Week 6: September 25-29

September 25th - 29th
Reminders: Due to growing bodies and changing hormones, please encourage your child to develop the daily habit of applying deodorant.  

Please remember we have students with allergies; pack nut-free snacks.  Snacks should be dry and healthy to promote student learning and not create a mess. 

 Examples: 

• Fresh or dried fruit/vegetable sticks or slices
• Cheese cubed or sliced·        
• Applesauce (in the squeezable containers)
• Goldfish, Cheeze-it or Cheese Nips·        
• Saltines/Graham crackers

Reading: Fix-Up Strategies take center stage this week.  We use fix-up strategies when meaning breaks down during reading.  As adults, these are techniques we do without a second thought.  For third graders, it require much thought, self-awareness and lots of practice!  Note the bookmark we will use in class to help us as we apply this learning.

Writing: Good writers keep a notebook to generate ideas.  This week we will continue to work on ways to get ideas from our brains to our journals.  Storytelling at home is a wonderful way to help students make the connection between school work and the real world.  Specifically this week, we will think about memories that come from our homes.  Is there a room where you remember a funny or poignant story from your life?  Is there a home you have been in that has important meaning to you?  Where have you made memories? Share stories with your child.

Spelling: After reviewing inventories, we have noticed some overall spelling needs.  We will begin our spelling practice with a few whole group lessons to fix-up some grade level misconceptions and then will move into a more targeted and personalized approach to spelling.

Social Studies: Last week, we discussed leadership council and the opportunity it brings to third graders.  Leadership Council representatives will be announced Friday, September 29. In the meantime, we will focus on learning more about our community.  Where do we live? How can we help in our communities?  We will wrap up the week completing a service project that we will share with our third grade friends at Meadow Wood Elementary.

Math: During math this week, we will practice comparing and ordering numbers. Your child will learn several strategies for comparing numbers and justifying how they got to their answer. On Wednesday, we will work to order numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least, our prior knowledge about comparing numbers will help us move through this topic. On Thursday and Friday, we will learn how to put numbers on a number line. We will work to locate a point on the number line when given a beginning and endpoint. Your child will have their first graded fast facts quiz on Friday. A blue paper filled with addition problems was sent home so that you have an idea of what to practice. We encourage you studying with flash cards or apps at home. Paper homework will go home on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night.

Science: This week we will be studying the scientific method. We will go through the different parts and understanding what scientist do when conducting an experiment. We've worked on making observation and next we will work on making predictions and hypothesis when answering scientific questions.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will go through all the steps in the Scientific method as we conduct our first experiment. 

New Reading Homework

New Reading Homework for the next few months

• ·        ONE article or selection from a story to read for homework for the week.
• ·        Three nights to complete the reading, leave tracks of thinking and answer the questions using evidence. 
• ·        This reading will count ONCE for the nightly reading homework assignment.
• ·        The passage should not take more than 20 minutes for your child to read independently. If you child cannot read this, please let his or her teacher know as soon as possible.
• ·        Answering the questions and looking for evidence to support his or her answers may take more time at first.  They will match the number on the questions to the numbers on the answer document.
• ·        Most weeks, the selection will come home on MONDAYS and be due in class on THURSDAYS. 

We sent an email and attached an example of a selection that we have completed in class together.  Students should also have their personal copy to share.  We also attached a copy of this week’s homework in the email sent to families.  We will not send home an electronic copy each week.  We decided it important this week, since it is our FIRST time with this type of homework.

We work hard to find articles on a variety of topics and interests in hopes to make this an engaging homework piece for your child.  Who knows it might even spark a topic of conversation at the dinner table!

Thanks for your help,
Tara Childers
Omi Ford
Laura Jackson

Nov. 17-Nov. 25 in Language Arts and Social Studies

LANGUAGE ARTS

READING

Reading

Last week we worked on talking about what strategies good readers use when comprehension breaks down.  Students agreed that when I ask what strategies they try when stuck their first response is usually, sound it out.  While that is one strategy that may help readers who are stuck, it isn't the most effective strategy.  Some other strategies we decided good readers use are:
asking ourselves- does it make sense?
if not, looking at the pictures
reading on
going back and rereading
trying out a synonym and seeing if it makes sense
looking for parts of a word we know
our list will continue to grow as students start noticing what is helpful when they come to a problem while reading.

We also started and will work until Thanksgiving on context clues.  Students know that context means that there are clues in the text that can help a reader discover a words meaning.  Students will participate in class discussions on Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters as we discover the story and uncover all the new vocabulary it has to offer.  They will also work in small groups to share strategies for comprehension.  

SPELLING
We will not have spelling work again until December.  Instead, students will bring home review homework on capitalization and punctuation.

WRITING and SOCIAL STUDIES
Students have been working hard in writing.  We will be working on a number of pieces over the next 7 days.  Students will learn some organization strategies to guide their publication of a personal narrative.

We will then combine our work in Social Studies and Writing.  Students will learn about personification by consuming the mentor text I am the Ocean.  They will apply what they know from our work with landforms and create a landform poem with personification.  These are always some of our most amazing writing pieces.  Your child will share his or hers with you at Publisher's Picnic in May.

Finally, we will also be working on postcards to tell friends and families about vacations we have taken to different regions.  Students will be expected to apply learning and share with the recipient the climate, weather, activities and landforms they encounter while on their imaginary vacation.

Update from Mrs. Ford

Language Arts

Reading

This week in reading, we will start to talk about using context clues when we read to help us determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.  Students will learn a variety of "clues" that good writers often include to help readers make meaning of what's in the story.  We will be using non-fiction this week as begin.

In small groups, students will be reading non-fiction and poetry with me.  In these groups we will be working on a variety of reading topics depending on what your child and their group needs.  I have looked over our benchmark data and will be targeting children's needs.  

Writing

We will focus on developing strong leads this week in our work with personal narratives.  

Last week, students completed postcards to friends and family describing an imaginary vacation.  This writing was integrated with our social studies curriculum.  Students included new learning about how landforms, location and climate can change the activities we choose and the way we dress when we are on vacation.

Spelling

Spelling groups will continue this week.  Please look for new words to come home on Monday nights.  Students have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to complete 8 points on their spelling menus.  The DESK fairy showed up after school on Friday and awarded spelling homework coupons to student's with a clean and organized desk.  If your student has earned a coupon, he or she may staple it into the spelling spiral in place of 4 points of homework.

Social Studies

Geography

Click on the link below to check out this cool new rap and song we've been singing to help us remember the different types of landforms.

http://youtu.be/7v7R2bALbgI

We will continue to learn about landforms.  This week we will start thinking of various ways to describe landforms and bodies of water.  We will read the book, I AM THE OCEAN. It will serve as our mentor test as we begin to create LANDFORM POETRY using personification!