The Call of Battle!

Calling all readers!  The battle begins!  This year, as third graders, we are able to compete in the Battle of the Books.  This is a competition of third, fourth, and fifth grade readers who, after reading books from this list, are able to compete and attempt to earn a spot on the final battle team!  There are books for everyone;  books about ghosts, animals, sports, history...a variety of genres to choose from!  The battle is in the distant future.  For now we are gathering supplies and beginning to develop our battle skills.  The good news is, we have already read one book from the list...The Earth Dragon Awakes!  The bad news is...we currently only have one copy of each book, and with 53 friends in our classes, it will be difficult to prepare.  We need your help!  If you would like to donate books from the list to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it!  It's time to start reading!    

Slime Time!!!

In celebration of students meeting the Readers To Leaders reading goal for the first nine weeks, Mrs. Phillips allowed reading teachers to slime her this morning after Flag Raising!  92% of our students are on their way to reading one million words this year!  For this particular celebration, all students were able to attend, however, for the next celebration only students meeting the goal will be invited.  As third graders, having read at least 6 chapter books in the first nine weeks is expected in order to be on the right track.  We are so proud of the efforts of our readers!  Keep up the good work!  Stay tuned for news about the next celebration!

The Power of One!!!

Today we were reminded of the importance of being a "bully buster!"  Bullying is the act of purposely and repeatedly harming another with words or actions.  Bullying is often a way of gaining power over another person, but today we learned how to put a stop to it!  We will stop being bystanders!  We will tell a trusted adult if we are the victim of, or witness to, bullying!  We are going to be on the lookout for all types of bullying; physical, verbal, cyber, etc.  We know we have what it takes to keep Chets Creek a safe and happy place where students feel free to learn and enjoy themselves!  Let us know what your plans are to stand up to bullies!  


For more information about bullying and the quest to end to it...check out these websites!

• http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/what-is-bullying.aspx
• http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org
• http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/bullying.html

Lovely Logs

In addition to our nightly reading, we complete a reading log for homework each night.  The pink log sheet is all too familiar to our students.  We know we are responsible for filling in the title, time read, and a comment, question, or prediction about our reading from the night.  Some things as third graders, we should be aware of:

• the title of a book should be capitalized
• a third grade quality response includes capital letters, punctuation, and is a thoughtful response
• the amount of space provided is a good clue about the length of the response expected

Take a look at these great student examples!  If your work is equivalent...keep it up!  If not, make some adjustments so you meet expectations in the future!