November 4, 2016

Dear Families,

It was a great week in third grade.  Our Halloween parties were a lot of fun!  Seeing everyone dressed up was great.  Thank you to everyone who was able to donate food, drinks, etc.  Your generosity is very much appreciated.

Math:  

In math, we used unifix cubes to show 10 groups of different multiples.  They looked for patterns while investigating “groups of.”  Students used these models to write mathematical equations.  In addition, students used arrays to actively discover the relationship between repetitive addition, groups of, and multiplication.  At home, students can still practice their basic addition and subtraction facts.    

Spelling:

Remember to look for your child’s new list on Friday!  Students should practice their words during the week for their spelling tests on the following Friday.  They can use any of the activities listed on the sheet we provided or they may use spellingcity.com at home.

                           

Reading:  

Students are finishing their fluency unit by reading scripts from short plays.  They are having so much fun learning how to use different voices and lots of expression as they read aloud.  We will be starting with reading comprehension skills in the upcoming weeks.

Writing:

Students will be sharing their narratives with their classmates as they complete their final copy. We are also learning how to write summaries for books we have read in class. Soon, we will learn how to take notes from nonfiction books as we prepare for our next unit on information writing (reports).

Social Science:

The students are beginning to investigate how the environment impacted the lives of the Eastern Woodland Native Americans.  We’ve been discussing how the Native Americans utilized trees in a wide variety of ways.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

October 28, 2016

Dear Families,

It was great to see many of you at parent conferences!  If you would like a conference and did not schedule one, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.

Math:  

This week, we continued to investigate the relationship between repetitive addition and multiplication.  Students calculated the cost for arrays of stamps.  Also, they used a clown fish named Chloe to find the length, height, and widths of other items.  We will continue to build proportional reasoning during unit two.  Please remember that students should still practice their math facts!

                           

Reading:  

As a culmination of our unit on reading fluency, students will be engaging in Reader’s Theater.  This is an opportunity to practice the skills they have learned in class by reading scripts from plays.  It’s a lot of fun!

Writing:

Students are continuing to work with their narrative pieces.  They are building upon their drafts to make them stronger.  The next piece of writing will be informational.  They will learn to write a report by integrating it into our science unit on the Rain Forest.     

Social Science:

Students have begun to investigate how the regional environment affected the culture of the Native Americans who lived there.  Next week, we will be looking more in depth at the Eastern Woodland region.

Halloween:  

As you know, Halloween is held on a Monday this year.  We will be celebrating in our classrooms from 1:00 - 1:45.  Students will be able to wear costumes at the party only.  They will have to change again at the end of the day.  We ask that students do not wear makeup or anything scary or violent (such as blood, swords, guns, etc.)   

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Curriculum Night Presentation

Here is a is link to our Curriculum Night presentation.  Thank you to all who attended! Curriculum Night Google Presentation

October 14, 2016

Dear Families,

The weather is getting colder, so we would like to remind students to wear warm clothing to school.  Many children are getting cold at recess time because they do not have a jacket to wear.  We love taking them outside, so we appreciate it very much if they have clothing that is best for the weather.  Thank you for your support!

Math:  We just finished our first math unit, Addition & Subtraction Patterns.  Next week, we will start unit 2, Introduction to Multiplication.  Students should continue practicing their addition and subtraction facts at home.  

Spelling:  Students have spelling tests once a week.  Students should practice their words at home as well.  They can do the optional spelling activities and/or use Spelling City at home.  We use Spelling City at school, and students really enjoy it!                                         

Writing:  We have been continuing with our personal narratives.  The students are currently in the drafting process.  We’ve been discussing the key components that their narratives should have, as well as using our “storyteller voice” to make the piece more interesting for our audience.  

Reading:  This week we have focused on reading fluency which includes phrasing, rate, expression, accuracy and paying attention to punctuation marks.  Later on, they will participating in Reader’s Theater where they will be able to practice what they know about reading fluently.  We’ve also been writing journal entries about the Red Clover books that we’ve read.

Parent Conferences: Parent conferences start next week.  Please contact me if you would like a conference and have not already scheduled one.

Curriculum Night: The third grade Curriculum night will be on Wednesday, October 19th at 5:30.  We hope to see you there!

Picture Retakes:  Picture Retakes will be on Wednesday, October 19th in the morning.  

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

October 7, 2016

Dear Families,

It was a great week in third grade.  We are learning and growing every day!

Math

Students worked on double digit subtraction strategies.  Students are learning to use number lines to break up bigger numbers into smaller chunks.  We encourage students to use “friendly numbers” when solving problems.  In Number Corner, students are looking for shape and color patterns this month.  

Writing

The students have started composing their personal narratives using their Chromebooks, which is very exciting for all of us!  The technology allows for easy editing as well as peer conferencing and teacher comments.  The students are enjoying learning how to use Google Docs.

Reading

We are going be reading Red Clover books in the upcoming weeks.  Red Clover is a Vermont-based program where books are selected by librarians and voted upon by students across the state.  

We have been working on how to retell a story from a book of choice.  Next week we will be practicing fluency in order to prepare for our upcoming Reader’s Theater unit.

Science

We are wrapping up our weather unit.  Students are now able to predict weather based on cloud types.  In addition, students are able to decide what clothes to wear in different climates.  Students will continue to gather temperature and precipitation data for their international locations for the rest of the school year.   Our next unit will be Forces and Motion.  Most classes will start this unit later this year.

Social Science

Ms. Wright’s class made a mural of the Eastern Woodland Indians. It is hanging in the hallway and looks great!  Next week we will start learning about the Plains Indians.

Curriculum Night The third grade Curriculum night will be on Wednesday, October 19th at 5:30.  We hope to see you there!

Picture Retakes:  Picture Retakes will be on Wednesday, October 19th in the morning.  

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

September 30, 2016

Hello Families,

It’s hard to believe it’s already the last day of September.  We’ve enjoyed getting to know students academically and socially.  We have good information to help us plan our instruction and create learning groups to maximize learning.  We would like you to be part of this process.  There are two ways you can do this in the month of October.

First, we hope you’ll attend our curriculum night.  On Wednesday, October 19 at 5:30pm we will be presenting information on our third grade curriculum.  

Second,  we will be holding conferences in October that we hope you’ll attend.  It gives us an opportunity to discuss individual goals and ask and answer questions.  Please look for a Sign-up Genius coming soon.    

Finally, we hope your child is sharing all the amazing learning that has been happening.  If not, be sure to ask them about the following:

• Opinion writing prompt
• 2-digit addition strategies
• Climates around the world
• Weather Wednesday
• Indian in the Cupboard
• Choice Time

Have  a great weekend!

The Third Grade Teachers

Third Grade News, Edition 3

Dear Families,

It was a wonderful week in third grade.  Students were very busy!  We are settling into our routines and making great progress.  

Literacy: We have completed the reading assessments for all students on our team!  We look forward to using this data to help us personalize your child’s reading instruction.  Next week, we will begin drafting our personal narratives.  Just a reminder that reading graphs are due every Friday.  Thank you for your support!

Math: This week, we continued to practice our addition and subtraction strategies.  We played some great games that reinforced these strategies.  Students can continue working on their basic computation skills at home.  Students have access to Fastt Math and DreamBox through our school website.  The username is your child’s first and last name capitalized (ex. KerriWallis) and the password is math.

Science - We started our “Weather Wednesday” this week.  Students collected temperature data for Hinesburg and an international location.  They will collect data throughout the school year.  At the end of the year, we will take a look at this data and analyze it.  We also learned how to identify different types of clouds, so that we can predict weather.  Students should be looking for these different cloud types in the sky!

Social Science:  Ms. Wright’s class is learning about the Eastern Woodland Indians’ homes called longhouses.  Many families lived in one longhouse together.  Ask your child what else they know about this subject!

Fundraiser

If your child is participating in the Genevieve’s Fundraiser, it is due back to school by October 5th.

PIE Morning Mingle: It was very nice to see parents at the PIE breakfast on Thursday.

Thank you for attending if you were able to do so!  We know how difficult it can be to go to events first thing in the morning!

Drill: We had our first evacuation drill on Thursday.  Our students did an excellent job!  They must remain quiet walking all the way to the church which is not an easy task!  

Have a great weekend!

The Third Grade Teachers