Goodbye Hermit Crabs

We had a wonderful time observing and learning about our hermit crabs these past few months. It is sad to see Hercules, Tiny Steve, and Zo Zo leave, but we look forward to hearing about all of their new adventures!

Owl Pellet Dissection

Students learned about owls' diets by dissecting owl pellets in class the past two days. After Friday you can visit the students' new blogs on our Kid Blog site. Each of the students will upload images and videos they took during the dissection activity!

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week is the /th/, /wh/, and /sh/ spelling patterns.  
Reading: This week we are focusing on the skill of identifying facts and opinions within the text. Our vocabulary words focus on plural endings.
Writing: We are continuing to focus on writing personal narratives. The students are practicing using strong verbs in their writing to show specific actions. The October Monthly Writing Words Test will be given on Wednesday, October 30th.  
Grammar: Our focus is identifying irregular plural nouns, and spelling them correctly in sentences. 
Math: We are reviewing for our unit test on measurement, which will be given Tuesday, October 29th.     
Science: The students have been learning about animal and plant adaptations. They have each been assigned a partner and a biome that they are researching in the LMC. Each student will use what they have learned about their biomes to create a new plant and animal that could survive there. These projects will be completed next week. 

Weekly Reminders 

* There are only a few more days to practice the October writing words. Students need to know the correct spelling and meaning for words that are homonyms. Once students have been tested on these words, they will be responsible for spelling them correctly on all graded assignments and tests. Misspelled writing words will result in one lost point each.    

Study Tip

As we continue to read poetry aloud this week, students are reminded that reading with good fluency does not necessarily mean reading quickly. They are working on reading with rhythm and paying close attention to the punctuation. You can ask your child to read aloud from his/her book at home to help practice his/her oral reading fluency. Of course silent reading is a valued skill in third grade too, so a good balance of both is always great!

October Student Challenge

This month’s student challenge: 

Create a food web that involves a total of at least 20 plants and animals. (20 total, not each)

You can choose to create a 2-Dimensional or 3-Dimensional model of a food web. Use pictures cut out of magazines, printed from the computer, or your own drawings. Or you can use toy plants and animals to make it 3D! Label each picture or item (tell me what type of plant or animal it is) and don’t forget to make the arrows showing where the energy is going! Remember to use only plants and animals from a single habitat for this project. Turn your food web in any day before November 5th!

Science - Bird Beak Experiment

Bird Beak Experiment

The students used a variety of tools that modeled different types of bird beaks to see which beaks worked best for each type of food. We then discussed how animal adaptations help each animal to survive.

Joe's Adventures with Flipper

Flipper and Joe Weekend

Friday- October 18, 2013

We got out of school and we went home. We then watched TV.  Then we went to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins.  Flipper and I ate a shake made with Trick-or-Treat ice cream.  It was chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate in it.  Flipper then joined the whole family at the Rolling Meadows High School football game.  It was Homecoming.  Rolling Meadows scored a last second touchdown to beat Hersey High School.  It was a late night!

Saturday – October 19, 2013

Flipper and I woke up and ate some bad donuts.  They tasted like a sour apple Jolly Rancher.  They were weird!  Then we went to get a haircut.  We then watched some of the Purdue football game. After that, I took Flipper to my soccer game.  We won 6-1.  He was a good mascot!  He then went with me to my sister, Sophia’s game in Palatine.  It was cold, but Flipper played with me on the playground.  When we got home we ate dinner then had an ice cream bar.  Then, the whole family watched the Chicago Fire Soccer Game.  It was a really good game.  They won 1-0 and made it to the playoffs!  Dad fell asleep during the soccer game.  Flipper watched my Dad snore!

Sunday – October 20, 2013

We got up early today because I had a morning soccer game in Park Ridge.  It didn’t look like we were going to win, but we tied the game in the final seconds.  We then hurried to get to Sophia’s game in Schaumburg.  Her team did really well, winning 5-0.  Flipper really likes soccer!  We spent the rest of the day watching football.  It was a great weekend with Flipper.  I hope he had as much fun as I did.

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week is the /ch/ and /tch/ spelling patterns.  
Reading: This week we are focusing on the skill of identifying examples of fantasy vs. reality. 
Writing: We are continuing to focus on writing personal narratives. The students are practicing using strong verbs in their writing to show specific actions.  
Grammar: Our focus is identifying plural and singular nouns, and spelling them correctly in sentences. 
Math: Lessons this week will focus on calculating area, diameter, and circumference. Students will take the Unit Math Test next Tuesday, October 29th.     
Science: Last week the students learned about the process of photosynthesis and the important roles that each of the parts of a plant have. Our wheat and cucumber plants are growing very well. Tomorrow students will observe the effects of withholding light, water, and air from the plants. Today the students did an experiment to gain insight into the types of beaks birds have and how they relate the the foods in their diets.

Weekly Reminders 

* The temperatures both indoors and outdoors can fluctuate greatly, so please have your child bring layers to school. The students are more than welcome to bring a sweatshirt that is left at school for this purpose.     

Study Tip

As we read poetry aloud this week, students are reminded that reading with good fluency does not necessarily mean reading quickly. They are working on reading with rhythm and paying close attention to the punctuation. You can ask your child to read aloud from his/her book at home to help practice his/her oral reading fluency. Of course silent reading is a valued skill in third grade too, so a good balance of both is always great!

Emily's Adventures with Flipper

Weekend with Flipper

October 15, 2013

On Saturday me, Flipper, and my dad went to the Indian Princess car wash where we washed and dried cars. Flipper had fun doing back flips. He did them so high he almost got stuck in a tree.

Then we went to the Halloween fest. Flipper dressed up as a penguin. We got a lot of candy from the trick or treat line. We went on a hay ride and all the hay was really wet. Then we went to a family party. When we came in a ghost started dancing. Flipper was excited to see my Aunt come in the limo and we went in the limo. There was candy in the limo.

On Sunday, me, Flipper and my Mom went to my cheer competition.  We had fun.  Flipper was with my Mom watching us perform. Then, Flipper slept with all my other stuffed animals when we went on a long bike ride to Mount Prospect and back.

On Monday, we did Rainbow Loom and made a raindrop bracelet.  Then, I went to Orbit to roller skate.  Flipper stayed at my Grandma’s house and took a long nap.

Examining Seeds

Last week students examined seeds and categorized them based on how they are dispersed. 

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week is the long e sound.  
Reading: This week we are focusing the comprehension strategy of summarizing and identifying key story elements including characters, setting, and plot. 
Writing: We are continuing to focus on writing personal narratives. The students are practicing writing "showing sentences" instead of "telling sentences." These "showing sentences" give specific details that show what the people in the story are feeling instead of simply telling the reader that the person is tired. This is a challenging skill that we will continue to work on for several weeks.  
Grammar: Our focus is identifying and correctly using common and proper nouns. 
Math: We are beginning our new unit on measurement. Lessons this week will focus on linear units of measurement, understanding the need for standard units, practicing measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch and 1/2 centimeter, and calculating perimeter.    
Science: On Friday, the students had a great time learning about seed dispersal and had the opportunity to examine several types of seeds including helicopters, parachutes, and hitchhikers. Please ask your child to tell you about these and other ways seeds spread. Last week, after learning what plants need to survive, students planted their own seeds. Once the seeds germinate, each group will take away one of the plants' needs. Students will then observe and record what happens to the plants. This week students will be learning about plant parts and how they are vital to the plants' survival. We will be focusing on cacti and the oak tree in particular. 

Weekly Reminders 

* Book orders were sent home last week. If you would like to order books, please submit your order with check to me by this Friday, or complete your online order by this Saturday. Thanks!     

Study Tip

The students have been doing well on their spelling tests each week. I can tell that aside from the practicing they do on their homework, they have been spending additional time at home studying their words. Each week, the students bring home different activities for spelling homework. These are designed to be creative and authentic tasks that encourage the children to not only learn how to spell their words, but also to use and analyze them in a variety of ways. Please remind your child to take his or her time when completing the spelling homework to ensure that the words are being spelled correctly. If they practice spelling them incorrectly, they will most likely spell them incorrectly on the Friday tests.  To help avoid this from happening, any students with homework assignments that are turned in with incorrectly spelled spelling words will stay in during a recess to practice spelling them correctly. Please remind your child that it is their responsibility to copy their spelling words correctly!

Flipper's Adventures with Ethan

Flipper’s Adventure

By: Ethan

     This weekend Flipper and I had a lot of fun. First we went to my sister’s cross country meet at Schiller Park in Chicago. Then we went to my soccer game in Libertyville, and he watched us win the game 5-2. Then we came back home and rode on my dirt bike. He was on the handle bars and he stuck his wings out so it looked like he was flying. After that we went to bed.

    The next day we played football. After that we went to my sister's soccer game. Then I went home and we went swimming in my grandpa’s pool. We had lot’s of fun. Then we made a little zipline. He got to go on because I was way too big for it. He had lots of fun doing that, too. Then we had to read. We read 15 minutes. Then we played football with my brother. We lost, but we called a rematch, and then we won. Then we went to my other game against the Palatine Celtics. He watched us win 4-2. Then we went to my cousin's birthday party. Flipper and I had lots of fun this weekend!

Using the Scientific Method

Students practiced using the scientific method while developing and performing their own experiments. Each group of students was given a bag of materials to use and explore. I was amazed by their creativity and what they discovered!

WEX Writing Excerpts

Here are the new writing excerpts from our WEX writing unit. These featured pieces of prose exemplify the writing skills that we are practicing in class. After hanging the excerpts, the class determines which skills were demonstrated and why each piece was selected for our "Monster Journal Excerpts" board. Nicely done, writers!

Science: Observing Soil

The students collected soil samples from around the school grounds to use for observations and experiments. Each group examined its soil and recorded the findings. Groups used this information to determine if the soil was sandy soil, clay soil, or loam. 






Water was then added to each of the soils and shaken vigorously. After one day the students were already able to notice the separation of the contents in the soil. We will be looking at our bottle soils again in one week. 

Soil from the baseball diamond.

Soil from under the pine tree.

Soil from under the mulch.

Soil from by the 3rd grade doors.

September Student Challenge: Function Machines

Nine students completed September's Student Challenge by creating function machines and sharing them with the class. I was impressed with their creativity and spectacular presentation skills! Bravo! Please click below to view the photographs and videos.