April 27, 2018 Update

Hi Parents,

Thanks  for visiting today!  Academic Alerts are coming home today. If your child  did  not receive one, he or she is not in danger of getting a "1" on the  report card. Keep in mind there are several standards that will not be assessed for a few more weeks, so there is a possibility of a "1" in any of these areas.

Reading: This week, we began our book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. We are studying the character traits of Edward as he moves from place to place. We are looking at the symbolism that the author put  in the book.  We have created an Edward Tulane book and are tracking how he changes throughout the story.  In Reading, we have also read several nonfiction articles; one on Pluto, and one on the Internet.

Writing: We studied several fairy tales this week, continuing our work on adapted fairy tales.  We read three different versions of Cinderella and talked about the changes the authors made.  We began thinking  about which fairy tale we are going to adapt for our next story.

Math:  We completed our unit on elapsed time and took the Touchstone.  We began our review of equivalent fractions and mixed fractions. This is still showing to be a challenge for some students.  It is a very developmental skill and one that takes time for some to really "get" the idea of fractions.  We'll  continue our  work on this next week. We also practiced our mixed multiplication facts. We have ALL moved on to taking two minute timed  tests with 20 problems.  Now is the quarter that grades will be taken. I am not giving homework, so this needs to be a priority for some students in the evenings.  We will continue to take timed tests every Friday.

Science: We learned all about heat and what  materials make good conductors and good insulators. We discussed the sources of heat and finished up the unit with a passage and questions. 

Social Studies:  We have moved on to learning about the three branches of government, checks and balances within our government, and what powers each branch has.

Class  News and Announcements...

Field Day is  Wednesday!  All  are welcome to join us!  We'll begin around 8:10 and we will finish up by around 11:45.  We will be having lunch in the room, and we are limited on space when we eat in the room. Please do not plan to visit for lunch on Wednesday.

Please remember to send a beach towel, a change of clothes, and a water with your child on Wednesday.  Also, sunscreen is a great idea as we will be outside for several hours.

I want everyone  participating in the tug-of-war, so please make sure your child wears appropriate gym shoes.

We will have a yearbook signing event on Wednesday as well.  All of third grade will go to the bus port so we can sign books of friends who are not in our class. If your child did not purchase a yearbook, I will provide an autograph book.

We will be taking the Reading Inventory  and Math  Inventory in the next few weeks. Please encourage nightly reading  of on-level stories to keep those brains engaged!  Scores  will come home with the final report card.