be a quiz at the end. We will also be starting unit 3 from our textbook on verbs, focusing this week on verbs in the present tense and past tense.

Reading: We will finish up The Keeping Quilt with an open book quiz on Tuesday. A new skill will be added to our repertoire: Evaluate & Visualize.

We will read Dogzilla from our reading basals.

Social Studies: Our final test on Downers Grove, both historical and modern day, will be Tuesday, December 4. A study guide went home earlier in the week. We will then link that unit to chapter 12 in our textbook which focuses on local government.

Science: Our next unit in science is chapter 11, Properties of Matter. We will start lesson 1 by reading and filling out our “quick study.”

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we will start chapter 6 on data. This involves graphing and reading graphs. We will also start learning our multiplication facts with a program called “Multiplication Facts in Seven Weeks.” Each week, I will send some problems I would like you to help your child master. Only work on those particular facts. They should know these by the end of the week. Hopefully, you all have your multiplication flash cards at home so pull the appropriate cards out each week for practice. On Fridays, a timed test will be given and graded. More information will be coming home on Monday. Check those binders!

Important Dates:

12/17 - 3^rd graders go bowling (permission slip coming home on Monday)

12/21 – Winter break starts at the end of the day

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Weeks of 11/19/12 - 11/23/12 and 11/26/12 - 11/30/12

Since next week has only 2 school days in it, I am blogging for the next two weeks. I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, full of good food, family, friends, and happiness. I am very thankful to be here in 3rd grade with your wonderful children and our terrific staff.  Enjoy the beautiful weather that's been forecasted.

On Tuesday, we will be going on our Downers Grove field trip. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. It looks like it will be in the 50's with a slight chance of rain. No lunch is needed on that day since we will be eating pizza. A maximum of $10.00 could be brought for shopping purposes after lunch. I am looking forward to this trip as much as the children!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: No spelling next week.

The week of 11/26: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 10. Cursive HW due Tuesday. “Write a story” and WB. p. 184 due Thursday. Students with challenge words will be doing 2 challenge activities instead, also due Thursday. Test on Friday (none for challenge students.)

English: There will be a quiz on plural nouns, unit 2 lessons 4-7, on Monday. The following week we will finish the nouns chapter. Unit 2 test on nouns will be Thursday, 11/29.

Reading: We will be starting our next reading skill, self-questioning. As readers, we need to be able to stop during our reading and ask ourselves pertinent questions which will help us gain a better understanding of the text. Our story will be from the basal. It is called The Keeping Quilt.

Social Studies: We have started studying modern day Downers Grove. We will continue reading and jotting notes in our learning logs. Tentative test date for this information will be Tuesday, December 4.

Science: We will be reading lesson 4 on Monday, How do Ecosystems Change? Open book graded review on this lesson will take place on Wednesday, 11/28. The science test on chapter 4 will be on Friday, 11/30.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We started our time unit today. If there is ever a question on how to tackle the homework, please ask your child to consult their math packets. They are always in the math pocket of your child's binder. Monday and Tuesday of next week we will be focusing on a.m./p.m. and elapsed time. The following week, we will work on the calendar. After reviewing on Tuesday, I think the students will be ready for a test on time on Wednesday, 11/28, but I will gauge that and make a final decision as it gets closer.

Important Dates:

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/12/12 - 11/16/12

Happy Veteran's Day everyone! Please make sure to thank a veteran for their service to our country, especially this weekend. Enjoy the 3-day weekend! Go Bears!!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: We will have an unusual spelling week... There will be no pretest or test; however, there are Thanksgiving words that will be given out on Tuesday and a homework assignment which goes along with the words.

English: There will be a Nouns quiz on lessons 1-3 (unit 2 in our textbooks) on Tuesday. It will cover what a noun is (a person, place, or thing,) nouns in a subject, and common/proper nouns. We will then move on to plural nouns. Tentative test date for the entire unit is 11/29.

Reading: We will continue studying synonyms and antonyms this week. We will also meet in our book groups to continue/finish up our current novels. Lastly, we will be doing some turkey-related activities. The students are bringing home a turkey today that they need to disguise. They will be writing about it this coming week.

Social Studies: I've moved the quiz to 11/14 on Downers Grove history. The students are aware of this. The study guide already went home and the packet should be in their social studies pockets. We will then continue studying modern day Downers Grove. Field trip is on 11/20!

Science: A lesson review (quiz) on lesson 3 (how living things survive in ecosystems) will be on Thursday. Remember, students may use their textbooks and notes during the lesson review. There is one more lesson coming up in chapter 4; tentative test date for the chapter is 11/30

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we continue chapter 5 on money and time. Today we were making change. Students took home their change and some fake bills. Please make sure they use it to make change, which is the homework for today. Tuesday we will work on adding/subtracting money. We will review on Wednesday and the test on money is scheduled for 11/15. After that, we will move on to the time portion of chapter 5.

Important Dates:

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great LONG weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/5/12 - 11/9/12

Thank you to all the parents who came to conferences on Monday and Tuesday. It was delightful to sit down and chat with you about your child. Thank you, also, for being so prompt!! I had a lot of conferences, but was able to stay on schedule :)

Thank you to all the fabulous Halloween “party moms!” The game stations were awesome and the food/beverages were incredible!! I've said it before and I'll say it again... We have the best families in District 66!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: This week we will have no spelling words or tests since it is a 3-day week. Enjoy the time off!

English: We have started studying Nouns which is Unit 2 in the text book. This week we will focus specifically on common and proper nouns and nouns in the subject of the sentence.

Reading: We will continue predicting and also add on synonyms and antonyms. We will also meet in our book groups to continue/finish up our current novels.

Social Studies: We will be finishing up our Downers Grove history packet. There will be a quiz covering the material on 11/13.

Science: A lesson review (quiz) on lesson 2 (types of ecosystems) will be on Thursday. Remember, students may use their textbooks and notes during the lesson review.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we will start chapter 5 on money and time. I will break it in half and test both sections separately. This week we will focus specifically on counting bills and coins, comparing money amounts, and making change. The test on money is scheduled for 11/15. We'll then move on to time! A letter went home today asking for your child to bring in some coins for Monday. Thank you!

Important Dates:

11/5 – Day off

11/6 – Teacher Institute (students are off/parents are voting!!)

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great LONG weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/29/12 -11/2/12

Halloween is Wednesday already!! There will be a costume parade at 1:00 around the school (weather permitting) and parties will start at 1:30. I hope you can all come and see the parade – just stand out front and you'll see us!! Students should carry in their costumes on Wednesday. They cannot wear their costumes to school. Remember, we only have a short time to change and we will be changing in the classroom (one class for boys, another for girls). Please make sure their costumes are suitable for this. Trips to the bathroom are not allowed. No weapons of any kind are allowed.

I'm looking forward to meeting with you at conferences Monday and Tuesday. See you then!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: This week, we will be working with Halloween-related words. There will be no pretest and there will be a fun homework assignment each night related to those words. The final test is on Friday.

English: The haunted house essays are due on Monday. They should be neatly written after being edited by someone at home :) The haunted houses have been made here at school that show what they are trying to sell in their essays! Hopefully, you can find your child's when you come to conferences.  We will then start our next chapter in English, NOUNS!!

Reading: We will continue predicting and practicing cause and effect. There will be a cause and effect assessment on Thursday and the students may use their notes/worksheets.

Social Studies: We will continue our communities unit this week, focusing specifically on Downers Grove. This week we are learning the history of our village.

Science: We will continue chapter 4 on ecosystems. This week we will focus on lesson 2, types of ecosystems.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will continue working with subtraction across zeros on Monday, do some problem solving on Tuesday, pretest on Thursday, test on chapter 4 Friday. On Wednesday, we'll have some fun with Halloween math.

Important Dates:

10/26 – End of quarter 1

10/29 & 10/30 – Homeroom conferences

10/31 – Halloween festivities

11/5 – Day off

11/6 – Teacher Institute (students are off/parents are voting!!)

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/22/12 - 10/26/12

Our first marble party was a huge success! Thank you to Jackie's mom for providing the delicious popcorn and to Emma's and Juliana's moms for providing the refreshing water.

Just a reminder, Halloween is fast approaching. There will be a costume parade at 1:00 around the school (weather permitting) and parties will start at 1:30. I have great moms who have already been making plans! Costumes are to be brought in with your child on Wednesday. Students cannot wear their costumes to school. Remember, we only have a short time to change and we will be changing in the classroom (one class for boys, another for girls.) Please make sure their costumes are suitable for this. Trips to the bathroom for changing are not allowed. No weapons of any kind are allowed.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: This week, we will be taking a pretest on LESSON 9 on Monday. The cursive worksheet is homework on Monday. On Tuesday, depending on what group your child is in (challenge or non-challenge) the homework will either be 2 challenge activities OR ABC order and 2 workbook pages. The homework assigned on Tuesday will be due on Thursday.  The final test is on Friday. The students will only be tested on the regular spelling words; challenge words will not be tested.

English: We will be writing our persuasive haunted house paragraphs this week using sensory and Halloween words. The students will be using vivid words to describe the haunted house they wish to persuade someone to buy! They will also be making the haunted house.

Reading: We will continue predicting and we will also focus on cause and effect. There will be a short vocabulary quiz on Cliffhanger words on Wednesday. We will also be starting our reading groups this week. There will be 3 groups and 3 different novels the students will be reading and discussing. I have chosen “good fit” books for each group.

Social Studies: We will start our communities unit this week, focusing specifically on my own town, Downers Grove.

Science: We will continue chapter 4 on ecosystems. There will be a short graded review on lesson 1 on Tuesday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will start chapter 4 on subtraction. Please make sure your child is practicing his/her subtraction math facts. It will come in handy during this chapter. Probably the trickiest lesson we will encounter will be subtraction across zeroes, for example, 5000 – 1399. This is a tricky concept for children. Any practice they can receive at home would be greatly appreciated. Looks like Friday and Monday will be reserved for that fun lesson!

Important Dates:

10/25 – Early Dismissal (11:00 PV)

10/26 – End of quarter 1

10/29 & 10/30 – Homeroom conferences

10/31 – Halloween festivities

11/5 – Day off

11/6 – Teacher Institute (students are off/parents are voting!!)

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/15/12 - 10/19/12

My well-behaved students have won their first marble party!! Woot-woot!!  So, on Wednesday we will be watching Mulan, which, incidentally, fits very nicely into our reading unit! Congrats to room 105 :)

Also, Halloween is fast approaching. There will be a costume parade at 1:00 around the school (weather permitting) and parties will start at 1:30. I have great moms who have already been alerted with duties!  

Costumes are to be brought in with your child on Wednesday. Students cannot wear their costumes to school. Remember, we only have a short time to change and we will be changing in the classroom (one class for boys, another for girls). Please make sure their costumes are suitable for this. Trips to the bathroom are not allowed. No weapons of any kind are allowed.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: This week, we will be taking a pretest on LESSON 8 on Monday. The cursive worksheet is homework on Monday. On Tuesday, depending on what group your child is in (challenge or non-challenge) the homework will either be 2 challenge activities OR ABC order and 2 workbook pages. The homework assigned on Tuesday will be due on Thursday.  The final test is on Friday. The students will only be tested on the regular spelling words; challenge words will not be tested.

English: We will writing descriptively this week using sensory words and Halloween words.

Reading: This week's reading skill is predicting and we will also focus on cause and effect. Our story is Cliffhanger. We will still be inferencing now and then, also.

Social Studies: We have learned about the equator and the northern and southern hemispheres. Students should be prepared for a hemisphere quiz on Thursday.

Science: This week we will start chapter 4 on ecosystems.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We are rolling through chapter 3 on addition. A few changes have been made. Our checkpoint quiz will be Tuesday. It's strictly on 2-digit and 3-digit addition. The chapter 3 test will be Friday, 10/19. A study guide is in your child's binder.

Important Dates:

10/25 – Early Dismissal (11:00 PV)

10/26 – End of quarter 1
10/29 & 10/30 - Conferences

10/31 – Halloween festivities

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza