Csorba Scoop

Week of November 16-20

2009-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Important Dates:
*Science test Wednesday 11/18

*Spelling test Friday 11/20
*Trimester 1 ends Friday 11/20

*English test Tuesday 11/24

*Thanksgiving break 11/25-11/27
*Yearbook orders due Tuesday 12/1

YEARBOOK: Now is the time to place your orders. Yearbooks are $10.00 and the deadline for your orders are Tuesday, December 1, 2009. NO ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS DATE! Please make checks payable to Lifetouch. Please make sure your child's name, teacher's name, and grade level are marked on the order form. If you have multiple children with orders, please fill out an order for each of them. Yearbook orders went home on Thursday, November 12th and there are only a few extras. Please try not to lose them. If your child loses the order form, all you need to do is send in an envelope with the following information on it: "Yearbook order", student's name, teacher's name, and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put this information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child's teacher is. Prairieview Yearbook orders are not paid for at registration!

On Monday, I will be sending home parent conference confirmation sheets. Please return it to school promptly in case any conferences need to be changed. Thank you. I look forward to meeting with you all in a few weeks!

Spelling

This week's words will be Thanksgiving words. There will not be a pretest this week. The test will be Friday. This week's assignments will not be in the spelling workbook. I will provide the assignments.

English

We will finish up our verb unit. Our test is scheduled for Tuesday 11/24. We will begin turkey stories.

Reading

We will be talking about similes and metaphors this week. We will use them in our turkey stories. We will be reading some Thanksgiving stories about Thanksgiving from a person's point of view. Students will be writing turkey stories from a turkey's point of view. We talked about author's point of view when we read the story, The Keeping Quilt last week.

Science

We will take the chapter 4 test on ecosystems test on Wednesday 11/18.

Social Studies

Chapter 12, lesson 2 teaches us about community leaders. Dr. Tiede is a community leader. As we all know he's our Superintendent of our schools. He is going to come into our classroom and talk with us about his role as Superintendent. We look forward to his visit!

Math

We will finish up chapter 4 on multiplication and division with a test on Friday 11/20. We will be taking the x4's mad minute this week. I do plan on taking the x5 the following week, which is only a 2 day week. I'm confident that with the x5's, students will pass the test on Monday or Tuesday. If they need a 3rd day to get their 5 points, I will give it to them after the break.

Week of November 9-13

2009-11-06T08:16:00.001-08:00

Important Dates:

*Downers Grove Field Trip Tuesday 11/10

*No school Wednesday for Veterans' Day 11/11

*Spelling Test Friday 11/13

*Vocab quiz Friday 11/13

Classroom Chatter

We had a great time at our first Marble Party on Friday! Great job earing those marbles with good classroom behavior!

Don't forget we have our Downers Grove field trip on Tuesday from 9-2. Parents, if you are not a chaperone, but would still like to meet us for lunch, please do! We should be at Girodano's by 11:45 for lunch. Hope to see you there. Don't forget your child may bring $5-$8 to spend at the local shops after we eat lunch! We look forward to a fun and rewarding day. Hopefully, we'll have good weather too.

As we reach the Thanksgiving break, many units are coming to an end. That means tests! I am planning on testing out of science and english before the Thanksgiving break. We will hold off on the Downers Grove test until after the Thanksgiving break.

Spelling

L. 11 words are spelled with double consonants in the middle. There won't be a pretest due to the shortened week. The test will be Friday.

English

We will continue with the Verb unit. I plan on finishing this unit and having the verb test the Tuesday 11/24 before Thanksgiving break.

Reading

We will be reading the story The Keeping Quilt. We will be talking about author's viewpoint. Students will have a vocab quiz on Friday. The list is in their reading folders.

Science

We will finish up chapter 4 and learn how ecosystems can change. The chapter 4 test is scheduled for Wednesday 11/18.

Social Studies

We will start finishing up our Downers Grove unit by learning about local governments in our social studies textbook. We will be looking at Chapter 12- Your Local Government: Lesson 1 this week. Lesson 1 teaches up about how local governments provide services to communities.

Math

We will finish up chapter 4 with division these next 2 weeks. We will be taking the chapter 4 test on multiplication and division on Friday 11/20. Students WILL be allowed to use their multiplication box to help them, since we are still in the process of mastering our math facts. We won't test on x4's until the week of 11/16.

Week of November 2-6

2009-10-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*Vocab quiz Monday 11/2

*Spelling test Friday 11/6

Classroom Chatter

3rd Grade Team Picture Class Picture

Thank you to Mrs. Scehovic, Mrs. Paskvan, Mrs. Pileggi, Mrs. Arce, and Mrs. Daniele for helping us decorate pumpkins at our Halloween Party. We had a spook-tacular time! Congrats to our very on Alyssa! She one 1st prize at the pumpkin decorating contest!

I hope everyone enjoys the day off tomorrow. Have a happy and safe Halloween!!!!

Check out this great website to carve your own pumpkin! http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Spelling

This week's words are from lesson 10. The end in a double consonant. We will take a pretest on Monday. The test will be Friday.

English

We will begin Unit 3 Verbs. This week we will learn about verbs, verbs in the present, and verbs in the past.

Reading

We will finish up Cliffhanger vocab quiz on Monday. We will also do an extended reading response on Cliffhanger. Students will also share their book reports with the class. Nice job! Information about November/December's book report will come home Monday.

Science

This week, our focus will be chapter 4 lesson 3-How Living Things Survive in Ecosystems. We will learn about adaptation, instincts, hibernation, migration, mimicry and camouflage.

Social Studies

We will continue with our study of Downers Grove. Next week is our field trip!

Math

We will finish up the first half of chapter 3 which teaches multiplication. We also will be taking a mad minute on x3's. We will begin the second part of chapter 3 next week and focus our studies on division.

Week of October 26-30

2009-10-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*Book reports due Thursday 10/29

*Spelling test Thursday 10/29

*Matter Matters in-class presentation 10/29

*Halloween party and parade Thursday 10/29

*No school Friday 10/30 Teacher's Institute

Classroom Chatter

We have a busy and exciting week to look forward to. Hopefully, your child has been thinking about creative ways to decorate/dress up his or her pumpkin for the contest on Thursday. A note went home last week about this. The students will need to bring in items from home to decorate a pumpkin, provided by the PTO, Thursday, 10/29.

Guidelines--- There is no paint allowed in the classrooms and sharp objects such as knives and scissors are also prohibited. There is to be no "carving" of the pumpkins and they must remain intact.

So what do I send in???
Ideas---

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLR&um=1&q=pumpkin+decorating+%2B+no+carve&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20

toothpicks to hold things in place
pipe cleaners
cotton
thumbtack/pushpins
different colored foam
dried fall corn cobs
googly eyes
hats
shoe/footwear, if your pumpkin will have feet
hair
feathers
leaves
twigs
bottle caps
vegetables
rocks/stones
glasses

Maybe brainstorm some kind of theme they could follow for their pumpkin.
BE CREATIVE!!!

Here are some ideas we found when we googled images at:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLR&um=1&q=pumpkin+decorating+%2B+no+carve&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20

Have fun with your design!!

Your child may bring their costume to change into on Thursday. We will change into them (boys and girls separately) after lunch/recess. Students will go home in their costumes.

Don't forget that Friday is no school for teacher's institute.

Spelling

This week we won't have a pretest due to the shortened week. We will have Halloween spelling words this week. The list will come home Monday. The test will be Thursday. This week's homework I will provide. It isn't in the spelling books.

English

This week we will spend on descriptive writing.

Reading

Cliffhanger is the next story we will read. We will work on the skill cause and effect.

Science

We will continue with chapter 4. This week, lesson 2 teaches us about specific types of ecosystems like the desert, grasslands, and forest.

Social Studies

We will continue with Downers Grove. Students received a new DG packet and learning log. It is in their social studies folder. This covers present day Downers Grove.

Math

This week we will continue with multiplication. We will learn about the properties of multiplication. We also will be doing some Halloween math.

Week of October 19-23

2009-10-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*DG History Quiz Monday 10/19

*Art to Remember due 10/20

*Early Dismissal Wednesday 10/21

*Noun Test Thursday 10/22

*Book Fair Thursday 10/22

*Spelling Test Friday 10/23

Classroom Chatter

Don't forget on Wednesday we have early dismissal. Students will be dismissed at 11 am!

Thursday is our Book Fair from 6:30-8 pm. I won't be sending home scholastic book orders for the month of October due to the book fair.

I am all set with my chaperons for Downers Grove next month. I would like to still invite any parents that would like to join us for lunch. You can meet us at Girodano's pizza at 11:45. You are also welcome to join your child's group as the tour downtown DG to visit the local merchants and Main Street Cemetery.

Spelling

This week is lesson 8. It is a review of the rules from lessons 1-7. There will be a practice sheet that will come home Monday to practice the format for Friday's test.

English

We will finish up Unit 2 Nouns with a test on Thursday. The study guide went home on Friday. It is in the english folder.

Reading

We will continue with the monitor/clarify strategy as we read the story, Seal Surfer.

Science

We will begin chapter 4 this week. Chapter 4 is all about Where Living Things are Found. This week we will learn about ecosystems.

Social Studies

We will take a quiz on Monday on the history of Downers Grove. We will continue learning about Downers Grove as well as chapter 12 in our social studies textbook. Chapter 12 teaches us about local governments.

Math

We will begin chapter 3 this week on multiplication. We will also begin our multiplication mad minutes. We will begin with x0's and x'1s this week. There will be a mix of x0's and x1's on the mad minute. Students will have 2 minutes to complete 26 problems. Check out the following website to help practice your multiplication facts:

www.multiplication.com (flash cards can be printed from here)

www.coolmath4kids.com (click on "times tables")

www.aaamath.com/grade3.html (click on multiplication and/or multiplication facts

Week of October 12-16

2009-10-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Important Dates
*No School Monday 10/12-Columbus Day
*Vocab quiz Wednesday 10/14
*Science test Thursday 1/15
*Spelling test Friday 10/16

Classroom Chatter
Don't forget no school on Monday for Columbus Day! Enjoy the day off!

Third Grade Intramural Games will be starting for all third graders in November. Permission slips are available through the PE department this week. If your child is interested in this before school program, please have your child bring home a permission slip. Thanks!

Spelling
L. 7 words this week are irregular plurals. There will not be a pretest this week due to the shortened week. The test is Friday. The list will come home Tuesday.

English
We will continue with Nouns in Unit 2. This week we will study plural nouns, special plural nouns, and singular possessive nouns.

Reading
This week we will continue with the monitor/clarify strategy and fact/opinion skill. We will finish up with Nights of the Pufflings by taking a vocabulary quiz Wednesday. We also will be doing an extended reading response on puffins.

Science
We will be having the Ch. 11 test on Matter on Thursday 10/15. The study guide went home last week. It is in the science folder. Have you seen it?

Social Studies
We will continue with our study of Downers Grove. This week students will learn about John Manning, Dicke Tool Company, and the Tivoli movie theater. Our field trip to Downers Grove is booked for November 10th. Look for a permission slip to come home this week!

Math
We will finish up chapter two with making change with money. The chapter 2 test is scheduled for Friday, 10/16.

Week of October 5-9

2009-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

Spelling Test Friday 10/9

Matter Monday due 10/13

Classroom Chatter

The Rotary Club of Darien dropped by the third grade this past week. They donated dictionaries for each child in third grade. These dictionaries have the longest word in the English Language on the last page. Can you pronounce it?

Spelling

L. 6 words are plurals of consonant plus y. There will be a pretest on Monday and the test is Friday.

English

We will begin Unit 2 Nouns this week. We will learn about nouns, proper & common nouns, and nouns in the subject.

Reading

We will begin a new strategy this week: monitor and clarify. We will also work on fact and opinion. We will do this while reading a non-fictional story on Puffins.

Social Studies

Last week students learned about Pierce Downer, who was the founder of Downers Grove. We will continue with our study about the history of Downers Grove.

Science

We will finish with matter in chapter 11. This week we will read lesson 3 to learn how matter changes. We will be having a test on matter on Thursday 11/15. I'll send a study guide home this week to help with studying.

Math

We will explore subtraction across zeros, problem solving, mental math strategies, and making change with money. Don't forget, we start multiplication mad minutes in chapter 3. Practice those flash cards!

Week of September 28 to October 2

2009-09-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*9/29 Tuesday Magazine turn-in day

*10/1 Thursday Picture Day

*10/2 Friday Spelling Test

Classroom Chatter

We had a great time celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday on Friday. Thank you to those who sent in juice, bowls, and cups!

Spelling

Lesson 5's words are vowel + y words. We will take a pretest on Monday. The test will be Friday.

English

We will spend this week writing a narrative essay. Students will learn about indenting paragraphs and how to write a narrative with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Reading

We will begin our first novel, How to Be Cool in Third Grade. We will be reading chapters in class and completing journal response questions.

Science

We will continue with our Matter unit. This week, we will learn about the three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases.

Social Studies

Downers Grove and Chapter 12 will be our next unit. We will begin learning about the history of Downers Grove, present day Downers Grove and Local Government in Chapter 12 .

Math

This week we will continue with chapter two. Students will be adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers as well as greater than 3 digit numbers. We will be taking a checkpoint this week on Wednesday.

Week of September 21-25

2009-09-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

*Magazine Turn-In Monday and Friday 9/21 & 9/25
*Vocabulary Quiz Monday 9/21
*Early Dismissal Tuesday 9/22
*English Test Wednesday 9/23
*Hemisphere Quiz Thursday 9/24
*Spelling Test Friday 9/25
*Reading Quiz on Friday 9/25
*Johnny Appleseed's Birthday 9/26 (celebrating 9/25)

Classroom Chatter
Thank you to everyone who have sent in Treasure Chest items! The kids and I really appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. It makes the end of the day fun when I pick names for the Treasure Chest and the kids are excited about its contents!

Saturday is Johnny Appleseed's birthday. It is a tradition in 3rd grade that we honor this day. We will be celebrating on Friday, 9/25. Information about Friday's celebration will come home Monday of this week. Don't forget on Friday to send in an apple that has been peeled, cut, and cored so we can make homemade applesauce! Is anyone willing to send in 100% apple juice boxes or bowls? Please send me an email. I have spoons and napkins. Thanks in advance. We look forward to an "apple"solutely wonderful day!

On Monday, information about a program called, "Lunch in the Library" will be coming home. Mrs. Walsh-Rock is our librarian aide. She is starting a program where students can come to the IMC during their lunch time to talk about books while munching on lunch with other readers. Students will have an opportunity to hear about other books they might be interested in reading. If your child is interested, the first Lunch in the Library is Friday, 10/8. Please fill out the information sheet that will come home Monday and return to Mrs. Csorba by 10/1.

Don't forget Tuesday is early dismissal. Students will be dismissed at 11am! Enjoy the half day!

Spelling
No pretest this week due to the early dismissal. L. 4's words are spelled with -s or -es. The test will be Friday.

English
Unit One's test is scheduled for Wednesday 9/23. A study guide went home last week. It's in the english folder. Have you seen it? Encourage your child to bring their textbook home to study!

Reading
We will take a vocabulary quiz on Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip on Monday. We will continue working on predictions while reading a story called, South Pole Bound. We also will be doing some work in our Illinois Reading Workbooks. Lesson 1 is called Word Analysis. We will be talking about words that have prefixes, suffixes, words that sound the same, and compound words. We will rip out these pages and keep them in our reading folder to study. There will be a short quiz on Friday covering Lesson 1.

Science
We will begin our next unit in Science. Chapter 11 teaches us about the properties of matter. We will begin with lesson 1: What is Matter?

Social Studies
We will finish up our map skills unit with a quiz on hemispheres.

Math
We will begin chapter 2 this week. Chapter 2 teaches about adding and subtracting whole numbers and money. We will not start multiplication mad minutes until Ch. 3 Ch. 3 teaches multiplication. However, your child should start practicing and learning their multiplication facts. We will start with x0's and x1's. A multiplication packet of facts from x2-x12 went home on Friday to help with studying. You should also have flash cards at home.

Week of September 14-18

2009-09-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*Vocabulary Quiz Monday 9/14

*Continents & Oceans Quiz Tuesday 9/15

*Science Test Wednesday 9/16

*Spelling Test Friday 9/18

Classroom Chatter

Mrs. Heckman, our school nurse, will be talking to the class on Monday regarding hygiene. We want to remember to encourage our children to constantly wash our hands with soap and water several times a day. Also, hand sanitizer is in the classroom for us to use as well.

Spelling

This week's words are spelled with -ou. We will take a pretest on Monday. The test will be Friday. You child's spelling list will come home Monday. It will be in the spelling folder.

English

We will finish up unit one, The Sentence this week by reviewing subjects and predicates. We will talk about run-on sentences. Next week, the test is scheduled for 9/23. A study guide will come home this week.

Reading

This week we will focus on our next reading strategy, predictions. We will begin predictions with a story called Yumni and Halmoni's Trip.

Science

We will take the Introductory to Science test on Wednesday. It is open book and open note. It will be graded. A study guide went home last week in the science folder. You also may view the science textbook online. Directions on how to view the text book and your log in and password went home Friday. It is a great tool we have. I hope you find it useful and fun!

Social Studies

Students will be working on an in-class project to end our study of the continents and oceans. We will then move our study to the hemispheres of the world. The quiz on Continents and Oceans is Tuesday.

Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.

Math

This week we will finish up chapter 1 by taking a checkpoint on Wednesday. We will do some extra practice this week and play a review game on Thursday to prepare us for Friday's test. We also will be taking subtraction mad minutes this week. Ch. 1 test is Friday 9/18. There are some great extra practice pages in the text book. I encourage students to do the problems at home. Pages 32-35. Chapter One begins on page 2-31. There are problems in each lesson to do as well.

Week of September 7-11

2009-09-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*No School Monday 9/7 Labor Day

*Scholastic Book Orders due Friday 9/11

*Bingo Night Friday 9/11

Classroom Chatter

We are off to a great start to 3rd grade. It was a pleasure seeing everyone at Curriculum Night last week. Thank you for coming. Thank you to the parents who donated items from Open House from our "Pitch in and Help" board. It is very much appreciated!

Scholastic book orders went home on Friday 9/4. I strongly encourage everyone to try to order online. It is so easy and safe! It helps me out too. Orders online or paper orders are due by Friday, Sept. 11.

Spelling

L. 2's words are spelled with oa. There isn't a pretest this week due to the shortened week. The test will be Friday.

English

We will continue with Unit 1 this week. Students will be learning what a subject and predicate is of a sentence. The subject tells us whom or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells us what is happening in the sentence. Please review subjects and predicates at home. This can be difficult for the students.

Reading

This week we will be reading a story called, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chis Van Allsburg. Vocab words from this story will come home this week and a quiz on them will be next Monday. In addition to working on visualizations we will continue discussing the setting of the story, the characters, and the plot. Book report information went home on Friday 9/4. Your child has until 9/11 to choose a book for the book report and have it approved by me. Information about all the book reports is in the binder to be left at home. Keep it somewhere safe to refer to. Information about September/October's report is already in the reading folder. It is to be turned in with the project on 10/29. Also, in your child's reading folder is a large sheet of white construction paper to complete the project. Your child can remove this paper out of the folder and keep it at home until it is done.

Science

We will finish up our introductory unit to science this week with lesson 3, The Scientific Method. The following week, the students will be taking the test in class as an open note/open book. It will be graded. Since this is the first test, I will allow for open book and notes. I will send home a study guide next week.

Social Studies

We will spend this week continuing our map skills by learning about the continents and oceans of our world. We will have a quiz on the following Monday 9/14. Students will need to ID the continents and oceans. They will have a word bank.

Math

This week we will be working with numbers in the millions, finding patterns in numbers, rounding and problem solving using patterns and bar graphs. We also will be taking our first mad minute in addition facts on Monday. The students will need to answer 40 facts in 2 minutes.

Week of August 31-Sept 4

2009-08-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
Tuesday 9/1-Curriculum Night at 6:30 for 3rd Grade

Classroom Chatter

Parents,

Welcome to Mrs. Csorba's Scoop! This is where you can find important information going on in my classroom. I strongly encourage you to visit this blog weekly as well as the blog of your child's math teacher for information about their classes.

Curriculum Night is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1st starting at 6:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room. This is a very important evening that will highlight some important 3rd grade information. You will have a chance to meet all of your child's teachers. I hope you can make it!

If you ever need to contact me, the easiest way is through email – jcsorba@ccsd66.org .

Just a friendly reminder...when sending in money to school or important information, please put it in an envelope with the following written: Your child's name, CSORBA, 3rd grade and what it is for.
For example:
Sue Smith
Csorba
3rd Grade
Lunch Money

Spelling
We will begin spelling this week with lesson 1-words spelled with silent e. On Monday we will take a pretest. If your child receives a 100% or minus 1, they'll be in the "pretest" group. They will get a new set of words spelled with silent e and and a list of homework assignments for the week. If you child receives 2 or more wrong on the pretest, they will be in the "book" group.
They will have the regular spelling list and homework in the spelling workbook and and ABC order sheet on Thursday. Everyone will take a test on Friday with their spelling words. The first spelling test with be this Friday. A spelling list will always go home in the spelling folder on Monday. It should stay in the spelling folder. We use them in class. Feel free to make a copy of the list for home. During 4 day weeks, there will not be a spelling pretest.

English
We will begin with Unit 1-The Sentence. This week we will learn about what makes a sentence and the different types of sentences.

Reading
We will begin with the reading strategy visualize. Students will read the story, Dogzilla to help with learning this strategy. A vocabulary list from this story will go home Monday in their reading folders. We will have a short quiz next Tuesday over these words. Please keep the list in their reading folder in the binder. You may take it out to study but please return it to the binder so we have it for class. Thanks.

Science
Last week, we began with the Introductory Unit to Science. Students learned about some inquiry tools that are used in science. Some of these are a microscope, measuring cup, hand lens, and pan balance. We took some notes in class and you can find these in their science folder in the binder. These notes should stay in the folder to help study for the test.

Social Studies
We will begin with Map Skills. This week, students will learn about the 8 directions: north, east, south, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. This unit is not in the social studies textbook. I will provide the students with the materials they will need to study. They will keep them in their social studies folder in their binder. We will have our first quiz on the 8 directions this Friday. A study guide will come home this week along with information to help your child prepare for Friday's quiz.

Please visit the blog of your child's math teacher to find out information for that math class.

Math
We will begin our study of Place Value this week. Students will also be starting mad minute timed tests the following week. We will begin with addition facts to review. Students are required to finish 40 addition problems (like 9+5 or 7+8) in 2 minutes time. We will take a practice test this Friday to prepare for Tuesday's mad minute (9/8/09). We will move on to 40 subtraction facts the following week.

August 24, 2009

2009-08-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

Don't forget to come to our Open House on Monday, August 24th from 9-11 a.m. You and your child will have a chance to meet me, visit our classroom, drop off their supplies, find their locker, and pick a desk!

I look forward to meeting everyone! Here's to a great year!

Mrs. Csorba

Last Day of School

2009-06-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

School's Out for the SUMMER!

Dear Parents and Students,

I can't believe this year has come to an end. It is bittersweet. I'm sad to say goodbye, but I'm ready for a relaxing summer filled with golfing, a family vacation to Michigan, and starting to prepare for Baby Csorba!

We had a great year! It was challenging first with the traveling to different classrooms. You all made me proud. It was great to see everyone grow this year!

A special thank you to all of you for my end of the year gift. I was deeply touched by your generosity and kind words to me and to Baby Csorba! Thank you again.

Please have a wonderful, safe, and fun-filled summer! Come back and visit next year!!

Love, Mrs. Csorba

Week of June 1-5

2009-05-27T09:54:00.001-07:00

Important Dates:

*Monday 6/1 Bowling

*Monday 6/1 Clash Day

*Matter Presentation-"What's the Matter?"

*Tuesday 6/2 Chicago Boat Trip

*Tuesday 6/2 Crazy sock day

*Wednesday 6/3 Stuffed Animal Day

*Thursday 6/4 Picnic and Bike Show

*Thursday 6/4 Vacation Outfit Day

*Friday 6/5 Last day of school!

*Friday 6/5 Repeat your favorite spirit day

Classroom Chatter

We will be going bowling on Monday, 6/1. Students are allowed to bring money to purchase a snack at the snack bar. Since we are bowling in the morning, please have all students bring a sack lunch this day. Last year, we had several students sign up for hot lunch and not take a lunch because they ate too much at the bowling alley. To prevent this hot lunch going to waste, we are asking for all students to bring a sack lunch. That way, if they don't want to eat their lunch, they can bring it home. Thank you for your cooperation.

YEARBOOKS: will be handed out to students on June 5th. Any students who did not purchase a yearbook may do so on a first-come-first-serve basis on June 5th; they will go on sale after morning announcements. The cost will be $10.00 and children wishing to purchase should have exact amount. Checks can be made out to Prairieview. There is a limited supply. Prairieview yearbook orders were not paid for at registration. A flyer was sent out on November 13, 2008 and orders were due by Monday, December 1, 2008.

I'm sad that our year together is coming to an end. I have enjoyed working with all of the students and parents this year. We've had such a wonderful time together! I hope everyone has a safe, fun-filled, wonderful summer! Don't forget to COME BACK AND VISIT NEXT YEAR!!!

Thursday is our school picnic. Each student will receive a hot dog, chips, water, and an ice cream treat. Students who do not wish to eat a hot dog, should bring their own lunch. They can still have the chips, water, and ice cream treat.

Report cards will go home on Friday. Students will be dismissed at 9:30 a.m.

Week of May 25-29

2009-05-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*5/25 Memorial Day-No school

*5/26 Slipper Day

*5/27 Chicago Quiz

*5/27 Crazy Hair Day

*5/28 Sports Day

5/29 Munchies & Movie Day

Classroom Chatter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Hard to believe we just have 9 days left until summer vacation!

We are enjoying our ten day countdown. Students can bring in an extra healthy treat for themselves for Friday's Munchies and a Movie. If someone can send in a rated G movie for us, that'll be great. We'll watch the movie the last half hour of the day!

Science

This week we will read from chapter 12 about energy, why it is important and how it is used. We also will begin chapter 11 on matter. There will not be any more grades taken for science. However, we will continue learning about science until the end of the year!!

Social Studies

We will finish Chicago with a quiz on Wednesday the 27th. This will be our final social studies grade.

Spelling

We will take our final test on L. 30 this week. If your child receives a 100% on Tuesday's pretest, they don't have to take the test Friday. I sent the list home Friday. This week's words are spelled with the prefix re-. This week's homework will be workbook pages 157-160 and an ABC order.

English

We will work on writing persuasive papers this week.

Reading

We will finish Ramona this week.

Math

We will finish up our final week of math with more practice of longer multiplication. I will also introduce long division.

Week of May 18-22

2009-05-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*Pen pal visit Monday 5/18

*All books due to IMC by 5/22

Our pen pals from 2nd grade will be coming to visit on Monday, May 18th. We look forward to meeting with them and showing them Prairieview.

The last day to turn in books checked out from the IMC will be Friday, 5/22. Thank you!

Science

Last week, we began reading Chapter 14, lesson one on heat. We will breeze through chapter 14 this week and learn about light and sound from lessons 2 and 3. At the end of this week we will take a 10 point open book review on the entire chapter. Students can use their book and their notes to help. There will not be a chapter test.

Social Studies

We will finish up Chicago this week. I am planning on ending the Chicago unit with a short quiz on Chicago May 27th.

Spelling

L. 29 words are spelled with the prefix un-. The test will be Friday. There will not be a pretest due to the magic show. The workbook pages for this week will be assigned on Tuesday. They are pages 152-155. There will be an ABC order that goes home on Thursday.

English

We will finish up unit 6 on pronouns. The test is scheduled for Wednesday 5/20. This will be our final english test for the year.

Reading

We are very excited for Monday's Magic show! For our final 8 days of reading (can you believe it?) we will be reading the novel, Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

Math

We will be taking the decimal test on Tuesday, 5/19. We will begin multiplication of greater numbers. We are all done taking mad minutes. Your child should continue to practice multiplication and division facts.

Week of May 11-15

2009-05-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
Jr. Achievement 5/11-5/13
Book orders due Friday 5/15

Classroom Chatter
Thank you to Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Morton, Mrs. Olsen, Mrs. Surdyk, and Mrs. Arquilla for helping me throw Miss Griffin a surprise party! What a huge success. She was so surprised! We had a great time. We will miss you Miss Griffin!

This week our class will be participating in Junior Achievement. A volunteer from the community will be coming into our room on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to teach us the program, Our City.

Scholastic book orders went home Friday. This will be the last month of ordering for this year. They orders will be due Friday 5/15.

Science
We will be taking the Space test on Wednesday 5/13.

Social Studies
We will continue with our study of Chicago and learn about the great Chicago Fire this week.

Spelling
L. 28 are words spelled with silent letters. There will be a pretest on Monday and a test on Friday. This week's workbook pages are 147-150. They'll be assigned on Tuesday and due on Thursday. An ABC order will come home Thursday.

English
We will continue with our unit on pronouns. This week we'll learn how and when to use "I" and "me" correctly, possessive pronouns, contractions, and there, they're and their.

Reading
This week we will watch the movie Harry Houdini. We will also work on preparing for our magic show. We also are planning to invite our parents in to see our magic show. Look for information to come home this week. The magic show is tentatively planned for Monday, 5/18.

Math
The chapter 10 test on decimals is Tuesday. We will then begin multiplication of one and two digit numbers. We will be taking a mad minute in division mixes this week. Please have your child review all multiplication facts to prepare for our next unit.

Week of May 4-8

2009-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
*Cinco de Mayo 5/5
*Miss Griffin's last day Friday 5/8
*Boat trip permission slip and money due Friday 5/8

Classroom Chatter

Field Trip: The Chicago boat tour field trip will be on Tuesday, June 2nd. We will only be able to take 4 parent chaperons per classroom with us on this trip. Each chaperon will be required to pay an additional $6 charge. You will need to be able to meet us at Prairieview at 9am on June 2nd. You'll ride the buses down with us, and you will be responsible for a group of 4-5 students (including your own.) The buses will return to Prairieview at approximately 2pm. If you are interested in this job, please email me. Space is limited, so the first 4 parents to email me will be awarded the job. As was the case last year, chaperons often cancel. If you are not one of the first 4 to email me, you will be put on a waiting list in the order in which you have emailed me. Please keep in mind that space is very limited. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Additionally, the student permission slip for this field trip will be sent home on Monday, May 4th. Please make sure your child has returned the signed permission slip with $6 in cash by Friday, May 8th.

Science
This week we will focus on the inner and outer planets of our solar system. We also will study the constellations. I have the space test planned for Wednesday 5/13. A study guide will come home on Wednesday. It will be in the science folder.

Social Studies
My Kind of Town, Chicago...as Frank Sinatra sang to us last week on CD! Last week we talked about Chicago's Flag and what the symbols stand for. This week, we will learn about Fort Dearborn, Chicago Stockyards, and how Chicago becomes an industrialized city.

Spelling
L. 26 are the words for this week. This is a review unit of lessons 19-25. On Monday a "practice" test will come home. It will be in the spelling folder. It looks like Friday's test, but with different words. This week's workbook pages are 136-139. They'll be due on Thursday. The test is Friday.

English
We will begin unit 6 on pronouns. This is our last grammar unit. This week we will learn about subject and object pronouns, pronouns and verbs, and writing with pronouns.

Math
This week in math we will be taking a division 12 mad minute. The following week we will take a mixed mad minute on division facts. We will be "all done" with mad minutes in 2 weeks, HOWEVER, your child should continue to practice multiplication and division facts. We will start double digit multiplication after our decimal unit and finish up with long division!

Week of April 27-May 1

2009-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
Miss Griffin's last day 5/8 :(

Classroom Chatter:
We are going to enjoy these last 2 weeks with Miss Griffin. We will miss her very much!

Science
This week we will learn about the planets of our solar system.

Social Studies
We will begin our study of Chicago. This week we will begin learning about the history of Chicago.

Spelling
L. 25 words are spelled with -igh. There will be a pretest on Monday and the test on Friday. 131-134 are this week's workbook pages. They're due on Thursday. ABC order will come home Thursday.

English
We will finish up typing our autobiographies. This week we will begin our final grammar unit. Unit 6 teaches us on pronouns.

Reading
This week we will begin a fairy tale unit. There will be some vocabulary words that come home on Monday. There will be a quiz on these terms on Friday. April book reports on poetry are due Thursday 4/30. Next month's book reports have to do with fairy tales. I'll send home information on Friday.

Math
This week we will continue with decimals. We will discuss place value, ordering and comparing of decimals, problem solving, and estimation of decimals. There will be a checkpoint on Thursday. Thursday's checkpoint can be found on page 404. We also will be taking a mad minute in division 11's.

Week of April 20-24

2009-04-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

*Skating Party Tuesday 4/21

*Progress Reports 4/21

*Early Dismissal Friday 4/24

Classroom Chatter:

It was so wonderful to see all my students and their families at Open House! Thank you for taking the time to come visit! It's so sad to think we have 7 weeks together till summer!

Science

We will finish up lesson one by learning about day and night. We will begin lesson 2 this week about the earth and moon.

Social Studies

Next week we will begin our unit on Chicago. We will begin with the history of Chicago.

Spelling

L. 24 words this week are spelled with -ear. The pretest is Monday and the test will be Friday. The workbook pages will be assigned on Tuesday. Pages 126-129 will be due Thursday. ABC order will come home Thursday.

English

We will begin a writing unit. Students will be writing their autobiography.

Reading

This week we will be presenting biographies. Students will also have another opportunity to play their games they made. They will come home Friday.

Math

We will be taking a checkpoint from pages 378-379. The test on chapter 9 is scheduled for Wednesday. We will review on Tuesday for the test in class. This week's mad minutes are on division 10's. Due to no school Friday, we will take mad minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday if need be!

Week of April 13-17

2009-04-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

Spring Open House and Book Fair Thursday 4/17

Classroom Chatter:

I apologize in the delay of Scholastic Book Orders. Those of you who ordered books, I submitted the order on Thursday 4/9. My apologies. I must have forgotten about the order, since I had them due that Friday before we had Spring Break. They should be in next week. Again, I appreciate your orders and apologize for the error.

Please come and join us Thursday from 6:30-8:00 pm for Spring Open House and Book Fair. Third grade's theme is Ancient Egypt. We look forward to showing off our hard work!

I'm excited to announce that our classroom received the school's first Mimio board. Has your child to you about it? This is a wonderful tool that uses technology to project the computer screen onto our whiteboard (which replaced our chalkboard). With the use of a special pen, students and teachers can move, highlight, write, and much more on the whiteboard.

Science

We will begin chapter 10 Space this week. In lesson one, we will learn what causes earth's seasons.

Socia Studies

We will be having the Ancient Egypt test on Friday, April 17th. A study guide went home last week.

Spelling

L. 23 words this week. These words are spelled ending with -er and -est. There will be a pretest Monday and a test on Friday. The workbook pages are 121-124 and are due Thursday. There will be an ABC order sheet that will come home Thursday.

English

We will take the Unit 5 Correct Sentences test on Wednesday. A study guide went home last week.

Reading

We are finished with biographies. Next week, students will be sharing them and have the option to dress up. We will decide on a schedule of presenting them this week. This week I want the students to share their games from last month's book report. Students will have an opportunity to plan them as well. Also, this week, we're beginning a poetry unit, since April is poetry month. Students will have a quiz on Friday on the 6 vocabulary terms. Those words will come home on Monday.

Math

We will finish up fractions this week. The test is scheduled for Wendnesday 4/22. The checkpoint will be Monday 4/20. We also will be taking a mad minute in division 9.

Week of April 6-10

2009-04-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
*No school Tuesday 4/7 Teacher Institute
*No school Friday 4/10
*Spring Open House and Book Fair Thursday 4/16

Classroom Chatter
I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing spring break. We look forward to seeing family next week at our Spring Open House!

Science We will begin chapter 10 on space next week!

Social Studies This week we will start reading Tut's Mummy. In this book we will learn in more detail about King Tut. Don't forget the Egypt Mobile is due 4/14. Students may turn them in early.

Spelling We will not take a pretest this week due to the shortened week. L. 22 are the words this week. The test will be Thursday. Workbook pages 116-119 will be due on Wednesday. ABC order will come home Wednesday.

English This week we will be learning about quotation marks and writing good sentences. The english test is planned for Wednesday, April 15th.

Reading We will continue working on our biography scrapbooks. When we are finished with the scrapbooks, students will present them to the class. They will have the option of dressing up like their person on the day of their presentations.

Math
We will continue with our study of fractions. This week we also will be taking a mad minute on division 8. Due to the shortened week, we will have a mad minute on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Week of March 23-27

2009-03-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:

Book orders due Friday 3/27

Tivoli Friday 3/27

Spring break 3/30-4/3

Classroom Chatter
Book orders for March will be due on Thursday 3/26. They went home last Friday. Let me know if you want me to set aside any books you order for Easter baskets and we can arrange for a pick up!

We look forward to our trip to the Tivoli on Friday to see a private viewing of Nanny McPhee! What a great way to kick off spring break!

Science

We will finish up chapter 9 with a Jeopardy review game on the whiteboard on Wednesday. The test will be on Thursday 3/26.

Social Studies

We will be starting the book, Tut's Mummy, next week. Information about Ancient Egypt mobiles went home this week. They are due April 15th.

Spelling

L. 21's words are nouns ending with -er. The test will be Friday. This week's pages are 111-114. They are due Thursday. An ABC order will come home on Thursday.

English

This week we will learn how to write abbreviations and book titles correctly. We will also learn about introductory words and commas in a series.

Reading
We will continue with our biography unit. Information about our next book report will come home this week. This month's book report genre focuses on poetry.

Math

We will continue with our fractions unit. On Thursday, students will be taking a checkpoint on fractions on page 358-359. We are half way done with this unit. Students will be taking a mad minute in division 7's. We won't meet on Friday due to the Tivoli movie, so Mad Minutes will be Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week.

Week of March 16-20

2009-03-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Important Dates:
*St. Patrick's Day Tuesday 3/17
*Egypt Unwrapped Tuesday 3/17
*Jump ropes Assembly Wednesday 3/18

Classroom Chatter

We have Egypt Unwrapped on Tuesday and a Jump ropes assembly on Wednesday. Ask your child about them!

Science
We will complete L. 3 on clouds this week. Next week we will play a review game and test. The test for ch. 9 is scheduled for Thursday 3/26.

Social Studies
We will continue with Egypt. When we get closer to ending the unit, I'll be sending home a study guide.

Please visit the blog of your child's Reading teacher to find out information for Reading, Language Arts, and Spelling in that classroom.

Spelling

L. 20's words are spelled with -er. There will be a pretest Monday. The test is Friday. This week's work book pages are: 107-110. They are due on Thursday. Thursday we'll have an ABC order sheet.

Reading
We will begin our biography unit. This week we'll be reading biographies on Babe Didrickson, Bill Melendez, Bessie Coleman, and Hank Greenburg. We also will be picking out biographies to read individually in class in the upcoming weeks. Some biographies I have are: King Tut, Johnny Appleseed, Amelia Earhart, and Miley Cyrus. We will then be using these biographies and work on a project in school in the upcoming weeks.

English
We will finish up expository writing on Monday. Students will be writing an expository paper that I will be taking a grade on. The following are part of the paper I will be looking for. These are all portrayed on a poster in the classroom to help students organize their paper and stay focused.

Paragraph 1 Introduction: Hook, Opinion, and Preview
(Students are to begin their introduction with a hook/attention getter. Then they state their opinion. The last sentence "previews" the 3rd and 4th paragraph's supports/reasons for their opinion.)

Paragraph 2 Body: Transition sentence and then about 4 sentences supporting your first support.

Paragraph 3 Body: Transition sentence and then about 4 sentences supporting your second support.

Paragraph 4 Conclusion: Restates opinion, reviews your two supports from paragraph 2 and 3 but using different words/synonyms, end with a hook.

I will also be looking for indenting, proper capitalization and punctuation.

We will then begin unit 5 on Correct Sentences. This week we will be working on writing sentences using capitalization and punctuation. This is what we've been working on all year, so it'll be a good review!

Please visit the blog of your child's Math teacher to find out information for that Math class.

Math
This week we will begin chapter 9 Fractions. We will also be taking a mad minute in division 6. Geometry projects are due Monday 3/16. Please turn your rubric in with your project. Thanks.