Week 10: October 23-27

Reminders:
It is Red Ribbon Week!  Don't Worry, Be HEALTHY!  Let's all celebrate a healthy lifestyle by having some fun this week. Show your excitement each day...

• Monday - Get Fit For a BRIGHT Future - wear NEON
• Tuesday - Eat Your GREENS - wear CAMO
• Wednesday - Keep Calm and EXERCISE On - wear CRAZY SOCKS
• Thursday - Invest in REST - wear PAJAMAS
• Friday - Hair's to a HEALTHY Lifestyle - CRAZY HAIR day

Field Day is this Friday from 10:15 to 11:45. Thank you to parents for helping gather spirit items for each homeroom team. Students should wear their team color. Come cheer everyone on!

• Badrak Blue Jays (blue)
• Duncan Deer (camo)
• Ford Felines (orange)
• Morphey Mountain Lions (brown)
• Rozzell Rhinos (red)
• Saint Val Sharks (purple)

Classroom Spelling Bees are this Friday morning from 8-10. Good luck to all students as they try to spell their way to the schoolwide bee!

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 4 at the Weston Houston Memorial City. The fun begins at 7pm. Auction Tickets

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

Math: We continue our study of subtraction all this week. Students will use concrete and pictorial models before learning the abstract algorithm to understand subtraction across zeros. This is often confusing and we will spend enough time on each one to assure understanding. 

        

We will compare addition and take away subtraction word problems and distinguish the way they each sound. By the end of the week, students will also know how to recognize comparative subtraction and how different it sounds from the take away type. 

Take away subtraction is the type of subtraction our students have seen since first grade. Given a total number, a part is taken away leaving a part called a difference. It sounds like this:  327 birds sat on the power line. If 167 of them flew away, how many were left?  

Comparing subtraction is when one is asked to find the difference between two numbers. Often the question asks "how many more" or "how much more". Also, students will look for "er" or comparative words like fewer, longer, heavier, farther. It sounds like this: A trip to Dallas is 250 miles. A trip to Austin is 166 miles. How much farther is it to Dallas than to Austin?

Please remember to study for FFF this Friday. Our goal for everyone is to master addition and subtraction and make it to multiplication by the end of December.

Science: This is our final week to study Matter. We will focus on what it takes to change from one state to another. Students know that it is all about the molecules! Adding and taking away heat energy changes the molecules and therefore the phase of matter. Students will put their knowledge to a test in what we call "The Great Ice Cube Race". Vocabulary this week will include melting, evaporation, sublimation, condensation, and solidify. A good review of basic matter information is BrainPop Jr.  Our user name is sbspecial and the password is sbisdbp. The unit test on Matter is Tuesday, October 31. Vocabulary cards and a study guide went home last week.

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.