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!!