September 26, 2015

Upcoming events...

On October 6th, the third grade will be working with Ann Schwanda (The Quilt Lady) to make quilt squares which will become a quilt to be donated. Ann and her volunteers make dozens of quilts each year that are donated to local shelters, local hospitals and families in need. This a wonderful community service opportunity for our students and we are so thankful to Ann for volunteering her time to this important work. I need a few parent helpers that morning so if you can help, please send your pink slip back this week. 

Reading

We are continuing to focus on finding just right books and building reading stamina. Students have started using post-its to track their thinking as they read. 

Writing

We have been continuing the personal narrative writing unit. We discussed the hard parts of writing and what to do when you "run out of gas". We also discussed writing more like storytellers and less like news reporters! The class is writing everyday and are really building stamina in writing as well!

Math
Last week we worked on number lines and comparing numbers. This week, we will complete chapter 1-Numeration on Tuesday, we'll review the chapter on Wednesday and we'll have our first test on Thursday.

Science/Social Studies
The students planted the Wisconsin Fast Plants this week. We are already seeing growth! Next week, students will continue to observe and record these observations in their science notebooks. In social studies, we have been studying geography and reviewing the continents and oceans.

September 20, 2015

I can't believe we have only been back in school for 8 days! The class is doing a great job with the new routines. We celebrated five birthdays this week! Happy birthday to Ava, Jonathan, Joseph, Nikolai and Avery!

Reminders:
Wednesday-No School Yom Kippur


This week...

**We will start spelling homework this week. We will create lists Monday and will have a test on Friday.

Reading
We have been working on building stamina in reading workshop. We are working on reading silently for 20 minutes in the classroom each day. I am working on doing reading inventories this week to get to know the kids reading abilities and preferences. We continued reading Justin Case for read aloud.

Writing
This week, we started the narrative writing unit. Students decorated their notebooks and we discussed the dos and don'ts of writer's notebooks. We then started discussing strategies for writing true stories. Students thought of a person and then created lists of memories that they have with that person. They chose one to write about. This week we will continue discussing strategies and will write about places.

                                          Decorating writer's notebooks!

Math
This week, we spent time learning about bigger numbers-numbers into the hundred thousands place. We reviewed place value and played a digit game. We are working on the three forms of writing numbers-standard, expanded and word. This week, we will work on number lines and comparing numbers.

Science/Social Studies
We started the plant unit in science by studying seeds and learning about the parts of a seed. We will be planting seeds this week! In social studies, we are starting a geography unit.

Week of September 15th

Hello all! Thank you so much to everyone who attended Open House! It was wonderful to meet all of you. We had a fantastic first week in third grade. The class is really getting into the swing of things. I stick to a very set schedule during the day so the kids are beginning to know what to expect. As we head into week 2, we will be getting right into the curriculum. We will begin math and reading homework this week. A note will be coming home Monday to explain weekly homework. We will begin spelling homework next week. Please make sure your child brings items to decorate their writer's notebook on Tuesday! I hope you are enjoying the long weekend!

This week:

Reminders:
No school on Monday

Reading
Last week, we spent time discussing "just right" books and how to choose them. We will continue working on this. We also completed reading inventories and made some reading goals. I am going to start reading individually with students this week so I can better know them as readers and can assist them in choosing just right books. We are reading a book called Justin Case, School, Drool and Other Daily Disasters for read aloud. The class is really enjoying it!

Writing
We have started working on a personal narrative unit. Students worked on heart maps, where they thought of "Things they Love" and can possibly use as writing topics. We will be setting up writer's notebooks this week and will begin writing about special "small moments" in our lives.

                                                            Working on heart maps!

Math
We have started unit 1, Numeration. The focus is place value and understanding larger numbers. I will be sending math homework home Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will also be setting up xtramath accounts this week and sending home that information.

Science/Social Studies
This week, we will begin the plant unit in science. We will begin a geography unit in social studies.

September 1, 2015

See you tomorrow at 3:30 for supply drop off!