Letter from Mrs. Lee

December 6, 2009

Dear Third Graders,

Wow, it's been a long time since we saw each other! I came into the classroom today (Sunday) to check on things, and it sounds like you had a great week with all of the guest teachers last week. Thank you so much for treating them like guests in our classroom, and for being so kind and helpful.

Here is the crazy story of where I've been for a week! Thanksgiving morning I woke up to find that a pipe had burst in my apartment building, and my living room was flooded. Some workmen came in and tried to dry the carpet out as quickly as possible, but that night I started feeling really sick. All that weekend, and most of last week, I felt like I had a really bad head cold. I was just starting to feel better Wednesday night, when my cold turned into what felt like the stomach flu! Friday night I was starting to feel better again, so I decided to catch up on some chores. I sat down on my living room floor to wrap Christmas gifts, and when I stood up I was covered in hives! Well, long story short: some mold had begun to grow under my carpet when it got wet, and I am allergic to it. The carpet will be replaced this week, so hopefully I'll be feeling much better.

Today (Monday) I'm at a teacher training that I signed up for back in August, but I will be back tomorrow FOR SURE!!

Well, that's what's been going on with me. What's new with you? What did you do over your long weekend? What did you do at school last week? Tell me all about it!

Love,
Mrs. Lee

Happy Thanksgiving from Mrs. Lee's Class!!

Turkey of the Day - 11/26 (a.m.)

Alex V.'s turkey

Turkey of the Day - 11/25 (p.m.)

Art's Jedi turkey, Anakin

Turkey of the Day - 11/25 (a.m.)

KaelaAnne's doctor turkey, Likily

Turkey of the Day - 11/24 (p.m.)

Zach's boxer turkey, Rocky

Turkey of the Day - 11/24 (a.m.)

Zoe's Hollywood first-class chef turkey, Emma Z. Meara

Surface Area and Dissolving Rate

Last week we experimented to see which would dissolve faster: sugar cubes, or loose granulated sugar.

Scientists, share your results with the class. Please answer these questions:

-Which dissolved more quickly?
-Why do you think one dissolved more quickly than the other?
-Read through the other comments. Did every group get the same results? Why or why not?


Extra Credit:
-How could you use what you learned in this experiment in other parts of your life or other areas of science?

Turkey of the Day - 11/23 (p.m.)

Sophia's doctor turkey, Dr. Joe

Turkey of the Day - 11/23 (a.m.)

Henry's Olympic basketball player and philanthropist turkey, Spikeo Gobble

Turkey of the Day - 11/22 (p.m.)

Yerin's doctor turkey, Emma

Turkey of the Day - 11/22 (a.m.)

Kaitlin's fashion model turkey, Miley

Turkey of the Day - 11/21 (p.m.)

Sumin's Chef turkey, Rax

Turkey of the Day - 11/21 (a.m.)

Jackson's Secret Agent turkey

Turkey of the Day - 11/20 (p.m.)

Noah's turkey, Tom. Tom is in the military, where he invents machines and medicine that save lives. He is also a part-time mashed potato salesman.

Turkey of the Day - 11/20 (a.m.)

Cassidy's Grammy Award winning* rockstar turkey, Bob (the girl)

*Winning song: "Party in My Oatmeal"

Turkey of the Day - 11/19 (p.m.)

Diego's Air Force pilot turkey, Guy Gobbles

Turkey of the Day - 11/19 (a.m.)

Kayla's clothing designer turkey, Sabrina

Turkey of the Day - 11/18 (p.m.)

Emma's candymaker turkey, Boo

Turkey of the Day - 11/18 (a.m.)

Amanda's 7th grade teacher turkey, Lilly Livingston

Turkey of the Day - 11/17 (p.m.)

Alex B.'s soldier turkey, Benjamin

Turkey of the Day - 11/17 (a.m.)

Connor's police officer turkey, Turkey Bob

Turkey of the Day - 11/16

Daniela's turkey Gabriela. Gabriela works at the children's hospital and is helping to find a cure for Dog Disease.

Turkey of the Day - 11/15

Gavin's author turkey, Writer

Turkey of the Day - 11/14

Malia's pediatrician turkey, Feathers

Turkey of the Day - 11/13

Siddharth's super hero, Super Turkey

Connections!

I am looking forward to hearing about your reading this week.
Please make connections to a book you are currently reading:
the book (text) and you or your own experiences
the book (text) and another book (or movie)
the book (text) and something that's happened in our world.
Challenge yourself to make all THREE connections and INCLUDE your book title. Thanks!!

Science Mystery!

Chemists, what is happening to this salt water??

Post your hypotheses in the comments below!

Experimenting with Evaporation

In science we have been exploring matter, and the way it changes state between liquids, solids, and gases.

Monday we wondered, how does temperature affect the rate of evaporation of liquid?

We began with two cups of liquid (water) - one hot, and one cold. To trap the evaporating gas, we put larger cups over the smaller cups. We used food coloring to remember which was the hot water and which was the cold.

We discovered that the hot water evaporated more quickly. Why do you think this was? Post your ideas in the comments!

Wayside Wednesday!

Last Wednesday our class celebrated having finished all three Wayside School books (Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down, and Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger) by Louis Sachar, with a day at Wayside School! Each student dressed up as his or her favorite character, Mrs. Jewls handed out Tootsie Roll Pops and wrote kids' names on the board under the word "Discipline," and we even heard an announcement by Mr. Kidswatter, the principal! It was a very silly day, full of inside jokes from the books. Here are a few photo highlights:


D.J. has the biggest, brightest smile in the class!


Mrs. Jewls, Mrs. Jewls, and Mavis Jewls. Which one is the mean Mrs. Jewls? :)


Mark Miller. Or is it Benjamin Nushmutt?

Joy is up to her tricks again, stealing Dameon's lunch!

Bebe is our most artistic student. She can produce over 300 drawings in a single art period!

All of the Macs - "got one sock, lookin' for the other..."

Mrs. Waloosh teaches Miss Mush to tango!

With two Leslies and four Pauls, there were plenty of pigtails to go around!

We found the cow still hiding in Wayside School!

Our best student, Sharie. She must be learning so much!!

Seattle Bookfest!!

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, Seattle Bookfest (http://www.seattlebookfest.com/) is happening Saturday and Sunday. Here's the scoop:

The biggest literary celebration to happen in Seattle this year is happening this weekend in Columbia City! Seattle Bookfest 2009 is October 24th & 25th and takes place at the Columbia City Event Center (the former Columbia/New School), located at 3528 S. Ferdinand. The event will run from 10am to 6pm, both Saturday and Sunday, and features something for everyone!

There will be:
- A Children's Stage
- Over 120 local authors on five reading stages, including stages for poetry and children’s authors

- Panels such as “Getting Published, from A to Z,” “Contemporary Graphic Novels,” and “Vampires and Zombies and Zombies, Oh My!”
- More than 60 exhibitor booths featuring local publishers, bookstores like Third Place Books and Fremont Place Books, and many others from the literary community.
- A bookmaking demonstration, an interactive cooking demonstration, and a workshop on How to Write a Novel in a Month

- A book swap courtesy of Friends of the Seattle Public Library (bring a book to swap or buy one for $1)

- Scrabble contests, a Grammar Bee, and a Mad Libs Party

This event is free to the public, but there is a $5 suggested donation.

CAFE Reading Goals

Readers, in the comments please tell us what your CAFE Reading goal is, and what you have been doing to work towards that goal!

Example:

I am working on Check for Understanding to practice my Comprehension. I have been using sticky flags to remind myself to Check for Understanding every page.

Secrets of SPY Codes

Click on the link to Our Sparkling Words on the left to read Siddharth's article on the secrets of famous spy codes!

Take Home Bags

Today I introduced Take Home Bags, an optional homework supplement, to our class. Hot pink informational/permission slips came home today in student mail. Due to popular demand, here are photos of the six bags, as well as their contents. Feel free to leave theme ideas for more Take Home Bags in the comments!!

The Pirate Bag:

The Magic Bag:

The Dog Bag:

The Horse Bag:

The Spy Bag:

The Insect Bag:

Salmon Migration

Last week we learned about the route that Issaquah salmon take to get from the hatchery to the ocean. They begin in Issaquah creek (or the hatchery), then travel north to Lake Sammamish, west along the Sammamish river, south into Lake Washington, then west again through the Montlake cut, Lake Union, the Ballard Locks, Puget Sound, and eventually to the Pacific Ocean!

Which places on this map have you visited? Have you seen salmon in any of these places?

Salmon Jumping a Fish Ladder

It's hard to imagine just how strong salmon are until you actually watch them jump a waterfall or fish ladder! These adult spawning salmon are fighting their way upstream to return to the exact spot they were born. They need to return to this exact spot in order to lay their eggs and reproduce.

How do you think they find their homestream again?

Our First Day!

Well, we certainly had a busy first day! In third grade we have SO much to learn that I thought we'd better just dive in right away!

We did three very important things together this morning. First, we began launching our reading time. We talked about "Read to Self," an important part of our reading time. We created an "I-chart" (I for Independence) outlining the behaviors expected during this time:

We also began learning specific strategies we can use to help ourselves become better readers. They are "Check for Understanding," "Cross-Checking," and "Tune in to Interesting Words." Ask your child to explain how each strategy is used!

Finally, we prepared ourselves for a busy year of writing by decorating our own writing journals! Students had fun embellishing notebooks to really make them their own. We'll have even more fun filling these journals with stories, essays, poems, letters, and much more!

What a wonderful class we have this year. I can see already that students in room 241 are smart, kind, funny, curious, and eager to learn. I'm going home tonight feeling very lucky to get to teach this fabulous group of third graders!

Whew! I can't wait for day two!!