What's going on in Mrs. Prairie's room?
by Heather Prairie
Welcome to the third grade! My name is Heather Prairie. This is my fourth year in 3rd grade at Chebanse Elementary. I previously taught four years in 2nd and 3rd grade in St. Anne. I grew up in Chebanse and decided to return home due to my own growing family. My husband and I reside in Clifton with our three daughters.
I received my bachelor's degree from Olivet Nazarene University. I have also received a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, and a master's degree in Educational Leadership from St. Francis University.
ISAT is next week! Please be sure your child is here on time, has a positive attitude and does his/her best! I know each child is fully prepared to take the test! I believe they will do great!
Spelling- Our new spelling program is working great! Some of the students are now learning 20 new words each week. They come to me asking to do more! It allows the students to partner up and give the test to each other three days a week. This is great because it allows pair work and a chance for student's work to be checked instantly. Each student receives a star for each word spelled correctly each day. After the third day, the words with three stars are added to a Graduated Words list. The words without three stars stay on the list for the next week. Then, the students move down the list to form their next week's spelling list. It is great because words are worked on until three stars are earned in a row. The students are doing a great job and seem to love it because they are more in charge of their learning!
Reading- We are still reading stories from the theme animal habitats. We have taken a break from the reading series because of the shortened week and the focus on some last minute review for ISAT.
Math- We are starting to study our multiplication facts. The students are so excited to learn them! Some of our students have already earned a Dilly Bar. We will celebrate in May with the ice cream treat! We are also learning about fractions and probability.
Science- The students are learning about the solar system through the play. They are loving it! More information about our play and its performances will be coming soon!
Social Studies- Time For Kids magazines help to keep the students talking about current events. They supply great illustrations and graphs for the students to work on. This is great ISAT practice.
Writing- We are still working on expository paragraphs. We have started learning about the different aspects of writing, such as alliteration, similies and metaphors. The students are starting to incorporate their writing aspects into their expository papers. These aspects make the papers so much better! I enjoy reading the things they come up with! I can't wait to see how well they do on the ISAT expository writing!
Co-teaching- We are implementing a new program this year and it is called co-teaching. Ms. Waters is coming into our classroom for an hour and a half in the morning to help us during our reading and writing time. We are also lucky enough to have her back for a half hour in the afternoon to assist with math work time and a short study hall. Ms. Waters and I feel this is working tremendously because we are able to reach so many more students' needs.
The best way to reach me is by sending a note with your child, or sending an e-mail at hprairie@cusd4.org.
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