Open House

Wow, thanks to all of the parents that came to Open House tonight!  It was great seeing all of you again!  I will get the treat sign up list hopefully updated tomorrow.  You will be able to click the link to the left that says Holiday Treat Sign Up if you need a reminder what you signed up for.  I will try to get reminder notes sent out the week of the party.

Other things we have been working on:

Reading:  Finding the main idea and the details of a paragraph, and soon we will be working on the main idea of a passage and the supporting details.  You can help your child by reading with him/her and helping them come up with the main idea of the story.  Help them come up with 3-5 good supporting details as well.  This is something the students will be tested on for their state assessments.

Math:  Unit 1 is complete.  That unit was mostly a review of things they covered in 2nd grade.  Unit 2 is under way and we are currently learning how to solve word problems.  We use a variety of graphic organizers to help us solve these problems.  Students will be required to know how to solve story problems for the state assessments as well.  We hope the students will use the graphic organizers to help them solve the story problems.

English:  We have been working on Sentences and sentences that are Not Sentences.  On Friday we will be having an assessment on the Subject of a sentence and the Predicate of the sentence.  Students will also be required to fix a run-on sentence and change it into two sentences.  As always we are also working on writing with capital letters and punctuation on the end.

FYI:  If you see papers that come home with NAS on them that stands for Not A Sentence.

Writing:  Monkey stories is something we have been working on the past few weeks.  We started with 4 boxes.  In the first box the students drew their monkey escaping from the zoo.  The students then had to figure out where their monkey went after the zoo.  The third box was more detail on the adventure.  The final box shows how the monkey got back to the zoo.  This was used to help the students with sequencing, which is also a reading standard.  We are currently in the writing stage.  I can't wait for the stories to be finished!  The students have really come up with some creative ideas.

Social Studies:  We are learning about landforms and how different areas have different shapes to the land.  We will also continue to work on maps and map skills.  Next time you are on a trip to KC, Wichita, or anywhere else, have your child help you read a map.  Work on directions.  Even for your trips to Topeka, you could ask your child what direction you are going now.  The more practice they get, the more it will become ingrained in their brain! :)

Handwriting:  We have finally started cursive.  Some students are very excited about this and some students are a little tentative to learn.  So far we have learned i and t.  The next couple of letters are u and w.

Other news:  We are nearing our goal of 20 Sunny D labels.  We currently have 13 of these labels!  Keep them coming!  Even after we complete our goal, I know the other two 3rd grade classes are working towards their goal of 20 as well and we would love to help each other out as much as possible!

Thanks for checking in! :)

First Week

Whew.  The first week of school is coming to an end!  I'm not sure about you and your children, but I am one exhausted teacher!  Only because we have been having so much fun getting to know each other!  I think so far we have had quite the successful start to our year and I can only imagine how much greater this year is going to get! :)

Scholastic Book Wizard

At the left of my screen you will find the Scholastic Book Wizard.  With the Book Wizard, you can type in the name of a book that you are reading to find out lots of neat information on the book.  The interest level tells you what grades are typically interested in that book.  The grade level equivalent tells you what grade the book is suitable for.  If the book says 4.3, then that book is suitable for an average student in fourth grade during the third month of school.  Most kids range anywhere from a late second grade level and can go up to 5th or 6th grade level (sometimes even higher for the really strong readers).  The thing to watch out for though, is making sure your child is comprehending what they are reading.  They might be able to read the words on the page, but if they are not understanding and comprehending what they are reading, then that becomes an issue.  I would much rather them read books more at their level and comprehend what they read.  There is also an Accelerated Reader Quiz option.  If there is a green check next to this, it means that there is an available Accelerated Reader Quiz.  However, the school might not have purchased the rights to that quiz.

I really like this book search engine, because then you could spend time looking at other books an author has written.  You could write those books down if you think it interests your child.  He/She could then bring that list to school and check those books out from the library.

I also like this option because in third grade Accelerated Reader is new to them.  Some kids tend to go for the larger books because they know they can get more points with them.  However, those larger books are usually at a harder level.  If you think your child is bringing home books that are too hard, you can get onto the Scholastic Book Wizard and check out what reading level it is.  This would be good proof for a child who doesn't want to back away from trying to read the book.  If your child still doesn't want to back away from reading a much too hard book, then I would suggest buddy reading with an older sibling or with a parent/grandparent with that person making sure to ask clarifying questions as you read.

Let me know how useful you think the Book Wizard is!  I'm sorry it doesn't fit in that column to the left, but it was too useful to not keep there!  All you have to do is type in your book/author/keyword and then press enter on your keyboard.  :)

Mark Your Calendars

Parent Night is August 24th at 6:30 p.m. in the grade school gym!  I hope to see you there!  We will be going over things like homework, agendas, A.R., and a whole lot more!

Sunny Delight 20 Labels for 20 Books

Well, if you don't know, you will soon know I LOVE books!  As I was watching tv today, I saw a commercial for Sunny D and offering books for classrooms!  So, I got onto http://www.sunnyd.com to check it out.  What I found is for 20 UPC labels, they will send our classroom 20 books!  So, what I'm asking you to do, is send in one Sunny Delight UPC label each and all we will need is 3 more labels and then I can fill out the paperwork to get our classroom 20 new books!  Exciting!  Make sure though when you buy your Sunny D you do not buy these since they are excluded from the promotion:  Proofs for individual 6.75, 8.0, 11.3, 12.0 oz Sunny D bottles/cans.  Please help our classroom gain new books!  Thanks!

School Supplies

Two - 1 Subject Spiral Notebooks: One is used for vocabulary work with reading, science, and social studies. The other is used for journaling.

1 Packages Loose Leaf Wide Ruled Notebook Paper

2 Pocket Folders (1 Red and 1 Yellow): The red folder will be used for unfinished work and the yellow will be used for writing/center work.

2 Packages of 24 pencils each

6 glue sticks

4 Low Odor Dry Erase Markers (Blue or Black): Please make sure the markers are blue or black if you can. I have seen these in the stationary section at Wal-Mart or you could try Sunflower School supplies in the Gage Shopping Center. The red and green markers found in most of the Expo Dry Erase markers packages are often difficult to erase off of the white boards. Definitely make sure that they are low odor. It should say on the package/marker. The markers that are not considered low odor often cause lots of headaches, especially when there are two or three students using them. They really stink up the room! :)  We use individual whiteboards multiple times daily.

2 Red Ballpoint Pens

Pink Eraser

Soft Zip Pencil Case:  These need to be able to hold quite a few items.

24 Count Crayons: Please do not send more than 24. We don't use crayons too often and the students have limited space inside their desk.

Colored Pencils: A set of 12 or 24 should be sufficient.

2 Yellow Highlighters

Pointed Scissors

Large Box of Kleenex


Please do not send any extra items. Our desk space is limited. Please keep all personal pencil sharpeners at home. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me or call me!

All About Ms. Broxterman

Well parents and students, the summer is quickly passing by. I am very excited to get started with another year! I thought I would let you know more about your teacher!

I am from a very small town, Baileyville, where I grew up on a farm. One of my favorite things to do on the farm was to take a book out under our big tree in our front yard with a blanket. I would read like that for HOURS! We also spent our summers shucking corn, podding peas, and stemming beans. We had a huge garden! Mom and I would spend the time freezing or canning these vegetables indoors while the boys spent their day out in the field. Speaking of boys, did I tell you that I have 5 older brothers?? So girls, I know how you feel when you have an older brother picking on you!

After high school, I went to Emporia State University. GO HORNETS! I earned my Bachelors of Science degree in Education in May of 2005. I started working as a first grade teacher in the Emporia District. This was the same school district that I student taught in. I then decided to move closer to my family. That's when I started working here at Silver Lake as a 3rd grade teacher! This will be my 5th year in the district! So that means I have will be starting my 6th year teaching this year!!!! This seems so hard to believe! The past three years I have also worked as the freshman volleyball coach, but I will not be resuming that position this year. Last August I finished my Masters of Arts in Education degree through Baker University. It was exciting to get back into the classroom as a student and use what we were learning in our classroom.

Well, I am very excited to meet all of you! I can't wait to hear more about you and your family and the things you enjoy the most! For now, keep reading and enjoy the beautiful Kansas weather (that is if you like all of this heat)!

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

Get excited kids!


Animals
Presidents
Multiplication
Inventors
Because of Winn Dixie


These are just a few of the things to get excited about because these will be just a few of the things you will be learning about in 3rd grade! For now, I would like you to continue enjoying your summer! Also, make sure you continue reading throughout the rest of the summer! Ms. Broxterman LOVES books! If you have a favorite book that you would like me to read, leave a comment! I can't wait to hear all about your stories when we start school on the 18th!

Summertime

Wow, I can't believe the end of the school year has already come and gone. We have officially been out of school now for a week. Is it safe to say I miss those dear students of mine? Yes, I miss the laughs and the smiles, but most of all I miss seeing them learn! It was a joy having your child in my classroom this year! I am excited to see what new adventures I will face with next year's class. I'm sure you have stopped checkin in by now on my blog to see what was happening in our classroom, but if you are I want to apologize for not keeping up my blog this second semester! Thank you all for giving me the chance to work with such amazing children! I hope you all have a very wonderful summer!

State Assessments

Well, the time has come that we have been preparing the students for. State Assessments will start tomorrow. We will test at 1:00 tomorrow, 10:30 on Wednesday, and 8:15 on Thursday. Please make sure your child gets an adequate amount of sleep and a great healthy breakfast in the morning! This week we are covering just the Reading portion of the test. The students will be reading 2-3 passages in one sitting. We have really been preparing hard for these assessments lately, hopefully your child is not too stressed out! We have been trying to make the practice Assessment. We had fun pretending we were getting facials, mud baths, and massages! Too bad I couldn't get a real massage therapist to come visit! If you know of anyone that would be willing to do so contact me! Otherwise, I am very proud of how hard your children have been working! Good luck students!

"Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss it you will land among the stars!" - Leo Brown

Polar Plunge 2010

Well, we officially completed our plunge!  We ran into some icy cold water, but it was all for a great cause!  Our number 1 fan was Mike (pictured above with Eileen)  He plays basketball with Eileen's son Connor.  Every time we saw him today, he had a smile on his face!  Such a breath of fresh air!

Polar Plunge

Eileen and I will be representing Silver Lake Elementary by participating in the Polar Plunge this weekend.  If you are not busy and want to come support us, we will be at Lake Shawnee at 12:00 noon!  I have been blessed to work with many students who utilize the services given by the Special Olympics!  I am dedicating my plunge to those students who have touched my life forever!

If you would like to show support for programs the Special Olympics offers, then please let me know.  Monetary donations can be given via the First Giving website.  I have set up an account, http://www.firstgiving.com/abroxterman.  All donations will be given to Special Olympics of Kansas.

Another Installment of State Assessment Prep...

This week we have been focusing on Money and Time.  Time is usually pretty simple as long as students can tell the difference in between the hour hand and the minute hand.  There are a few questions with time that usually trips the kids up.  These questions are often stated with how many minutes is it till the hour.  I'll give an example of one of these down below.  With money, students will often be given pictures of coins and dollars and be asked to tell how much money is there all together.  They will also have students compare between people.  Who has more money, Suzie or Bill?

We have also been working a little on probability.  I hope to expand on this more a little later.  In reading, we still have been hitting the prefixes and the suffixes hard.  I think we are close to having everyone know these!  Thanks for helping at home!  I know a couple of students have mentioned working with the flashcards at home.  I sure am glad they are being utilized!!! Thanks!  One of the hardest things the kids have trouble with on their reading is being able to choose the main idea of a passage and being able to pick a good retell for that passage.  There are 3 things the kids need to remember with retells for the state assessment.  They are:  1.) Pick the key ideas from the passage.  2.)  There should be a beginning, middle, and an end.  3.)  The ideas should be listed in order from the beginning of the passage to the end.


Ex.

1.)  The time is 7:38.

A.  It is 11 minutes till 8:00.
B.  It is 32 minutes till 8:00.
C.  It is 22 minutes till 8:00.
D.  It is 38 minutes till 8:00.

2.)  The time is 12:15.

A.)  It is half past 12.
B.)  It is 15 minutes past 12:00
C.)  It is half past 1.
D.)  It is a quarter after 3.


3.)  Suzie has the following amount in her bank account.  What is the TOTAL money Suzie has?  (The number listed next to the amount is how many of those dollar bills or coins she has.)

            $20 - 2
            $10 - 1
            $ 5  - 1
            $ 1  - 13
             Q   - 7
             D   - 9
             N   - 3
             P    - 45

4.)  Bill has the following amount in his bank account.  What is the TOTAL money Bill has?

            $20 - 1 

            $10 - 4

            $ 5  - 4

            $ 1  - 2

             Q   - 3

             D   - 8

             N   - 7

             P    - 62

5.)  Who has more money?  Bill or Suzie?

A.)  Bill

B.)  Suzie

C.)  Both Bill and Suzie have the same amount of money.

D.)  Jenny

6.)  Which outfit could I possibly wear to school if I have the following items in my closet?

      White Shirt

      Purple Shirt

      Red Pants

      Brown Pants

      Green Shirt

A.)  Black pants and a white shirt
B.)  Red pants and a blue shirt
C.)  A green shirt and black pants
D.)  A purple shirt and brown pants

Prefixes/Suffixes

One of the key items on the reading assessment is prefixes and suffixes.  Students have to be able to take a word and figure out what it means based off of the meaning of the prefix or suffix.  I have attached some prefix/suffix flashcards that you can print.  Click on Prefix/Suffix Flashcards under the Third Grade Files section to access them.  Here are all of the Prefixes and Suffixes and their meanings your child will need to know and a few examples of questions you might see that would follow this topic.

Prefixes
pre - before
re - again
mis - wrongly or badly
un - not
pro - for or in favor of....(we have yet to see this one appear on an assessment, however they are still required to know this one)

Suffixes
ed - did
y - full of
er - more, someone who
est - most
ing - now
ly - in a _________ way


Examples:

1.)  Knowing the meaning of the suffix -er will help a reader know that the word shopper means:

a.) did shop
b.) to shop wrongly
c.) someone who shops
d.) to shop before


2.)  Knowing the meaning of the prefix mis- will help a reader know that the word mispronounce means:

a.) pronouncing now
b.) to pronounce again
c.) to pronounce the most
d.) to pronounce wrongly

A Little Housekeeping

I'm going on a blogging streak tonight I think, there really is a lot to tell!  So I'm going to give you some clean-up things/things to put on your calendar...

*Ask your child about pencils to make sure they have plenty.  Most of the kids still have quite a few I do believe, but please check.

*Colored pencils also need to be replenished for some kids.  The pencil sharpener has decided to be finicky this year and has ate several of the colored pencils.

*Multiplication- We have started learning the final basic multiplication facts as well as starting in learning some harder extended facts.  This also is the time of year we will begin Times Town.  Every other day, we will be taking timed tests.  Students will get the chance to "drive" around Times Town after each timed test they pass.

*Jan. 29th we will get the chance to participate in the Sheffel Theatre program for 3rd grade.  Students get the chance to learn about theatre and the many aspects that go along with it!  The whole day is very interactive and fun!  Lunch will be provided by McDonalds.  It usually consists of a single patty hamburger, chips (?), and an apple pie.

Ah, I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but if I do, I will update again later!  I can't believe we are halfway through the school year already!!!

Six Weeks and Counting

Well, I'm excited to be back in session!  I was seriously starting to get some cabin fever!  Of course I didn't get nearly what I wanted to get done over break done, but I did get a chance to read My Sister's Keeper!  AWESOME book!

As you all know, state assessments are around the corner.  We have begun to start practicing and learning how to take the assessments.  There are many topics students will need to know for their assessments.  I have uploaded the checklist we use as teachers to make sure we have covered everything we need to cover.  It is labeled as Third Grade Standards under the Third Grade Files section on my blog.  You may also simply click Third Grade Standards and be brought to the Google Docs page.  It would be very helpful if you spend some time with your child at home helping make sure they know these standards!  I will try to upload some examples of these topics as we cover them or recover them.  (Recover - means to cover again)  Sorry, at this time the third grade teachers and myself tend to talk in state assessment practice talk!  We take random words from our daily language and figure out what the word means by using the prefix/suffix clues.  *ahem*  Sorry, I think I lost you there, or I may have lost myself. :)  Stay tuned to the blog, as I truly do hope to get some examples uploaded!