Traditional Literature

We've shared some folktales, myths, and fables with you. What have you learned about traditional literature that you didn't know before? Overall, how do you feel about reading traditional literature?  Is there anything specific that you particularly like or dislike about traditional literature stories?

Poetry

What is your opinion on poetry? Do you like it or dislike it? How much poetry have you even read?
As we study poetry, are you learning anything new? Is your opinion changing?

Ecosystems and Food Chains

What have you learned from our study of ecosystems and food chains so far?

Do you still have any questions that haven't been answered yet?

Questioning

How does asking questions before, during, and after you read help you as a reader?

Pictures in Books

What have you learned in the past couple of weeks about how pictures help you understand books? Tell us about a specific book that stood out to you as having really great pictures that enhanced the text.

Welcome, class of 2011-2012!

I hope you are all enjoying your year in my class so far. I know I am enjoying having all of you as my students. I'm ready to start blogging with you!

Here's how it will work: I will post a discussion topic, and each of you will reply. Remember, this is published for all to see, so don't forget the following rules...

1. only use your first name
2. use correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation, to the best of your ability
3. always be polite and school-appropriate

OK, now that that's done, here's your first topic to respond to: What do you think about being able to post your "share time" ideas on the internet instead of in class? Does that intimidate you? Excite you? Make you want to share even more?

Hit "post a comment" to start your response!

How's Your Summer?

Since Nick requested it, I will put up another post for anyone wanting to keep in touch over the summer. You can tell us what you're doing over the summer, and how you're feeling about the upcoming school year. I hope everyone is having a safe and fun break!

Visualizing

In class, we've been talking about visualizing, or creating a "mental picture," while you are reading. Given a short description, you were asked to draw your mental picture of the SeaOrbiter project. Click on the link here to see actual pictures of the SeaOrbiter. Then, respond to this blog with a sentence or two that has better descriptive words and figurative language to help future readers visualize the SeaOrbiter.

St. Joseph Field Trip

Today was our field trip to St. Joseph, MO. It was so fun for me. How was it for you? What was your favorite part? Did you learn anything new that you didn't know before?

A to Z Mysteries

Mrs. Rosheim has challenged us to read the A to Z Mysteries. There are 26, but I know everyone can meet this challenge! They are such fun books to read :-)

How far have you gotten on this challenge? How many books have you read so far? Vote in the poll on the right so we can see how many books everyone has read.

And how are you liking them? You can comment on this post to say your favorite book so far and why you liked it so much. Remember - Don't ruin the surprise of any books!

You're DONE with the MAP test!

Third Graders, you are DONE with your very first year of the MAP test! It has taken you 6 days over 2 weeks, but now you've crossed that finish line. I am so proud of all of your hard work, and I can't wait to get your scores back to see how successful you were.

Now, I want to know how YOU feel after it's all said and done. How did your feelings about the MAP test change from before you'd ever taken it to now? How do you think you did? How will you feel before you start next year's test?

Comments

Thanks, third graders, for all of your great comments! But I noticed a few things we have talked about in class that aren't happening...

* Some of you are forgetting you are special, proper nouns! Always remember to capitalize your name, and the letter "I" when it's by itself!

* I'm still seeing some punctuation and spelling errors that could be prevented. Remember, even on the computer, read over your writing before you say it's done and submit it.

Now, I don't want these things to keep anyone from posting. But remember, if what you wrote is going to be available for everyone to see, don't you want to make sure you've edited it?

Tell me, what do you think? CAN you make sure you're using correct capitals, punctuation, and spelling in your comments? If you looked back on your last comment, did you find any mistakes you missed the first time?

First Post

Hi, Third Graders (and Families)! I'm excited to start blogging with you this year. Soon, we'll be doing some Readers' Workshop and Writers' Workshop projects on this blog. Tell me if you think this will be a fun activity or if you'd rather not blog at all... Click on the "Comment" button to tell me what you think!