Week 18: January 8th-12th

Week 18:  January 8th-12th 
Reminders: 
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 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
1/10  2nd NINE WEEKS RECOGNITION CEREMONY will be held in the cafeteria from 9:00-9:40am. 
1/10  3rd GRADE AUTHOR VISIT   Mac Barnett, author of The Terrible Two series, will visit our school on Wednesday, 1/10.  We look forward to this author visit.  You can purchase a copy of any of his books using the following link through Blue Willow Bookshop.  

Reading:  We launched our nonfiction genre unit last week and will continue to immerse ourselves in the genre this week.  We will discuss how text features help us understand and synthesize information as readers.  Text features are additional sources of information beyond the body of the text.  Examples include:  photographs, captions, bold words, subheadings, sidebars, maps, and diagrams.  As nonfiction readers, it is important to know how to read as well as draw conclusions from these added pieces of information throughout the text.  Additionally, we will round out reading MAP testing this week.

Homework Reminder:  Let's start this new year off strong as readers!  This is a friendly reminder that your child must read at home every night as their language arts homework.  We watched this video in the fall and discussed what the words... EVERY SINGLE DAY, NO MATTER WHAT would mean for us as readers.  Volume matters!  Please support your child's reading life at home every single day...no matter what!   

Writing:  Writer's Workshop will be filled with poetry writing this week!  Your children will learn a variety of tools to write poems that convey sensory details using the conventions of poetry.  We will learn to look at the world through a poet's eyes and use language within our poems that show, instead of tell, what they mean.  We will study and work with several mentor poems this week that illustrate wonderful examples of poetic devices and conventions.     

Word Work:  We look forward to getting back in the swing of things this week with our word work routine within Writer's Workshop and guided groups.     

Social Studies:  We will continue studying map skills this week.  Technology has allowed us to have directions and maps at our fingertips.  But what happens if we were lost with an uncharged phone?  We will learn how to utilize a map to help us navigate a place and find our way to our destination.  Important terms we will learn throughout the week include:  grid, map, globe, longitude, latitude, compass rose, cardinal directions, hemisphere, key, symbols, legend, equator, city, continents, states ocean, geographer, and Columbus.  

Math: We will continue to calculate and determine the perimeter of polygons. Perimeter is the distance around the outer edge and the sum of all the sides. Along with this basic knowledge, students will be given the perimeter of an object and the lengths of all but one side. Students must subtract to find the value of the missing side. We will also continue using the MAP skills website to grow their understanding and skills in specific math areas. Later in the week, students will determine the solution to addition and subtraction problems of time intervals in minutes using pictorial models or tool. Students will receive homework Monday-Wednesday, but should study their math facts daily.  

Science:  We will observe forces such as magnetism, friction and gravity acting on objects. Students will be engaged in activities this week such as a friction lab, a demonstration on gravity, and comparing friction in a Venn Diagram. Gravity is the force that pulls all objects together. Gravity pulls on similarly shaped objects at the same rate regardless of mass or weight. Friction is the force between an object and the surface it moves over. Friction creates heat and slows an object. It is a pull. We are sending home yellow vocabulary cards and a yellow paper that has all the vocabulary words this week. Please have the students study them daily.

Week 17: January 3rd-5th

Week 17:  January 3rd-5th 

Happy 2018! 

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday break.  

We look forward to welcoming back your children tomorrow!  

Reminders: 

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 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

1/10  2nd NINE WEEKS RECOGNITION CEREMONY will be held in the cafeteria from 9:00-9:40am. 

1/10  3rd GRADE AUTHOR VISIT   Mac Barnett, author of The Terrible Two series, will visit our school on Wednesday, 1/10 and spend time with our 3rd graders.  You can purchase a copy of any of his books using the following link through Blue Willow Bookshop.  


Reading:  We have a quick, but action-packed week in reading as we begin our nonfiction genre study. For the next few weeks your readers will immerse themselves in a variety of nonfiction texts to learn about the purpose and structure of the genre. We will launch our unit by reading high-interest informational articles about the Guinness Book of World Records and penguin rescues this week. Reading MAP testing begins this week and will continue into next.

Writing:  Students will review how to story tell by sharing some of their favorite memories from our two week break.  As the week progresses we will shift our focus to our poetry unit of study.  Your writer will begin looking at poetry through the eyes of the writer.  Students will read and study anchor poems that showcase rich vocabulary as well as portray vivid mental images that spark our senses.

Word Work:  We will continue to facilitate independence and confidence as students perfect their spelling skills within their independent writing. 

Social Studies:  Students will locate a variety of maps from nonfiction articles we read.  We will study these maps to note their features and specifically define key, compass rose, and scale. 

Math: This week we are focusing on taking the winter MAP test. We will also explore the MAP website as we will use it for additional practice. 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. Along with this basic knowledge, students will be given the perimeter of an object and the lengths of all but one side. Students must subtract to find the value of the missing side.

Students will only have homework on Wednesday but should study their math facts daily.

Science: We will observe how position and motion can be changed by pushing and pulling objects to show work being done. Some examples include swings, balls, pulleys, and wagons. We will also observe forces such as gravity and friction acting on objects. Gravity is the force that pulls all objects together. Friction is the force between two moving objects that tries to keep the objects from moving freely. We will discuss examples of each.

Week 34: May 1st -May 5th

Reminders/Announcements:

• Monday, May 8th:  Math STAAR for 3rd (and 4th graders
• Tuesday, May 9th:  Reading STAAR for 3rd (and 4th graders)

Your child will be taking their first STAAR test next Monday and Tuesday, May 8th and 9th.  Here a few reminders and helpful hints to support your child at home:
- We will have an altered schedule on testing days due to beginning the test at 8:00am.  We will take our lunch after the completion of the test at 12:40pm and have specials and recess after.      
- Reassure your child that they have learned all the skills they need for the test.  Encourage and praise them for their success this school year.  Continue to build their confidence this week leading to Monday and Tuesday.  
- Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep! 
- Eat a healthy breakfast.

• May 19 - Bike to School Day-  Important -If your child is going to participate in this event after school he or she will need a change of transportation note. 
• Monday, May 22nd:  Publishers Picnic
• Thursday, May 25th:  3rd grade Chariot Races
• Friday, May 26th:  Winds of Time school-wide parade 

Reading:
We will start our week reviewing vocabulary skills and context clues strategies.  We will practice how to identify the meaning of unknown words using context clues.  Your reader  will identify synonyms and antonyms of common words in their vocabulary using context clues as well.  

Later in the week, we will work on test taking confidence!  We will complete one final STAAR selection to review test taking strategies as well as celebrate all of the wonderful preparation they've done to be ready for next Tuesday (Reading STAAR test).  We will also learn and practice brain breaks that they can use during testing that do not distract their peers.

Writing:
We are going to revisit some of our favorite entries in our Writer's Notebook this week!  Your writer will reread their past work in their notebooks in order to revise and edit.  We will  specifically work on revising and editing for capitalization.  We will see where we can add capitalization for emphasis (e.g. WOAH!! or I TOLD her I wasn't feeling well.), proper nouns (e.g. Hunters Creek Elementary), and titles and headings (e.g. book titles, SFML titles).  We have added some capitalization online practice to our Language Arts websites.  We want to make sure we send our writers to fourth grade consistently capitalizing! 

Spelling:  We will be looking for how your child applies their spelling patterns this week.  We will take an application grade May 1st- May 4th. 

Social Studies:  Your child will finish their Texas festival project this week.  We can't wait to celebrate our final products this Friday.   

Math: We are entering our second and final week of STAAR Camp. Each class will be reviewing different concepts, as we do our last prep before the test. One concept that each class will cover is perimeter and area. It is important for your child to be able calculate both. They will also need to use the background knowledge of quadrilaterals when finding perimeter. Especially the rule about rectangles and squares when finding perimeter of a figure. 

Fractions will be another topic we will review this week, more specifically equivalent fraction using a pictorial model. The last two days of this week, we will have a circuit that will have different problem covering a variety of topics. This circuit will help prepare your child to how transition to different math concepts between questions. 

Homework this week will have review STAAR-like questions that will give you a chance to discuss past concepts at home. As always keep practicing those math facts. 

Science: This week in Science we are diverting our attention to the math concept of Personal Financial Literacy. We will discuss topics that include human capital, scarcity, credit and interest, and saving. Students will review some of what they learned in their Social Studies unit on Economics. Word problems will show them the connection between economics and math. A series of Kahoots will test their knowledge of various money issues. (And they love Kahoots!)

Week 30: April 3- 7

Week of April 3rd-7th

Reminders: 

OPTIONAL SPRING CONFERENCES: Thursday and Friday we will have early dismissal for spring parent teacher conference. These conferences are optional. Please note that these conferences our optional and its only the second week of the last nine weeks. But if you would like to meet with your child's teacher to discuss your child's progress, we would be more than happy to meet with you. 

Ms. Badrak

Mrs. Duncan

Mrs. Ford

Ms. Jackson

Ms. Rozzell

Mrs. Scott

Here is our half day schedule for Thursday and Friday. 
    Thursday:                                                               Friday
7:50- 8:00 Focus Poetry                                 7: 50- 8:00 Focus Poetry
8:10- 9:25 Block One                                      8:10 - 9:00 Specials
9:25 Switch                                                     9:00- 9:50 Block one
9:30- 10:45 Block two                                     9:55- 10:45 Block two
10:45- 11:15 Lunch                                        10: 45-11: 15 Lunch
11:15- 11: 45 Recess                                     11:15- 11: 45 Recess
12:00 Dismissal                                              12:00 Dismissal                    

Language Arts teachers will send home a Scholastic book order this week in Tuesday Newsday.  This order will be due next Tuesday, April 11th. 

Reading 
Last week, we ended our week utilizing useful reading strategies.  We will use what we learned about nonfiction summaries last week to compare and analyze the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction summaries this week.  For instance, great nonfiction summaries include the main idea, or most important ideas, from the beginning, middle, and end of a text.  Great fiction summaries, on the other hand, include CPR (C=Characters, P=Problem, R=Resolution).  We will compare various summaries in order to continue practicing reading strategies across these two genres. Towards the end of the week, our readers will write a fiction summary of their own using what they know about CPR.  

Writing
We have worked very hard during Writer's Workshop to craft our essays.  We will use this week as an opportunity to prepare our essays for publishing week.  We will enter into the process of publishing week next week in order to celebrate and share our final products. We are also going to take some time this week to prepare for National Library Week (April 9th-15th)  where we thank our wonderful librarian, Mrs. Moore, for everything she does for our school!  Students will either write a poem, letter, comic, or persuasive essay that pays tribute to Mrs. Moore.  We are going to deliver these to her on Monday!   

Spelling
Students will receive new spelling words on Thursday, April 6th.  They will take a test on these words on Thursday, April 13th.   April 14th- April 21st, teachers will be looking for students to apply those spelling patterns correctly in their reading and writing work.

Social Studies
We will continue our study of arts and culture this week.  We will learn information about arts within a community.  We will reflect and respond to this material using graphic organizers.  

Math 

We finished off last week discussing area of figures. This next week, we will introduce perimeter of a figure. Area and perimeter can often get mixed up, so please take time to discuss both of these vocabulary words. Please take some time this week and get on Dreambox. Please use this link to get the login page. https://play.dreambox.com/login/yf4j/c78d

In this perimeter unit, we will also look at problem solving for missing side length of figures. We will be working on using good strategies when trying to solve these type problems. One of these strategies will be to add up all the side lengths and then subtract from the perimeter.  We studied in our geometry unit about how rectangles have opposite sides that are equal to the other. This knowledge of rectangles will help students find the missing side length when perimeter is unknown.




Science
We will start this week with the solar system assessment. Tuesday - Friday we will explore the fourth planet from the Sun... Mars. We will look at what attributes this planet has and how it differs from other planets in our solar system. After we discuss Mars and review solar system  characteristics, we will have a short quiz on Thursday.  Please keep practicing with your child the order of the planets and have your child share their learning about Mars this week. 

Math and Science for the Week of March 19th-23rd

Parents,

Welcome back from Spring Break!  It was a nice break and it was good to catch up on some rest.  Now we are ready to hit the ground running for the next 11 weeks!

This week in Math we will be focusing on the concept of rounding to the nearest ten and hundred.  Some students catch on really fast, and others are confused about the concept of rounding up or down and need a little extra guidance.  Today we used the "rounding roller coaster" to explain the rounding rules.  A student came up with this helpful rhyme:

"If it's 1 to 4, go to the back door.  If it's 5 or more, run out the front door!"

Here is also a helpful three minute video to explain rounding to the nearest 10.



Later on in the week we will work on Rounding to the nearest 100.  We will use the same "Roller Coaster" concept to help the kids understand rounding.  Here is another helpful video to show your kids on rounding to the nearest 100.



Also in Math this week our Objective review will be focusing on reviewing customary and metric measurement, as well as finding perimeter and area.  We will have another objective quiz this Friday, and we will be reviewing it together the following Monday.  Again these Objective reviews are intended to prepare our 3rd graders for the Math portion of the STAAR Exam coming next month.

In Science this week, we will be learning the relationship between the sun, the moon, and the earth.  The students will be constructing a small 2-D model in class to show this representation.  We will then move into the planets and the correct order of the planets.  I will teach them a fun acronym to help them remember the correct of of the planets from the sun.  It is...."My very excellent mother just served us nachos!"

The kids also had the privilege of meeting Ruby Bridges' mother this afternoon in the library and have a short Q & A with her.  Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to integrate into white schools in New Orleans.  The kids were very interested and asked really amazing questions.

Tomorrow (Tuesday)  we will be watching Motivational Productions.  Motivational Productions is a program that comes every year to discuss bullying and strategies to deal with the ongoing issue in schools.

If you are busy at home helping your child raise money for the K-9 Angels Rescue Foundation, please send money by Friday.

Have a wonderful week ;-)
Mrs. S