THE SWAN-GAZETTE

February 12, 2008

Volume 18, Issue #8

Mr. Swanberg’s Neighborhood

The Crystal Project Continues!

Check out the class’s first experiment growing crystals.

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 11 Conference Notices sent home

Tuesday, February 12 Lincoln’s Birthday

Thursday, February 14 Valentine’s Day

Reading Buddy Valentine Reunion at 10:30

Valentine’s Day Classroom Party at 1:00

Monday, February 18, Presidents’ Day: No school

Thursday, February 21, 4:00-8:00: Parent Conferences

Friday February 15, 8:00-11:00 Parent Conferences: No school for students

Monday, March 9, Daylight Savings Time begins

Friday, March 14, Last day of school before break

Saturday, March 15 through Sunday, March 30: Spring Break!

Monday, March 31, Spring Holiday

Friday, March 28, End of Third Quarter

Birthdays Celebrated Last Friday for February

Stephaun Clark

Dominic Lacy

Corion Window

Academics: General Information

Reading

This week, we are going to work on understanding various literary devices. This includes looking for clues, alliteration, onomatopoeia, imagery, and understatements. Ask your child what book they are reading this week.

Ask them to make inferences from the book about its literary devices.

We are reading Maniac McGee and Prince Caspian together in class. One is about racism, and the other is about this spring’s new Lion, Witch and Wardrobe movie...read it before they see it!

Reading is incorporating a new publisher and program this year known as “Good Habits, Good Readers.” This is a series of stand-alone books taught with the level of reader in mind, involving master plans for each day of the year. The books will use forms of oral, silent, partner, and group reading situations. I hope to adopt this to my own Best Practices background, and am engaging in literature circles as well. Drama, writing, art, and critical thinking will be integrated throughout the year.

After lunch the students have an opportunity to read a book of their own choosing, silently during Independent Reading. We are learning strategies for choosing books.

Also after lunch, Ms. Cochrane is pulling a group of students out of the room for two extra half hours of ISAT practice and serious guided reading study, with an emphasis on improving test-taking strategies, speech, decoding, and fluency. We have added another two tutors at a later afternoon time now also, as we feel that reading is the most important thing for some students right now.

Math

Math is a program in its third year of use entitled Everyday Mathematics. It’s not like the kind of rote material many of us grew up on, and if you are not familiar with it, please be sure to read my Chapter Overviews when I send them home. They help explain things. It is a form of learning that spirals rather than teaches to proficiency.

The series covers the four operations, regrouping, place value, time, money, data, graphs, probability, geometry, and much more. There will be nightly assignments on Math Boxes (in Practice book) and on homework made for parents and students. We use a reference book, many manipulative, and two practice books.

Math Night on Thursday, January17 was a huge success with over fifty families participating!

We are well into the “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” multiplication program, which does teach to proficiency. I’m giving two to three timed tests per week. Students MUST HAVE THEIR FACTOR TICKETS TO TAKE THE TEST AND CLIMB THE FLOORS OF THE HOTEL. They have built their hotel posters and displaying them in the hall, where their mastery of the facts is recognized. Several students are now on the thirteenth floor!

The students are correcting their own math boxes in class, so that they can recognize their own mistakes. We have begun our second journal, and I urge you to look over their class work in the journal they just brought home, and give them some helpful criticism.

This Week: Ch. 7 continues on Multiplication and Division. This week we will practice fact we will learn number models with parenthesis, apply multiplication to a basketball game, extend facts, and estimate costs with multiplication. Nest week we will explore larger products, ratios, and geometric figures, following with review and assessment. Then comes fractions.

Mrs. Henss, our Enrichment Specialist, will be pulling a group out of Language Arts for an ISAT math practice session and strategy review. We will be spending a large amount of time of next month’s testing, as you can see.

English

We are on Chapter 13 in the language book. We are proofreading each week, and integrating spelling words into “Rainbow” sentences. Our current study is on main and helping verbs.

Writing

We are in the middle of another unit of study on narrative writing. We are starting new stories concentrating on strong feelings significant seed ideas, leads, telling a story from the inside, and adding scenes from the past and future. Next, students will edit and publish their essays.

Many students still need to return their writing journals, which I sent home over the holidays for your review. Please help!

Social Studies

Social Studies centers on Outstanding American Women in the next quarter. Each student will be reading a biography and writing a paper on the chosen subject. More to come.

*Parents: please guide your student with their report.

Health

Health has resumed, and there will be a test on Chapter 3 on Wednesday. We will continue with chapter four, ways of keeping our bodies healthy.

Science

We are starting our unit Simple Machines. This gives the students fundamentals of physics, and helps them understand how we build more complex machinery based on a few simple tools.

My Crystal unit will continue throughout the third quarter. We have built the gardens that may have made it home in one piece. We have grown citrine crystals and are waiting on our rock candy suckers to finish crystallization. This week we made alum crystals, salt crystals, and Epsom salt crystals. We will finish building cubic molecules. Our nest experiment involves using crushed animal bones to create new crystal forms.

Spelling

Spelling Unit 22will is covered. The students are tying the spelling words into Rainbow Sentences each week.

Handwriting

We are continuing the last half, upper-case strokes.

Computer Skills

Computer skills are taught in the laboratory. There is now a lab monitor, and I am awaiting a time to use the lab.

Share and Tell

Communication Skills are encouraged in our Friday “Share and Tell,” which gives the students an opportunity to speak in front of all about a story, poem, song, idea, or object. Later this year will be an oral report.

This Week: students with odd numbers may share something with the class.

Desk Cleaning

Desk cleaning is an important part of our routine, and each student will have time to do this on Fridays.

Field Trips

Field trips, depending on funding, may be a part of our curriculum. There may be a Science trip and a Social Studies trip. Also on the horizon is a trip to Krannert. The morning that the third grade was to have gone to the bowling alley was cancelled, because of difficulty finding parents to help with their “high fliers.” In past years we have gone to Turkey Run, the Peoria Wildlife Park, Meadowbrook Park, Lake of the Woods, Busey Woods, Homer Lake, downtown Champaign landmarks, high school plays, and Centennial Park. I am so sorry that behavior has become an issue. It has improved, and a trip to Turkey Run is a possibility...

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The Galaxy of Readers

Reading incentive programs are a part of the school-wide agenda. The Galaxy of Readers has been around since before me! And, we are a school of literacy and creative writing. There are Busey Awards, and Read-In Day activities. The Galaxy of Readers has been going for four months, so be reading at home and recording your minutes! To encourage this reading at home in another way, all students taking part will celebrate with a popcorn part on the last day of the month

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Last month six students took part, and three read six hours. This is not what I mean when I say homework includes reading fifteen minutes every night and documenting it. Some students are already three years behind, and I only have them for a short time. And, many get pulled in the afternoon and lose time for Science, Social Studies, Health, Desk Cleaning, Silent Reading, and or Oral Reading.

Reading truly is the key to all learning.

Specials

Art, Music, Library, and Physical Education are daily activities on alternating day. These are taught in separate rooms. They are also an important part of education.

Parents

I would like to thank all of the parents and volunteers who are making our Valentine’s Day Party a success. In particular, I thank Mrs. Thomas for organizing the party. The kids will have a wonderful time, thanks to the parents’ preparation.

I am very concerned that recently, one-third of my class is continuing to be absent. Several students have missed weeks and weeks. No child can be successful if they miss precious class time, and as a parent or guardian all should be setting good expectations for their children. Letting them stay home tells them that school isn’t important…and it IS! (I had to get that off my chest again.)

Assignments

Assignments should include student’s name, number (assigned), date, text pages, and subject on all work. This is a major concern for student accountability. I still get a lot of papers with no names and no credit.

Newsletters

Newsletters will be distributed about periodically.

Homework

Homework is a part of third grade. Approximately thirty minutes of homework is required each night except Friday. This should be evenly spent on independent reading, Links, and assignments. Occasionally there will be a book report or research paper. I evaluate progress based on ability.

Homework can be useful for extending the classroom, but is does much more. It prepares students for life. It teaches responsibility. It is most successful when combined with positive study habits. The classroom uses a Student Assignment Book, which has daily space for assignment reminders. Look for it nightly!

Please make homework a priority in your home, and provide the necessary supplies and a quiet environment. Provide praise and support, and help your child when necessary. Contact me if problems arise, especially if it is one you can’t handle. Discuss this homework policy with your child. It is important to our success.

I do not wish for homework to be a burden to students or parents. I hope you find it interesting and challenging. I will also be discussing these skills at school.

Student Honors

Mr. Swanberg’s Friday Pizza and a Movie Respect Club

This week, what students will qualify?

Golden Pencil for February:

Emma Thomas!

Public Carrie Busey School Honors

Second Quarter

Most Improved Academics

Joshua Riggleman and Arielle Martin

Perfect Attendance:

Lafayette Jackson and Mary Jane Ash

Consistently Good Behavior:

Nicholas Hererra and Andrienna Moore-Johnson

Respect Grid Winner

Not drawn till Monday

Gentlemen’s Club

Meets every Wednesday at lunch for lessons on manners and time to relax in the company of other students that want to become even better citizens. Among our recent activities: learning the half-Windsor and Full-Windsor tie folds, and working as hallway monitors following lunch recess to instill order and quiet among classes during transitions.

Our class set a school record for 148 NAMES

On the Respect Grid in one week.

We received the travelling Gus Macker Trophy one time so far.

Recent Concerns

Students: USE YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOLDERS!

Parents: They are ORANGE and PLASTIC with TWO SIDES. We supplied them, and they are wonderful for all work.

Daily Assignment Folders are highly recommended.

Carrie Busey supplies are also recommended.

Many students have no pencils, scissors, or glue-please check with yours.

I recently sent out a survey and asked the parents and guardians how often they visited my website, and how often they read my newsletter.

The results are in! Six people said that they had seen my newsletter. No one in the class mentioned ever visiting my website. Email me if you utilize the online version:

Email: swanbejo@champaignschools.org

Website: http://37.home.insightbb.com/

Math homework has shown me that many students do not follow the instructions carefully. I need you to help reinforce the directions, as some students daydream through my instructions. They are written on each assignment. Several parents have said that they do not understand our Math and how to proceed. I would like to remind you that I send out a set of parent directions, an overview, and all of the actual answers in my newsletter at the beginning of each unit. You should have received one on the first full day of school. Do not share the answers with the students, just “lead them” to the right way of thinking. And remember that there is a student reference book that can and should be going home each night. This book explains any questions you may have. There is no time in this fast-moving program to revisit lessons, as we must complete one each day. If you tell me that your child doesn’t “get it,” the first thing I will ask you is if you have read the newsletter and seen the reference book. We are partners in learning, and in this school environment of 2007, I can’t do it all myself. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Our class DRA scores range from 6 to 34. Six of my students are reading at grade level. My class is basically a mixture of first and second grade readers, which also mean that many students, cannot even read their grade-level texts accurately. Children not on grade level by the end of third grade are an emergency. Some of our class cannot read a pre-primer. Remember this as you assess my teaching accommodations, and realize that your child most certainly needs to be reading every night just to catch up in most cases. I hear way too much about videos, television, gaming, and other one-way communication devices. Trade just a little bit of that game time for a book, and you will see wonders. Take your kids to the library and the bookstore. Read to them. Show them that you read. Have a quiet place for your child to read and study without the computer, television, or game consoles. We are really fighting a war on illiteracy. Reading requires effort. Watching doesn’t. Reading involves people. Real life requires being able to read for success.

You can reach me at 351-3811: Just leave a message and I will get back within 24 hours.

John Swanberg