Mrs. Soons Class

New Developments!

Schedule:
     In order to allow for specials rotations, our 3rd grade schedule has shifted a bit. Our literacy block is first thing in the morning from 8:30-10 and specials will follow that from 10-11:30.
French/Francais:
     Monsieur Moon will be teaching French during the literacy block every other day as soon as we can finalize his schedule with all of 1st and 3rd grade.
Specials:
     Our specials will soon include music, art, PE, and service learning through cultural enrichment (This will be taught by our new Confucius Institute teachers and will include cultural activities & instruction on Chinese traditions and teachings)
Partner Teachers:
     Our partner teachers are en route from China, and will be here in the next week or so! Exciting! I can't wait to hear all of the questions that your children will be asking!
Lunch:
   Parents are invited to come and eat lunch with your children if you are in the neighborhood. Our lunchtime is at 12:05 followed by recess. You are also welcome to volunteer as a lunch or recess helper. Our wonderful room parents will be in touch with you soon to organize this!
Student Data Notebooks:
   Please send a 1.5 inch 3 ring binder to school with your child asap. Preferably one that has a clear sleeve in front for the cover page.

                       This will be used by your child to track his/her own progress in MATH.

Homework:
     I sent home a math homework page today. It is due on Friday. This will be the format for math homework each week unless there is a need for something different. This is a spiral practice that addresses all of the standards will be working on in the first unit.
   Reading Calendars and Reading Response Journals are also part of our weekly homework. Your child must record reading at least 4x each week by writing the TITLE of the book and/or the chapters read (if it is a chapter book). I will staple a list of appropriate responses depending upon the genre as soon as I can copy them. In the meantime see the example below: (I will also post this in the HW tab above)

    Reader’s Response Journal Starters:

http://www.kinderkorner.com/back.html

*I began to think _______.

*I love the way ________. 

*I can't believe ________. 

*I wonder why _______ ? 

*I noticed _______.

*I think _______. 

*I observed _______. 

*I wonder ________. 

*If I were __________. 

*I'm not sure _______. 

*I felt sad when _______. 

* I like the way the author _______. 

*I wish that _______. 

*This made me think of ______. 

*I was surprised ________. 

*It seems like _________. 

*I'm not sure ________. 

*This story teaches _______. 

*I began to think of _________. 

*I wonder what this means? 

*I really don't understand this part --- 

*I really like/dislike this idea because ________.

*This character reminds me of somebody I know because ________. 

*This character reminds me of me because ________.

*This character is like (name of the character) in (title of book) because ________. 

* I think this setting is important because ________.

*This scene reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book) because ________. 

*I like/dislike this writing because ________. 

*This part is very realistic/unrealistic because _________.

*I like/dislike (name of character) because _______. 

*This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. It happened when _________.

*The character I most admire is ______ because _________. 

*If I were (name of character) at this point, I would _________.

               Literature Response Activities:

• Compare and contrast characters, two books or texts, etc.
• Create an alternate ending.
• Create a book jacket.
• Retell a story.
• Summarize a book
• Write a letter to a character.
• Make a puzzle depicting a scene or a character.
• Create a poem about the text.
• Create a crossword puzzle based on the story.
• Make a cartoon of your favorite scene or an entire story.
• Write a review.
• Create a scrapbook.