Hello Dear Parents. I can hardly believe it is October already. Here is an overview of what has been going on in third grade.
Math: We have wrapped up our first unit in the Bridges curriculum, "Computation, Algebraic Thinking and Probability" and have started Unit Two: Place Value Structures and Multi-Digit Computation. Unit One was a lot of review from what they learned in second grade, i.e. different strategies for basic addition (up to 20) and subtraction. We also worked a lot on noticing patterns and developing language to discuss what is going on in a pattern. As most of you saw at Open House, our Number Corner calendar for the month of September was all about different tools of measurement (length, weight, etc). This month we will be working with base ten pieces to help us in computing math problems with larger numbers. We will also be working on expanded notation (100 + 50 + 2 = 152) and writing numbers in words.
Reading: This group never ceases to amaze me with their enthusiasm and drive for reading! We have wrapped up our first read aloud book, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, and will be starting The One and Only Ivan later on this week (which is a 2014 Battle of the Books book). Students are getting into the routine of writing a letter to me in their reading journals once a week. These letters give them an opportunity to write about what they are reading and as well as ask me any questions about what they are confused about in their book and answer the questions I ask them. We owe Mr. Asa a huge thank you for leaving so many great books behind for our classroom library, it warms my teaching heart when I look around the room during D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time and every single student is reading a book they are interested in from our library.
Writing: September was all about getting down the routine for writers workshop. We practiced brainstorming what to write about and sketching out a story to help us think about what we are writing like it is "a movie in our minds". Students are developing an understanding of the different phases of the writing process and most have been able to bring at least one piece of writing to final draft. This month we will zoom in on the qualities of narrative writing and be practicing writing true stories about our lives before moving on to imaginative narratives next month. I love reading their stories and getting a glimpse into their lives outside of school.
Science: We had our first walk about on school grounds yesterday to get us ready for our first trip to Wapato this Thursday. Students had their thoughtfully decorated nature journals in hand as we took advantage of the gorgeous weather we've been having and walked over the "forrest" near the grange. Students found a sit spot and spent about 10 minutes observing and writing about what they were seeing, smelling and hearing. We will be doing this same routine pretty much every time we go to Wapato, and will start off our field study this week by doing the Wapato Loop to get a feel for the park as a whole.
Social Studies: As I mentioned in my post last week we are just kicking off our study of Native people from this area. We were delivered a box of "mysterious artifacts" and a letter from a local archeologist asking us who might have made these objects. We have determined that it was Native or indigenous folks from this area but now we have been asked by the same archeologist to determine who might have wrote them. We are gearing up for our trip to the Cathlapotle Plank House next Tuesday where we will get to see a replica of a Chinookian plank house. We will be constructing our own models of these plank houses in the coming weeks as well.
Also, there have been some questions about homework and specifically spelling. We will be starting to work with specific spelling rules this week which will eventually be part of their weekly homework, but for now we will just be getting the routine down as a class. We are working towards having a cluster of spelling words to study each week, one reading response to write and a math P.O.W. (problem of the week) to solve as well.. Thank you for your patience as we learn these routines as a class!
Have a great week!
Ms. Shannon
