Week of November 28th - December 2nd

Parents,


I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and are well rested for the next three crazy weeks!  They will be fast and furious.  


This week we will be introducing division in third grade.  Our study of division will begin basic, as we plan to use cubes and pictures to represent the process of dividing a larger group of things into smaller equal groups.   Students will practice “acting out” the process of division.  Through a mathematical story, The Doorbell Rang, students will divide Grandma’s 12 cookies equally among 12, 6, 4, and 3 friends.   


Fast Fact Friday will be a grade this week.  This quiz will be a combination of 10 addition facts and 10 subtraction facts.  Students should continue studying facts each night.  The expectation is that all of these facts are memorized by December.   Starting January, students will begin studying multiplication facts.




In Science this week, we will be learning about  weathering (the breaking apart of rock into small pieces) and watching a video called “Weathering and Erosion.”  The students will look at all different pictures and examples of weathering and erosion on a flipchart and discover some of the most amazing landscapes that erosion and weathering create.  In their journal, students will define weathering and erosion (the carrying away of weathered rock)  and list the many agents of weathering: wind, water, temperature, plants, animals, chemicals, man. The student bring in a rock no bigger than a quarter for Science HW this week.

A special thank you for all you parents reading this and keeping up with the daily happenings of the classroom.  It takes a village!

Week of November 21st

Well Parents it's going to be a short week.  Thanksgiving break is already here!  We will have many out of towners and many already on their travels this Monday and Tuesday.  These two days we will not be covering any new material in Math/Science.

In Math, we will continue working on Paired Tables and really dig deep into the relation that they have with multiplication.

In Science we will study friction and have a fun lab on Tuesday that involves ramps and cars (and of course a little bit of friction)

If you survived the stomach bug last week, consider yourself SUPER LUCKY!!  We had a LOT of kids out sick.  Have your kids wash their hands like maniacs this week so you can have a sick-free holiday!

Inference Practice

We've been learning how to make an inference in class.  Please allow your reader to reference the HELPFUL WEBSITES link on this site for practice with inferring.  THANKS!


Inferring
To make an inference we say that the reader uses his or her background knowledge + text clues to infer.  Use the following websites to practice inferring.
Inference Riddle Game
Inference Battleship

LA and SS for the week of 11/14

Reading: In third grade, we use a helpful equation to infer.  BK+TC=I.  This means that our background knowledge, plus text clues help us make an inference about characters, settings and events in the stories we read.  This week we will focus on making an inference with photographs and non-fiction elements.  

Writing: Students will begin writing personal narratives this week.

Spelling: Please continue to work with your student on sorting and spelling their weekly words.

Social Studies:  Students will finish up their project and budget for an imaginary puppy.  We will also review concepts associated with personal economics.  Students will have a quiz on Friday, November 18.  Please look for a review sheet to come home Monday, November 14.  The quiz will consist of multiple choice, short answer, word bank and a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting consumers and producers. 

Week of November 14-18th

Parents,

Well there is never a dull moment in 3rd grade!  This week we will be having a Math Benchmark on Tuesday.  It will consist of 26 multiple choice questions, 1 problem solving problem, and 1 timed Math Facts Test.  The good news is that it will never go in my grade book.  It's only used for data purposes. :)

Last week in Math students practiced representing multiplication using pictures, arrays, and the traditional multiplication sentence.  We learned that the answer to a multiplication problem is called a “product” and the two numbers we multiply together are called “factors”.  We  started  applying what we learned about multiplication to problems in the real world.  Example:  If there are 5 students in a group and each student holds 3 pencils, how many pencils in all?  Students will have to practice choosing the correct operation to solve a problem now.  Now we will have to choose if it is appropriate to add, subtract, and/or multiply when problem solving. 

  

In Math this week after we review and have the Math Benchmark on Monday and Tuesday, I will be introducing  Paired Tables.  Using paired tables is a strategy (making a T-Chart)students can use to figure out problem solving problems that contain patterns.  For example, Confetti eggs come in cartons of 8, How many eggs will there be in 3, 6, and 8 cartons.  The students would create a T chart.  On one side would be the # of cartons, and on the other would be the # of eggs.  This is a simple strategy to figure out larger patterns in numbers.

In Science last week we finished up our study of Energy and had our major exam this past Friday.  This week and in the two school days next week, we will have a total of 3 labs.  One on Magnetism this Monday, another on systems and how things work together, and lastly a lab on Friction!  It should be a fun week of Science Labs :)

Love,

Mrs. S

Author's Purpose

I have added some Author's Purpose practice links to the helpful websites tab on our site.
If time permits, please have your student explore these link for reading practice.  They may use this practice as their 20 minutes of reading homework one night. 

Math and Science for the Week of November 7th-11th

Dear Parents,  
It was great seeing all of you at field day last week!  We hope to see you again this Friday for the Veterans concert that your child will be singing in.  
On Friday we took a pop quiz over Math concepts we have been working on over the last two weeks.  The quiz consisted of Measurement in customary units, Perimeter, Time, and Temperature.  I was very pleased with the mastery that was evident of these concepts!  The students are really improving with time to the minute.
In Math this week we will be moving on to a new concept.......Multiplication!!!  Students will brainstorm things that come in groups: 2 eyes, 3 wheels on a tricycle, 8 sides on an octagon, etc.  We will discuss that multiplication is actually just equal “groups of” things.  Through a game called “Circles and Stars”, students will represent 5 “groups of” 3 with 5 circles and 3 stars in each circle.  Students will use repeated addition ( 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 15) to discover the total amount of stars.  We will then connect this to the multiplication sentence of 5 x 3 = 15.  Students will also be introduced to the concept of “arrays”.  We will learn equal rows of things such as 4 rows with 3 cookies in EACH row ( 4 x 3 = 12).   Please look out for any opportunities at home to point out “arrays” or “groups of” things.  Example:  If your family is making cookies, use multiplication to find out how many cookies are on the pan.  If the football team scored 3 touchdowns, use multiplication to find out how many points in all.
Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will consist of addition/subtraction facts combined and will be recorded in the gradebook.  Students should be studying facts every night for at least 5 – 8 minutes. 

In Science this Week the students will take the Energy, Force, and Motion test.   Students have a study guide AND flashcards to help prepare for the assessment.  It was given to them on Friday to take home and begin preparing with you!  We also will spend the week preparing for the test with different activities as well as a fun game of Jeopardy is planned.
 

Update for 11/7-11/11

Language Arts
In reading this week we will learn about the author's purpose for writing.  We like to say that figuring out the author's purpose is as easy as PIE (persuade, inform or entertain).  This is a fun and easy topic to discuss while you are watching tv, listening to the radio, reading or even shopping!  Help students stop and think about what message the author is sending and how you know the purpose of his or her message.
We have finished up our reading of mysteries in guided reading.  We will form new book groups and begin reading biographies together.  This will be a great platform to try out all our new non-fiction reading strategies!!
In writing, students have now learned about personal narratives and parts of speech.  We hope this work will pay off as they soon begin to write their own personal narratives.

Social Studies

Our unit on economics continues as we dig deeper into the concept of budgeting.  It is important to hit home with students that when developing a budget we should not budget to spend more than we receive from our income and gifts.  The more opportunity you can provide for your student to budget the family dinner, their allowance, or create a budget for a family pet, the more this concept will hit home.  I have noticed from our class work, that those struggling with addition and subtraction facts are having a hard time creating budgets.  This could be the real-life connection to inspire memorizing those facts!