February 10, 2017
Dear Families,
We survived the cold, blustery weather this week! The students had indoor recess twice this week due to the wind chill. Hopefully, it will warm up next week so we can get outside.
The students began practicing for our rainforest performance in music class this week. As part of our performance, the children will make “binoculars” to wear. We will be making them from empty toilet tissue rolls, so if you have any that you can send to school, we’d love to take them off your hands.
In addition, the Student Council is collecting goods for the Hinesburg Food Shelf. Families can donate non-perishable food items along with dish soap, body wash, feminine products and toothpaste. If you would like to donate, we will have boxes outside of our classrooms to collect items until February 24th.
Math: In math, we finished unit 3, which involved addition and subtraction strategies for multi-digit numbers. The students have been practicing the standard algorithm for both addition and subtraction, which is likely the method you learned in school. We first built the conceptual knowledge, examining why this method works, prior to learning the technique. We have begun unit 4, which explores measurement. Our unit begins with a review of telling time, so that skill is a great one to practice at home. We are also exploring fractions in Number Corner as well.
Literacy: We are continuing to explore nonfiction text as a means of gathering information. We’ve linked our literacy instruction to our rainforest unit, so we read various books about the rainforest. We even discovered how monkeys are involved in the process of making chocolate! We discussed why the rainforest is important to us in our daily lives. Feel free to ask your child why the rainforest is sometimes referred to as the “lungs of the earth.” We’ve also continued writing our rainforest animal reports, which have really begun to take shape. The children are very enthusiastic, and they have loved sharing their facts with each other.
Science: Continuing with our rainforest theme, we’ve been examining interdependence among species in an ecosystem. The children created webs linking together different plants and animals, and we explored how the elimination of one species impacts other plants and animals. The students continued to work on a habitat map, which displays where their animal lives in the world. This activity helps us to link science and geography together.
Have a wonderful weekend, and stay warm!
The Third Grade Teachers
