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.