We wish our students and their families a safe, relaxing and wonderful winter break!
12/12 Students will have an Energy Assessment this Tuesday. They have had a set of vocabulary cards and a study guide for several weeks.
12/15 Classroom Parties and Noon Dismissal for winter break and Report Cards go home.
1/9 STAARY STAARY NIGHT Third grade will host a STAAR information session Tuesday evening, January 9, to familiarize parents with our May state testing and answer any questions. We will meet in the library form 6:00 to 7:00.
HCE Dads' Club is recruiting new members. They do several projects to support the students and teachers at HCE. If you are interested in how to join and when they meet, email warrensloan@allstate.com.
Parents are graciously volunteering for lunch duty the week before winter break. If you are interested in joining in, here is the link for sighing up. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4faaa822a13-teacher
READING: Third graders will be practicing synthesizing text when responding to a short story. The process of synthesizing occurs when different ideas about a text lead to new thinking. We compare it to baking a cake. Every ingredient separately is important to the cake batter and the frosting, however when combined together something new and different is the result. The teachers will model this process, allow the students to work in collaborative groups, and then in small guided groups to refine the skill. Short stories from Cynthia Rylant's Children of Christmas will be anchor texts.
WRITING: As our children are coming to the final stages of publishing their self-selected pieces, they are becoming more aware of the importance of the revision process and how it is about the quality of their changes as opposed to the quantity. For example, instead of saying, My family likes to play board games, it is much more powerful to say, My family loves board games; our favorite is Monopoly. Third graders will be coming together to celebrate the completed final drafts in groups. We will end the week with "Fantasy Friday" writing. Our passionate authors have a special appreciation for fantasy writing, and it is something they truly look forward to composing and sharing.
WORD WORK: As students perfect spelling skills, it is important to encourage them to use independent strategies while writing. Instead of spelling words for our children, we need to respond by having them write the word the way they have seen it in text on a Post It Note or piece of paper. Guiding questions such as, Does that word look correct? or Did you spell it a syllable at a time? help facilitate confidence and independence.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We will focus this week on appreciating many different holiday celebrations around the world. Students will learn about traditions from Mexico, Greenland, Sweden, Israel, India, and Australia by engaging in a variety of experiences incorporating art, music, and literature. On Wednesday and Thursday, students will visit each third grade classroom, focusing on the culture and ways each celebrates. Anyone interested in adding to our study, please submit your FLIPGRID video by Thursday. An email went home with instructions. Shhhhh!!
MATH: This week students will finish working with 2D and 3D shapes. Then it is on to measuring and calculating the perimeter of polygons. Perimeter is the distance around the outer edge and the sum of all the sides. With this basic knowledge, students will also be given the perimeter and all but one side and will have to subtract to find that missing side.
There will be no FFF quiz this week due to early dismissal on Friday for Winter Break.
SCIENCE: We conclude our study of Energy with a final assessment on Tuesday. Students have had a review sheet and vocabulary cards for two weeks. Plus, we have spent two days engaged in a six station, hands on lab that has demonstrated basic concepts for each kind of energy we have studied. Students have compiled a four section booklet displaying their knowledge.
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