Week 11: October 30 - November 3

Reminders:
Third Grade Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:05 in the cafeteria.

Lights, Camera, Auction! Come party like a celebrity Saturday, November 4th, at the Weston Houston Memorial City. The fun begins at 7pm. Auction Tickets

Early Voting for SBISD Bond is all this week. Please vote in the school bond election. No tax increase is needed. Bond Information

We have students with allergies so please pack nut-free snacks. Snacks should be dry and healthy to promote student learning and not create a mess. 
Examples:     

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

Reading: As we continue to study story elements, including plot, we are going to begin investigating how to determine the theme(s) of text, including in works of art, and in visual media. We will be discussing the differences between plot and theme, as well as what a theme is and what it is not. (This is a difficult concept for third graders, and is on-going. This understanding is fine-tuned with consistent examples and exposure to a variety of themes with familiar text.) A theme is defined as an observation about life that is inspired by an author's text. It does not, however, consist of a single word or a command. Some examples of themes from well-known text: 
Little Red Riding Hood- Do not trust everyone you meet.
The Three Little Pigs-Hard work and patience pay off in the end.

The Third Grade Language Arts teachers were given the distinct privilege of attending a national conference called Literacy for All, thanks to our amazing PTA, and we had the opportunity to learn from some of the most distinguished educators throughout the world. A message that resonated throughout was the importance of giving our children numerous opportunities to read and write based on their interests throughout the day. Continuing these opportunities at home is crucial to growing lifelong readers and writers. Please make time to enjoy reading and writing together whenever possible! 

Writing: We will begin the week and the diminishing October days completing a piece of fictional writing that focuses on the craft of personification. Personification is the skill of giving human or "person-like" qualities to something that is not human. Third graders will be drafting, revising, and editing a persuasive piece from the point of view of a pumpkin who simply wishes not to be picked. Small guided writing groups will provide opportunities to model effective revising and editing skills.
As the week progresses, we will be working on stories from our lives and how to incorporate a variety of "craft" strategies to enhance the effectiveness. Each strategy will be introduced in the context of effective third grade writing. 

Sample of Craft Strategies

Handwriting: Third graders are developing their cursive skills by practicing daily for 5 to 10 minutes. It is a goal that our students will leave third grade writing and reading cursive fluently.

Spelling: We strongly believe that spelling skills develop by allowing our children to independently attempt words that challenge them. We are continuing to explore the six main syllable types and using syllabication to break apart more complex words using commonly used spelling rules. For example, every syllable contains a vowel. When your child writes at home, avoid spelling words for him/her; instead, allow him/her to attempt the word and look at it. Ask, "Does this word look correct? If not, try again." Praise attempts to spell independently and reread written work to notice spelling inaccuracies.

Social Studies: Third graders will use Social Studies Weekly as a reference to identify the main reasons that citizens join/thrive in communities. They will complete a visual organizer that requires supporting ideas from the text. It is an effective set of lessons that require students to justify responses with textual evidence. 

Math: This week we continue to reinforce the concepts and strategies related to subtraction. We have concentrated on "take away" and "comparing" subtractions and the difference between the two as far as wording and bar models. Take away subtraction happens when something is removed from the story in some way.  Comparing subtraction involves finding out how much larger one number is from another. Vocabulary associated with comparing subtraction includes "how many more/less", "how much less/more", and numerous comparative adjectives ending in "er" such as longer, higher, shorter, farther, heavier.  At the same time, students have practiced subtracting with multiple regroupings, including over zeros. This is difficult for some, so we will continue to reinforce this skill. This week we will introduce the third kind of subtraction known as "missing part". Given a total and a known part, students are asked to find the missing part. Often times, the word NOT is used or implied. For example...The car lot had 1,428 cars and 854 of them were clean. How many cars were NOT clean? Friday will be our usual FFF or Fast Fact Friday quiz. Please be studying every night so your child will master addition facts and then subtraction.

Science: We conclude our Matter unit this week with an assessment on Tuesday. Vocabulary cards and a unit study sheet went home a week and a half ago so students could begin studying the concepts that will be tested. Vocabulary questions will always have a word bank or will be multiple choice. Next, we will spend a few days learning about mixtures and the tools that can be used to separate their ingredients according to their properties. A mixture is defined as two or more ingredients that keep their own properties and can be separated back to its parts.

Week 9: October 16-20

Reminders:
A few parents have not yet signed up for Parent / Teacher Conferences scheduled for October 18-20. Use the links below to secure your spot. We can't wait to celebrate the successes of your child and discuss their goals moving forward.

• Duncan/Ford Signup
• Rozzell/Morphey Signup
• Badrak/Saint Val Signup 

We have students with allergies so please pack nut-free snacks. Snacks should be dry and healthy to promote student learning and not create a mess. 

Examples: 

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

Reading: Third graders know that reading is thinking, therefore the emphasis this week continues to be on how to comprehend realistic fiction text most effectively. When reading fiction, strong readers connect to the characters, identify with the various settings, and throughout following the plot, focus on identifying the problem and how it leads to a solution. This is done by studying each element carefully, making inferences, and drawing conclusions. New graphic organizers will be introduced, including a five finger visual that is tactile kinesthetic, using movement to solidify concept formation.

Writing: Personal Narratives are stories from our lives. Ralph Fletcher summed up writing  by saying, "The only easy thing about writing is...nothing!"
This quote is so true, and in personal narrative writing, this truth is emphasized. It is much more safe to write about what is outrageous than what we actually experience emotionally. As teachers and parents it is critical to model this difficult process with our children. Sharing 

experience stories takes courage, and we need to reveal our own personal stories. For example, what are you afraid of? Describe a moment when you have been scared. 
Due to time constraints, we were not able to share artifacts or important objects. We are asking that our third graders bring in a special object to share and discuss by Tuesday. We are hoping that conversations inspired by objects that we value, will lead to personal narratives that inspire our authors.

Spelling: The heart of strong spelling skills begins when writers develop a set of reliable strategies that they can utilize independently. Our continued study of syllabication and syllable types allow our third graders not only the ability to tackle basic word structure, but to feel confident tackling much more complex syllable types. Shortly, when we begin spelling assessments, these strategies will guide our studies and understanding.

Social Studies: It is exciting that students are continuing their study of Community using Studies Weekly class newspapers. They will analyze an issue and the features of a news article to better understand the significance of community involvement. They will also work on close reading skills to maximize application of positively impacting various types of communities.

Math: This week in math we are beginning a new grouping of students across the grade level. We have carefully studied the needs of our students and have regrouped to better meet those needs and ramp up the rigor for all our kids. We are excited to welcome different boys and girls into our rooms and hope they enjoy the change as much as we will. 

Regardless of class, all student will transition on to subtraction and all that it entails. We will discuss what students already know and clarify some misconceptions and errors. Students will learn the sound of a subtraction problem and determine why this operation is appropriate. Teachers will emphasize working from right to left in order to accommodate any regrouping that might be necessary. We will begin with "Take Away" subtraction, the one most students have worked with since Kindergarten. In this type, students are given a total number of items and a specific number of them are taken away. This will leave an answer called a difference.  Here is the bar model strategy that shows "take away" subtraction.

Fast Fact Friday (FFF) will occur as usual at the end of the week. Some students have shown mastery of addition and are moving on to subtraction facts. Congratulations to them! Keep studying every evening for whichever facts you will be tested on each Friday. 

Science:  We continue our study of matter by examining the molecular structures of the different common states: solids, liquids, and gases. We will follow the Scientific Method to demonstrate an important fact about all matter, that it takes up space. Even a gas takes up space, though it is difficult to see. Later in the week, a unit review sheet and vocabulary cards will go home in preparation for a test later this month.