Week 12: November 7 - 11

Reminders for November 7-11:

11/7 - Third Grade Recognition Ceremony at 11:00 in the Discovery Center - we will be recognizing students who receive attendance or honor roll awards based on their 1st 9 weeks report card.  Parents and family members are welcome to attend.

11/8 - Election Day at HCE - 

Please pack a nut free lunch this day.  

We will be eating in our classrooms 

while voting is taking place in the cafeteria.

11/11 - Veterans Day Program at 9:00 in the cafeteria - please have your child wear red, white, and blue. Progress Reports for the 2nd 9 weeks will be sent home this day.

Reading:  Students will start to learn to notice when they infer while reading.  Inferring is something we do ALL the time.  You notice that your friend isn’t as talkative and you ask what’s wrong.  You see a picture of people bundled up and comment that the weather must have been cold.  These sorts of thoughts are what we call an inference.

In third grade, we use our schema (background knowledge), plus text clues to help us make an inference about characters, settings and events in the stories we read.  Some sentence stems we use to help us organize our thinking are:

I see (or I read) ________________________.  I know ____________________.  So, I can infer_______________________.

Writing: We’ve worked hard to understand the structure needed to share a story worth telling and writing.  The next few weeks we will begin to dig into mentor texts to examine author’s craft (the author’s style of writing). Each day we will either focus on a particular author or craft and to read, notice, analyze and then try to apply in our own writing.

Spelling: Spelling words went home on 11/2.  Spelling test on 11/9.  An application of spelling grade will be given sometime between 11/10-11/22, so please keep practicing words at home.  We don’t want students to just memorize words, but we hope they will internalize spelling patterns and begin to apply them in their daily work.

Social Studies: HCE students will participate in our first book election.  Our two candidates are the Book of the Month stories – Fine, Fine School and “Let’s Get A Pup!” said Kate.  Students will individually vote electronically on November 8 and the winner will be on the morning announcements on Wednesday, the 9^th. The winning book will be displayed in library! 

Students will also be practicing for and performing in a Veteran’s Day performance this week.  This a wonderful way to learn about and honor the men and women who defend and protect our country.  This will help us move into our work on Good Citizen’s for the rest of the 9 weeks grading period.

Math: On Monday, your child will take their subtraction test to finish our subtraction unit. We will continue to practice subtraction in class with our daily problem solving as well as through homework. The rest of the week we will begin learning about rounding numbers. We will round two and three digit numbers to the nearest 10 or 100. Along with rounding, we will also learn strategies for adding and subtracting rounded numbers.

Examples:

Numbers rounded to the nearest 10: 24 is rounded to 20. 78 is rounded to 80. 312 is rounded to 310.

Numbers rounded to the nearest 100: 345 is rounded to 300. 876 is rounded to 900.

We will have a problem of the week come home on Monday and it will be due on Friday. Please study fast facts daily. A review worksheet will come home on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Science: In science this week, we will learn about mechanical energy and thermal energy. We will review kinetic and potential and discuss examples of what each type of energy looks like. As a class we will go to the playground and discuss when potential and kinetic energy is used while we are on the playground each day. We will have groups discussing when potential and kinetic energy is used on the swings, slide, monkey bars, soccer, and football. For thermal energy we will discuss the sources of heat that we use and things that are insulators and conductors.

October 19th - 23rd

Week of October 19th - 23rd

We have lots of news for this upcoming week! 

1) Thursday and Friday are Noon Dismissal Days. Please send hand written notes if your child will be going home a different way from these two days. We look forward to meeting with each of you during our conferences. Please remember to arrive on time as we have back to back conference times. 

2) Socktober Week is this week - remind your child to wear CrAzY socks all week! Our Leadership Council is collected items to donate to the Mission of Yahweh. We are needing items such as: socks, underwear, disposable diapers, and deodorant. 

MATH
Last week in math, we wrapped up our study of rounding. We will continue working on rounding in our daily warm up problems. We discussed how rounding can be applied in many real world situations. I challenge you to ask your child to round the price of items or the amount of items you would need on your next visit to the grocery store. Rounding is a useful tool! This week, we will begin our next unit on subtraction. We will start our week with subtracting without regrouping. Throughout the week, we will subtract in the thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones place. You can expect a Problem of the Week to come home on Monday and it will be due on Friday. A review worksheet for place value will come home on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Friday, your child will complete a fast facts quiz with addition and subtraction - this will be for a grade.

SCIENCE
On Friday, we completed our unit on Matter. This week we will begin learning about mixtures. A mixture is when two or more substances are combined. I always imagine trail mix as an example. You are able to mix peanuts, M&M's, almonds, cashews, raisins. These things are mixed together, but can easily be taken apart.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading

This week we will wrap up our work on character traits.  Students have been compiling a great list of words to use when describing a character in a story based on what they are thinking or how they are behaving.  We've been mapping, together, how a character changes throughout a story.  This week, students will try this learning on their own during independent reading.

Writing

For many weeks we will discuss narrative structure.  To the right, you will see an example anchor chart used in the classroom to help us move from thinking about the beginning, middle and end of a story and move into thinking about the superstructure of a narrative.  Words and ideas like setting the stage, initiating event, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution will be words that 3rd graders will learn and then be expected to use during discussions on mentor texts.

Word Work

Last week students took their first spelling tests and did very well.  This week, we take an application grade and introduce a new spelling pattern.  You are welcome to continue practicing at home.  We will continue to practice 10-15 minutes each day in class.  Teachers cannot email or post spelling lists due to copyright issues.  Please talk to your student about the importance of keeping up with and bringing home their spelling practice list.  

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 and last we review many landforms that are, hopefully, familiar to our students.  

The BIG idea in social studies that we will try to drive home 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

We've used this video and songs to help us remember the different types of landforms.

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Week of 10/4-10/9

NEWS-- This week is Generation Texas Week.  We will spend the week focusing on discussions about why and where we might want to continue our education after high school.  
From Mrs. Glass--

This week, in class, students will be researching different colleges and learning what each school has to offer and what makes the school special.  They will hear their teachers explain why they chose their college and we will have activities all week relating to post-secondary education and careers.  It’s never too early to think about the future! 

Please spend some time this week with your child talking about the importance of college and their career goals.  Take some time to tell them about your experiences! 

Thanks and Gig’ em!

Allyson Glass

READING AND WRITING

We will continue to combine our work in Reading and Writing Workshop this week.  While students read independently this week, I will pull small groups of students to work on a variety of reading strategies and skills.

Last week, we shared some folktales together and discussed how many cultures have used these stories as a way to teach or explain things to people (folk). This week, we will dive into the genre of myths.  Myths are stories that seek to explain, like folktales, but they focus on explaining the beginning of the world or human behavior. As students work with folktales this week, they will continue to track their thinking using symbols and sticky notes. These tracks in our text allow us to notice how an author is engaging his or her audience.  We will eventually apply these findings to our own craft of writing.

WORD WORK/SPELLING

This Wednesday will be our kick-off of our Spelling, vocabulary and word work program, Words Their Way.  Your child will be introduced to a new spelling sort on Wednesday, in class.  Home-study is optional this year.  We will send each child home with a HOME-STUDY MENU and a copy of his or her words for the next 10 days.  Students will spend 10-15 minutes each day practicing their new pattern (sort) in class to prepare for their first spelling test on Wednesday, October 14.  Due to copyright law, I am unable to post spelling words/lists to the blog or email them to you.  If you would like to help your child practice at home, please let him other know to bring home a copy of their words for at home practice. I will do my best to encourage such choices in as we prepare our homework each day.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin to wrap up our study on Community, Citizenship and Government. We will continue to talk in class about how the United States government is set up.  There is a RED review sheet coming home this week to help students prepare for our first Social Studies test.  Our first Social Studies test on Community and Government will be on Tuesday, October 13.

MATH
Last week in math we wrapped up our unit on addition. We finished our week off with a review of expanded form and notation and comparing three or more digit numbers. This week, we will begin our study of rounding. On Monday, we will discuss what rounding is and how it can be used in our daily lives. On Tuesday, we will round two digit numbers to the nearest 10. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will round three digit number to the nearest 10 and 100. To end our week, we will have a problem solving day of using addition with estimation. The homework for the week will include: review worksheets on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, Problem of the Week due on Friday, and study math facts. This week, the math facts won't be taken as a grade.

SCIENCE
Last week in science, we completed reflections over our properties of matter lab. We began studying how to classify matter. This week, we will continue learning about the states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. We will complete multiple demonstrations that will help our understanding. On Wednesday you can expect a Matter Study Guide to be come home. During our class time, we will work on vocabulary cards that can be used as another tool to study for the science test. The science test will be given on Friday, October 16th. Please study a few minutes every night. 

Below are links to a few States of Matter games that we have played in class:

Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Solids, Liquids, Gases 2

Math\Sci Week of Oct 15th

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 not be recorded this week in the gradebook.  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.  We had fun studying for the test playing Matter Jeopardy and Matter Game-board Bonanza!  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   

Math and Science for the Week of April 2nd-5th

Parents,

WOW!  April is already here!  I am loving this Spring weather.  The warm weather always puts a little spring in my step ;-)

This will be a fast and furious four day week.  This week in Math we are finishing up our study on rounding by having a Rounding and Estimation Quiz on Monday.  By Tuesday we are moving on to Probability and the vocabulary of impossible, likely, unlikely, and certain.  Probability is the chance an event will occur.  If there are 4 boys and 2 girls in a group then the "chance" that I will pick a boy is likely because its chances are 4 out of 6 and better than the girls chances which are 2 out of 6.

Watch this nine minute video that explains EXACTLY what your child will need to know!



To get ready for the STAAR, we will also be reviewing pictographs this week and answering word problems that have to do with reading those pictographs.  Look for those types of problems for Wednesday nights homework!

In Science this week, we will be closing up our unit on the Solar System.  On Tuesday, we will play Jeopardy on the Activ Board to review all needed to know concepts that will be on the TEST.  The test will be Wednesday for both of my classes.  The kids have really enjoyed making 2-D models, posters, etc...for this unit of study.  I have also learned so much about this fascinating universe and find myself constantly in awe!  This has really been a fun unit.



I hope everyone enjoys their three day week coming up and has a "good" Friday ;-)

Love, Mrs. S

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