Parents,

Next week will be our last full five day week of the year!  It will be the last week of Math Homework and the last week of fast facts.  In Math, we will go back to measurement.  We will be studying weight in the Customary system first with ounces, pounds, and tons.  Students will walk around the room and search for things that are about an ounce and about a pound.  Next, we will study weight in the metric system focusing on grams and kilograms. The latter part of the week we will work on capacity in the Customary and Metric system.  Students will learn about "Gallon Man!"

In Science, we will be studying about Volcanoes in honor of Pompeii and our Rome study.  We will be labeling parts of a volcano, building volcanoes out of model magic, painting our volcano, and erupting our volcano!  The kids are definitely excited about next week.  We will also learn the details of the destruction on Pompeii and read some interesting factual books about that event.  

I have definitely seem some improvement in the fast fact grades and I am so excited that the kids are really taking this oh so important skill seriously.  Please keep it up over the Summer. Your child's 4th grade Math success depends on it!

We will have Roman Numeral HW all next week and the kids wanted me to post this YouTube Video for you to enjoy with them!

Can't wait to see all of you on Wednesday at Noon for Publisher's Picnic!  It will be a beautiful event and its always one of my most favorite every year.

Love, Mrs. S

Math and Science Week of May 13th-17th

Parents,

This week will be a whirlwind of events and a little wild!  

In Math this week we are taking our previous learning about multiplying two digit by one digit numbers and we will now be applying them to WORD PROBLEMS!!!  Everyone's favorite.  You will see this in your child's HW on Monday and Tuesday night.  On Wednesday next week will work on the Problem Solving Method and Thursday and Friday we will introduce using Roman Numerals!!!  Yes!!!  This is a really fun thing to learn about because that means we are stating our Winds Of Time Unit.  Have your child look around the house for something that has Roman Numerals on it.  Their HW on Wednesday night is to bring to school something that has Roman Numerals on it.

Yes we are still doing Multiplication Fast Facts!!!  This week will be graded so STUDY, STUDY, STUDY.

In Science we are moving on to Adaptations.  This will be the last thing we study before we embark on our Winds of Time Unit concerning Volcanoes.  In the beginning of the week, we will discuss what exactly are adaptations and why do scientists believe they occur in plants and animals.  Towards the middle of the week, we will get into specific plant and animal adaptations and how these specific adaptations occur in specific habitats and help them survive in that particular Ecosystem.  We will end the week with a Brain Pop video and Quiz on Plant Adaptations.

Special happenings this week: 
1. Roman Soldier presentation in Library on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.
2. Counselor Lesson on Friday with Ms. Clifton

Have a great week!
Mrs. S

States Road Trip, Play and Book Club

There is much going on the next few days at HCE in third grade!

Today, students started on their Road-trip Across America.  We took an imaginary trip to Colorado and California.  We skied and visited Hollywood.  Then, we journaled about our excitement in our state scrapbooks.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, students will rotate to Ms. Goble and Ms. Rozzell's classrooms to learn about 4 other states.  By Friday, they will have a scrapbook full of journaled memories and souvenirs.

On Thursday, we will head to Main Street Theater to watch the play, Charlotte's Web.  This chapter book has been a class read aloud for us in Language Arts this year.  It will be exciting to see how the actors and actresses portray our favorite scenes!  We will be back on campus in time for lunch.  Please have your student wear his or her HCE t-shirt that day.

Spelling lists should still be coming home.  Please encourage your child to complete his or her homework menu by Thursday each week.  Spelling tests are on Fridays.

In Language Arts we are in full blown BOOK CLUB.  Students are reading a text with a group in their class and are responsible for working through the book in between and during meetings.  In between meetings, they look for SPARKLING or NEW words, record questions or wonderings they have and record connections.  Each week, when we meet, they present their findings and wonderings to the group for discussion.  It's always fun to see how students have grown as readers.  This type of preparation and participation takes maturity!   

Third grade will give our States Quiz May 16th.  Students are expected to know the location, name and correct spelling of 30 states. Review materials were sent home last Wednesday.  Please help your child review nightly.  This is a large amount of information and cannot be learned in one or two nights.  We will be reviewing states in class each day.  If you could please continue this review at home each night it would benefit your child!

Thank you for all you do to support learning at home!

Math and Science Week of May 6-10th

Parents,

The kids are really enjoying learning two digit by one digit multiplication.  I showed them four different ways last week to solve this kind of problem.  On Monday of this week, they will be assessed on these four different ways of completing a two digit by one digit multiplication problem.  Tuesday through Friday we will spend concentrating on the regular algorithm that they will use to solve these multiplication problems for the rest of their life.  We will start off easy with no regrouping to get the strategy down, then in the latter part of the week we will work on two digit by one digit multiplication problems with regrouping.  Obviously a child that knows their Math Facts well will be quicker at these types of problems!!!  HINT HINT!!!

We will also being doing our regular multiplication fast facts test on Friday.  This week will be recorded in the grade book.  Please make sure that you are practicing with your child at least five minutes each night.  This will make a night and day difference in their success in 4th grade Math.

In Science we just completed our Ecosystems unit.  The kids in their free time this week will be finishing up an Ecosystems project that they are working on in groups.  During Science class time, we will be moving on to discussing "Plants and How They Grow."  Our study will include plant life cycle and certain adaptations that plants make in order to survive in their particular habitat. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email!

Love, 
Mrs. S

Math and Science Week of April 30th-May 3rd

Parents,

Well we made it past STAAR week and I must say it wasn't easy!  The kids worked really hard and were exhausted.  The STAAR party on Friday was just what we needed to give our brains a break.  The three day weekend was also welcomed!

Believe it or not, this week in Math we will be gearing up for 4th grade!  The kids will learn multiple strategies on multiplying 2 digit numbers by a 1 digit number.  On Tuesday, we will be drawing out the multiplication problems on a tens and ones T-chart.  Your child will have this for HW on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday, I will teach them how to multiply a two digit number with another number that has many zeros.  They will find this trick simple and fun!  On Thursday, we will use our past knowledge of expanded notation to solve the problems using something called The Expanded Notation Method.  By Friday, the students will learn the last method called the box method.  We are teaching them many different ways for two main reasons.  The first is that they understand the true meaning of 57 x 3 and the second is that we want to give them several strategies so that they find one they are most comfortable with.  By Monday, the kids will be quizzed on all four methods and then we will move on to learning the correct algorithm that they will use in fourth grade.   It should be a fun and challenging week in Math.

For fast facts, we will be making this week interesting!  The kids will go back to their colored timed multiplication tests.  This week will NOT be for a grade.  I will give each child a verbal reminder on Monday what they specifically need to study.

In Science, we are trekking along and having a good time learning about Ecosystems and Food Chains/Webs.  This week we will review our learning about Food Chains, producers, consumers, decomposers, predators, prey, and all the things an Ecosystem entails with some fun games.  Flash cards to study went home on Friday the 26th, and the assessment will be on Friday.  The students will be required to draw and label a Food Chain on their Test.  It should be a fun week. I am glad to be back to learning and having a good time with these kiddos.

Love,
Mrs. S

STAAR WEEK is HERE!!!!

Dear Parents,

STAAR week has arrived and there will be many changes that will take place this week that we would like you to be aware of.  First off, there will be no assigned HW for the entire week.  Of course we would like to encourage you to continue to read nightly with your child and stay on top of Math Facts so that next week's scores do not suffer!

Monday, April 22
This will be our pep rally day!  It's so important that your child be present today at school so we can have one more opportunity to give clear and concise directions for the state test.  Your child will not be switching classes for the next two days (Tues and Wed).

Tuesday, April 23

The Math STAAR test will be given Tuesday morning.  Students will need to arrive at school on time,  (7:50am) having had a nutritious breakfast.  The school will provide snacks and a water bottle for each student during the test.  The reasoning behind the school providing the snack is that we need to keep the testing area clean and free of Cheetos cheese!  If your child wears glasses it is IMPERATIVE that he or she brings them to school that morning.  Students will be given four hours to complete the test.  We have modified our schedules to meet this state requirement.  Lunch will be at 12:45.  Specials will be at 1:15.  For homework  this evening, students will also need to have a good night’s rest.  

Wednesday, April 24

The Reading STAAR test will be given Wednesday morning.  Students will need to arrive at school on time,  (7:50am) having had a nutritious breakfast.  The school will provide snacks and a water bottle for each student during the test.  If your child wears glasses it is IMPERATIVE that he or she brings them to school that morning.  Students will be given four hours to complete the test.  We have modified our schedules to meet this state requirement.  Lunch will be at 12:45.  Specials will be at 1:15.  For homework  this evening, students will also need to have a good night’s rest.   They will have worked very hard over the last two days, and deserve a night to relax!

Thursday, April 25
This day will be a normal school day!  Any students that were absent on either Tuesday or Wednesday will be making up the test today.

Friday, April 26

Friday is our annual BIKE or CARPOOL to school day.  We are asking kids to help do their part to reduce pollution.  If possible, please help your student bike to school.  If this is not possible, carpooling and riding the bus to school is another way to help reduce emissions and take care of our environment. 

Thank you for all your hard work, cooperation, and support this year!

Omi Ford and Angela Skrivanek

Math and Science Week of April 15th-19th

Parents,

This week will be nothing short of a cramming session for finals!  All week long in Math we will study old concepts in whole group, partners, and alone.  In the early part of this week, we will be going over Objective 1, which covers all number sense.  The kids will be working on ordering numbers, comparing numbers, fractions, money, and place value.  On Tuesday, we will take a quiz independently over these objectives.  Towards the latter part of the week, we will be working on 3-D attributes, temperature, reading graphs and charts, area, and perimeter.  The kids have been enjoying so far working hard in pairs to be the group that receives a 100 on their review packets.  It's become quite the competition in the classroom and I am proud that the kids are taking their learning seriously.

Fast Facts will again be Addition and Subtraction.

In Science we have been studying Living and Non-Living things.  In order for something to be classified as "living," it must be alive or it must have been alive at some point.  There are three characteristics that we are using to qualify something as living:

1. It MUST reproduce
2. It must acquire or make food
3.It MUST grow/move

This discussion on living and non-living things has led us into studying habitats and ecosystems and how species in the same population have to compete for resources.

This week we will dive into the study of ecosystems a little more and how different species depend on one another and how an entire Ecosystem can be thrown off if just one of those populations in the Ecosystem becomes less/more.  Towards the end of the week, we will study food chains in a specific ecosystem and make illustrations that display the chain of events that happen in a Food Chain.  

Progress Reports will go home this Friday!

Love,
Mrs. S