Synthesizing, Economics and Research Writing

Fun Things to Share for you to use at home:
During our STAAR party, I introduced Mad Libs.  The kids had a GREAT time working with partners and creating funny stories.  Here are some links to sites where you can print more mad libs to enjoy as a family at home.

• CLASSROOM JR.COM
• MAD LIBS WEBSITE AND APP INFO
• FILL THESE OUT AND READ ONLINE (warning- there are ads on this site.)
• ONLINE MAD LIBS CALL WEB TALES

I also introduced them to a childhood favorite, READING RAINBOW.  

• YOU TUBE CHANNEL with videos
• INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO GET THE APP OR ORDER THE VIDEOS

READING AND WRITING
We will get back into a more normal classroom routine this week.  We will focus in reading on synthesizing.  I love this time of year and reading strategy.  This is when the kids get a chance to apply all their thinking to a text.  We begin to notice how a text can change our thinking as we read-- so powerful!  This week we will focus on synthesizing nonfiction.  We will start by using The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown as our reading and writing model for synthesizing facts.  
This leads us nicely into finishing up reading many nonfiction sources as students work on their Planet Research.  After a few days to finish up research and note taking we will begin writing our informational expository texts on the planet your child is researching.  This is a new genre of writing for us, so we will look carefully to some mentor texts to see how veteran authors organize and structure their informational writing.  

SPELLING
New spelling words will go home on Wednesday.  The spelling homework menu is due on the following Tuesday (4/5) and the test will be on that Wednesday (4/6).  If you need support with spelling, please email me.  If you child looses his or her spelling words, please look at the spelling spiral as we write them down as part of our lesson on Wednesdays.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week's work in Social Studies will have us focus on the economic concepts of: scarcity, opportunity cost, consumption, production and interdependence.  We are moving out of our work in personal economics and focusing more on business economics as we finish up our lessons.  We will be using these oldies, but goodies (ECON AND ME) to review concepts and promote discussion in class. 

HOMEWORK
Thank you for supporting good study and reading habits at home.  Students will have 20 minutes of nightly reading this week.  They should record the title and genre in their planner or a piece of paper at home to share with me the next day. 

Reading, Economics and Research Writing

Spelling
We WILL have spelling this week.  Menus are due on Thursday.  Test day is Friday.

Reading
We have been mixing things up in reading.  I have used our last set of benchmarks to target student needs.  Our groups have been changing weekly as we work on poetry, expository, biography, summary, context clues, cause and effect, procedural texts, etc.

When they are not in a small group with me, they are working at stations designed around what concept they need reinforced.  

Reading passages are still coming home each week.  They should be in the homework folder on Monday and are due Friday.  It is IMPERATIVE that everyone practices the format for the test.  We have SUPER readers this year and I don't want the format of the test to hinder their ability.

Also, we still have 20 minutes of nightly reading for homework.  Many students have been letting this slide.  Please help your child stay strong in his or her commitment to homework for these last few months of school.

Writing
Students selected three planets that they would be interested in researching and writing about this 9 weeks.  Everyone has been assigned a planet, the sun, or the moon.  We have now spent two weeks learning about researching and researching.  Last week we working on writing our introduction paragraph for our research paper.  This week, we will learn about topic sentences and begin writing and revising the various paragraphs that will make up the body of our paper.

SOCIAL STUDIES
ECONOMICS

Our test on personal economics will be Tuesday, April 15.  Review sheets and vocabulary will come home Tuesday, April 8.  Students are welcome to take home Social Studies Journals to help them study each night.  Please make sure that the journals come back to school.  We will add notes and ideas to them each day.

Feb. 4-9

LANGUAGE ARTS

READING

Synthesizing and Summarizing are still on our list of things to do well in Reading over the next few weeks.  

This week we will work with FICTIONAL texts.  We will use a few different graphic organizers to help us notice text elements and thinking as we read.
  
One strategy we will use is just like what kids did in class this week.  They will record their notes and thinking as they read.  THIS WEEK their notes will cover the sequence of events that happen in the story.  The thinking that they may record can be connections predication, questions and inferences.

Then we will begin to notice how thinking may change as you read a text.  We will use a graphic organizer called I'm thinking...now I'm thinking... and now.  We will read some picture books together that do a great job of demonstrating how our thoughts about the plot or characters may change as we read a text.
WRITING
This week in Writing, we will finish our how-to essays.  Then, we will start talking about what work will need to go into our BIG 6 research project.  BIG 6 is a great organization tool for research.  

SPELLING
Spelling continues to be more of the same.  Students should bring home new spelling words on Mondays.  Homework is due on Thursdays.  We will take our test on Friday.

SOCIAL STUDIES

GEOGRAPHY

This week students will learn the parts of a map.  Some of the vocabulary we will cover is: map key, map scale, compass rose, intermediate directions, cardinal directions, scale and symbols.  Over the next few weeks, we will learn about different kinds of maps and globes.  At home, please talk to your child about when you use a map.  Let your child plug in an address the next time you use a navigation system.  Maybe you could have your child serve as a guide the next time you are at the mall or zoo.  

April 9-13 LA/SS

We've been working away in LA and SS.


Reading
In reading we have been focusing on poetry.  We've reviewed rhyme and rhythm and discussed the three different types of poetry third graders need to know....
1. narrative
2. lyrical
3. free verse
We will continue to think about poetry and also review a few other concepts that need fine tuning like... 
cause and effect, summary and non-fiction features.
The STAAR reading test is Wednesday, April 25.  We want to get our reading minds in shape to knock this test out of the park!
Practice Passages will come home the next two weeks to help us get our skills and strategies in shape!


Writing
We've just started our BIG 6 research project.  Each child made a list of 3 planets they would be interested in researching.  Ask your student what planet he or she will become an expert on this month.  We've organized what information we want to know and reviewed how to cite sources for a bibliography.  We will be doing some intense research this next week.   When we have completed our research, students will have three different technology products to choose from to share their research and writing with others.


Spelling
It was nice to have a week off, but the next two weeks (April 9-13 and April 16-20) will be normal spelling weeks.  Word sorts will come home on Monday.  Homework will be due on Thursday.  We will test on Friday.


Social Studies
We finished learning about some important explorations in American History.  We will spend the next week discussing how some important people in history have had their stories stretched and changed to become TALL TALES.  Students will work through a menu to explore and create as they learn about this genre and these famous people.

Mrs. Ford's Room: March 21-March 30

Fun times in Mrs. Ford's Class (at least I think so)!

Reading:  Students are interdependently demonstrating their synthesizing skills by completing a synthesize to summaries menu this week.  They had the choice to use fiction or non-fiction texts.
In small groups, we are finishing some chapter books and moving on to reading and analyzing instructional texts.   Think about it... recipes, toy instructions, backyard projects, and more.  
Practice passages will continue to come home on Mondays and be due on Fridays.  Please encourage your child to follow each step of the reading checklist found in his or her notebook.


Writing:  We have spend a lot of time journaling recently and will soon begin our BIG 6 research project.  Students will give me their top 3 planet choices and then we will work through a research process to find and record information on their planet.  After a few weeks of research we will take this information and create an essay.  


Spelling:  We are back into full on spelling mode.  Please check with your child to make sure he or she is bringing home his or her spelling spiral on Mondays.  Homework is due on Thursdays.  Tests are on Fridays.


Social Studies:  The next 6 weeks are an exciting time in third grade Social Studies.  We will be learning a little  bit about the Story of America (American History).  This week we will focus on Pioneers and Explorers (Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, and Davy Crockett ) and plot their adventures on a timeline.  Important vocabulary for this study includes- decade, century, history, explorer, pioneer, discovery.