Math/Science Week of November 4th

Dear Parents,

In Math this week, we will be approaching some new subject matter.  In 1st grade, your student was required to master time to the hour and half hour, in 2nd grade it was time to the quarter and five minute increments, in 3rd grade it's the whole shebang!  They will be mastering telling time on an analog clock to the minute in 3rd grade.  It has been my experience that that kids have a tough time with time (pun intended!).  When the clock gets into what we called "the danger zone," the majority of students will actually misread the hour of the clock.  So instead of writing 1:55, they would write 2:55, because the hour hand appeared as though it was on the 2.  Please work with our kids anytime you can and make them read an analogue clock for practice.

Towards the end of the week, we will challenge the kids to solve elapsed time  problems.  They will see a clock for example with the time 2:15.  Below the clock will ask, What time will it be in 30 minutes?  The kids will have to figure out the 30 minutes past 2:15 is 2:45!  On Friday, we will expose the kids to some word problems in which they will have to answer elapsed time questions.  This is HARD material parents!  

The fast facts this week will be BOTH addition and subtraction. This week's test will be not be inputted into the grade book.

In Science this week, we will continue with Energy.  We have studied Mechanical and Heat energy in detail.  We will study Light and Sound energy this week.  A study guide and flashcards will be coming home on Wednesday to get your child ready for this energy test!  They will have a week to study. The Energy Test is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13th.

Field Day is this Friday from 10:00-11:30 for 3rd grade.  Parents are welcome to come and spectate :)))

Love, Ms. S

10/28-11/1 Language Arts and Social Studies

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading

We are still reading non-fiction.  This week we will focus on the facts located in non-fiction texts.  Students will learn to distinguish fact from opinion.  They will also work this week to determine if facts read are important or interesting.  This is a hard concept for third graders.  When most third graders read a fact, if they are interested in the topic, they judge the fact to be important.

Please remember that your child should read nightly for 20 minutes.  They are required to record the title and genre in their third grade planner.

Writing

We will create a narrative criteria chart this week as we start to dissect narratives to find out what makes a narrative interesting and good.  Students will also work with a partner to reproduce a narrative.  Reproduction is like putting puzzle pieces together without looking at the picture.  You have to pay attention to what you know about structure and patterns to make the puzzle (story) make sense. 

Spelling

We had last week OFF from spelling.  This week, your third grader should bring home NEW words on Monday.  8 points for the spelling menu is due on Thursday.  We will test on Friday.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Landforms

We are starting a new unit in Social Studies, Geography.  Our geography unit is made up of two parts, landforms and map skills. We will start the unit with a look at landforms.  This week we will review many landforms that are, hopefully, familiar to our students.  Our BIG idea in social studies is that our daily life is affected by the land surrounding us.  When we plan vacations, what we pack, what we do, and our travel are all determined by the land and water features surrounding our destination.  

Some of our upcoming vocabulary will be:

Geography-the study of Earth’s features

Landform- natural features, or shapes, of the land including mountains, valleys, plains, plateaus, etc.

Climate- the kind of weather a place has over a long period of time

Human Feature- something that people add to the landscape, such as a building

     Adapt- change to fit the environment   

Math/Science Week of October 28th

Dear Parents,

In Math last week we measured many things to the nearest inch using the U.S. customary system.  We were only able to spend one day on Perimeter, so that's what we are getting into a little bit deeper this week.  Students will initially be given the dimensions and will have to calculate the Perimeter by finding the sum of all the sides.  Once there is a complete understanding of that, we will move on to calculating the dimensions of a side when then Perimeter is given. On Wednesday, the students will take a quiz on measurement and finding perimeter. In the latter part of the week, we will be moving on to finding patterns in a list and patterns on a number line.

Last week in Math, the kids also to an Addition and Subtraction FF Test in one minute.  This week will be for a grade so study, study, STUDY!!!

In Science this week, we will continue with our new unit of study.  We barely skimmed the surface of energy last week with all that went on with Red Ribbon Week and the two half days.  Students will continue studying the concept of Energy.  We will review Mechanical (Potential and Kinetic) Energy learned in detail last week, and then we will move on to Heat, Sound, and Light Energy.  The students are also becoming familiar with what Force is-a push or a pull, and how energy is transferred from one object to another.  

We are excited about winning the food drive competition, so one of the Houston Rockets players will be coming to see us on Monday afternoon!  Wednesday is also our library/counselor day.

Update from Mrs. Ford

Language Arts

In Reading this week, we will start our study on Non-Fiction.  We will use non-fiction resources focused on BATS for the next few weeks as an added bonus to our study on non-fiction texts. As adults, we take for granted the many features a non-fiction text grants us as we read.  Third graders will be learning to identify and discuss the purpose of various text features over the next few weeks.  We will be creating an anchor chart similar to this one from the blog, Second Grade Style.

http://secondgradestyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/teaching-text-features.html 

Last week was fun, but we have some catch-up to do in writing.  We will begin critiquing narrative pieces this week.  Students will create their own lists of what narratives may have and must have to make them an entertaining and informative piece for a reader.  

We have parent/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday of this week.  Since Thursday and Friday will be half days, we will NOT have spelling words this week.  Please look for new spelling words to come home on MONDAY, OCTOBER 28.

We took our first social studies test last week.  We will spend time in Social Studies this week focusing on daily topics associated with RED RIBBON WEEK.  HCE commits to being drug-free (alcohol, to

bacco, and drugs) by accepting and signing the pledge card at school and home with a parent

Monday, Oct 21:   Wear RED to celebrate red ribbon week.

Tuesday, Oct 22: Wear your favorite Sports Team Shirt

Wednesday, Oct 23: Wear crazy socks or shoes.  Go crazy against drugs!

Thursday, Oct 24: Join the fight against drugs and Wear CAMO!

Friday, Oct 25: Wear a hat or fun hair accessories to school!  Hats off to healthy living!

Math/Science Week of October 21st

Boy last week seemed crazy!  But most four day weeks do!  Last week with DATA day and a field trip, we got a little behind in our lessons.  Also 3rd grade made a teacher decision to spend some more time on estimating Sums and Differences because our kids needed some addition support and time on it.  SOOOOO, Monday and most likely Tuesday will now be spent on addition and subtraction patterns in a paired table like this:

The rest of the week we will be moving on to measuring in our customary system.  We will begin working in measurement as we use rulers to find the length of objects.  We will focus on inches, feet, yards, and miles.  Students will practice predicting the length of objects around the room, measuring with rulers, and then calculate the difference between the predicted and the actual length.  

We will also work on the concept of Perimeter.  We will talk about the border around our bulletin boards or the fence around the school to introduce the concept of a perimeter.  To find the perimeter, students will measure all sides of an object or shape and then find the sum of these sides.  To challenge your child on perimeter,  give them the total perimeter of an object or shape and encourage them to find all the possible lengths that could equal the given perimeter.  

Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will be for practice and will now include ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION.  Students should be studying facts every night for at least 5 – 8 minutes.  

In Science this week, we will continue our new unit of study.  Students will begin studying the concept of Energy.  Energy is the ability to move and do work.  We will review four forms of energy: sound, light, heat, and mechanical. We will begin with Mechanical Energy and discover that there are two types of Mechanical Energy: Potential and Kinetic.  We will also learn about pushes and pulls in greater detail.

Remember this week on Thursday and Friday are our parent conferences.  Make sure that you have a time scheduled with your homeroom teacher for next week.  

Love, Ms. S

Update from Mrs. Ford

What a week!

     Today, Tuesday, October 15, we met for spelling groups.  Your child should come home with new spelling words.  They will have until FRIDAY this week to complete 8 points of spelling homework. Our spelling test will be Friday.

     We also learned a new review game called HOT SEAT.   Students were able to give and receive clues to review content for our social studies test tomorrow, October 16.

      We've got a lot going on this week---
WEDNESDAY- library check out and lesson, social studies test, and counselor visit
THURSDAY- field trip to the Wortham Center to watch SPLAT THE CAT and Spanish/Computer classes
FRIDAY- spelling tests and reading buddies

Math/Science Week of October 15-19

Parents,

Last week in Math, students continued working on addition and subtraction word problems.  We have been working hard on 3-digit subtraction with a medial zero.  Here are two different scenarios with medial zero:
                           705                                           705
                        - 422                                          -426
                     ---------                                   ---------
In the first problem, the ones place does not need to be regrouped, therefore the zero in the middle of the problem will be a 10 and the 7 will be reduced to a 6.  In the second problem, the ones place does have to be regrouped. Therefore, the zero in the middle will be reduced to a 9 and the 7 will be reduced to a 6.  This is all very confusing to eight and nine-year-olds!!!   This is a really hard concept for 3rd graders and they are having a tough time with it and need LOTS of practice.  Please work with them if you can at home.  It's always good to hear someone else's voice teaching a hard concept. :)

We also worked on subtracting across three zeros such like this:

                                   800                                                   500
                                 -555                                                  -224
                            -----------                                         -----------  

This week in Math we will take what we know about rounding to the nearest ten and hundred, addition, and subtraction and put it all together.  The kids will be required to look at a three digit Math problem, round the numbers, and then solve like this:

Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will consist of subtraction ONLY and WILL be recorded this week in the grade book.  Get ready for a combo test soon with BOTH addition and subtraction!!!  

In Science, we just concluded our study on Matter and had our first big Science Test last week. In Science this week, we will begin our new unit of study.  Students will begin studying the concept of Energy.  We will review four forms of energy: sound, light, heat, and mechanical.
We will begin with Mechanical Energy and discover that there are two types of Mechanical Energy: Potential and Kinetic.

This week all 3rd grade teachers will be out on Wednesday afternoon meeting with the principals and on Thursday is our first field trip!

Love, 
Ms. S   

an update from Mrs. Ford

Reading
In Reading this week we will be look at genre and theme.  We will review some of the books we have shared aloud to determine what text evidence can help us determine a book's theme.  Students will then read fables in partners and independently to find evidence and determine theme.  We will use this same text evidence strategy to determine the genre of a book.  Students should be able to notice and name features of various genres (Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Autobiography, Biography, Informational, Traditional and Poetry).  

WRITING
As we continue to work in the genre of personal narrative, we will continue to consume examples (text and student work).  We will also look this week at critiquing personal narratives.  What things make a personal narrative EXCELLENT or not so great.  We will work as a class to create a criteria chart of the things we think EXCELLENT narratives need.

SPELLING

Please remember that they are responsible for completing 8 points and turning in their homework on Thursday mornings.  

SOCIAL STUDIES

In class, we will begin talking about how the United States government is set up.  Be ready... this week we will talk about how we have a local, state and federal government.  Please continue at home talking with your kids about the three branches of government, elections, and leaders at each level of our government.  There is a RED review sheet coming home today.  Our first Social Studies test on Community and Government will be on October 16.

Math/Science Week Of October 7th

Parents,

In Math:
We will continue fine tuning our 3-digit addition and subtraction skills with regrouping.  Students will be introduced to 3 digit subtraction with a medial zero, as well as 3 digit subtraction with two zeros.   This is a hard skill to really master parents!  Our little 3rd graders want to regroup when they don't have to and not regroup when they are supposed to!  Any help on three digit subtraction or extra practice at home is always appreciated.  Students will continue working on addition and subtraction word problems and trying to decipher if they are combining, take away subtraction, comparative subtraction, or missing part subtraction.  

Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will consist of subtraction problems only and will not be taken for a grade this week.  Students should be studying facts every night for at least 5 – 8 minutes.   Please see the blog page labeled Helpful Websites to find fun and interactive websites that help your children learn their Math Facts.


In Science:
What a busy week we will have in Science next week!  A study guide and study flashcards were sent home last Monday to get your child prepared for the Matter Test  . Their Matter test will be this coming Monday the 7th. Please take a couple minutes to help your child review all concepts encompassing Matter.   We are moving on to reading thermometers in Celsius and Fahrenheit, as well as making mixtures and figuring out the best tools to separate them with.  


Love, Mrs. S