January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017

Dear Families,

This week, we have started our rainforest unit of study!  Your child has selected a rainforest animal to research. They will be gathering information to write a report, creating a map to show where their animal lives, and making a paper stuffed animal.  The unit will culminate with an open house and musical performance. We are trying to solidify a date for our rainforest open house, which will likely take place on the week we return from February break.  Once the date is set, we will send out the date and time.  

Literacy

The students have been continuing to practice reading nonfiction texts to gather information.  The students have each selected a rainforest animal to study, and we’ve been discussing how to use reference materials and the internet to research their animals.  The children have been putting those research skills to use by taking notes and transferring those notes into a report-style document.  

Math

This week, the students took their mid-year district math assessment, called the CRAM.  The students worked hard, and we are proud of their perseverance.  

Science

In science, we have begun our ecology unit, which has a focus on the rainforest habitat.  We broadly discussed a variety of habitats around the world.  We’ve also started discussing food chains and food webs, demonstrating how energy flows from producers to consumers, ending in decomposers and beginning the cycle again.  

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Third Grade Teachers