Thursday, December 11, 2014

Study guide for science

The Ear and Sound Study Guide
Assessment on Friday, December 19th

You need to be able to fill out the parts of the ear.
Sound is vibrations that travel in waves.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone with his assistant Mr. Watson. The first words spoken were “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.”


The “outer ear” is made up of the Pinna and the auditory canal.
The “middle ear” is made up of the ear drum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup. 
The “inner ear” is made up of the cochlea and the auditory nerve.


The reason you feel dizzy after spinning for a period of time is that your brain is confused. It is receiving two messages from your body. One- your semi-circular canals have liquid in them that continues to move after you stop which tells your brain that you are still moving. Two- your legs tell your brain that you have stopped moving. You become dizzy and may fall.


There are many ways to keep your ears healthy. Some of them are…
• Let a doctor remove your earwax when necessary.
• Don’t listen to loud noises for long periods of time.
• Wear hearing protectors like ear plugs or ear muffs if you are going to be around loud noises.
• Don’t ever place sharp things into your ears.


You hear sound…do your hand motions with this to help you remember.
 first- you hit a drum
  Then- vibrations occur
  Your pinna “catches” the sound
  It goes into your auditory canal
  and your eardrum begins to vibrate which vibrates up against the
  hammer, and then the
  anvil, and then the
  stirrup.
  Then it vibrates up against the cochlea which has
  a liquid that begins to move and
  tiny hairs that catch the message. The message is given to
  the auditory nerve which sends it to
  the brain stem/ medulla
  it ends up in the cerebrum and you hear sound.


You should also be able to sign your name with sign language.

Study guide for social studies!

Just click here for Ancient Rome study guide.


It was posted a while ago- so I wanted you have an easy link to it :)

this week's writing

We are writing in science class again. This time we are stating our opinions about whether our eyes or ears are more important. This is an in-class assignment!!! Please do not think that your child needs to finish this at home. We are working on it Thursday, Friday and Monday.


Students will need to start their papers with Occasion/Position topic sentences... here are some examples:
  • Although hearing is important, I think my sight is even more important.
  • Although I use my eyes a lot, I would rather lose my eyes than lose my ears.
  • If I had to lose one, I'd rather lose my ears than my eyes.
Students will also need to use transitions to start paragraphs and inside paragraphs.


Transition Words for CHANGING Paragraphs
·         First of all > Next > Finally
·         To begin > Next > In addition to
·         One reason > Another reason > The final reason
·         One example > Another example > The final example
·         An important reason > An equally important reason > The most important reason
 
Transition Words for Making a Point WITHIN a Paragraph

·         For example
·         For instance
·         Equally important
·         The most important
·         As well as
·         An example of


Their conclusion statement needs to be tied back into the opinion they stated in their topic sentence. (restated in a different way)






Wednesday, December 10, 2014

reminder

Reminder our Roman Party planning meeting is this Friday directly after school.  The Roman Holiday is January 9th 1-30:330.  We need your help!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Dress down day tomorrow

Because of the huge success of our food drive (almost 1400 items!!!), the whole school earned a dress down day for tomorrow- December 4th.


BUT- be on the lookout for Ms. Garofoli- SHE will be in a Highline uniform :)

Monday, December 1, 2014

winter concert music links

https://sites.google.com/a/highlineacademy.org/ms-tobias-music-info/


click on the link above for your child to practice the music for the Winter Concert. Thanks!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Opinion Writing

Hello! I hope you all have enjoyed some relaxing family time over this little break. I hope you had some tasty goodies and made some wonderful memories. By Monday, I hope your children will be ready for us again :)

I am writing to ask for some help though. We are finishing up our narrative writing unit. The students have really embraced using dialogue in their stories and have come quite far in their character descriptions. We need continued work on our transition skills and our conclusions- but we also have lots of time still left in the year.

Our next unit is our hardest- in my opinion :) We are beginning to find our opinions and figure out how to support them with details, examples or facts. We are going to learn about advertising and how they use slogans, sales, promotions, colors and actors to get us to buy things. We are going to argue our opinion by using the pros and cons of the situation. Finally, we are going to learn how to research our opinion to find relevant facts to help support it.

This is where you get to have some fun. How many of you have had your child ask you "Why?" when you give an answer? Now you can turn the tables on them.

Usually, by this age, the students are able to tell their opinion on something- but they don't always know why they believe it. The next time they ask you to buy that cereal, toy, book, game- ask them "why?" The next time they tell you something is true, ask "why?" The next time they want a sleepover, ask "why?" They will get frustrated at first and you may have to help them think through why- but they will get the hang of it. (and then you may wish you hadn't taught them)

Here are some questions that may help...
  • What reasons to you have to want THAT cereal?
  • Why shouldn't I get this one instead?
  • What makes you think that?
  • Did you read/see that somewhere?
  • Does someone you know use that?
  • Tell me three things that support that idea.
  • Why will that help you?
  • How do you know that is a healthier choice?
  • What makes that one better than this one?

Thank you so much and have fun!!!

Ms. Whalen and Ms. Wetzel

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

light and the eye assessment

If your child did not pass the light and the eye assessment with an 80% or higher, they will be offered a re-take on Monday, Dec 1st. Please study with them over the long weekend. You can still find the study guide on this blog- just scroll down the page some.
Thanks!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Ancient Rome Study Guide


Test Tuesday December16th
Ancient Romans worshipped many gods and goddesses
 
Pompeii was buried when Mt. Vesuvius erupted
 
Patricians- were members of powerful and wealthy families
 
Plebeians- ordinary working Romans
 
The city center was called the forum.
 
A dictator for life during the last days of the Roman Republic was Julius Caesar
 
Roman Senators killed Julius Caesar
 
Octavian’s name was changed to Augustus after he took power
 
Well-built roads connect the provinces to Rome
 
Roman Empire surrounded the Mediterranean Sea
 
At the Coliseum Romans watched fights between gladiators and wild beasts
 
At Circus Maximus Romans watched chariot races.
 
Legendary twin brothers who founded Rome- Romulus and Remus
 
Romans persecuted Christians because Christians refused to worship Roman gods
 
First Christian Roman Emperor-Constantine
 
Rome defeated Carthage in all 3 Punic Wars
 
What were at least 3 reasons for the fall of Rome?
 
  1. Greedy, selfish emperors;
  2. provinces unprotected from attack;
  3. corrupt generals;
  4. murder of senators and powerful Romans;
  5.  civil wars that destroyed towns and farms and disrupted trade;
  6. lack of food and people without jobs and homes;
  7. army made up of foreigners and soldiers were poorly treated;
  8.  Barbarians attacked and drove Romans out.
 
 

Planning session


Dear Parents and Guardians,
      We would love for you to join us for a short planning session for our Roman Holiday on Thursday December 12th directly after school.  We need parents to lead crafts, games and contribute food. The Holiday celebration will be after the Winter Break and at a date to be determined. Planning, attending and contributing counts toward your volunteer hours.  If you can not attend the planning meeting, please let us know how you would like to help. This is a very special day for our students and parent help is essential.  It’s guaranteed to be a memorable event!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Light and the Eye study guide


Science test on

Monday, November 24th

 

Students will need to identify the parts of the eye- this is a separate study guide.

Protective Eye Parts

 

Iris: - the colored part of our eye-protects the eye by either making the pupil appear smaller or bigger. When there is not enough light- the iris becomes smaller which makes the pupil look very large. This allows the pupil to let in more light. If there is too much light- the iris becomes larger which makes the pupil appear small. This keeps too much light from entering the eye.

 

Sclera- the white of our eye- when something is in our eye the sclera rushes blood to the veins in our eyes to help push things out of our eye.

 

Cornea- the clear covering that covers the pupil and iris- The covering keeps things out of the pupil hole.

 

Eyelash- the little hairs attached to the eye lids- help sweep away dust, dirt and snow so that they don’t get into our eyes.

 

Eyebrow- the hairs above our eyes- help keep sweat out of our eyes by guiding it to the outside of our face.

 

Eye lids- the skin that covers the eye when closed- the eye lids help to keep our eyes moist, closes automatically when something is coming quickly towards them, and works with the sclera to clear the eye.

 

Tear gland and tear duct- the gland “Mr. Peanut” is in the outer corner above each eye and it creates the tears that keep our eyes moist, helps show emotion and cleans out our eyes. Our tears are also the “sleep” caught in our eyes in the morning. The tear duct is the drain in the corner of each eye near the nose. The duct drains tears from our eyes and down into our noses.

 

 

Know these definitions:

- Spectrum: all the colors (ROYGBIV) that come together to make up white light

- Prism: a transparent object that is used to separate white light into the spectrum of colors.

- Refract: to bend

- Reflect: to bounce back

- Transparent: You can see clearly through it and light can pass through it. (A window, eye glass lens, glass, water.)

- Translucent: You can not see clearly through it, you can see shadows of objects. Light can pass through it. (Most colored glass or glass with a design, fluorescent light covers, some shades, gauzy curtains).

- Opaque: You can not see through it. No light can pass through it. (Person, car, tree, wall, desk, chair.)

- Convex: curved outward- Larger view, used in stores to see around corners. Used in microscopes.

- Concave: curved inward- smaller view, objects appear upside down. Used in telescopes.

 

Know this information:

- Light travels in a straight line.

- Light travels in waves.

- Light is energy.

-We can only see things when light hits an object and bounces off it. The light from the object then travels through our pupils which creates an upside-down image on our retina. The image then travels on the optic nerve to the brain, where it is turned right side up again.

- Dark objects absorb more light than light colored objects. This is why dark clothing is hotter in the summer. It is collecting more energy from the light.

-The best object to reflect something would be a flat mirror- plane mirror. It creates an exact reflection, only backwards.

-Light is bending and slowed down when it is refracted.

-A transparent object, such as water or a lens, is used to refract light.

-When light is blocked by an opaque object, a shadow of the object is formed.

-White light is made up of a spectrum of colors (all the colors of the rainbow).

- A prism or a drop of water can be used to break up white light into a spectrum.

- ROY G BIV- Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet

Monday, November 17, 2014

Math lessons- help!

If you are having trouble helping your child with their math homework- Ms. Neuhart has found a website that may help. There is a short video for each lesson! Look for the Module number first and then the lesson number.


We are on Module 2 right now.


http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/common-core-math-worksheets-grade3.html


Hope this helps :)
Ms Whalen

Sunday, November 9, 2014

This week's writing assignment

During conferences we received a request to see the writing prompt before the writing day. The reasoning behind this was so that if families wanted to talk through the prompt with their student, perhaps it might give the students some time to develop their writing orally before they have to plan and draft it on Wednesday. Please do not have your student begin writing to this prompt. This is an in class assignment for Wednesday and Thursday.



A flying saucer has been sighted over your town. You have never believed in flying saucers, but then you see it for yourself and... Write a narrative telling what happens next. Does the saucer land? Do you meet the crew? How do you communicate? What do they look like? Are they friendly? Puzzled? Shy? Suspicious? What about sounds? Sights? Smells? Make your story as interesting as you can for your reader. Create characters and describe the setting. Make your plot move along to a climax and a satisfying conclusion.

These are elements of Narrative writing that must be included in your story...
A topic sentence with a hook.
dialogue
details that "show, not tell"
time moving transitions and/or place movers
A conclusion in which the character states a lesson learned or the moral of the story.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Science project

Nervous System Project !
Due November 3rd, 2014!!!

Your final for the Nervous System Unit is to make a model of the brain.


You may use any materials that you can find around the house.  Some ideas for things to use are: dry noodles, beans, clay, play dough, cardboard, Legos, baked pan cookies with icing. Just about anything will work as long as it does not create a mess in the classroom; no ice sculptures or ice cream models.       


You may not just draw a picture on paper, but you may glue things to poster board or cardboard, or build the model any other way you would like to. This is your unit ending final grade. I am looking to see what you have learned during this unit and how you are able to communicate that learning to me. Please show me that you care by spending some time and effort on this project and it will reflect in your grade. The majority of your grade will be the oral interview, but your project will be at least 1/3 of it. The entire project will have 30 possible points to earn.
You brain model will need to include:
• Cerebrum
• Cerebellum
• Brain stem/medulla
• Spinal cord
You will need to explain each area of the brain and what its function is to me during our oral interview.


Extra credit: it is not necessary but if you are looking for 5 extra points you can also include a model of a nerve. It must include the cell body, dendrites and an axon.

You can turn in this project any time before the 3rd, but it must be turned in by the 3rd. If it is turned in late, you will lose 5 points for each day it is late.

If you are in need of supplies to create your project, please let me know ASAP.
Tara Whalen






Nervous System Study Guide

Please practice with your child as they present their model to you.

Cerebrum-

Actions that take place in the cerebrum:

  • 85 % of the weight of the brain
  • 9/10 the size of the brain
  • The outer layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex.
  • Voluntary muscles. (voluntary muscles are those that we can control- for skiing, walking, jumping, writing, etc)
  • Thinking
  • Learning
  • Personality
  • 5 senses
  • Emotions
  • Intelligence
  • Memory- long term and short term
  • Left side of the cerebrum controls the right side of the body. Right side controls the left side of the body.
  • There is a thick bundle of nerves that connects the hemispheres so that they can “talk” to each other.
  • Left hemisphere of the cerebrum:      
    • Math
    • Science
    • Logical reasoning
  • Right hemisphere of the cerebrum:
    • Art
    • Music
    • Creativity

Cerebellum-

  • Balance and Coordination- using both sides of the body in order to do something

Brain stem (also called the Medulla)-

  • “central computer”
  • “Post office”- sorts messages received from the body and sends them to the brain. Sorts messages from the brain and sends them to the body.
  • Involuntary muscles (involuntary muscles work on their own such as breathing, heart beating and digestion)
  • Reflexes     
Spinal cord-

  • Carries messages from the body to the brain
  • Carries messages from the brain to the body

Nerves-

  • Are what the messages travel on
  • Messages are “caught” by the dendrites and passed down through the axon where they “jump” to the next nerve.


Parent Guardian Teacher conferences

We are coming up on conference in just a few weeks- Oct 30th and 31st to be exact. You can click on the links below to sign up for conference with the 3rd grade team.

Thanks!

Click here for Tara Whalen's schedule



Click here for Sue Wetzel's schedule



Click here for Natalie Neuhart's schedule





Speaking of Ms. Neuhart... Click here for a link to her blog...

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Social Studies Study guide


Guide for Canada Test – October 20th

Please concentrate on how Canada is alike and different from the United States.  You may use this guide to study, as well the guide (Venn diagram) that you have completed in class.  The test will be in a Venn diagram format.  On your Venn diagram you will be required to summarize at least one historical development and how it has shaped the development of present day Canada and also identify that Canada is divided into provinces and territories.  I will bold print these points on this study guide. You will need to write at least 3 facts for each category plus and one additional fact, any category; it must include some of the bolded facts.

Alike:

Native Americas lived in both first

Totem poles

Tepees

Hunted buffalo

Native people were treated poorly by settlers

Both were colonies of England at one time

Both are no longer Colonies of England

Both speak English

The money is called dollars and cents

TV shows

Food (hamburgers, cornflakes)

Multicultural

 

USA:

Rebelled against England and fought a war for their independence

Divided into states

Money has presidents and other American symbols

Baseball and football

Large population

President

Warm and cold climates

Eagle, a national symbol

Flag has stars and stripes

 

Canada:

Divided into provinces and territories

Settled by French people

Many speak French

Gradually and peacefully broke away from England

Money has a loon, beaver and the Queen of England

Mounties

Hockey

Larger in land

Cold climate

Inuits

Igloos

Flag has a maple leaf

Prime Minister

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Help please!!

Third grade needs snacks! If you can and are willing to buy and share, it would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Ms. Whalen and Ms. Wetzel

Monday, October 6, 2014

The Common Core makes simple math more complicated. Here's why.

Click here for original article.

The start of a new school year means that confusing math problems linked to the Common Core are circulating again on Facebook and blogs. The conservative Heritage Foundation picked out the latest example, originally from RedState.com editor Erick Erickson: a textbook that uses six steps to explain how to subtract two numbers.
common core math

This math is frustrating to parents and to some students — with good reason. Elementary school math has become more complicated since the introduction of the Common Core state standards, which require that elementary school kids not just know how to subtract, multiply and divide, but understand what they're doing and why.
Common Core still requires students to learn and understand the standard algorithm, the techniques for adding, multiplying, and dividing that generations of schoolkids have learned. (Erickson says the standard algorithm is derogatorily called the "granny method," but if so, that term is not widely used in math education or textbooks.) But it also requires them to understand other methods, and those methods can make easy math look more difficult.
How Common Core math is different
Arithmetic has usually been taught like it's a recipe: Take the raw ingredients (the numbers), follow a series of steps, and end up with a result (the answer). While an experienced baker knows why you cream butter and sugar before adding eggs, then add flour last, a beginner just following the steps is in the dark. They might know what to do, but they can't explain why.
In the past, "students had this sense that math was some kind of magical black box," says Dan Meyer, a former high school math teacher studying math education at Stanford University. "That wasn't good enough."
One goal of the Common Core math standards is to make American students better at applying math in real life — a skill that's crucial for science and technology jobs, but one at which American students are particularly weak compared with peers around the world.
The theory is that if students understand why they do math the way they do, they'll be able to apply their skills more flexibly.

Do you have number sense?

Number sense means that you have a sense of how and why the tricks you call "math" work.
That seems abstruse and philosophical, but it's really not. You'd probably be flummoxed if someone ambushed you right after you finished a meal to demand that you multiply two decimals in your head — say, 18.5 x 0.2. That's a complicated arithmetic problem on a full stomach.
But this happens frequently in real life, where it looks like this: Your lunch cost $18.50. You want to tip 20 percent.
Cell phones with built-in calculators have made it easy to get the tip ($3.70). But many adults still do it in their heads: Move the decimal point over. OK, that's 10 percent, or $1.85. Now you need to double it. But multiplying a three-digit decimal still isn't easy. So you think about it this way: $1.85 can be broken down into $1.50 plus 35 cents. $1.50 times 2 is $3, and 35 cents times 2 is 70 cents. Tip $3.70.
Taking a challenging problem (18.5 x 0.2) and breaking it down into manageable parts ($1.85, $1.50, 35 cents) — that's number sense.

Can you teach number sense?

The Common Core standards aim to impart number sense. Although the standards don't tell teachers how to to teach or what materials to use, they say that students need to understand how to solve problems and why those methods work.

The underlying lesson: "Numbers aren't these brittle, fragile things that break," Meyer says. "They can play with them in fun, flexible ways."
Students will still learn what's known as the standard algorithm, the way that their parents learned to multiply, divide, add, and subtract. But they'll also learn other methods that try to make the underpinnings of the standard method more obvious.
One example is subtraction with a number line. This went viral this spring after a father posted his child's confusing homework assignment with his critique:
O-common-core-math-570
The idea behind using a number line for subtraction is that students get a visual representation of what subtraction is: figuring out the "distance" between two numbers.
Here's what a clearer version of the problem above would look like: Students put the two numbers at opposite ends of the number line.
Screen_shot_2014-04-17_at_5
Then they travel from one number to the next to figure out the distance. It's 4 steps from 316 to 320, 100 steps from 320 to 420, 7 steps from 420 to 427.
Screen_shot_2014-04-17_at_5
Then they add the steps together: 4 + 100 + 7 = a distance of 111. LearnZillion, a company that creates lesson plans for teaching to the Common Core standards, has a 5-minute video explaining this technique. Here's what it's supposed to look like on another sample problem:
Screen_shot_2014-04-17_at_4
Multiplication, too, is explained visually. Most people learned to multiply two-digit numbers like this:
Screen_shot_2014-04-18_at_3
What's really happening there: 16 is broken down into (10 + 6). Then the multiplication is done in two parts (27 x 6) and (27 x 10) and the answers are added together. But most students see math as a series of steps or even tricks — line up the numbers, write a zero on the second line — without a rationale, says Diane Briars, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which helped to write the math standards.
One way to explain the rationale, according to Common Core standards, is an "area model." Here's an explanation from the tutors at Khan Academy using the same problem:

Still, few adults would sit down to draw an area model or number line to do a math problem. (Most wouldn't do it by hand.) Students are still expected to learn the standard approach, which is indisputably faster. But the emphasis is switching from speed to understanding.
"Students should be able to understand any of these approaches," said Morgan Polikoff, an assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California who is studying how the Common Core is implemented in the classroom. "It doesn't mandate that they necessarily do one or the other."

Parents should brace for frustration

Other nations whose students have stronger math skills focus their education on problem-solving and understanding underlying concepts. But there might be other factors in play; research found a popular American math textbook is more challenging than South Korea's textbook, but South Korean kids still are much better at math.
A key question is whether elementary school teachers can learn to teach the conceptual side of math effectively. If not, number lines and area models will just become another recipe, steps to memorize in order to get an answer, Polikoff says.
Much of this is bound to confuse parents. When parents see their kids frustrated by math homework, their first reaction is to step in and help. It's natural for them to teach the step-by-step way that they learned to solve problems.
"What we want to tell parents to do is they don't need to teach the math," says Briars, the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "What they need to help their children do is figure out, What is the problem asking you?"

Friday, October 3, 2014

I forgot!!!

I forgot to hand out the study guide to the kids today! Please download a copy for them :)

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Muscles and Bone Assessment Study Guide


Muscles and Bones Unit Exam Study Guide

 

 

Students also have a packet of bones that is used as a study guide.

Students should be able to:

 

  • Label 20 bones of the human body. (word bank will be provided)
  • Identify the number of bones in an adult human body. (206).
  • Name the three functions of the skeleton as form, protection and movement.
  • Name the largest, longest bone in the body as the femur.
  • Describe how bones are made up of four layers: “bone skin”, compact bone, spongy bone and bone marrow.
  • Explain the reasons how we know that bone is a living thing. They heal themselves. They grow. They make blood.
  • Name the five types of joints and be able to label them on the skeleton.
    • Hinge joint- Opens and closed only. (fingers, toes, knees and elbows)
    • Pivot joint- swivel- up and down and back and forth. (wrists, elbows and neck)
    • Ball and socket- can move in any directions (shoulders and hips)
    • Gliding joint-  bones must move together- (spine)
    • Locked joint- anywhere two bones have grown together and will never come apart. (Skull)
  • Identify the largest muscle in your body as the gluteus maximus.
  • Name the three types of muscles as voluntary, involuntary and cardiac. They will also need to give examples of how each is used. Voluntary muscles are muscles that we can control such as kicking a ball or writing a letter. Involuntary muscles are muscles that we do not control such as our brain functioning, our lungs breathing, our digestive system working. Our cardiac muscle is our heart.
  • Define
    • ligaments as tissue that connects bone to bone
    • Tendons as tissue that connects muscle to bone
    • Cartilage as the tissue that is known as soft bone like that in our nose and ears. Also, as the jelly like substance found in between bones which reduces friction.
    • Joints are where two bones meet.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Social Studies Project

River Travel Project
Assigned on September 15th and Due Monday September 29th.
 
Your children have received detailed instructions and have seen prior samples of River Projects. I’m writing this to answer some questions that have come up in regards to this project.  The projects should include a map of the river and 5 to 10 facts that the student has learned.  These facts need to be in their own words not just printed off the internet.  Pictures of the river and wildlife surrounding it is also very interesting. If you need me to print something for this project please email me a link by Friday noon.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Dem Bones

My daughter, Bailey, found this fun skeleton game online. You can either build a skeleton or label the bones.
Enjoy!

Skeleton game

An oldie but goodie reposting :)

Aiding your child's understanding of Literature

During conference I spoke to many families about how to help increase their child’s comprehension (understanding) of what they are reading by asking questions about what they read. I thought this information might be important to shall with all of you!

These are some quality questions that provide different levels of understanding you can ask while they are working on their homework or after reading together for fun.

At the beginning of the book-

What does the title tell you about the story? Have you read any other books by this author?

What do you think will happen in this story?

What background knowledge do you already have about the character or setting?

Have you read any other books based in this time period?

How might the story relate to you?



Middle of the book:

What questions do you have about the story?

Why did the character act the way they did?

Predict how the story will end. What clues did you use to make your prediction?

How would you have solved the problem?

How could the character have avoided the problem?



End of the book:

Summarize the story

How was the problem solved?

How would you end the story differently?

If you could re-name the story- what would you name it?

What lesson can you learn from the story?

Compare and contrast you and the main character.

What is the main idea of the story?

Retell just one main event of what we read.



Thank you so much for your support and reading with your child at home!!!

Tara Whalen

Friday, August 29, 2014

Scientific investigations

The 3rd grade starts off the year, hard at work in science. We dive into the Scientific Method and learn how to do experiments. Luckily we get to learn about experiment with some pretty fun ones :)


Scientific Method-
1. Ask a question or name a problem-
          What do I want to study?
2. Do some research and then create a hypothesis-
           What do I think will happen?
3. Gather materials-
            What will I need to be able to do this experiment?
4. Procedure-
             What steps will I need to take in order to do this experiment? (now I get to do it!!!)
5. Results-
              What happened when I ran the experiment?
6. Conclusion-
               Tell the world what you learned and ask what else can I learn?





Monday, August 25, 2014

Eureka Math


August 25, 2014

Dear Highline families,

 

As many of you know, Highline Academy has been looking to make a switch in math curriculum . While Saxon had positives, it did not have the rigor our students deserve, nor was it aligned to the Common Core. I am excited to announce that the elementary staff has chosen a new curriculum, one that is fully aligned to the Common Core. This curriculum is Eureka math and is the best fit for our students because it is designed to develop real world application and problem solving mathematical skills in all students. Throughout this year, and in the years to come, you should see your student developing not only number sense but becoming independent problem solvers.

Eureka focuses on a different skill set than Saxon. As a result, we deemed it necessary to give all of our elementary students a pre-assessment to ensure that students were placed in a class best suited to challenge and close gaps that may exist. Gaps may exist based on the transition to a new curriculum built off of more rigorous standards. We used a diagnostic, i-Ready, to create our math performance groups this year. The i-Ready pre-assessment gives us a snapshot of how students perform on grade-level Common Core related skills. We have attached your student’s i-Ready data for you to review.  Our goal is, as it always has been, to ensure that we are meeting the need of and challenging all students. Through using both Eureka and i-Ready, we are confident that we will be able to grow a mathematician in all of our students.

Eureka will look very different than Saxon did. For example,students will be using workbooks and will no longer have text books. Additionally, some of the problem solving strategies may be new to both you and your student. Because of this, we have planned several parent information nights throughout the year; we hope you will be able to join us on September 18th from 6-7pm to learn what Eureka looks like in your child’s classroom.
 

Finally, as we make this transition, I welcome your feedback and look forward to partnering with you in developing a math program that meets the needs of all of our students.

 
Your partner in education,
 

Kali Garofoli

Principal

Highline Academy Charter School

Friday, August 8, 2014

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year!!!

Ms Wetzel and I are so excited to begin the journey for this new school year. We are going to have an amazing ride traveling down world rivers, through our bodies, and Ancient Rome. We will head into space, explore colonial America, and live the life of Vikings. Come take the ride with us!!!



Thursday, May 8, 2014

Science assessment- Ecosystems


Ecology Study Guide…..Assessment Monday 5/19-(Ms. Whalen’s class)
Assessment Tuesday 5/20- (Ms. Wetzel's class)

 

What is a food chain? Transfer of energy through producers, consumers and decomposers that creates the balance of nature.

 

The members of a food chain

Sun: the first step in the food chain- gives energy to producers

Producer (plants): They make their own food from the energy they get from the sun.  (bushes, trees, grass, weeds, veggies, fruits, etc)

Primary Consumer (herbivores): They eat the Producers which gives them energy. (bunnies, squirrels, deer, caterpillars, etc)

Secondary Consumer (Carnivores): They eat the Primary Consumers which transfers the energy to them. (foxes, bears, cats, mountain lions, dogs, wolves, birds, people, etc)

Decomposer (fungi, bacteria, worms): They break down the dead bodies’ of plants and animals which in turn transfers the energy back into the soil.

 

Things we can do that help the environment

Reduce- use less water, turn off lights or TVs when they are not being used

Reuse- clothing- donate or hand down, water bottles, plastic containers

Recycle- paper, cardboard, steel, aluminum cans, plastic containers, newspapers

 

Why is it important to have a balance in nature?

It is important to have a balance in nature because when there is more of one resource such as deer and not enough of another such as food, all the food will be eaten up which in turn will cause the deer to die out. It is important to have enough food to feed the deer, wolves to help keep the herd sizes down, which in turn will allow more food to grow.

 

Other Vocabulary:

 

Water pollution: To make water dirty from harmful liquids, trash or gas.

Air pollution: To make the air dirty from harmful gases such as exhaust from a car or smoke from a factory.

Land pollution: To make the land dirty from harmful trash not being thrown away properly.

Ecosystem: A specific community of living and nonliving things interacting in an environment.

Environment: The natural surroundings of a living thing

Compost: Adding nutrients back to the soil through old food and grass clippings

Recycle: Use again

Pure Stream: Sorting things so that like things being recycled are together (green glass with green glass, clear glass with clear glass)

Single Stream: Putting all recyclables in one container together.

June 4th

Wednesday June 4th is going to be an amazing day for 3rd grade!!! We start the day with a field day- enjoying physical activities and challenges with our classmates. Then we move on to our musical. 3rd grade will be presenting our musical on the 13 colonies. Each class will be presenting. FINALLY- we get to end our day with lunch/recess/summer birthdays/end-of-year celebration from 12:15 to 2:00.


Wow- I don't think we could pack any more fun in that day if we tried :)


You are welcome to come and spend the entire day or even just parts of the day with us!!


Thanks
Tara Whalen and Sue Wetzel

Monday, April 7, 2014

Science Fair

Welcome back from Spring Break!!! We hope you had a wonderful week with your children. We are glad to have them back :)




This is the week that Science Fair is due. Please have your display boards in to me (Ms. Whalen) by Wednesday morning. I will then choose the top 5 and give those to Mr. Kosten. He will then decide the top three.



All the Science Fair posters from the school will be on display Friday night in the gym. You and your young scientist are welcome to come from 6-7 PM to look through all the hard work done K-8th grade. Students are welcome to come a bit early if they need time to set-up their work- IE: perform an experiment for others to see.




Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ms. Whalen

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Math camps for Summertime


The amazing Ms. Maurello, our math guru, has put together a list of ideas that are math based for summer camps.

Colorado Academy Summer Camps

Offer a variety of day/overnight camps. At the link, choose the appropriate grade level and you can peruse the different options.


Count Me In Math Camp for Girls

June-August Program for girls is a place to practice, create and compete in math in an engaging and supportive setting. Cost: varies. Age range: 6-12; 303-564-6512, e-mail: info@countmeinmath.com, website: countmeinmath.com

 Mind Craft Math

June 9-June 13 Students will work through Common Core Math problems through gaming (specifically Minecraft Math) and problem-based learning. Cost: $135. Age range: 7-11; 200 Quebec St. Bldg 600 #218, Denver, CO 80230; 303-364-9581, e-mail: bglanex@gmail.com, website: exllearning.com

Academy Adventures

June 16-July 25 Classes include computers, rockets, recreation, cooking, academics and performance arts. Cost: $399 for two weeks. Age range: 5-13; 4545 S. University Blvd., Englewood, CO 80210; 303-783-6217, e-mail: smayfield@smanet.org, website: smanet.org

Beyond Calculus: An Intro to Pure Mathematics for the Young

June 16- 20 Honors math students in middle or in high school will learn the basics of number theory, real analysis and linear algebra. Prerequisite: Algebra 1 and student also must pass an honors math exam. Cost: $275. Age range: 10-19; 1250 14th St., Denver, CO 80202; 720-239-2252, e-mail: mathpioneers@gmail.com, website: mathpioneersignite.org

Bits, Bytes & Bots

June 9-July 25 Build /program LEGO robots; program a computer game, make stop-motion movies; make computer animation. Cost: $285 per session. Age range: 6-14; 4085 Lark Sparrow St., Highlands Ranch, CO 80126; 303-841-4411, e-mail: denversouth@bitsbytesbots.com, website: denverco.bitsbytesbots.com

Brain Ingenuity

June 2-Aug. 1 Programs uses results-driven exercises that specialize in attention, organization, study skills, memory, math, ACT/SAT prep. and reading skills. Cost: varies. Age range: 8-18; , Highlands Ranch, CO 80124; 303-649-2225, e-mail: bdmcgrane@comcast.net, website: brainingenuity.com

 

Colorado Academy Programs

June 9-Aug. 1 Mix and match all programs for your camper. Traditional activities are offered along with academics. Extended care, bus service, swimming lessons, and lunch available. Cost: Camps start at $120. Age range: 5-16; 3800 S. Pierce St., Denver, CO 80235; 303-914-2531, e-mail: summer.programs@coloradoacademy.org, website: coloradoacademysummer.org


COMPUTER EXPLORERS TechStars STEM Summer Camps

June 2-Aug. 8 The complex world of technology is simplified by connecting science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. Classes include engineering, photography, video game programming, Minecraft, EV3 and more. Cost: varies. Age range: 5-14; 12650 W. 64TH Ave #E209, Arvada, CO 80004; 877-266-7859, e-mail: info@cedenver.com, website: cedenver.com