Reading Prompts to use at home

3/28 - 4/1

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.


Math: During our math time this week, we will be wrapping up our unit on fractions. We will spend Monday reviewing equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and fractions on a number line. On Tuesday, we will be taking a fraction assessment as we finish out our unit. The rest of the week, we will begin our next unit on geometry. We will be working to identify 2D shapes. We will identify sides and vertices on these polygons. This week, we will have our usual homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We will continue to practice with money and fractions. Our fast facts quiz will be on Friday and we will have a problem of the week due on Friday. 

Science: In science this week, we will continue working on weather and begin discussing types of clouds. This past week, we discussed the water cycle and reviewed the weather tools that help our meteorologist give us information on the weather. Your child has been tracking the temperature, wind speed, and humidity in various cities. They will continue to track the weather this week. A review and vocabulary cards went home on Thursday for our upcoming weather quiz. We will take our quiz on Friday. 

Reading We transition this week from Informational nonfiction to Narrative nonfiction.  These selections are written like a story, but are about a true topic. Please look for homework coming home this week about Jessica The Hippo.  This is an excellent example of narrative nonfiction and a fun story for you to discuss with your child.

Writing- We have worked this year to implement a new framework to our writing curriculum called CCP (Consume, Critique, Produce). This week we will focus on the critiquing part of the writing process.   Students will read good and poor examples of narratives and create their own criteria for what makes a good story from your life.

Spelling Last week we used our spelling time to start work on parts of speech.  We will work the beginning of this week on parts of speech and finish the week with new spelling words.  New words come home 3/30.  Test on 4/6.

Social Studies We've launched our study on economics.  Last week we had some great discussion on needs vs. wants.  We also talked about how important it is to make a plan for how you will spend and save your money using a budget.  This week, we will focus more on how our society is a free enterprise.  Students will discuss good and poor choices they have made as consumers.

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.

The Week 2/22 - 2/26

Hello Parents! We have a very busy and exciting week!

-Tuesday, February 23rd is the Book Fair and PTA Dinner at 5:30-7:30

-Wednesday, February 24th is Breakfast with Buddies - from 7:15-8:00 your child can browse the Book Fair and enjoy a doughnut provided by Dad's Club. This day is also Duncan/Ford time to go to the Book Fair. Our class will be in the library from 9:15 - 9:45. Please send money if you would like your child to purchase any books.

-Thursday, February 25th is a 1:30 Dismissal Day - Please send a handwritten note if your child will have a change of transportation.



Math- In math this week, we will continue learning about graphs. Last week we worked on pictographs, bar graphs, and tally charts. We will finish up our study with dot plots. On Thursday and Friday, we will begin our unit on fractions. We will start our lesson with unit fractions and on Friday we will talk about non unit fractions. On Monday, you child will bring home a POTW that is due on Friday. The homework this week will be a review on perimeter, area, and graphing. The fast facts quiz will be on Friday.

Science- On Thursday, your child will be taking a quiz on the flowchart that was sent home on Tuesday. The quiz will be the exact same flowchart and your child will need to fill in the information using the word bank. Leading up to the quiz, we will continue talking about natural resources (sun, soil, plants, animals, coal, natural gas, minerals, water) and how to conserve our natural resources.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE VIDEOS

The Three R's

Going Green Song

New Reading Homework

New Reading Homework for the next few months

• ·        ONE article or selection from a story to read for homework for the week.
• ·        Three nights to complete the reading, leave tracks of thinking and answer the questions using evidence. 
• ·        This reading will count ONCE for the nightly reading homework assignment.
• ·        The passage should not take more than 20 minutes for your child to read independently. If you child cannot read this, please let his or her teacher know as soon as possible.
• ·        Answering the questions and looking for evidence to support his or her answers may take more time at first.  They will match the number on the questions to the numbers on the answer document.
• ·        Most weeks, the selection will come home on MONDAYS and be due in class on THURSDAYS. 

We sent an email and attached an example of a selection that we have completed in class together.  Students should also have their personal copy to share.  We also attached a copy of this week’s homework in the email sent to families.  We will not send home an electronic copy each week.  We decided it important this week, since it is our FIRST time with this type of homework.

We work hard to find articles on a variety of topics and interests in hopes to make this an engaging homework piece for your child.  Who knows it might even spark a topic of conversation at the dinner table!

Thanks for your help,
Tara Childers
Omi Ford
Laura Jackson

The Week of 2/16-2/19

Parent Reminders and Information: We will be going to the Museum of Natural science on Friday, February 19.  Students WILL return in to campus in time for lunch.  Please make sure you have sent your child's permission slip back to his or her homeroom teacher.

Language Arts
Reading- Last week we poured our hearts into figuring out how to take notes on an FQR chart using non fiction texts.  Now that we are much better with that skill, we will look at the facts we recorded and learn if they are interesting or important to remember as a reader.

Writing- Students did a great job learning about types of leads and trying them out on the narrative they have chosen to take through the writing process.  We will work more this week on learning about the difference between editing and revising as we work with our narrative stories.

Spelling/Word Work- Test 2/17.  We will take an application grade of spelling patterns and concepts 2/18-2/23.

Social Studies- Test will come home, 2/16 to let you know how your child did on his or her Story of America, Part One assessment.    

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- In math this week, we will continue working on graphing. Your child will be working on created pictographs, dot plots, bar graphs, and tally charts. We will be transferring the data from tally charts and pictographs and putting the information into a bar graph or dot plot. Your child will have a homework worksheet on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Our fast facts quiz will be on Friday. We will NOT have a problem of the week. 

Science-During our science time, we will continue studying about natural resources. We will learn where our daily resources come from. On Tuesday, your child went home with a Natural Resources flow chart. We will be taking a quiz next week on this information. Your child will be receiving a blank chart and they will be expected to fill in the missing information.