November 29, 2018

December News

I am so proud of all of the students for their performance in the third grade musical. All students did a fantastic job and really enjoyed this opportunity. They showed such growth as they progressed through learning each part, dance and song. A big thank you to Mrs. Ferguson for all of her hard working preparing everyone for this wonderful production.

Events

Week of December 3-iReady Reading mid-year Diagnostic

Week of December 10-iReady Math mid-year Diagnostic

December 12-Leprechaun Project-making stockings

December 13-14-Chippewa Holiday Shoppe during school hours.

December 20-class Holiday Party in the morning.

Reminders

Our schedule of alternating weeks for spelling and vocabulary assessment was interrupted which caused us to have both assessments on the same Friday. In order to adjust our schedule and get back to alternating weeks we will not have spelling words next week. Those students who participate in the Vocabulary Word activities will have vocabulary next week and students who are participating in Word Study will also have Word Study next week. If you are unsure which activity your student participates in please email me or ask your child.

Learning Focus

Math

Students finished up their enrichment Thanksgiving Dinner projects as well as their first Math Unit-Multiplication and Division. Our next unit of study will be Place Value.

Social Studies

We are beginning Economics this week. As part of this unit we will be participating in a project based learning activity in which students will create their own product to make in Santa’s shop and will have to apply economics concepts as they work  through this project.

ELA

Students who work with Mrs. Dean are finishing up their Egypt Game projects and are moving onto an enrichment project that corresponds to the book everyone has been reading, The Year of Miss Agnes. The class has been participating in research about Alaska in 1940, which is the setting for the book. We have also been having some Socratic Seminars, vocabulary building activities as well as writing reading response journal entries. Another group of students is reading Sarah Plain and Tall and practicing a variety of reading skills. These two books have several parallels which will be exciting to explore.

November 12, 2018

November News

It is so wonderful to see the excitement and motivation in our classroom for reading. I am so proud of our class for setting a reading goal and working so hard to accomplish their goal. We had our second reading celebration, our class has now collectively read over 200 books!

Events

November 12-6:30 presentation at Chippewa Gymnasium “How to Identify, Prevent and Stop Bullying”

November 15-2nd Conference Night

November 21-25-Thanksgiving Break

Reminders

The weather has begun to cool off and become chilly, please make sure that your child is bringing or wearing to school hats, gloves and warm coats. As long as the temperature and weather permits students will be going outside for recess.

Learning Focus

Math

This week we will review our first Math unit: Multiplication and Division. On Wednesday, November 14th we will have our assessment over this unit. We have also been working on an enrichment unit: Planning Thanksgiving Dinner.

Social Studies/Science

We finished up our Science unit on energy and we are now starting our next Social Studies unit about Economics.

Language Arts

We have several interesting language arts units we are working on. One group of students will be practicing skills such as figurative language, character traits, and story elements with the novel Sarah Plain and Tall. Another group of students will be working on completing their projects as part of their study of the novel The Egypt Game. As a whole class  we will be learning and practicing reading and writing skills through the novel The Year of MIss Agnes.

October 22, 2018

October News

Open House is Thursday, October 25. The book fair will be open at 5:30 and will remain open during Open House (6:00-7:00) closing at 8:00.  Come and see some of the projects your child has been working on during the first quarter of third grade.

Events

10/23-10/24 Third Grade State Assessment

10/25 Open House

10/26 Report Cards

10/31 Halloween Party

  2:30 Parade/2:45 Party

11/7 Parent Teacher Conferences

11/15 Parent Teacher Conferences

11/21-11/23 Thanksgiving Break

11/28 Third Grade Holiday Concert

Reminders

The Third Grade State Assessment is a 90 minute state wide assessment that will be administered on 10/23 and 10/24. Some good test taking strategies include making sure your child is well rested and has had a good breakfast. Please do not make any appointments for your child on these mornings

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Students may bring their Halloween costumes to school on 10/31 for the parade and party. Please keep in mind that this parade is for students K-3 so please choose costumes that are child friendly and not scary.

Parent Teacher conferences will be held on 11/7 and 11/15. Please look for more information about this to come home with your child this week.

Learning Focus

Math

Multiplication and Division Strategies. Partner Budget project.

Science

5 types of Energy. Last week we explored heat energy and we will be moving on to a different form of energy.

Language Arts

Some students have been working on a project that corresponds to the book The Egypt Games with Mrs. Dean while others have been working on Freckle Juice. We will be finishing up comparing and contrasting paired texts by using our graphic organizer to write a two paragraph response.

*No Spelling or Vocabulary the week of October 22. Vocabulary and Spelling will resume the week of October 29.

September 21, 2018

Class Reading Challenge

I am so excited about our class reading challenge. The class is already half way to their first 100 books read. I know they will continue this momentum as they are excited each day to find a new book and start exploring it. The students are so engaged when we conference about the books they have and are able to give insightful comments about their reading.

Multiplication Facts

Students should practice their multiplication facts at home in order to build fact fluency. This fact fluency makes solving more complex multiplication equations easier for students. The first multiplication test will be Friday, Sept. 21, X2 facts.

Current Events

In the past, third grade students have been required to complete one current event a quarter. This year in our class we are going to try something new that will engage the class in discussions about current events. Beginning in October I will introduce our Current Event board to the students as well as the expectations for this activity.

Language Arts

Skills: Main Idea, Theme, Author’s Purpose and Character Traits. We have used several mentor texts to practice these skills. Students will work in small groups to make Book Posters, Students will choose a picture book to display these skills on their book Poster.

Math

Multiplication-Distributive Property of Multiplication and grouping factors.

Social Studies

Students will be creating their own island and a map of their island. Their map will include the features they have learned about in class.

September 7

September News

We have been practicing our Word Work routine at school to practice our spelling words. The class has learned many different ways to practice their spelling patterns. Now that we have learned this routine we will now begin learning our routine for vocabulary. A letter outlining what vocabulary study looks like for our class this school year will be in your child’s Friday Folder.

Events

This month we will be starting a novel study. Some nights for homework your child will be asked to bring the novel home and read. There are several ways to accomplish this reading, the main goal is that your child is participating or listening to fluent reading. At home your child can be the one reading, you can take turns reading with your child, you can read to your child or you can find an online version that your child can listen to. After reading enjoy the opportunity for your child to share their understandings and impressions of what they have read.

Reminders

• Next spelling test-September 21
• First vocabulary quiz-September 17th. Typically these quizzes will be on Fridays but with the missed school day due to heat I am moving the date.
• Week of September 10th lesson 2 Math quiz

Learning Focus

Language Arts

Genre: Fables and Folktales

Skills: character, setting, sequencing and cause/effect

Math

Multiplication: Using order and grouping to multiply. Please begin practicing multiplication facts at home to build fluency.

Social Studies

Map skills-Students will learn about map tools and will use these tools to construct a map of their own island.

Writing

Students will learn what writing workshop looks like and how to craft complete paragraphs.

Grammar: nouns and verbs

August 24, 2018

May 10, 2018

April 23, 2018

April 9, 2018

March 13, 2018

*Sorry but there is an error in the return date to school-Students return from Spring break on April 9th.

February 9, 2018

Adventures in Third Grade

February 9 , 2018

News for the Week… . February 14-Valentine’s Day Party. If your child is bringing Valentine’s Day cards to pass out please make sure they have one for every student in the class. A list of the students in the class went home last week in Friday folders, if you need a new copy please let me know and I will provide your student with one. No School-February 19-President’s Day Please save a cereal size box at home for your child to use for their Wax Museum display at our Wax Museum. Cereal boxes should be brought to school on February 16. Please check with your child to see if they need any of their school supplies replenished at school such as pencils or crayons. Just as a reminder please make sure that students come to school with hat, gloves, boots and warm coats due to the cold temperatures this winter. When the temperature permits students will be going outside for recess. Current Events for this quarter are due on March 15, 2018.

ELA We have been exploring expository texts. We have identified text features within expository text and compared and contrasted two texts. We are currently working on finding cause/effect relationships within an expository text selection. We have begun our study of biographies. In class students have been working on writing 3 paragraphs about their chosen person which include a paragraph about their childhood, one about their adult life and one that highlights their achievements and accomplishments. The students will use their notes and paragraphs to write a speech for the Wax Museum. Information regarding the time for the Wax Museum will be coming home next week.

Math We finished the chapter which focused on Properties and Equations. We are now moving on to Area and Perimeter. Students should continue practicing their multiplication facts at home in order to increase their math fact fluency. We are using the computer program XTra math for practice at school. During our Math time students participate in daily lessons and then work in centers to reinforce new skills, practice previously introduced skills, and practice fact fluency. We have begun our multiplication timed tests at school and a letter was sent home about our Ice Cream Sundae incentive.

Science We have been doing more investigations about the states of matter and the characteristics of each state. We did a cracker activity in which we had a variety of different crackers and we used them to describe the different properties of matter. We did a balloon pop activity that demonstrated the states of matter. Students were scientists and filled out a lab report to record their findings and observations. On Friday we are planning to do two investigations about changing states of matter.

January 22, 2018

Adventures in Third Grade

January 22 , 2018

News for the Week… . Report Cards come home January 26 No School-February 19-President’s Day Please save a cereal size box at home for your child to use for their Wax Museum display at our Wax Museum. Cereal boxes should be brought to school on February 16. Please check with your child to see if they need any of their school supplies replenished at school such as pencils or crayons. Just as a reminder please make sure that students come to school with hat, gloves, boots and warm coats due to the cold temperatures this winter. When the temperature permits students will be going outside for recess.

ELA We are going to be exploring the genre of realistic fiction. While we explore a variety of realistic fiction texts we will also be using them to practice the skill of Point of View. We have been revisiting the classroom routines after the holiday break so we can have a fresh start during the new year. We have also been participating in lessons that help us understand how to focus and be mindful in our classroom activities and listening. These are strategies the class will be able to use in a variety of environments. We are going to begin our study of biographies. During this unit we will learn how to take notes, use those notes to write well developed paragraphs as well as preparing a speech. The students will also be using their biography to take on the person they have studied and portray them in a Wax Museum. An additional information sheet regarding this project will come home.

Math We finished our multiplication and division number patterns chapter. Our next chapter will focus on Properties and Equations. Students should continue practicing their multiplication facts at home in order to increase their math fact fluency. We are using the computer program XTra math for practice at school. During our Math time students participate in daily lessons and then work in centers to reinforce new skills, practice previously introduced skills, and practice fact fluency. We have begun our multiplication timed tests at school and a letter was sent home about our Ice Cream Sundae incentive.

Science Our next Science unit will be about Matter. On Friday we did a SOLE  (Self Organized Learning Environment). Students were placed into groups and  introduced to the big question: What makes the states of matter different? In their groups students investigated several online research sites in order to find information to answer the big question. After researching and taking notes regarding the big question each group created a way to present their information. This week students will present their information to the class as a group. We will then do more investigations about the states of matter and the characteristics of each state.

January 8, 2018

News for the Week… Current Events are due January 11, 2018. No School-January 15-MLK Day End of the quarter-January 18 No School-January 19 Unit Assessment-Social Studies-January 16 Math Chapter Assessment-January 12 Just as a reminder please make sure that students come to school with hat, gloves, boots and warm coats due to the cold temperatures this winter. When the temperature permits students will be going outside for recess.

ELA We are going to be exploring the genre of folktales. We will work together on several folktales and then students will work in groups on different folktales. We will look at the characteristics of folktales. When reading folktales we will determine the setting, characters, problem/solution and the lesson. We are also revisiting the classroom routines after the holiday break so we can have a fresh start during the new year. We have also been participating in lessons that help us understand how to focus and be mindful in our classroom activities and listening. These are strategies the class will be able to use in a variety of environments. We will be working on a ‘how to” writing. This skill will address how to sequence events in order to create a final product.

Math We are continuing to work on  multiplication and division number patterns. We have been working on doubling a known fact as a multiplication strategy. We will continue to work through the multiplication facts of: X6, X7, X8 and X9. We will have our assessment for this current chapter on Friday, January 12. Students should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home in order to increase their math fact fluency. We are using the computer program XTra math for practice at school. During our Math time students participate in daily lessons and then work in centers to reinforce new skills, practice previously introduced skills, and practice fact fluency. We have begun our multiplication timed tests at school and a letter was sent home about our Ice Cream Sundae incentive.

Social Studies We have moved on to our Social Studies unit about Civics. We have learned about Citizen Responsibilities which includes: respecting the rights of others, being informed about local issues, paying taxes, voting and obeying the law. Students are using a Google slideshow template to further explore these topics. We just finished learning about characteristics of a good citizen. Our next lesson will be to work on a small group activity about solving problems for the common good. Our next topics include: Rules & Laws, Enforcing Laws, and Local Government. Due to the cold days our unit assessment has been pushed back. The students will complete a study guide that they should use to study for the Unit Assessment which will be on January 16.