Pay to Play

Unfortunately all the rain yesterday made it impossible to have our Pay to Play day as scheduled. It has been postponed until Tuesday. If you have not yet brought money, please try to bring whatever you can by then. Thank you so much to those who donated even more to support purchasing more leveled books for Goethe School!

Progress Reports

Progress reports were sent home with the students in room 500 this afternoon. Please sign the bottom and return them to school by the end of the week. If you have any questions, feel free to email or use the form on this website to contact me. Unfortunately my phone was lost earlier this week, so I will not be able to receive calls until a replacement phone arrives in a couple days. Thank you for your understanding!

On a separate note, our classroom is in need of Kleenex. If anyone is able to donate a box or two, we would greatly appreciate it!

Measuring Mass

Last week in math, the students practiced using balance scales to measure the mass of various objects such as apples, pencils, and books. They collected their results in a data table and then examined their data to make comparisons and find patterns.

Photographer: Alberto

Multiplication Math Facts

Literary Essays

The third graders at Goethe have started a new writing workshop unit on literary essays. For the past few days we have been reading fiction stories and responding to them in our writer's notebooks. Today students  thought carefully about the characters in these stories. Here are some of the questions we asked to help guide our thinking and our writing:

• What kind of person is this character?
• What is the character struggling against? What gets in their way?
• How does the character change over the course of the story?
• Does the character learn lessons or come to realizations?

Photographer: Taji

When your child reads fiction books at home, ask him or her to tell you about one of the characters. Go beyond what's right there in the text, and use these questions to stop and think!

Students will bring their packet of stories home to read and reread during spring break. When we return to school, students will choose one of their stories and start thinking about a thesis statement for their essays.

The Science of Sound

The third graders have begun to learn about sound in science class. In this unit, the students are investigating the fundamental principles of sound generation and how sound travels. Last Friday, we used "drop chambers" to listen carefully to the sounds made by dropping different objects onto the table. Students on the other side of the drop chamber tried guess the object that was dropped and made a matching sound by dropping the same type of object. Here is a photo from our investigation:

Photographer: Angelina

Team 500 Olympic Practice

A few weeks ago the students in room 500 started practicing teamwork activities during recess. Each day we practice working together as a team by racing, bouncing tennis balls on a parachute, passing playground balls down a line, and playing many other games as a team. Our goal is to become a strong team that works well together. At the end of the school year, we will host a special Olympic Day to show the families of Team 500 what wonderful team members we can be!

Today during Olympic Practice, we raced to dribble a ball around a tree using only our feet, passing it to the next person in line. It was our first try at this game, and Team 500 did a great job of carefully controlling the ball so it did not get away from them!

Photographer: Dafne

Praying Mantis

This week in science, the third graders in rooms 500 and 501 have been learning about the praying mantis from Scholastic News. This afternoon, Mr. Dubois told our class about another kind of praying mantis that can be camouflaged with an orchid flower. I did a quick Google seach and found this cool picture:

Can you spot the praying mantis? Why do you think the praying mantis and other camouflaged animals need to blend in?

Photo Permission Form

Room 500 is finished with the ISAT and ready to get down to business! Throughout the spring I would like to post pictures of the students and samples of amazing student work on this website so that families can see all the exciting things we are doing. If you are willing to give permission for your child to have their picture and/or work posted on our website, please complete the photo permission form that was sent home on Tuesday and return it to school as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Progress Reports

Dear Parents,

If your child was at school all day today, he or she received a progress report to take home. Please sign the attached note and return it to school.

Before Ms. Bondarew left for her surgery, she completed the progress reports for the third graders in room 500 using the students’ grades from the first half of the third quarter. The school decided to wait until after the ISAT to send home the progress reports so that students would not experience extra stress during testing.

If you have any questions about your child’s work during the last two weeks, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to seeing you all during conferences and report card pick up on April 6^th!


Sincerely,
Mrs. Horeis

Finished at Last!

Congratulations to all the third graders for finishing their first ISAT! I am so proud of all your hard work!

R Day 1: Reading #1, multiple choice

R Day 2: Reading #2, multiple choice and extended response
R Day 3: Math #1, multiple choice
R Day 4: Reading #3, multiple choice and extended response
R Day 5: Math #2, multiple choice and short response
R Day 6: Math #3, extended response

In Need of Pencils

Ms. Bondarew sent a note home shortly before she left asking for pencil donations. Thank you so much to the couple of students who brought some in. They have been very helpful with all the writing we've been doing to prepare for the ISAT!

We still really need more pencils, so please donate however many you can manage. Thank you!

Math Practice Games

Here are some fun online games for students to play that will help practice math concepts:

• Shape Sort
• Quadrilateral Quest
• Place Value Genie
• Probability Ball-Picking

Parent Meeting

Hi everyone! This is a reminder about the letter that Ms. Kargas sent home yesterday. There will be a parent meeting on Friday at 3:00 PM in our classroom (room 500 in the annex building) to meet me and talk about my classroom expectations and positive behavior plan. I hope to see you there!

The students who always stay after school on Fridays are welcome to help tidy up the room until 3:00 when the parent meeting will begin.

Rock the ISAT!

The third graders did an EXCELLENT job this morning during the ISAT. They were all very focused and tried their best. I am so proud of how hard they worked!

R Day 1: Reading #1, multiple choice

£ Day 2: Reading #2, multiple choice and extended response
£ Day 3: Reading #3, multiple choice and extended response
£ Day 4: Math #1, multiple choice
£ Day 5: Math #2, multiple choice and short response
£ Day 6: Math #3, extended response

One down and five more to go! You can do it!

'Twas the Night Before ISAT...

Have a good night everyone! Tomorrow we will ROCK THE ISAT!

Math Extended Response

With ISAT testing just around the corner, I decided to post some information here about the types of questions the students need to answer. One of the things they have been working hard on are math extended response questions. Here is a sample question and answer:

Our students have learned to organize their math extended response answers in a T-chart to make sure they are explaining why they did each step. This is an example of the same answer presented in a T-chart:

Click here to view the student-friendly 4-point rubric used to score this type of ISAT question. The answer above scored full points, as explained below:

I hope this information helps you to understand some of the assignments the students have been doing both in school and at home!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Mrs. Horeis and I will be teaching the wonderful third graders in room 500 while Ms. Bondarew is away this spring.

I am originally from Canada, but before moving to Chicago I taught English to elementary and middle school students in Japan. I returned to North America to get my teaching certificate and a master's degree in elementary education, and since then I have taught many classes at Goethe. I am already familiar with the students in room 500, as I frequently volunteered in Ms. Bouska's second grade class last year and I have spent the last few days shadowing Ms. Bondarew.

I am delighted to be here at Goethe Elementary School, and I am looking forward to helping the third graders rock the ISAT next week! Once ISAT testing is over, check back here for information on all the exciting things we are learning in room 500.