Our Elf, Ben

For the past two weeks we have had an Elf on the Shelf watching over our classroom. In the afternoon when we all go home for the day our elf, Ben, travels to the North Pole to report to Santa on our behavior. So far all reports have been good!

Every morning when we come back to school Ben is hiding in a new spot. Some mornings we find that he has been mischievous, like the time he moved our behavior magnets into a smiley face and another time he switched everyone's STAR cards, which created some confusion. A few times he left us treats like candy canes and gelt (chocolate Hanukkah coins). He even gave us a dreidel to play with. Here are pictures of Ben around our classroom.

Can you find Ben in this picture of our classroom library?

Hint: He's in a very red area of the photograph.

In four more days when we go home for winter break Ben will return to the North Pole to live with Santa until next year. We'll miss Ben!

Reflex Math

Hey Lipsky Team!

Here's a fun website that will help you improve your math fluency. Fluency, just like in reading, means doing something with ease. So in math it means that you can add and subtract numbers easily, without using your fingers, drawing pictures, or really having to think about it. Just like when you were little and learned to walk, now you don't even have to think about how to put one foot in front of the other!

Go to Reflex Math and click on the launch button in the upper right corner. Type in the username: lipsky and then click on your name. Everyone's password is abc123. Here's an example of when it is teaching you about addition and subtraction fact families.

Practice at home to get faster at adding and subtracting. Later in the year we'll practice our multiplication facts.

What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we should reflect on what we are thankful for in our lives. I am very grateful for my family who have always supported and loved me. What are you thankful for and why?

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families and friends. Get some rest, do some reading, and come back next week ready to work. :)

Life Science

Hello Scientists!

We've been studying life science since school started. Soon, we'll begin Earth Science, but before that let's review the science topics we've learned about so far. Click on a topic to watch the Brain POP Jr. video. Then come back here and comment with something important that we all need to remember about life science!

username: alachuacounty

password: brainpop

Parts of a Plant

Classifying Animals

Frogs

Hibernation

Migration

Making Observations

Fall

Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

We began reading "Amber Brown is Not a Crayon" last week. Amber is a third grader (just like us!) who lives in New Jersey. Her best friend is Justin Daniels. She is very messy, do you see her messy desk on the cover?

Click here to play a matching game with the vocabulary words from the book.

Help people and practice your multiplication!

Lipsky Team, did you know that there are people in this world that do not have enough food to eat? These people are always hungry. You can help them and help yourself practice multiplication!

Click here to practice your multiplication facts. For every correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to people in need. The more problems you solve correctly the more rice you donate to starving people. Go get practicing! Let us know how many grains of rice you donate!

Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Watch the BrainPOP on classifying animals. Then take the online quiz. Come back to the blog and let us know if you learned anything new!

Username: alachuacounty

password: brainpop

Classification

Scientists classify organisms based on characteristics that they can see. We read about classification of vertebrates in science class. The different classifications are: mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, and fish.

Suppose you were walking on the field at PE and found an organism on the ground. Being curious you wondered what it was. You noticed it had no fur and no legs. What prediction could you make? Why? What other information would you need to know exactly what the organism was?

World's Smallest Monkey

The Pygmy Marmoset or Dwarf Monkey is a native to the rainforests of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from 14 to 16 centimeters (not including the tail that can be 15 to 20 centimeters). Males weigh around 140 grams, and females only 120 grams.

Answer Question by leaving a comment: Is this animal a vertebrate or invertebrate? Explain how you know.

Question of the Week

Dear third graders,
We are going to start a new tradition on our blog called "Question of the Week." Each week I'll post a question that's just for fun. When you have free time at home or if you come in early you can answer the question.

This week I am wondering, do you have any pets?

Right now I don't. When I was little I had two cats, Pepsi and Smokey. Then we had a rabbit, named Cassidy. Now my parents have a dog, Rowdy who I love to visit in Jacksonville.

What does it mean to be respectful?

This month Stephen Foster STARs are learning about Respect. We watched this video as a class last week.


Directions: Watch the video again. Choose ONE of the questions below. Then comment with your answer. If there's extra time you can answer another question. Be a STAR!





Questions:
1. What does it mean to be respectful?
2. How can you show respect at school?
3. How can you show respect outside of school?

Happy Summer!

Hey there almost 4th graders!

How's your summer going? Mine has been good. I just got back from a vacation to Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is 1,700 miles away, so it was a good thing I flew! I went out there with my family for a friend's wedding. We also got to hike and visit the Rocky Mountains! It was beautiful. What fun things have you done during your time off of school?

Here's my family on our way up Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountains. Do you see Rowdy? He loved it!

I hope you are reading some everyday. I stayed up really late last night, because I was enjoying my book so much. I'm going to the library today to get a new one.

I'll be teaching 3rd grade again, so you all know where to find me. Come say, "hi," on August 19th at Meet the Teacher (after you meet your new teacher of course!)

Miss you all. Be safe. Have fun. Keep reading!

Ms. Lipsky

Advice to Future Students

Here is our advice to future students:

• Do your homework. -Laverne
• Make sure you read a lot of books and practice your math facts. -Keelin
• Pay attention in class and don't mess around. -Amir
• Do everything that you have to do to be good in school. -Tyler
• Turn in all your homework. -Todarias
• Don't lack in study. -Emery
• Stop and think!! -Morgan
• Don't talk during tests. -Johnnie and Fernando
• Don't talk while the teacher is talking. -D'halani
• Do not lie. -Jett
• Always try your best on the FCAT! -Aaron
• Raise your hand. -Morgan
• Follow the class and school rules. -Tyler
• Don't interrupt the teacher. -Emery
• Keep Ms. Lipsky happy. :) -Keelin

Here is a list of books and 3rd grade things we enjoyed and you will too!

• Charlotte's Web
• www.TickettoRead.com
• www.SpellingCity.com
• www.VMathLive.com
• Flat Stanley
• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon
• www.fcatexplorer.com
• Amber Brown is Not a Crayon
• The Giving Tree
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series
• Time Capsules
• Just Kidding (a book on bullies)
• The Greedy Triangle
• The Bailey School Kids
• LIFE: Plants
• Magic School Bus
• Too Good for Drugs and Natural High
• www.brainpop.com and www.brainpopjr.com
• Runny Babbit
• German Pen Pals

We had a great year!

Reflecting on Charlotte's Web

We finished reading Charlotte's Web today and watched the movie. What differences did you notice between the book and the movie?

End of the Year Slideshow

It's been a great year. We learned a lot and had fun while we were at it. What's one of your favorite memories from third grade?

Have a fabulous summer! Read, read, read! I'll see you around the halls next year kiddos!

Cursive Handwriting

Hey third graders here is the link to a cool website that shows you how to make cursive letters. Just click on a link below. Practice on your whiteboards.

Cursive Uppercase Letters

Cursive Lowercase Letters

Flat Joe visits Chicago, Illinois

Hello class!

Yesterday, Flat Joe and I went to Chicago, which is a big city in Illinois. Can you find it on the map? I’ll give you a hint, it’s next to a really big lake!

Chicago is a very neat city, but it is a little scary because the buildings are so big! In fact, the tallest building in the country is in Chicago, and it is called the Sears Tower. We could see the Sears Tower was taller than all the other buildings as we drove in towards the city. But even though the Sears Tower is the tallest, a lot of the other buildings were huge too!

Do you know what Chicago’s nickname is? It’s the Windy City, and I bet you can guess why! The whole time Flat Joe and I were there, it was cold and VERY windy. I had to hold on tight to Flat Joe so he wouldn’t blow away!

There are a lot of cool things to see in Chicago, and they have a lot of sports teams too. Chicago is also famous for their pizza, so guess what Flat Joe and I had for dinner! It was so yummy, I really want to go back and have some more! What do you like on your pizza? I like pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms, but Flat Joe likes anchovies, pickles, and peanut butter on his pizza—gross!
We had a lot of fun in the Windy City, and we decided if we go back, we will go to the top of the Sears Tower and look around, while we eat our pizza!
Be good,
Joe and Flat Joe

Third Grade Field Day

What a blast we had this morning at field day! We played capture the flag with Ms. Keating, kickball with Mrs. Womack, spoon and sack race with Mr. Canelas, water race and hula hooping with Ms. Lipsky. Afterwards we all enjoyed two popsicles under the blazing sun.

Tell us, what was your favorite field day event? Why?

Charlotte's Web Novel Study- chapters 10 - 15

The last time we blogged we knew that Charlotte was going to develop a plan to protect Wilbur from becoming Christmas dinner, and that Wilbur boasted he could do anything and tried to spin a web, but failed.

We have read 6 more chapters of Charlotte's Web. Comment with a brief summary (5-8 sentences) about what's happened in the last 6 chapters.

Skim over the chapters by reading their titles, looking at the illustrations and remembering what they were about. Then comment with your summary.

How to Eat Fried Worms

In after school tutoring we recently finished reading "How to eat Fried Worms." The book was written by Thomas Rockwell in 1973. It is the story of 10-year-old Billy who makes a bet with his friend Alan that he can eat anything! So Alan bets him $50 to eat 15 worms in 15 days, one worm a day. Billy wins the bet by eating the worms covered in all kinds of sauces and fried.

This book has often been censored and protested because of its content. Some people believe that it is disgusting. It appears on the American Library Association's List of Most Commonly Challenged Books in the U.S. of 1990-2000. It is number 96 on the list. "Most Commonly Challenged" means that many people have argued that it shouldn't be read, shouldn't be in our schools, or in our libraries. What do you think, does How to Eat Fried Worms deserve to be on this list? Give details to support your answer.

More "food" for thought: Shel Silverstein's collection of poems "A Light in the Attic" is also on the list.

Charlotte's Web Novel Study- chapters 6 - 9

We have been reading a lot recently. Review what we read over the past week by reading these summaries and then answer the questions below.

In Chapter 6, Summer Days, Fern is out of school and visits the farm daily. One day the goslings hatch. Templeton notices that one egg did not hatch. The goose and gander allow Templeton to keep the egg in his collection of weird things. Templeton rolls the dud away into his lair.

In Chapter 7, Bad News, the grouchy sheep tells Wilbur that he will be the Christmas ham once winter comes. Wilbur becomes very upset, but Charlotte tells him that she has a plan and he will not die.

In Chapter 8, A Talk at Home, Fern's parents grow worried about the amount of time she spends at the Zuckerman's farm. When she tells her parents about the conversations the animals have and about Charlotte the spider her mom becomes increasingly nervous. Fern's father however, thinks she just has an active imagination.

In Chapter 9, Wilbur's Boast, Wilbur attempts to spin a web by jumping off the manure pile with a piece of string tied to his tale. Of course he is unable to spin a web, as Charlotte explains, he lacks spinerettes.

Comment with your answers to the following questions. Type complete sentences. (Remember to capitalize and punctuate!)

1. In chapter 6, how many goslings were born? (Right There question)

2. List two character traits for Wilbur. Use story details to explain why these traits are appropriate.

3. List two character traits for Charlotte. Use story details to explain why these traits are appropriate.

Go Green!

We won most recycling for the month of April!

We are very proud of ourselves for helping to keep Earth healthy.

What are some things you should recycle?

Charlotte's Web Novel Study- chapters 4 and 5

In chapter four Wilbur wallows in his loneliness all day. It is rainy on the farm, which ruins his plans of digging a hole and napping in the sun. He asks different animals to play with him, but they all turn him down and he is left feeling friendless. Before bedtime a tiny voice says to Wilbur, “I’ll be a friend to you. I’ve watched you all day and I like you.” Wilbur goes to sleep dreaming of his new friend.

In chapter five Wilbur wakes up early. He had a mostly sleepless night because of the excitement of a new friend. The next day he discovers his new friend is Charlotte, the spider that lives in the corner of the doorway. He learns how Charlotte eats bugs that have gotten stuck in her web. She wraps them up with threads of silk and then bites to knock them out. Wilbur feels woozy from the idea of sucking blood from a bug for a meal, but is glad to have a new friend.

After reading the summaries above comment with your answers to the following questions. Type complete sentences.

1. The words friendless and sleepless have the same suffix –less. What does this suffix mean?

2. Reread pages 28-29. Put the characters that Wilbur asks to play with in order from first to last.

3. In chapter five Charlotte speaks to Wilbur and begins by saying, “Salutations!” What does salutations mean?

4. How does Wilbur’s mood change from the beginning of chapter four to the end of chapter five? Use story details in your answer.

Charlotte's Web Novel Study, chapter 2 and 3

In chapter 2 Fern and Wilbur enjoy their time together. At the end of chapter 2 Fern's father tells her that Wilbur has grown too big and has an appetite too large to be kept in the Arable's yard. Fern sells Wilbur to her Uncle Homer.

In chapter 3 we learn that Fern visits Wilbur at the Zuckerman's farm every day after school. One day when Wilbur was feeling bored and lonesome he took the advise of the goose and nudged his way through the loose board in the fence and scampered out into the orchard. Wilbur was running around following the confusing instructions of all the barnyard animals. Mr. Zuckerman lures him back into the pigpen with a bucket of slops. Wilbur feels happy to be home again.

Comment with your answers to the following questions. Remember to use full sentences.

1. How much did Fern charge her uncle for Wilbur? (Chapter 2)

2. How do you think Fern feels at the end of Chapter 2? Explain.

3. When Fern visits Wilbur at the Zuckerman's farm where does she sit?Why does she sit there? (Chapter 3)

4. What happens when Wilbur escapes?

5. What is different about this photo from the movie than from the information in the book?

Charlotte's Web Novel Study, chapter 1

In chapter one Fern stops her father from "doing away with" a runt pig. Fern had a strong feeling that killing the pig because it was weak and small was an injustice. Her father agrees to let her keep the pig, as long as she takes on the responsibility of caring for it. She happily agrees and names the pig Wilbur.


Comment with your answers to the following questions. Type your answers in complete sentences.


1. How did Fern find out that her father was going to kill the pig?


2. What example did Fern give her father to prove that killing the pig was an injustice?


3. Why did Fern answer "Wilbur" when the teacher asked her a question?


4. List and explain two character traits that describe Fern.

Field Trip to the Kirby Smith Center

On Monday the Lipsky Team traveled back in time 100 years to experience life as a student in Gainesville in 1911. Our time machine is out for repairs, so instead we rode in a school bus to the Kirby Smith Center.

The Kirby Smith Center was originally built in 1900 as a public graded (elementary) and high school. It served as a school for 80 years and then became the School Board of Alachua County headquarters. It retains an original classroom from those early days for students to discover what life was like back in those days.

While back in time the girls got to wear pinafores, and the boys wore suspenders and collars. We went by old-fashion names such as, Hiram, Ezra, Amos, Ruth, and Grace. We read from a "Level 3 Reader" that was published in 1897. We practiced writing our new names in script on slate with chalk. Our school marm, Mrs. Smith, taught us about life in the early 1900s. And then students were split into groups to act as detectives and discover information about life in Gainesville over 100 years ago.

We had a great time! What was your favorite part?

Happy Earth Day!

Our school decorated brown grocery bags with Earth Day messages. The grocery bags were borrowed from Publix and will be returned so that shoppers requesting "paper" will receive one of our bags and messages. Take a look at the Lipsky Team's Earth Day Bags below.

The idea came from www.EarthDayBags.org. Lipsky Team if you could give the world one message on Earth Day, what would it be?

Mmm mmm rutabaga!

Today we learned that rutabaga is not just a fun word to say, but also a yummy snack! The best tastes were rutabaga raw dipped in ranch like carrot sticks, and the yummy rutabaga chips. Raise your hand if you liked the rutabaga!

We are Gardeners!

Our class finally harvested vegetables from our garden. Check out our ENORMOUS rutabaga! We grew two and enjoyed one raw dipped in ranch dressing and one baked like French fries and chips! Our carrots didn't do as well, and we didn't harvest our radishes early enough to enjoy them. We recently planted Lima bean seeds and have been making careful observations every day. They have not sprouted yet, but we are anxiously awaiting the sight of tiny buds.

Meet the Real Joe

Over Thanksgiving Break Ms. Lipsky visited with her friend Joe, and Flat Joe. Here's a photo from that visit. We're all happy because we're full of turkey and mashed potatoes!

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

After we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we learned poems that tell about his life.

Field Trip to the Thomas Center

On Thursday, we visited the Historic Thomas Center to learn more about the history of Gainesville. Construction began on the Thomas Center in 1906 and was completed in 1910. It was named "Sunkist Villa" and Major Thomas and his family moved in on February 9, 1910. On that day the youngest of the five Thomas children, Margaret, was born.

The Thomas family made Sunkist Villa their home for 15 years. The large estate had 21 rooms and 12 fireplaces all made from terra cotta. We saw five of the fireplaces while we were there. In the 1920s Major Thomas decided to convert the home into a hotel. They added on another building, creating 94 guest rooms, three dining rooms, and four lounges for guests to enjoy.

The Thomas family sold the property in 1968, and its new owners leased it to Santa Fe Community College for seven years. The city of Gainesville purchased it in 1974 and it now houses art galleries, and government offices.

When we toured the Thomas Center the docent told us the stories that Margaret Thomas had told her about growing up there. We saw an example of a 1920s living room, and got to hear a record play on a phonograph. We saw a replica, or a copy, of Major Thomas's bedroom. We had to be careful walking around the Thomas Center because it had many antiques, such as an old telephone, typewriter, camera, binoculars, and piano.

Due to stormy weather we didn't get to go on a walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood, however the weather didn't rain on our parade. We walked around the art galleries inside. And the boys got to try on collars, bow ties, and arm bands, and the girls enjoyed fanning themselves, wearing necklaces, and clutching hand bags.

After reading about our field trip comment with your answers to the following questions:

(Remember to go back and reread parts of the story to search for answers.)

1. What was the original name of the Thomas Center?

2. When was Margaret Thomas born?

3. How did the Thomas home change when it became a hotel?

4. What happened AFTER the Thomas Center was a hotel, but BEFORE it became a building with art galleries and government offices?

5. Why did we have to be careful while walking around the Thomas Center?

6. Read this sentence from the passage, "Due to stormy weather we didn't get to go on a walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood, however the weather didn't rain on our parade." What does rain on our parade mean?

Flat Joe visits Macon, Georgia

Hi, Ms. Lipsky’s class!

Yesterday, Flat Joe and I went to Macon, Georgia! Macon is actually not too far from Gainesville, about a four-hour drive. Flat Joe and I both really wanted to come down to visit you all, but we didn’t have time in our schedule, sorry!

Macon is a great town, and the weather was beautiful! Unfortunately, I was sick during this trip, but Flat Joe made me take him around the town, at least a little bit. We saw their cool downtown area, and Macon City Hall. City Hall is where the town or city takes care of all the work that goes in to running itself. Every city has one, but Macon’s is an especially nice building. Do you know where the Gainesville City Hall is? Can you name some of the work that gets taken care of at a City Hall?

After a while, I had to go drink a lot of orange juice and take a nap, because that is the best way to make yourself feel better when you are sick. While I was sleeping, Flat Joe got into some mischief—he took my walkie-talkie and started calling people on it! Flat Joe can be so silly sometimes.

Even though I was sick, Flat Joe and I still had a good time in Macon. You should visit it sometime too!

Best wishes,

Joe and Flat Joe

Flat Joe visit Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Hey class!

Today, Flat Joe and I went all the way up to New Hampshire! We visited a nice little town called Portsmouth. Portsmouth is a town that’s next to a river, and on the other side of the river is the state of Maine. Can you find New Hampshire and Maine on the map?

New Hampshire and Maine are part of what is called “New England”. Way back in time, even before George Washington was around, the English came to this part of the country and settled it. That’s why they called it New England. Because it is so old, the buildings are really old too, much older than most of the buildings in Gainesville.

Anyway, it gets cold in New Hampshire! Flat Joe and I walked around to see all the old buildings and look at the water, it was all very pretty. But then it got cold, so we went back inside and warmed up.

It was fun visiting New Hampshire, but Flat Joe and I decided if we ever go back, it will be during the summer!

Take care,

Joe and Flat Joe