We began a few new units this week in 3rd grade; Government, Opinion Writing and more in depth Multiplication and Division! I look forward to diving into these units with my students!
I also look forward to meeting with each of you during Parent/Teacher Conference next week Monday and Wednesday. Please let me know if you need a reminder about your conference date or time. Have a great week!
Questions to ask your child about 3rd grade this week
- Who is in your Math Workshop group? Who is your teacher for Math Workshop groups?
- What new Flexible Seating items did Kylee donate this week?
- Can you tell me what you bought at our classroom store?
- How did you do your Personal Best Effort this week?
Curriculum Updates
Writing: Last Monday we finished publishing our Personal Narratives and celebrated on Tuesday with a fun Writing Celebration! The students were able to read one another's writing and leave compliments for the author. We wrapped up our Celebration with giving Shout-Outs (verbal compliments) to the whole group. I loved seeing my Authors beam with pride as their read and received their compliments.
Thank you to all who donated a special treat for our Celebration! I greatly appreciate it and the treats helped to make our Writing Celebration extra special!
Social Studies: We began a new unit in Social Studies this week! Government! We will be learning all about the different branches of Government and the roles they play in our community. Each Friday we will be doing 2 "stations" or lessons in Social Studies. I will be teaching one lesson and then Mrs. Gitler and I will be switching classrooms to complete the other lesson. This began this past Friday and the students really enjoyed it!
Math: We jumped into our new Math Workshop groups this week and began our next Math unit- multiplication and division by 6,7,8s, multiplication by groups of 10, area and two step word problems. We meet in our Math groups for 45 minutes each day and then gather back together to review our Math Norms and to complete a Math Task. Please ask your child to explain a little of our Math Task time. This is one of my favorite times of the day!
A few questions have come up regarding math equations on the last Unit test that students have not memorized yet. Over the course of the last 8-9 weeks, students have been taught a variety of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems. Strategies such as drawing circles, creating arrays, adding the same number over and over, skip counting, the nine's trick and singing songs. Your child was taught to use strategies to solve problems that they may not have memorized yet. The report card standard that I use for grading states- Uses strategies to solve multiplication and division problems. On the other hand, I use the Friday Mad Minute tests for grading their fluency (memorization of facts). Please let me know if you have questions about this!
Reading Workshop: We continued with our read-aloud-Because of Winn-Dixie last week. This book is a wonderful example of character development and we will be learning how characters change and grow this unit in Reading.
Please encourage your child to remember their book every day! This is so important to help build fluency, comprehension and confidence. By reading the same book at school and home, students can greatly increase their reading skills!
Special Schedule for this week
Mon.-Music
Tues.-Art
Wednesday-Gym
Thursday-STEAM and Library
Friday-Music and Mad Min. Test
Upcoming Dates
- Tues. Oct. 31-Parade to Laurels at 1:00pm and 3rd Grade Halloween Party from 2:15-3:00ish
- Please plan on your child bringing their "school appropriate" costume to school (no blood, weapons, scary masks, etc...)
- Parade: If weather permits, we will be walking to the Laurels for our Halloween parade on the 31st. We will leave school around 1:00, walk down Park Ave. to Van Buren. We will take a right on to Van Buren down to 36th. Then will turn right on 36th Ave walking toward Curtis. Turn right onto Curtis which will take us back to school. If you are interested in attending our parade we are asking parents to line the parade route rather than going in through the Laurels with us, as there is limited space. If it does rain we will not be having an indoor parade. Teachers will have a rain plan for their individual classes.
Party: Our class party will be held from 2:15-3:00ish. We'll enjoy treats and fun Halloween games!
- Mon. Nov. 6-Report Cards go home in backpacks and Parent Teacher Conferences
- Wed. Nov. 8-Parent Teacher Conferences