August 11, 2017 Update...

Hi Parents,

Thank you for visiting today.  Check  out below to find out what we've accomplished this week in room 315...

Writing:  We looked at the Narrative Checklist for third grade and discussed what an "EXCEEDS" stories look like. We then focused on writing a good LEAD to our stories, which are intended to  hook the reader and draw them into our story. We looked at mentor texts, such as Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse and Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe.  We carefully studied their amazing writing techniques and applied them to our own stories.  I also showed the students the difference between "watermelon" stories and "seed" stories.  A watermelon story is more of a list of events over a longer period of time, such as "My Summer Vacation" or "My Trip to Disney".  A seed story would be something like "My First Time on Space Mountain" or "When I Got Stung by a Jellyfish".

Reading: We began our first novel, Stone Fox.  We are learning strategies that strong readers use, such as stopping and doing a comprehension check by asking themselves a few important questions.  We also learned how to use clues in a story to figure out the meaning of challenging or unknown vocabulary (CLOSE reading).  We continued to develop good reading habits and are practicing behaviors that will build our reading stamina...choosing "just right" books, finding a good quiet place to read, keeping our eyes on the book the whole time, and taking all of our reading materials with us when reading begins.  We got our first book club selections today and will begin our first round of book clubs in our small groups.

Math:  We continued our study of rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100.  We played several games to practice the skill. We learned the importance of finding the midpoint when determining whether to round up or round down.   The students took their first math Touchstone assessment on this rounding standard.

Grammar/Spelling: We began our study of nouns, learning that nouns can be concrete or abstract.  We created a list and sorted the words into categories.  Our phonics focus this week was double vowel combinations that make the long vowel sound.  We took our first spelling test Friday.

Content: We completed our study of the  seven habits of happy kids, talking about how we can build a strong community in our classroom.  We had a class meeting and gave "big UPS" to our classmates for excellent behavior and work ethics.

Dinner Conversation Starters...

*Ask your child to tell you the characteristics of Searchlight.
*What are some of the things little Willy has to do on his Grandfather's farm since he is sick.
*Give your child a number in the hundreds and ask what the two benchmark numbers would be, and what would the midpoint be.
*Ask your child what is new in the Media Center this year.
*Ask your child what "seed" story he/she is currently working on.

Class News and Announcements...

Thank you to those who have donated Prize Box donations!  Keep them coming!

If you haven't yet written your "In a Million Words or Less" letter, please take a moment to do that and tell me about your child.

Tellus field trip permission went  home at Open House...If you weren't here, forms will come home today. Please complete and return the permission slip and money as soon as possible.

Solar eclipse permission slips are coming home today!  Please sign and return.