Parents,
Well here we are, down to the last 4 1/2 days! I know it is going to just fly by, but before we leave for Winter Break we must get a few more things in.
In Math this week, we will be studying measuring again. Instead of using the United States Customary System with inches, feet, yards, and miles, we will now be measuring in The Metric System. The students will become familiarized with words like millimeter, centimeter, meter, and kilometer. We will be measuring things all around the room using The Metric System and trying to apply it to our real world. It is rather confusing for a third grader to switch back and forth between The Customary System and The Metric System. Any real world applications that you can use from home would be awesome! I remember being in Canada this past summer thinking, "I know it says 30 more Kilometers until Banff, but what does that mean?" "How far is 30 Kilometers, and how fast are we really going?!!!"
We will complete our Metric Unit study on Thursday with a Metric Quiz.
In Science this week, we will continue our study of Fast changes on the earth's surface. With last week being so incredibly busy, we only studied Hurricanes and Tornadoes in great depth. This week I hope to get into Landslides, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes. We will close our study of fast land changes and forces that shape the land on Thursday.
On Friday will be the Sing-a-Long in the morning and our Holiday Party at 11:15. Friday will be an early dismissal at noon as well. I hope every single one of you have a wonderful break and holiday with your beautiful children. It has been an easier transition to 3rd grade this year than I originally anticipated and I have you to thank for that. Thank you for all your help and support. :-)
Love,
Mrs. S
I must add that after studying multiplication and division for the last month or so, I am really proud of the effort and the understanding that these kids put forth into learning it.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Holiday Reports and Shoe In Economics
Language Arts and Social Studies Updates!
LANGUAGE ARTS
Thank you for helping your child brainstorm a winter family tradition this last week.
On Monday, students will take their prewrite and turn it into a paragraph or two to inform and entertain classmates about their holiday tradition. I will send the paragraph home on Monday. Students will NOT have spelling homework next week. Instead, they should spend Monday and Tuesday nights preparing their oral presentations. I have attached the rubric I will use to assess their presentation for your reference at home.
Due to the number of students presenting, and limited class time, students have signed up to either present on Wednesday, December 14 or Thursday, December 15.
Ford's Class Holiday Report Sign Up 2011
Skrivanek's Class Holiday Report Sign Up 2011
Reports are a fun time for us to learn more about one another and give kids a chance to shine and be the "expert" in our class. I will record the presentations on the FLIP video camera. If you would like a copy of your child's presentation, please send a labeled memory stick with your child on the day of his or her presentation. I will do my best to get you the memory stick and presentation by Friday, December 16.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We enjoyed ECON and ME videos learn more about economic concepts and vocabulary. See if you third grader and do part of the GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT ECON rap. This week, students will be put into teams and will create a SHOE business. They will design a shoe and then produce the shoe in an assembly line. Teams will then create an advertisement in hopes to get consumers interested in their product. This hands-on activity will be our culminating project for economics!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Week of December 5th-December 9th
Parents,
The time is just flying by, and we are down to the last two weeks of the first half of the year! Can you believe it? This week coming up we will have a visit in the classroom from our counselor, Mrs. Luberger. The kids will also be taking a Science Benchmark test on Wacky Wednesday.
Last week we introduced division to the kids and I thought it went really well. The kids are super excited to be learning division and are motivated to understand it. I think it makes them feels like big kids :) This week we will tackle Multiplication and Division Fact Families to see the relationship between the two. For instance, if 4 X 6 = 24, then 6 x 4 = 24, then 24 / 4 = 6, and 24 / 6 = 4. The key to writing these correctly is to remind the kids that when they are writing the multiplication equations, the smaller numbers go first. When they are writing the division equation, the larger number is always written first. Fact families is usually a concept that students catch on to rather quickly.
In Science last week, we dug into dirt and learned about Weather, Erosion, Soil, and decomposing. We had a fun time on Friday playing "The Rotten Game," and trying to predict how long it takes certain materials to decompose. This week will start a weather/ natural disaster unit. We will learn about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Landslides, and Volcanoes. We will watch some really cool "storm chaser" footage that the kids are sure to enjoy. We will try to link this learning back to last weeks concepts over weathering and erosion, and make the connection that all these things change the surface of our earth.
I'm expecting it to be a great week! Thanks for all you do.
Love, Mrs. S
The time is just flying by, and we are down to the last two weeks of the first half of the year! Can you believe it? This week coming up we will have a visit in the classroom from our counselor, Mrs. Luberger. The kids will also be taking a Science Benchmark test on Wacky Wednesday.
Last week we introduced division to the kids and I thought it went really well. The kids are super excited to be learning division and are motivated to understand it. I think it makes them feels like big kids :) This week we will tackle Multiplication and Division Fact Families to see the relationship between the two. For instance, if 4 X 6 = 24, then 6 x 4 = 24, then 24 / 4 = 6, and 24 / 6 = 4. The key to writing these correctly is to remind the kids that when they are writing the multiplication equations, the smaller numbers go first. When they are writing the division equation, the larger number is always written first. Fact families is usually a concept that students catch on to rather quickly.
In Science last week, we dug into dirt and learned about Weather, Erosion, Soil, and decomposing. We had a fun time on Friday playing "The Rotten Game," and trying to predict how long it takes certain materials to decompose. This week will start a weather/ natural disaster unit. We will learn about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Landslides, and Volcanoes. We will watch some really cool "storm chaser" footage that the kids are sure to enjoy. We will try to link this learning back to last weeks concepts over weathering and erosion, and make the connection that all these things change the surface of our earth.
I'm expecting it to be a great week! Thanks for all you do.
Love, Mrs. S
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Week of November 28th - December 2nd
Parents,
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and are well rested for the next three crazy weeks! They will be fast and furious.
This week we will be introducing division in third grade. Our study of division will begin basic, as we plan to use cubes and pictures to represent the process of dividing a larger group of things into smaller equal groups. Students will practice “acting out” the process of division. Through a mathematical story, The Doorbell Rang, students will divide Grandma’s 12 cookies equally among 12, 6, 4, and 3 friends.
Fast Fact Friday will be a grade this week. This quiz will be a combination of 10 addition facts and 10 subtraction facts. Students should continue studying facts each night. The expectation is that all of these facts are memorized by December. Starting January, students will begin studying multiplication facts.
In Science this week, we will be learning about weathering (the breaking apart of rock into small pieces) and watching a video called “Weathering and Erosion.” The students will look at all different pictures and examples of weathering and erosion on a flipchart and discover some of the most amazing landscapes that erosion and weathering create. In their journal, students will define weathering and erosion (the carrying away of weathered rock) and list the many agents of weathering: wind, water, temperature, plants, animals, chemicals, man. The student bring in a rock no bigger than a quarter for Science HW this week.
A special thank you for all you parents reading this and keeping up with the daily happenings of the classroom. It takes a village!
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and are well rested for the next three crazy weeks! They will be fast and furious.
This week we will be introducing division in third grade. Our study of division will begin basic, as we plan to use cubes and pictures to represent the process of dividing a larger group of things into smaller equal groups. Students will practice “acting out” the process of division. Through a mathematical story, The Doorbell Rang, students will divide Grandma’s 12 cookies equally among 12, 6, 4, and 3 friends.
Fast Fact Friday will be a grade this week. This quiz will be a combination of 10 addition facts and 10 subtraction facts. Students should continue studying facts each night. The expectation is that all of these facts are memorized by December. Starting January, students will begin studying multiplication facts.
In Science this week, we will be learning about weathering (the breaking apart of rock into small pieces) and watching a video called “Weathering and Erosion.” The students will look at all different pictures and examples of weathering and erosion on a flipchart and discover some of the most amazing landscapes that erosion and weathering create. In their journal, students will define weathering and erosion (the carrying away of weathered rock) and list the many agents of weathering: wind, water, temperature, plants, animals, chemicals, man. The student bring in a rock no bigger than a quarter for Science HW this week.
A special thank you for all you parents reading this and keeping up with the daily happenings of the classroom. It takes a village!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Week of November 21st
Well Parents it's going to be a short week. Thanksgiving break is already here! We will have many out of towners and many already on their travels this Monday and Tuesday. These two days we will not be covering any new material in Math/Science.
In Math, we will continue working on Paired Tables and really dig deep into the relation that they have with multiplication.
In Science we will study friction and have a fun lab on Tuesday that involves ramps and cars (and of course a little bit of friction)
If you survived the stomach bug last week, consider yourself SUPER LUCKY!! We had a LOT of kids out sick. Have your kids wash their hands like maniacs this week so you can have a sick-free holiday!
In Math, we will continue working on Paired Tables and really dig deep into the relation that they have with multiplication.
In Science we will study friction and have a fun lab on Tuesday that involves ramps and cars (and of course a little bit of friction)
If you survived the stomach bug last week, consider yourself SUPER LUCKY!! We had a LOT of kids out sick. Have your kids wash their hands like maniacs this week so you can have a sick-free holiday!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Inference Practice
We've been learning how to make an inference in class. Please allow your reader to reference the HELPFUL WEBSITES link on this site for practice with inferring. THANKS!
Inferring
To make an inference we say that the reader uses his or her background knowledge + text clues to infer. Use the following websites to practice inferring.
Inference Riddle Game
Inference Battleship
Inferring
To make an inference we say that the reader uses his or her background knowledge + text clues to infer. Use the following websites to practice inferring.
Inference Riddle Game
Inference Battleship
Monday, November 14, 2011
LA and SS for the week of 11/14
Reading: In third grade, we use a helpful equation to infer. BK+TC=I. This means that our background knowledge, plus text clues help us make an inference about characters, settings and events in the stories we read. This week we will focus on making an inference with photographs and non-fiction elements.
Writing: Students will begin writing personal narratives this week.
Spelling: Please continue to work with your student on sorting and spelling their weekly words.
Social Studies: Students will finish up their project and budget for an imaginary puppy. We will also review concepts associated with personal economics. Students will have a quiz on Friday, November 18. Please look for a review sheet to come home Monday, November 14. The quiz will consist of multiple choice, short answer, word bank and a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting consumers and producers.
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