Data, Surveys and Plots

Analyzing Data
Our latest unit we are doing is Surveys and Line Plots.  We will do this unit as a whole class unit two days a week and we will do our problem solving groups 3 days a week.  Students will be developing ideas about collecting, representing, describing, and interpreting data.  Students are learning to look at data sets as a whole- looking at all the categories together and making some statements about the entire group.

Celebrating Authors
We had a highly successful third grade authors' celebration on Friday!  All three third grade classrooms got together to share their published personal narratives.  We had one student from each classroom in small groups (3-4 students per group.) Each author took turns sharing their piece while the rest of the group gave feedback.  Authors received compliments from their group.  Students were respectful, attentive and appreciative!

The third grade authors

Got Pop Tops?

Lily Padders are showing their froggish colors and leaping away to reach out to their school, and the Madison community, to lend a helping hand. A new group of girls has come together to collect soda can pop tops to support their local Ronald McDonald House program, “...“a home-away-form-home” for the families of seriously ill children being treated at nearby hospitals.” These girls met with Ms. Miller during a lunch bunch on Thursday to talk about how they were going to tell other students about their idea to collect the soda can pop tops for the Ronald McDonald House. During F.F.F., this group will meet to make posters for other classrooms and the hallways. This time will also be used to write letters and draw pictures for the sick children. So, please help out this group of Lily Padders, save your soda can pop-tops, and have your student bring them to school! 

Making our community better place

The Year is 2411....

With the right dance moves and classic jams from the Steve Miller Band, the Lily Pad was able to travel 400 years into the future. Once we got there, we asked ourselves, “How could scientists learn about the people from 2011?”. The answer: artifacts. In Social Studies class, the students have been learning about Madison’s first people. They found out that one of the principal ways scientists learned about Madison’s first people was by studying artifacts discovered by archaeologists. The Lily Padders had to think of an artifact they would leave behind for the scientists of 2411. Students drew a picture of their artifact and wrote why they chose to leave it behind.  

Time travel dance and song

F-Q-R charts 

Students have been reading about the Mound Builders.  These people are ancestors of the Hochungra and they are the people who built the many mounds in and around Dane County. In order to process this information, students used an F-Q-R chart in their Social Studies Journals.  F-Q-R stands for Fact Questions and Response.  Students recorded facts, flagged them as important (IMP) or interesting (INT) and then wrote a question they had about that fact or a response they had to the fact.

F-Q-R Chart

WCKE testing Schedule

Today we did practice tests for the WKCE testing.  We practice how you take a standardized test, how to fill in the bubbles and how you can eliminate some of the answers.  We are testing on the following days at the following times:

Monday, November 7 8:00 (math session 1), 9:15 (reading session 1)
Tuesday, November 8 8:25 (math session 2), 9:45 (reading session 2)
Wednesday, November 9 8:25 (math session 3), 9:45 (reading session 3)

We will do make up session to make sure all students are tested.  Please make sure your child is at school on time these testing days.  Also, remember to send in a healthy snack!  Thanks.

“A Proper Way to Eat”

The students in the Trotting Frog Brigade reading group performs! This group of readers was given the poem, “A Proper Way to Eat”, and had to recite it live on camera. Their practice paid definitely paid off!

Yoga
Students were excited to have a yoga session today.  We practiced a sun salute, the downward facing dog, sphinx, tree, warriors 1,2, and 3 and relaxation (shavasana).

Stretching our backs before our practice.

Roaring like a lion!

Shavasana - picture our peaceful, restful place

Community Day
Friday, November 10, is Lily Pad Community Day!  Wear your Lily Pad shirt!

Fall Conferences
Reminder: Conferences will be held on Wednesday from 3 -7 and Thursday from 7:20 until 12:00. If you are unclear about your time, send me an email or I've me a call!