Halloween Parties
Next week we will have our 3rd Grade Halloween Parties on Wednesday at 2:30-3:30. Thank you to all of our parents that are helping to plan the party or are donating supplies and treats. We certainly couldn't do this without you! Students will begin changing into costumes at 2:00 and then head out to recess while parents set up in the classroom for the party. Please remember that your child should not wear the costume to school that day as we try to keep the Halloween distractions to a minimum for our day of learning. Lastly, bus students are required to change out of costumes before heading home. Please talk with your child about making sure that all parts of the costume are packed up in his/her backpack. We don't want any sad trick-or-treaters on Halloween night because part of the costume is missing. Please email if you have any questions at all about the party. We are looking forward to it!Math Center
Math center has started! For those of you that are new to Clarke, math center is where we work on fact memorization. Each week your child will take a 2-minute timed test. Fact memorization is important as it sets your child up for success to complete more difficult multi-step problems as children progress in school. When children don't have fact automaticity, they often have difficulty solving more difficult problems as they get lost in the simple math part of the problem.Please keep this low stress for your child. The goal each week is to get more correct. Stressing the passing aspect of this will turn your child off to math center and cause math anxiety. As classroom teachers, we are not putting an emphasis on passing, but instead focus on Did you improve?
Your child will bring home a practice sheet in a sheet protector so he or she can practice at home. Use a dry erase marker and it can be used again and again. Once the test is passed, your child can replace the practice sheet with a new one. Don't throw away the sheet protector! For other types of practice, there are quizlets for each specific test available on the itslearning pages. Your child can also go to MobyMax fact fluency or you can make flashcards at home. Even just 5 minutes a day will help your child.
October 31--Halloween Party
November 1st--Stuff-A-Truck Begins
November 2nd--Half Day
November 5th--hearing & Vision Screening Begins
November 6th--Picture Retakes
November 8th & 9th--Half Days (Conferences)
THE CLARKE BOOK FAIR BEGINS NEXT WEEK!
The book fair begins on November 1 and continues through November 9
Family night is Thursday, November 1--6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
*Please don't forget that the last conferences is coming up. We are required to meet with EVERY parent. If you need a special conference time because of your schedule, please email the teacher as we are all glad to make accommodations for family schedules.
3rd Grade Star Students
Audrey (Knuth), Maile (Covert), and Elijah (Deis)
Next week: Eric (Knuth), Starla (Covert), and Kayla (Deis)
Reading: We have been discussing character traits in literature and the personal narrative genre. We are nearing the end of the Chalk Box Kid book and have been able to use our comprehension strategies while discussing this piece of literature.
Word Study: Our next Word Study Assessment will be on Wednesday. We are currently listening for the short e and short a patterns in words. Please don't forget that your child is also responsible for practicing the high-frequency words and the dictation sentence throughout the week. Practice activities are available on MobyMax spelling.
Math: We continue to work on the foundations for multiplication and division. We have also started math center (see note above).
Science: We have taken a short break from science after finishing our plant unit.
Social Studies: Our focus for this unit has been learning about the map of Michigan, Michigan's special features, and the state symbols of Michigan.
Writing: Biographies are complete and we have now started personal narratives. We can't wait to read the stories! They certainly have good ideas to write about!
*As always, please continue to check out our classroom resources on itslearning. Students can go there often to practice skills and learn about content that we are covering in class.
All teachers welcome questions that you have. A true partnership between home and school is important for the success of each child.
