March 7-11

Parent Reminders and Information:  
We encourage parents and families to save the date and join the third grade team from 6-7p.m. on Wednesday, March 30^th for our STAAR Night in the HCE Library.  During this time, we will discuss:

·         The purpose of the test and its results

·         Level of Expectation on each test using sample questions

·         Strategies being taught in the classroom

·         How to support your child at home

·         General Information about the test itself including:

a.    Schedule: Dates/Times

b.    Format of the test

c.    Timeline for results

We will close the time together with a Q&A session for parents and families. We appreciate your support at home as, together, we continue to build strong mathematicians and readers.

Language Arts

Reading- This week we will continue our work on writing and revising summaries with non-fiction.  

Writing-  Students will put their narratives on hold as they work to publish pop up books this week on the Scientist and Inventors we have learned about in Social Studies.  I love it when we can combine our reading skills, writing skills and knowledge from Social Studies to create!  We will share our pop-up books at Publisher's Picnic in May.


Spelling/Word Work- We will take spelling application grades March 7-11.  During stations on Fridays, I've taught everyone how to play scrabble.  After a few weeks of practice it has been fabulous to see who can apply their spelling vowel patterns to help them build and create words.  Here's a snapshot of one of our boards and the group of kids who worked hard to create these words.  BIG WORK!

Social Studies-   I can't wait for your to read their work on these people; Jonas Salk, Maria Mitchell, Cyrus McCormick, Bill Gates, and Louis Pasteur.

Math- In math this week, we will continue studying about fractions. On Thursday, we began our units on fractions. We discussed the different parts of a fraction. On Friday, we worked with non-unit fractions. This week, we will continue practicing drawing and writing fractions. 

The homework this week will be a review of addition, subtraction, and fractions. We will NOT have a problem of the week. Please note that the Fast Facts Quiz will be on Thursday.

Science- During our science time this week, we will wrap up our discussion on generating electricity. Last week, we learned the steps that are involved for us to turn on the light. The next unit we will be starting is weather. We will learn about weather tools and your child will be in charge of tracking weather during our unit. They will be assigned a different city around the United States and they will work on noticing the weather patterns. 

February 29-March 4

Parent Reminders and Information: We have a busy week ahead!

Monday-Thursday of this week students may bring money to purchase tickets for the FAMILY FAIR raffle.  Students will have a chance to place their tickets in containers for a chance to win a prize.  Prizes announced and sent home on Friday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week students will take the Math and Reading Practice STAAR tests.  Students can expect to see many concepts which have been covered this year and preview a few concepts upcoming in our lesson plans.  We will NOT look at students overall test scores on these practice tests, but will reflect on which concepts students know well and which areas still need classroom reinforcement and instruction. There are 40 days of instruction that remain before the real STAAR tests given on May 9 and May 10. The practice tests will give teachers diagnostic information to help guide our upcoming instruction both in large and small groups.

Wednesday HCE will also celebrate READ ACROSS AMERICA day as we celebrate the life and work of Theodore Geisel, Dr. Seuss.  Our fifth grade students will be presenting projects and reading stories from this beloved author.

Thursday notes are due if you are going to change your child’s transportation for FAMILY FAIR.  Complete  THIS FORM  and return it to your child's homeroom teacher by March 3rd.  We will not be able to make changes the day of the Family Fair.  

Friday We will work to have a normal day of instruction. Raffle winners will be announced.  Forms turned in on Thursday, March 3rd will guide our dismissal for this day.  Family fair will be on the HCE field from 3p.m.-6p.m. :)   

Language Arts

Reading- We will finish our work determining importance in non fiction.  Students will use their notes of interesting vs important facts to create focused summaries on their reading.

Writing- Students have been doing a SUPER job finalizing their narratives or stories from my life.  This week, we will practice giving and receiving feedback from others to make sure that our stories reach all readers.

Spelling/Word Work- Due to PSTAAR on Wednesday, our spelling tests this week will be on THURSDAY, March 3.  We will take spelling application grades March 4-11.

Social Studies-   Students will work to create their Social Studies project for this 9 weeks, a flip book on INVENTORS and SCIENTISTS.  This project will be completed in class and shared with you at Publisher's Picnic!   Students always work extra hard when they know their audience and stage is publisher's picnic.  I can't wait to read their reflections on these peoples work; Jonas Salk, Maria Mitchell, Cyrus McCormick, Bill Gates, and Louis Pasteur.

Math- In math this week, we will begin our unit on Fractions. We finished graphing on Friday. On Thursday, we will dive into unit fractions and on Friday we will begin learning about non unit fractions. Due to Practice STAAR, the only homework for math this week will be to study fast facts. My hope is to see every student pass the Fast Facts Quiz they are on. We have many who have made their way through multiplication and they are on to division. Keep up the great work! 

Science- During our science time this week, we will discuss fossil fuels and learn how they help us generate electricity. We will review a diagram of a power plant and discuss the stages of generating electricity. 

If you plan to visit your child at lunch, please note the change in lunch times:
Monday and Friday: 12:00 - 12:30
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 12:40 - 1:10

We encourage parents and families to save the date and join the third grade team from 6-7p.m. on Wednesday, March 30^th for our STAAR Night in the HCE Library.  During this time, we will discuss:

·         The purpose of the test and its results

·         Level of Expectation on each test using sample questions

·         Strategies being taught in the classroom

·         How to support your child at home

·         General Information about the test itself including:

a.    Schedule: Dates/Times

b.    Format of the test

c.    Timeline for results

We will close the time together with a Q&A session for parents and families. We appreciate your support at home as, together, we continue to build strong mathematicians and readers.

2/8-2/12

Note to Parents: With the upcoming excitement of the Super Bowl, we have had an increase in students bringing football and baseball cards to school.  Students have been distracted in class and had some trouble on the playground "dealing and trading" cards.  We ask that you please have your child keep his or her cards at home. 

Language Arts
Reading- While continuing to read non-fiction this week, readers will learn a helpful strategy called determining importance.  As we read texts we will stop, think and discuss what important in important to the text rather than simply interesting.  While this sounds simple, it's a more challenging skill for third graders as they have to set aside their personal opinions and think about the information, just the facts! 

Writing- We are continuing to finish up our work on narratives.  We will focus on getting our own personal narratives on paper and practicing many different types of leads to help our readers get hooked into our stories.

Spelling/Word Work- Application grades will be taken 2/4-2/9.  New words will go home 2/10. Test 2/17.

Social Studies- Students should use the review study sheet for our first assessment on Tuesday, 2/9/16.  They can also use our newspaper, journals and online resource (www.studiesweekly.com) to prepare for our test.  

We've started the second half of our study and have learned about the life and work of Louis Pasteur.  We will also be learning about Jonas Salk, Bill Gates, Maria Mitchell, Henry Ford, and Cyrus McCormick.  You can reference the SOCIAL STUDIES WEBSITES page on this blog for more information and reading.

Math- This week in math we will be diving into graphing. We are still studying pictographs, bar graphs, tally charts, and dot plots.  The students will be taking information in tally charts and pictographs and creating bar graphs and dot plots to match the information.  A test question to access this skill might look like this:

The dot plot graph looks like this:

  

A math worksheet will come home on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night. The Problem of the Week will come home on Monday and will be due on Friday. Please continue to study every night for the Fast Facts quiz. 

Science - We will be moving on to Natural Resources in Science.  All students will discuss and learn examples of renewable and non renewable resources and where they originate from.  Students should come to discover that most non-renewable resources come from under the earth.  We will merge into conservation and recycling next week.

Update for 3/9-3/13 from Mrs. Ford

READING
This week we will finish up our review of inferring with fiction texts and move into thinking about how to create a summary of a fiction text.  We will introduce a strategy called CPR.  Students will learn that there are some necessary elements to include in a summary- characters, problem, resolution.
 
WRITING
Your children have written some FABULOUS expository essays.  This week we will finish up revising and editing these pieces so we can publish them to share with you at Publisher's Picnic.
Mrs. Bolton, our WITS instructor, will be back with us this week.  We all love the fresh new ideas she brings to our instruction and learning.  

SPELLING
The spelling homework menu is due on the following Tuesday (3/10) and the test will be on that Wednesday (3/11).  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
All third graders will take a quiz on 3/10 on the inventors, scientists and founding fathers we have covered over the last few weeks.  Please encourage your child to bring home his or her social studies journal.  They have been working hard to complete guided notes on each historical figure.  You can also reference the Social Studies Links page on this blog for more information.

HOMEWORK
Thank you for supporting good study and reading habits at home. 

LA and SS 3/2-3/6

READING
Your kids have done a great job reviewing nonfiction features over the last few weeks.  Last week we reviewed the concept of theme in reading.  What lesson or message does a book teach us?
This week we will work on reviewing inferring.  Our biggest challenge this week will be to have students work to find text evidence to support their inference.
WRITING
Your children have written some FABULOUS expository essays.  This week we will learn some new and revisit some old revision techniques as we prepare to finalize our essays.  We will have them published and ready to share with you at Publisher's Picnic.
Last week we had a great time on our WITS field trip to the Menil.  We responded to the art and poetry we were able to take in at this unique venue.  I was so proud of how well the kids were ready to try anything that they author's put in front of them.  Their writing from our WITS experiences will get turned into a published collection that we will also make sure is take home ready by Publisher's Picnic.
SPELLING
Spelling lessons start back this week.  Please look for NEW words to come home on Wednesday.  The spelling homework menu is due on the following Tuesday (3/10) and the test will be on that Wednesday (3/11).  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
We are finishing up our study on the Story of America.  Students will create a project on the inventors and scientists we have covered over the last few weeks.  Then, we will finish the week with a look at our founding fathers.  All third graders will take a quiz on 3/11 on the inventors, scientists and founding fathers we have covered over the last few weeks.  Please encourage your child to bring home his or her social studies journal.  They have been working hard to complete guided notes on each historical figure.  You can also reference the Social Studies Links page on this blog for more information.
HOMEWORK
Thank you for supporting reading at home.  Your child will bring home a letter and data report sheet from our Practice STAAR Benchmark this week in the Tuesday Newsday folder.  My big focus with this data is that I want your children to notice what they have learned this year.  Then, we will work together to help them keep learning and working on reading concepts that they struggled with on the benchmark.  Many of them have been focused on the score.  I'm less concerned with scores, and more concerned with learning.
One area that most kids struggled in was endurance.  If you look at the last 8-10 questions on the benchmark, they started missing more and more questions.  I've stressed in class the importance of reading at least 20 minutes each night and will appreciate your support at home.  The letter coming home will have question prompts for you to use with your child after they read each night.

April 8-12

Language Arts
Reading
Students will continue to prep for the upcoming STAAR exam.  We will review various reading strategies (context clues, summary, predictions, author's purpose, etc.) and genres (fiction, non-fiction and poetry).  We will complete a STAAR reading practice this week during class.  

Students should be reading 20 minutes each night and completing the class blog.  

The reading homework passage will come home on Monday and should be completed and returned on Friday.

Writing
Students will complete a poetry menu.  They have working hard and written some AWESOME poems over the last week. 

Spelling
Word sorts will come home on Monday.  Homework will be due on Thursday.  We will test on Friday.  

Social Studies
We will finish TALL TALES on Monday and begin learning about scientists and inventors who changed the story of America.  We will review the life of Henry Ford and his assembly line that made automobiles more accessible and affordable.  Then, we will discuss the life of Louis Daguerre who invented the daguerreotype--  one of the first ways people were able to quickly get a picture.  We will finish up the week learning about Cyrus McCormick who invented the reaper and forever changed the way American farmers do business!

LA and SS for the weeks of 4/16-4/27

Language Arts

Reading- This week we have been fine tuning our learning to get ready to apply ALL our reading strategies on the STAAR test next week.  Students have a reading passage due this Friday, April 20th and they should be reading nightly and posting to the blog or recording their summary on a sheet of notebook paper.  

As we prepare for next week, please know that your student will need all their reading strength for the math and reading STAAR tests next week.  There will be no reading homework the week of April 23rd-27th.  I simply want your kids to rest and relax.  They need to think positive thoughts and ready themselves for success on the STAAR.

Spelling- Students will be tested on word work this Friday, April 20.  There will NOT be any spelling given the week of April 23rd-April 27th.

Writing- We are working hard to finish up our BIG 6 planet research.  Students have learned about the location, rotation, climate, appearance and other interesting facts about their planet.  As we finish our research, students will select one of three computer products to use as a way to share their new learning with others.

Social Studies

We have learned about explorers, pioneers, tall tale characters, and now scientists/inventors.  All of these people helped shape the Story of America.  Their contributions shaped our country and changed our physical, medical and economic story.  Below you will find a list of people we have discussed over the last few weeks.  We will finish up with scientists and inventors this week and then play some review games next week to solidify our learning.

Mrs. Ford's Homeroom, our book order is due this Friday, April 20th.  You are welcome to send back the paper form or order online.

Thanks for everyone's support at home!  ~Mrs. Ford

Third Grade Historical People

1.   Pierre-Charles L’Enfant (1754-1825)- A French born American builder and cityplanner. He planned and designed Washington D.C., our nation’s capital.pP.346

2.   Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)-An Italian explorer working for Spain who sailed to the Americas while trying to reach Asia from Europe. p.332

3.    William Clark and Meriwether Lewis – American explorers who, in 1803, led The Corps of Discovery in exploring the land west of the Mississippi River. They journeyed overland across North America to the Pacific Coast and back. p. 284

4.    Jane Addams (1860-1935)-The first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (1931), Jane Addams is widely known for her role in the establishment of Hull House in Chicago in 1889 which offered medical care, legal aid, language classes, music, and drama to more than two thousand needy people each week. p.68

5.   Helen Keller (1880-1968)-An American writer who had lost her sight and her hearing at 19 months of age. She was taught by Anne Sullivan. p. 119

6.   Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)-An escaped slave who used the Underground Railroad to lead more than 300 slaves to freedom. P. 118

7.    Daniel Boone (1734-1820)-An American pioneer leader who helped settle the state of Kentucky. P. 216

8.   Davy Crockett (1786-1836)-An American pioneer who served as a U.S. representative from Tennessee. Crockett fought in Texas against Mexico and died at the Alamo. P. 219 

9.    Louis Daguerre (1789-1851)-A French artist and early inventor in the field of photography. P. 386

10.       Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884)- an inventor and manufacturer who developed a mechanical harvester in 1831. p.388

11.       Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)-A French chemist known for inventing the process for pasteurization, which made milk safer to drink. p.297 

12.       Jonas Salk (1914-1995)-The American microbiologist who invented the vaccine to prevent polio. P.223

13.       Henry Ford (1863-1947)-An American automobile engineer and manufacturer. He invented the assembly line. P. 372