Holidays with Family

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Christmas Memories!

One of the best gifts one can give or receive is the gift of friendship!

Making Christmas ....

Each year, third grade teachers have students help create their Christmas presents. This years students got the hang of beading very quickly. They did an awesome job creating patterns (yes we're working in a little math here) with beads to embellish their scarves. Check out some of us at work and our finished products!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to  yours!

Enjoy the beautiful snow!

Throw a few snowballs for me!

More Reading Congrats!

 

November Book-It Goal Met!

Camden, Zach, and Trystan!

Alexis - 50 Point Club

Trystan - 25 Point Club

More Coming Soon!

Multiplication Matters

Our current unit of study in Mathematics is Multiplication. Students are working hard to learn with automaticity (knowing the answer within three to five seconds) the multiplication facts from 0-10. In addition to the tasks we complete in class, I've been sharing some online games to help students practice the multiplication facts.

Car Wash

Moles

 

Math Magician

This is the one we use most often! 

Flight of the Knight

 

 The Knight and the Princess

 

Jungle Jim

The Table Trees

 

Diaper Derby

Georgia on Our Minds!

We are happy to present to you our completed Georgia Habitats display! We worked diligently for 10 weeks exploring each habitat and learning what make each one unique to the animals found there. We created a hall display to show the plant and animals in each habitat. We worked in small groups to create posters for each habitat with important facts you should know. Here are a few photos from our display!

 

For more information about the habitats in Georgia, click on the links below!

Coast and Barrier Islands

Mountains

Swamp

Piedmont

Atlantic Ocean

Red Ribbon Week

Gilbert Elementary School celebrated Red Ribbon Week the week of October 25-29th. Students had fun dressing up each day to show our promise and commitment to being DRUG FREE! Each classroom was challenged to create their own slogan and decorate classroom doors with that theme. We came up with "No Bones About It - We're drug-free!" Enjoy the slide show of photos from Friday's book character dress up and red balloon release!

1st Nine Academic Pep Rally

Here are some photos taken during our first Academic Pep Rally in October. Congrats to everyone for working so hard!

Reading Congratulations!

 

 Congrats to Camden for earning his 25 point tag! 

 Congrats to Alexis and Isaiah for meeting the Book It goal for October!

 Congrats to Alexis and Isaiah on meeting the Book It goal for November!

Writer's Workshop

We have been working on informational writing for the past few weeks. Mrs. Massey shared a lesson with us that helped us immensely! She said to visualize our paragraph as a hamburger. I know it sounds strange, but it really works. When you are making a hamburger, you always start with the bun. In writing, we start with a topic sentence. So in keeping with her analogy, our topic sentence is our bun.

The "meat" is our first major detail. The lettuce and tomato are details two and three. The you end with the other "bun" or closing sentence which restates your topic sentence. Mrs. Massey showed students how to add more to our paragraphs by adding in supporting details. She likened this to the mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. Students were able to relate to this graphic organizer very well. Below are some videos of Writer's author chair sharing. Enjoy!

P.S. These video clips were taken with Gilbert's new Flip Cameras. What an awesome addition to the technology available for students! We have some great ideas for using them to share student learning! Thank you to the WACOPEP business partners who made their purchase possible! More to come soon!

WDEF Channel 12 Visits Our Classroom

Last Tuesday, we were treated to a visit by Renee LaSalle from WDEF News 12. Mrs. Lori Baker, Isaiah's mom, nominated me for a Golden Apple Award from Bi-Lo and News 12. Ms. LaSalle and her cameraman showed up on Tuesday for an interview and some video footage of our classroom. Students were very excited about the visit! They were all smiles for the camera! Click here to see the video and learn more about the award!

I am very honored to receive this award! Thank you, Mrs. Baker and Isaiah for the nomination! However, I must admit, I was extremely nervous when the camera was in our classroom. I think I'll definitely stick to teaching and let Ms. LaSalle handle the local news!

Thoughts on Thurgood!

Our class has been learning about Thurgood Marshall and his contributions to American History. Students learned that Thurgood often worked with the NAACP as a lawyer. He tried numerous cases concerning civil rights.

One very important case was Brown v. Board of Education. It all started in Topeka, Kansas. A black third-grader named Linda Brown wanted to go to a white school close to her house. The principal refused to allow her to attend school. Linda's parents decided to take the matter to court. With Thurgood Marshall's help, they won their court case. Linda Brown was able to attend the school near her home.

Mrs. Long and I presented students with the following challenge...

Pretend you are Linda Brown. You finally get to go to the white school. But kids look at you because you are different. How does it feel?

 I am always amazed at the insight our children sometimes have about things in life. Here are a few of their responses.

Chyanne said...

I feel very sad but happy because it is close to my house. The kids snarl their noses at me and laugh. All I do is walk away. When I answer a question in the classroom, kids just stare at me.

Alexis says...

They stare at me. I tell them we're the same on the inside. They just laugh at me. I get mad. I don't have any friends just because I'm different on the outside. At lunch, nobody wants to sit by me. At recess, they won't let me play with them. When I go to the slide, everybody runs away like I am sick.

Kai says...

I would feel bad because everybody would call me names, pick on me, and threaten me. I wouldn't have any friends.

Spencer shares his thoughts...

The first time I walked in the white school I was scared. Then I walked in. People made fun of me because of my color. They looked at me very strange for some reason. Then, I said to myself, "Why wouldn't any kid talk to me?" Then at lunch, no one sat with me. At recess no one would play with me. I was very sad.

 Emmeleigh says...

People would make fun of me every day. But, I will not care. Because all that matters is learning.

 This was a great writing assignment. It required students to think of themselves in another person's shoes and feel empathy. I am proud of my students' ability to put their feelings and thoughts into words to share with others. Way to go, guys!

AR Congratulations!

Congratulations, Alexis!

She is the first person to earn her 25-Point Tag.

We love our grandparents!

My Grandparents, Gussie and Junior Pence. 

Does this little girl look familiar? 

We would like to thank all our grandparents!

Thank you for making Grandparents' Day so special!

Check out our photos!

Mrs. Long takes over...

We are happy to have Mrs. Cindy Long with us this year. Most of you had the pleasure of meeting her at Open House back during August. She is currently a student at Western Governor's University and is completing her required student teaching assignment. She will be with us for 12 weeks up through November 12. As part of her student teaching, she must complete a two week "take over" in which she is responsible for all instruction that takes place in the classroom. Her take over begins on Thursday. I will still be at school. However, I am not allowed to be in the classroom. I am only a phone call away should Mrs. Long require any assistance. I will still see students at lunch, recess, and at the end of each day. I just wanted you to be aware of the changes taking place in our classroom community.

I wish you all a restful Fall Break!

Until next time,

Mrs. Richardson :)

Building Base Ten Numbers

This week, we've been reviewing place value. Students rolled dice to get their numeral. We used base ten blocks to build models of numbers through the hundreds place. Check out our photos!

Table 3 takes turns building numbers.

Amya's eager for her turn to roll the dice.

Isaiah and Haylee think Math is FUN!

Alexia takes her turn!

If you'd like more practice with place value, check out these games!

Tens and Ones
Place Value Mystery Pictures
Dino Place Value
Place Value Pirates
Place Value Golf
Place Value to Thousands
Place Value Movie
Shark Numbers
Penguin Place Value
Place Value Puzzlers
Collect the Ducks
Hot Air Balloons
Fireworks in the City

Base Ten Blocks 

Group the Blocks

Meet the Stars!

Greetings and welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year! This year's theme is "Climbing Mt. Everest". We're off to a wonderful start. I invite you all to meet the stars of my third grade class! Together, we're setting the stage for a successful school year!




Please make plans to attend the Back to School PTO meeting on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:00 p.m. You'll meet our new PTO officers, hear from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and see a back-to-school slide show. Come join us! See you there! :)

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

     My name is Dianne Richardson. I will be your child’s teacher this year. I am very excited about our year together. This third grade year will be one of the most challenging in your child’s education as your child adjusts from primary grades to upper elementary. I believe that it is very important to your child’s success for us to work closely together. I thought it would be helpful for me to tell you a little about myself.
    
     I am 38 years old. My husband, Todd, and I have two children. My husband and his family own and operate Shop Rite Supermarkets, a local grocery store chain. Alex is a sophomore at the University of West Georga in Carrollton. Chaz is a tenth grader at LaFayette High School. They are both great kids. I am sure you will meet them as our year together continues.

     I guess you could say that I am a hometown girl. I grew up here in LaFayette. I went through the Walker County School system and graduated from LHS in 1990. When I was in the first grade, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I did a lot of babysitting, keeping score for baseball, and became day camp counselor. By the time I graduated from high school, I had definitely decided that teaching and working with children was what I wanted to do.

     This will be my 15th year teaching at Gilbert. I taught kindergarten for four years, first grade for nine years, and this is my second year teaching third grade. I am a 1994 graduate of the State University of West Georgia. I earned my master’s degree in Reading and Early Literacy from Walden University in August of 2007. I worked for two years at the LaFayette-Walker County Library as their Children’s Librarian. I left there to begin my teaching career.

     Once again, I welcome you to my classroom. I am looking forward to getting to know you and your family. Thank you for sharing your children with me!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Dianne Richardson :)

Summer is Here!

Chaz, Me, Alex on PCB

Hello, everyone! I hope your summer is going well! My family and I just returned from our vacation at Panama City Beach, Florida. We had a blast. I loved sitting by the ocean, soaking up the sun, and reading a few good books! My boys were busy swimming, shell collecting, riding jet skis, and watching soccer. 

Right before I left for Florida, I ran into Mason and his mom at Walmart. Mason said he's enjoying his summer and playing lots of video games. I also talked with Haley on FB. She and her family were headed to Tybee Island to enjoy their vacation. 

Are you reading this summer? I've read a few really good books lately. What about you? What are you reading? Drop me an email to let me know what you are reading.

On Thursday of this week, I'm meeting my friends (Miss Higdon, Mrs. Epperson, and Mrs. Scott) at the city pool for some swimming fun. Maybe I'll see you there!

Until next time,

Mrs. R

Thank You!

Thank you all for a wonderful year! 

You guys were an awesome group of students! I am so thankful that we had a year to grow and learn together. I wish you all the best in fourth grade! Drop me an email and let me know what you're up to this summer! I love to hear from you!

Field Day Fun

Thank you for another fun-filled Field Day, Coach Neal!

Luau

On Monday, May 17, third graders enjoyed our end-of-year luau! Students visited eight stations of fun activities. After almost two hours of slicing and chopping, we made fruit kabobs! They were fantastic! Thanks to all of you for helping us celebrate a wonderful year!

AG Day Field Trip

We had a great time at the Agricenter on May 13th! Students learned about lots of different animals and enjoyed Mayfield Ice Cream Sandwiches. I think the Alpacas were probably the most popular exhibit. Those guys were adorable!

Please check the list of events on the RIGHT!

If you have questions, let me know via email!

Dr. Seuss Day

On Tuesday, we celebrated the wonderful Dr. Seuss! Mrs. Massey and her helpers hosted three stations, Crazy Hair, GAK, and Seussical. The fourth station was a visit to the Science Fair. Enjoy a glimpse of our fun day!

A Pirate at Gilbert?

Last week, Ms. Chelsea visited Gilbert Elementary! Ms. Chelsea is the Children's Librarian at the LaFayette Walker County Library. The purpose of her visit was to share information about the Summer Reading Club. She was dressed as a pirate and challenged each student to join the SRC! Check out our pictures.

Math Fun!

In this fun math activity, we graphed the colors of M & Ms candies. The best part of course was eating once our graphs were finished!

AR Newbies!

Congratulations to these new point club members!

 

 Taylor - 50 Points

 

Royce - 75 Points

 

Heather - 100 Points

 

Farrah - 125 Points

How's Your Green Thumb?

Do you have a green thumb?

Remember our cabbage plants? How is your plant doing? Is it still growing? Please remember to send in photos of your plant for a chance to win a $1000 scholarship! Haley's mom, Mrs. Underwood, sent in the picture below of Haley's cabbage. Looks like Haley's cabbage is doing well! 

Congratulations!

Congratulations, Haley!

Haley is the newest member of the 100 point club!

Please note: The last day to take AR tests in Friday, May 7th! Be sure to get your tests in if you're close to a new point club!

A Visit to the Pond

On Tuesday, April 27, as part of science week at Gilbert, we visited the pond and the Bug Mobile. At the pond, Mrs. Long taught us about food chains and food webs. While we were there, we noticed a new face at Gilbert. We saw this white bird! He showed up on Monday. We think he may be someone's pet as he seemed very comfortable around people. He let me walk right up to him to snap his picture. In my pictures, it appeared he only had one leg. However after talking with Mrs. Sandow, we discovered he's fine. He just had the other one hidden. My students were worried about the little guy! We also observed the Koi and gar fish that reside in the pond. We tried to spot the turtle we had heard that's moved in recently. He proved elusive! Check out our photos!

Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate Earth Day, we paused for a moment to reflect on what we can do to help our Earth! Students came up with some wonderful ideas! What will you do to help our planet?

Congratulations, Mason and Heather!

Math-a-Thon Congratulations!

Congrats to Heather and Mason!

 Heather received a certificate for her hard work!

Mason earned a certificate, a t-shirt, and a pass to Six Flags!

Both students participated by completing math problems and collecting donations for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Our school raised over $1,000 for this worthy cause! Thanks guys!

P.S. Sorry for the mirror image photos! Mrs. Richardson forgot her camera today!

AR Congratulations!

Way to Go!
Congratulations to the following point club earners!
25 Point ClubKaitlyn Brackett
50 Point Club

Mason Coots 
75 Point Club

 Joshuwa Burse

  Ethan O'dell 
William Sainthill