December 12 -15 & this week!!

Reading:
I am assessing for the end of quarter. December 22nd marks the end of the second quarter already.
Your child still had book club and Edmodo. The students got to do their first Latin/Greek creation. The ones I have seen look really nice.

Writing:
This week we used a bit of our writing time to finish up our projects and complete other assignments as needed.

Projects:
3rd graders are presenting their 51st state project on Tuesday, December 20 @2:30 (place TBD).
Mrs. Moon and I are so proud of how hard your kiddos have been working on this project.

Thursday - Christmas party!:🎄
We will be having fun all day! However, after lunch we will begin our Secret Santa festivities. We will do our gift exchange, then the students will get popcorn, hot chocolate and we'll watch a holiday movie.
*Your child may wear festive clothes on Thursday! If they have a Christmas shirt/sweater or holiday colors, they may wear them instead of their uniform.
**Secret Santa gifts are due by Wednesday! Remember, gift tags go on the bottom - don't fill out the from section. 
Winter break is December 23-January 8.

Dec. 5-8

Reading:
On Monday and Tuesday we read fables and discussed theme using evidence to support our answers. On Wednesday and Thursday the students learned about literal and figurative (non-literal).  The students received idioms and drew the literal interpretation and the figurative interpretation.

Spelling: Students had a spelling test on Thursday. Please note that they will not receive new words until after our break.

LG: We took notes on new roots and the students will test on 12/15.

Writing: Students are finishing up their winter Goldilocks stories. They'll share on Monday/Tuesday and complete several short writing prompts.

Grammar:
We reviewed simple, compound and complex sentences and assessed on Thursday.

Projects:
The 51st state projects are turning out so well. They have been working very hard. We will be ready to present on Tuesday, December 20. We'll most likely start presenting at 2:30 - more details will come out later this week via email.

Secret Santa:
We will draw names on Monday! Please reiterate the importance and fun of keeping this a secret. We will brainstorm gift ideas. Please, keep the gift cost to no more than $5.
Your child may start bringing in their gifts right away. Please put the gift tag on the bottom of the present so nobody knows who it's to - leave the 'from' section blank. They always remember who got what gift.   This is my favorite time of year! I can't wait for all of our festivities :o)

PICTURES - there are new cute pictures posted!

Nov. 28 - Dec. 1

Reading:
This week we learned about summarizing.
LG: Students had a Latin/Greek test and will receive new words on Monday (12/5).
Spelling: Students received new words on Monday. Please note that these words should always be in your child's binder in a sheet protector if you'd like to practice with them. We will test on 12/8.

Writing:
We are writing our own winter versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Grammar:
This week we learned about complex sentences (dependent and independent clauses / subordinating conjunctions).

Projects:
Students are continuing their 51st state project. We are hoping to be done before Christmas break.

Misc:
December 22 is the last day of school before our break.
We will have a fun-filled day on the 22nd. In the afternoon we will exchange Secret Santa gifts, watch a holiday movie, and have popcorn/hot chocolate. I LOVE this time of year!!

Secret Santa:
We will have a Secret Santa gift exchange on the 22nd. I will have the students draw names on either the 8th or the 12th. Keeping a secret for too long is hard! However, I do want you to have time to get a gift. The gift limit is $5. We will brainstorm ideas and share our interests with each other the day we draw names. If you cannot purchase a gift, please let me know. Also, if you know you're going to be gone the 22nd, let me know so your child's name is not in the secret Santa drawing.  I will send out more information as this time gets closer.

Spelling

Your child will receive their new spelling words tomorrow (Monday) and will test December 8. Our testing schedule got a bit changed due to Thanksgiving break.
There will be a Latin/Greek test Thursday.

November 14-17 / 21-22

Reading:
We finished up sharing our author studies.
Students took a spelling test on Thursday. They will receive their new spelling words when we get back from Thanksgiving break.
Students took notes on new Latin/Greek and will test the Thursday we come back.
We started learning about Greek Mythology, which is always a high interest subject for 3rd and 4th graders. The stories are so interesting!

Writing:
We are finishing up our Fall versions of the Three Little Pigs. 3rd graders will share them with the kinders on Tuesday.

Grammar:
This week we learned about simple and compound sentences.

Projects:
3rd graders are moving through their 51st state projects. They are creating Google presentations, flag replicas, and a map.

Misc:
Thanksgiving break starts Wednesday. Enjoy this time off with your family! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I am looking forward to hearing about all of your adventures when your children come back.

November 7-10

Reading:
3rd graders started presenting their author studies with the class.
They had a Latin/Greek test on Thursday. They'll get new roots on Monday 11/14.
Students received new spelling words on Monday and will test 11/17.

Writing:
Students are continuing to work on their Three Little Pigs stories. We will be sharing these with the kindergarteners next week before Thanksgiving break.

Grammar:
Students continued learning about simple sentences, subject and predicate. It's been a bit tricky for some, so we did more review.

Projects:
Students are continuing their 51st state. I'm excited for the final products!

Misc:
Thanksgiving holiday break starts November 23.

Math Week Nov. 7

Hello 3rd grade families,

I hope everyone had great conferences last week! Please contact me with any questions about the report cards, we can even schedule a time to meet if you'd like. 

Lately in math we have been digging deep into multiplication and division! We have talked about lots of strategies for solving multiplication and division, including drawing equal groups, arrays, using repeated addition or subtraction, and skip counting. Now that we have a solid understanding of these two operations it's time to start memorizing our facts! So please keep up the fact practice. Just a reminder, there is a tab on my blog with all sorts of games, websites, and IXL assignments that are just for math fact practice.

The homework for this week will be: 

Monday- IXL F.3-F.13 (Pick 3)

Tuesday- IXL H.1

Wednesday- Practice test, evens

Thursday- Practice math facts

Have a wonderful week!

Oct. 31-Nov. 3

Thank you for meeting with me on Friday for conferences. It was great to see you all.

Reading:
The students continued their author studies.
We had a spelling test on Thursday; they'll receive new words on Monday.
There will be a Latin/Greek on 11/10.

Writing:
We started our own fall versions of "The Three Little Pigs".

Grammar:
We learned about simple sentences, subject and predicate.

Projects:
Students started their 51st state project.

Misc:
Check out the picture tab for some Halloween snapshots!

October 24-27

Reading:
The students started an author study this week.
There was a Latin/Greek test on Thursday. Please ensure that if your child is not performing well on these tests that he/she is studying at home.Their notes can be found in their binder. Many students are going to start completing a calendar to organize their time during the Daily 5.
There is a spelling test on Thursday 11/3.

Writing:
We learned about commas and quotations in dialogue. We also practiced choosing words for effect in our writing. We are starting narrative writing, which will include these elements.

Grammar:
The students studied verb tenses. We also learned about comparative and superlative verb and adjectives.

Projects:
We learned about Nevada in preparation for our 51st state project.

Misc:
Conferences are on Friday. A sign-up genius was sent out. I'm looking forward to meeting you all.
We are going to the book fair as a class Tuesday morning. A flyer for Family Night was sent out today (Monday).

Q1 - Fall Break - Conferences...

I hope you are all enjoying your Fall Break - I just loved having this break to spend some time with my family.

Conferences:
The first quarter of school is over already! I sent out a SignUp Genius for conferences - many of you have signed up already. If you didn't receive the invite, check your junk folder and with your spouse; if neither of you received it, please let me know. These conferences are generally pretty short. We'll just take a little time to talk about how your child is doing overall and I'll answer any questions you may have. Conferences will be held Nov. 4.

Reading:
I used most of the week prior to Fall Break to assess. Many of the groups finished their book club the week before, so they'll be starting a new book on Monday/Tuesday when we get back.
Your child will receive new spelling words on Monday and they'll assess Latin/Greek on Thursday.

Writing:
We finished up our last opinion piece on whether store-bought or homemade costumes are better. We will begin narrative writing in quarter two.

Projects:
We finished up our catapult projects on Thursday. Thank you so much for the great turn out to watch the launch. The students did a great job! & thanks again to all of the parents who helped - this wouldn't be as successful without all of your help.
Our next project will encompass maps, symbols, etc. We will learn about Nevada then create our own state. This is another project I really enjoy!

Misc:
WATER BOTTLES - please ensure your child has a water bottle. Many students do not have one so they are asking to leave the classroom quite often to get a drink. It is important that your child has a water bottle in class so that not only are they getting enough water throughout the day, they aren't leaving the classroom constantly.

Math

Hello 3rd grade families,

Last week in math we continued working on subtraction strategies, focusing on the partial difference strategy. This is most likely not the way you learned how to do subtraction so if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I made a video explaining how to do this strategy a few years back and cannot find it anywhere so I will be making a new one as soon as I can (probably fall break). If ever your student does not remember how to do their math, please just ask them to show you what they learned in class and if they cannot then let them wait to ask me the next day instead of teaching them something different. Also, if you ever want to ask me face to face to show you anything about common core or Singapore math, just make an appointment and I would love to sit down and go over it with you. The homework for this week will be:

Monday- IXL E.5
Tuesday- IXL E.6
Wednesday- practice math facts
Thursday- practice math facts

Thanks and have a wonderful week! 

October 3-6

Reading:
We've continued to review. Please remember to check your child's Edmodo.
On Thursday we had a Latin/Greek test. These can be studied at home as well as school.  Your child received new spelling words on Monday and will test on Thursday, October 13.

Writing:
We wrote an opinion paper on candy corn. On Monday, the students taste-tested it and decided whether or not it was one of the best Halloween candies. We identified facts that support our opinions. These are posted in the hall.

Grammar:
I worked with small groups to review parts of speech, while other students reviewed by completing Mad Libs.

Projects:
We worked on our catapults.

Misc:
We are almost already done with the first quarter. Time flies in 3rd grade. I am enjoying your children so much - they are sweet, funny and just a joy to have.
Fall break is coming up the week of the 17th.

CATAPULT PLAN 10/10-10/13

Monday-Wednesday 2:30-3:20 making adjustments as needed.

Thursday we will have the official launch at 2:15. The students will present information about their catapults first, then we will begin the punkin' chunkin' fun.  

On Monday and Tuesday if you are available to help the students make adjustments, we'd love to have you. 

Wednesday we'll be wrapping things up and preparing for the launch/presentation the next day; no volunteers are needed (as of right now).

Thursday we will hold the official launch. Last year I had several parents who marked the landing spots of the pumpkins with tape. If you'd like to volunteer to do this, please let me know. 

​Thank you again - this project would not be nearly as successful without all of your help. ​

-- 

Sept. 26-29

Reading:
We are reviewing this week and next. We have covered a lot of vocabulary this quarter, so we are taking the time to recap.

Students had a spelling test on Thursday and will receive new words on Monday. There will be a Latin/Greek test on Thursday 10/6 (novem/9, dec/10, cent/100, mill/1,000).

Writing:
Students finished their opinion papers on the best animal. They turned out nicely and are hanging in the hall if you happen to pass by.

Grammar:
We learned about adverbs this week. Some students are still struggling with the parts of speech, so we will review again next week.

Projects:
As supplies were being gathered for our catapults, we had some project time to "spare", so we learned a little bit about magnets, which is another 3rd grade standard.

Please check your email - we are going to start building on Tuesday. If you are able to help out, please let me know. We need all the extra hands we can get.

Misc:
We started Flashlight Wednesdays (we are trying to come up with a better name). They all got their own flashlight and we read with the lights off. It's super fun (check out the picture tab).

Pajama day was great - thank you all for the donations. The students always look so cute in their jammies.

Fall Break is the week of October 17.  I hope you all have something fun planned.

Math

Last week we wrapped up working with mental math to solve addition and subtraction problems. We then started reviewing the partial sum strategy. We also began preparing for subtracting by reviewing negative numbers. This week the homework will be:

Monday- Subtraction and combos to 10, 100, and 1,000, back

Tuesday- Subtracting over combos of 10, 100, 1,000, back

Wednesday- Subtraction page, back

Thursday- Subtraction page, back

Thanks and have a great week!

Mrs. Neal

Sept. 19-22

Reading:
This week we learned about first and third person point of view.
The students received new spelling words and took a Latin/Greek test on Thursday. They will test on spelling 9/29.

Please remember to check your child's Edmodo. This is where you will find their weekly reading grades.

Writing:
We continued writing opinion papers. We are writing about the best animal, using evidence to support our opinion. The students will be typing these - they are turning out nicely.

Grammar:
This week we learned about verbs. The students identified all the verbs they could within a busy picture.

Projects:
The students finished up, for the most part, their catapult prototypes. We spent Wednesday and Thursday sharing our prototypes and giving/receiving feedback on how to improve it when we build the full size catapult. Students typed up supply lists and we will begin gathering those supplies this weekend. Many of you mentioned having supplies around your house; I'll send an email out to all of you so I have a good idea of what I still need to get. We will start the building process very soon. I'll send an email as soon as we have that all squared away.

Misc:
Thanks again to Mrs. Sheldon-Davis and Ms. Darity - PE is super fun for our kiddos.
Check out the picture tab!
Picture day went well. As always, I love the dedication to our kiddos on picture day. It is not an assembly line where students quickly take a mediocre picture. Volunteers doll-up our children and Susan Robertson takes several pictures to ensure a good shot. We are lucky!

Math

Hello 3rd grade families, 

This week in math was all about mental math with addition and subtraction. We reviewed a couple different strategies, one of which was making a ten or hundred. We also reviewed all the combinations to make ten, one hundred, and a thousand (which are VERY helpful to know). 

One of the biggest setbacks at this point for addition and subtraction is not knowing math facts. Think of it like reading, if you couldn't read single words, how could you read whole stories and comprehend what you just read? Same goes for math, if you can't quickly recall your math facts, how can you move on to larger numbers and use addition to solve problems? We are at the point now that we want our students to be fluent in their math facts so they can focus on bigger things. With this in mind, please remind your students that they need to be practing their math facts often. Math homework is 20 minutes but anytime your student finishes early, have them use the rest of the time to practice math facts. IXL even has math fact practice, which you can find under the first grade IXL called skill builders. Also, on the days (often the weekend) that homework is to practice math facts, maybe find some games, a website, or something fun to practice math facts. If you visit my blog, I have a tab dedicated to math facts with all sorts of ideas.

The homework for this week is:

Monday- IXL C.8

Tuesday- Partial sums page

Wednesday- IXL C.1

Thursday- Subtracting negatives page

Thanks and have a great week!

SEPT. 12-15

Reading:
We learned about the story plot: exposition, climax and resolution. We also continued identifying protagonist and antagonist.
Students had a spelling test on Thursday. They will receive new words on Monday.
There will be a Latin/Greek test 9/22 on quint/penta, hex, sept, oct.

Writing:
Students started research for their Best Animal opinion papers.

Grammar:
We reviewed the parts of speech we have covered so far this year: nouns, pronouns, abstract nouns, plural nouns, and adjectives.

Projects:
Students finished up plan A and plan B of their catapult prototypes. We are close to needing supplies for the big project - I'll get that out to you as soon as we compile the lists.

MATH FROM MS. NEAL

Hello 3rd grade families,

So far in math we have been focusing on place value and number sense. We really dug into numbers up to 1,000, including writing them in different forms (expanded form, word form, base ten) and comparing them. 

Then we used all of our knowledge of numbers to move into a new concept of rounding. We worked on rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. Last week we completed a test on these concepts which will be coming home this week.

The homework for this week is:

Monday- IXL B.7

Tuesday- IXL B.8

Wednesday- IXL C.8

Thursday- practice math facts

Also, I am still on the look out for a math fact volunteer on Tuesdays from 9:55-10:55. If you are available, please let me know!

Thanks and have a wonderful week!

Ms. Neal

WEEK 4

Reading:
We learned about theme this week. I read a couple of different stories: The Most Magnificent Thing and Stephanie's Ponytail and the students determined the themes that can be found in the stories.

We also continued to work in our book clubs and in Edmodo. If you haven't already, please check out your child's Edmodo page.
We had our first Latin and Greek test. Your child brought these home on Thursday.
Your child received new spelling words on Tuesday. They will test on 9/15.

Writing:
We continued writing opinion papers on whether or not we believe the ant should be squished.
We are almost done learning the cursive alphabet!

Grammar:
This week we learned about adjectives. Next week we will review the different types of nouns we've covered so far (noun, plural nouns, abstract nouns) and adjectives.

Projects:
The students were placed in their partnerships for the catapult project. Some students are working with kids from Mrs. Moon's class. We are excited about mixing our classes up and enjoy getting to know the other 3rd graders. They started planning their catapults by first researching ideas, deciding on a plan A and a plan B, sketching and labeling, and many groups began building their mini prototypes to test.

Misc:
-Your children are awesome! 
-Please make sure you're checking their Google calendar for daily behavior and homework.

WEEK THREE

Week three already!!

We have kept super busy. We are still working on tight transitions and other classroom rules that keep our class moving quickly and not wasting precious learning time. We have so much to cover this year so I like to ensure our class is efficient - we have fun, but we run a tight ship.

I'm enjoying getting to know your children - I've gotten to really see their cute personalities :o)

Reading:
We learned about inference this week.  This is something we do all of the time, and now we have a vocabulary word associated with it. We watched a funny commercial and a Pixar short film to practice our inference. We will continue to practice this in our book clubs as well.

We had our first spelling test on Thursday.  Overall, it went pretty well. These are in your child's mailboxes at school - it was our intention to grab them during cleanup, but we forgot. They will bring them home on Tuesday. If your child receives a 1, please sign and return the test so I know you've seen it.  Mrs. Moon and I are putting together our spelling groups this weekend, so starting Tuesday, your child will be in a differentiated spelling group based on their needs.

The students started their book clubs this week and got logged into Edmodo. Please check the Edmodo tab on our blog for information. Edmodo is where we complete all of our weekly book club assignments. This is also where you can check your child's reading assignment grades. Very rarely do papers get sent home. Please note: Edmodo is not homework - this is done in class. If your child is absent they can do it from home; otherwise, I prefer it to be done in class.  There is a parent code on their Edmodo page that you can use to follow their assignments/grades.
This week we started very basic with our responses - I just wanted the students to practice using the program.

Writing:
In cursive we are now working on capital letters! We are so close to finishing the alphabet. Once we learn all the letters, the students will work at their own pace through a cursive book.
We started a new opinion paper. We read Hey, Little Ant! and created an opinion about whether or not the ant in the story should be squished. Next, we read some non-fiction ant books and took notes. These notes form the supporting evidence for our opinions.

Grammar:
We started a DOL (daily grammar practice) that we will do every day, time permitting.
We also reviewed regular/irregular plural nouns and took a test.
On Wednesday and Thursday we learned about abstract nouns. Have your child sing you the song :o)

Projects:
This week we learned about simple machines. The students moved through centers learning about and using different simple machines. This provides the foundation for our punkin' chunkin' catapults.

PE:
The students are having fun with our awesome PE moms. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Ms. Darity and Ms. Sheldon-Davis for taking both 3rd grade classes to PE each week. We appreciate you very much!!

Misc:
We are learning all 50 states in alphabetical order through song!  We've learned the first 5 so far.  It's not a standard, but I think it's important to know that California and Utah are not other countries :o) I learned it when I was in 3rd grade and never forgot it.
*there are 4 new pictures in the picture tab

WEEK 2

Here's a rundown of week 2:

Your kiddos are funny, respectful and a joy to have. They're learning my orderly ways and we are having fun along the way. 

Reading:

We finished up our context clues activity. The students created made up words and used them in sentences. We pulled context clues from these sentences to determine their meaning.

On Monday, the students received their new spelling words. They'll test on 9/1. You may practice these at home - they're in a sheet protector in their binder. 

We began learning about character traits. I read Spaghetti on a Hotdog Bun and Tackylocks and the Three Bears. The students determined traits for the characters in the stories using evidence from the text. We will continue working on this in book club.

Writing:

We learned the process of writing an opinion paper. We taste tested Cinnamon Bun Oreos and Chocochip Oreos and wrote an opinion paper on which one we liked best. We began by filling out a graphic organizer and then using that to write a rough draft.

On Thursday we practiced using editing marks on a rough draft I created.

We've been working on cursive! They have beautiful handwriting - it should be in their binder; take a look! 

Grammar:

We've been learning about pronouns and irregular plural nouns. 

Projects:

We are learning about forces and motion and simple machines. We watched a Bill Nye video on simple machines and on Wednesday the students got to build a pulley.  (pictures of this are in our picture tab)

Misc:

We started recording our behavior in our Google calendar.

FIRST WEEK!

Well our first week is down in the books. I'm exhausted, but it was great.

Here's a run down of what we did:

Reading:
We reviewed Read to Self , Good Fit books, and started building our reading stamina.
We also learned about context clues. I read a book called Henry P. Baloney to the class. Henry uses crazy alien words and we used context clues to determine just what he was saying. Next, students got in partners and created their own made up word. They will put these words into sentences on Monday so the rest of the class can try to figure them out.

Writing:
The students did an opinion and a narrative writing for me. This gives me a snapshot of what they know and can do.

We did two art journal entries. They're like a regular journal entry with a fun twist.

Grammar:
We reviewed nouns this week.

Projects:
This week we just worked to understand the Tribes Agreements and get to know one another through a variety of activities. Next week we will start our first official project.

REMINDERS:

- If you haven't already, be sure to check out our picture tab located on the blog.

- Please return all forms on Monday if you haven't done so. This includes the 'About Your Child' paper, which is something I handed out. I read these papers right away and reference them again as the year progresses and I get to know your child more. It gives me some insight and I truly find the information to be valuable.

-Scrapbook pages are due Monday. Your child picked out a scrapbook paper at school. If they lost it, please use 12x12.

Pictures

Want to see more cute pictures like this? Please check out the "Our Pictures" tab on the blog. :o)

Email

Parents,

I sent an email to you all about volunteer opportunities in our class. If you did not receive this email, please check your spam/junk folder. If it is not in there, please email me so I can verify your email address and resend.

Thank you

Family Scrapbook

Hello 3rd Grade Parents!

At Oasis Academy, families are a key to our success.  We love our families!  That being said, this year third grade will be sending home a blank scrapbook page. Please help your child create a family page for our classroom scrapbook. This page will be sent home on the first day of school along with more details.

Thank you very much!!