Mobile Engineering

Today the TAME Mobile engineering trailer was at Cannon. The trailer is sponsored by ConocoPhillips Phillips, The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Halliburton and the University of Texas at Austin. Check out their website at www.tame.org. This visit is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force 344th Recruiting Squadron in an effort to get students excited about careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Learning about Amphibians and Reptiles

Today is our first day of our engineering unit. We are learning about membranes and the Bioengineering field. In rotations today, we learned about the difference between reptiles and amphibians. Thanks to the Fort Worth Museum of Science for the loan of real reptiles and amphibians for us to use.

Celebrating our First STAAR Test

Today we enjoyed a beautiful day at Heritage Park. We had a great picnic with friends and played. What a fun way to celebrate our first STAAR Test

Playing "Trash" to Practice STAAR Vocabulary

We had a fun time today studying math vocabulary by playing a game of "Trash". (Of course, since it is Earth Day, we will recycle the trash when we are finished.) I gave the definition and students searched the "trash" for the correct word. For example, "A 3D shape with 6 faces that are all the same shape." D you know the answer? Ask your child when they get home.

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About STAAR

The big day is upon us. Here are the Top 5 things you need to know about STAAR:

 

5.  Get a good night's sleep the night before -- your child needs one, too!

4.  Eat breakfast before coming to school, or plan to eat breakfast at school.

3.  Be on time.

2.  Leave plenty of time to get to school, so no one is rushed and stressed.

1.  Have an encouraging word for your child before they leave home.

Remember, Cannon will be closed to visitors on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will be having sack lunches in our classroom on both days. Mrs. Blizzard has provided snacks and water bottles for each day of testing.  While STAAR testing is only one of the ways we measure your child's progress in third grade, it is an important test. Ask your child what some of their strategies are for doing their best. Your encouraging words will be go a long way in their confidence that morning.

STAAR is Getting Closer

As the STAAR test looms closer, please take a few minutes to talk to your child about their math homework. Ask them how they solved a problem, they should be able to explain their thinking behind the answer. See if they showed their work.  I am no longer accepting homework that does not show work -- attach a separate sheet of notebook paper if necessary.  Most of all, encourage them. Confidence goes a long way to their success on the test!

Battle of the Books

We are so proud of our Cannon Cubs who participated yesterday in the "Battle of the Books".  Farah and Anaka, along with two 4th graders and two 5th graders, read and studied all of the Texas Bluebonnet Books and answered 50 questions about the books!  They did a great job.  Way to go Cannon Cubs!!

Read4Dyslexia

Today I am not blogging about math -- I'm blogging about reading.  The idea that reading has nothing to do with math, however, is a common misconception. STAAR, our state assessment, is coming soon. The test is problem based. If students have trouble reading or understanding the problem, they will have problems "doing" the math.  If you are the parent of a struggling reader, I found a resource that may interest you.  It is a local, parent based advocacy group called Read4Dyslexia (Reaching, Educating and Advocating for Dyslexics). Click here to go to their website. They are hosting a special event this Wednesday evening, April 10th from 7-8:30 at the PDEC called "A Day in the Life of a Dyslexic Child Simulation". If your child is a struggling reader, I would highly encourage you to reserve a spot at the event.

First Lego League Robotics Team

Is your child interested in Lego robotics? We have a great opportunity for students to be a part of the First Lego League Robotics team. Mrs Brenegan met with students yesterday to give them the details. The requirements are: students must be 9 years old by August 1st; be committed to the team -- they will meet on Thursdays from2:45 to 3:45 beginning April18th; complete the application and return it to school by the end of the day Monday, April 8th.

Things are looking up

You won't want to miss out on the opportunity for your child to have a personalized ceiling tile at Cannon.  The sales of the ceiling tiles will be a fundraiser for STEM materials that will be used as a part of our new STEM Academy.  Click on the pictures below for a copy of the instructions needed to be a part of this fun way for your child to be a part of Cannon long into the future!