Our 3rd Grade News!: October 2019

Thursday, October 31, 2019

October 28 - November 1

Reading: Students continue to work on finding the main idea of various reading passages. We have also been learning about biographies.

Word Study: This week we learned about irregular plurals. This included changing -fe to v and changing vowels to make words plural (goose-geese, woman-women).

Math: Our focus this week has been multiplication and division. We are working on making the connection between the two. Students should understand how to multiply by 1, 2, 5, and 10. Have some fun in the car and practice away!

Science: Our last mystery of our "Power of Flowers" unit, like mystery 3, revolved around selection. This week we focused on how to make bigger fruits and how to identify which fruits are related.

Social Studies: This week we read about the first people to arrive in Michigan and why they were called "Indians". We also discussed how the Native Americans came over from Asia on a land bridge that is now underwater.

Writing: We are beginning to get into our conclusions. Our writers are at various stages and the bulk of our work will go into editing and revising to make our work better. Third grade writers are working hard!

Next Week's Schedule:

Stuff-A-Truck

Our 22nd annual Stuff-a-truck begins Nov. 1st! Boxes will be outside each classroom to collect non-perishable items. Our school goal is to DOUBLE last year's collection of 1500 items. The classroom that collects the most will win a personal pan pizza party from Pizza Hut and recognition on 97.5 Y Country.

Classroom Parties

Thank you so very much to ALL of our 3rd grade heroes that helped plan our parties, donated items for our party, and/or volunteered at our party. We know how much time and energy this is to plan. As teachers we cannot thank you enough. Your help allows us to maintain our focus on teaching and improvement for all students. We know how hard it is to pull of a party so please know that we appreciate you and don't take you for granted!

Conferences

Conferences are coming to an end and we appreciate you taking time to discuss your child's progress. These conferences help teachers get to know your child better and develop a plan for the year that will help your child be the best learner possible. Winter conferences are not until Feb. so if you need anything before then, please don't hesitate to reach out! We are always here.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

October 21st-25th

Reading: Students have been finding the main idea of various reading passages. This was introduced by having students find the stated main idea (and details to support that idea). Additional practice can be found on our itslearning page.

Word Study: Word study helps students to learn the meaning of new words, understand spelling patterns, and recognize patterns in reading. We do not want children memorizing words, but instead recognizing patterns. This week we worked on adding -s, -es, or -ies, to words to make them plural. Starting Monday, we will begin our discussion on irregular plurals. This will include changing -fe to v and changing vowels to make words plural (goose-geese, woman-women). Don't forget to check your child's take home folder for our upcoming sort!

Math: This week, we have introduced multiplication and division. We have been practicing using arrays, equal groups, and equal sharing. Fact families are also an important piece of understanding how multiplication an division are related.

Science: Our latest mystery focused around selection. For example, we may take the seeds from the sweetest apple to create an even sweeter apple! Students were able to try a variety of apples to determine the properties of each type of apple, and to determine their favorite.

Social Studies: We've recently started a new unit on the origins of our country and state. We have discussed trading(between Native Americans and the Colonists), and how these trades and agreements have impacted Michigan. Our learning will then focus on what life was like for the tribes and items that we sill use today from the Native Americans, such as the snowshoe.

Writing: Personal narratives are moving forward and the students are learning a lot about writing. Our goals are to expand our writing by taking small moments and write about them through our senses creating a replay of the event. Essentially we break down each part of the event into small parts and write to explain everything that was occurring. Most recently, We have been working hard to revise our writing by adding transition words, sensory detail, and description. We will be wrapping up with our conclusions and completely our final draft in the next couple weeks.

Next Week's Schedule:

Planners

Please check and sign planners each day! We want to communicate all that is happening in 3rd grade this year. We are still checking planners here at school to make sure that they are getting signed at home.

Classroom Parties

Our Halloween/Harvest parties will be on Thursday, October 31st at 2:30 until the end of the day. Remember that for school, no weapons or costumes that are overly gory are permitted. Save those accessories for your family trick-or-treat time! We were recently notified by our office staff, that it is not necessary to complete a volunteer form to help during our parties.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

October 14th-18th

Reading: We have been doing a much better job with our "Read to Self" book and have started with our Reading Counts program. Students are expected to check-in with the book that they've chose each Monday, and then test the following Monday. Please be sure to ask what they are reading and making sure they have time to read their book each evening. We would like to see students that are connecting with their books. Students should know the title of the book, the author's name, and be able to talk about what is happening in the book. (Mrs. Knuth originally said Friday check-in and Friday test, but she is changing to be consistent with the other classes). It is also important to remember that if your child does not feel that his/her book is a good fit, the book should be abandoned early and a new book selected. Waiting several days to abandon a book takes away reading time with an enjoyable, good-fit book. Please email your teacher if you have any questions about this at all.

Word Study: Word study helps students to learn the meaning of new words, understand spelling patterns, and recognize patterns in reading. We do not want children memorizing words, but instead recognizing patterns. This week we worked unusual past tense words. The rules for the week come home each Monday along with a few words that your child will need to know how to apply the rule to on the Friday assessment. Assessments will be sent home on Mondays along with the new rule sheet for the week. Next week will focus on adding plural endings -es and -ies.

Math: We have two learning goals for this unit. The first is to tell time to the nearest minute. In second grade, students were expected to tell time to the nearest 5 minute. The second goal is to understand elapsed time. This means that a student can tell how much time there is between two events. Sometimes this means counting forward, but it could also mean counting time backwards. Here are some examples of elapsed time: My appointment is at 3:30. It takes me 40 minutes to get there. What time do I need to leave to be to my appointment on time? I ran for 25 minutes. I left my house at 3:15. When was my run complete? The movie started at 4:30 and ended at 6:15. How long was the movie?

Science: We were able to dissect different fruits and vegetables to decide whether it was a science fruit or not (official definition is if it has seeds, it's a science fruit!). Students were surprised to learn that cucumbers and tomatoes are considered a science fruit.

Social Studies: We have just completed our 5 themes of geography unit. This is a concept that students will continue to learn about as they continue in school. It can be a bit difficult for students to understand. If your child does not seem to understand the concepts after the assessment, we will continue to work on this with your child at school in hopes to deepen the understanding.

Writing: Personal narratives are moving forward and the students are learning a lot about writing. Our goals are to expand our writing by taking small moments and write about them through our senses creating a replay of the event. Essentially we break each part of the event down into small parts and write to explain everything that was occurring. Ex. I waited in line for the ride. Now students will write: it was a hot, sunny day in August. My stomach was in knots while I looked at the giant roller coaster ride. As I waited patiently behind the long, winding line of people, I wondered if this was something I really wanted to do.

Next Week's Schedule:

Swimming

What a fantastic experience for our 3rd graders. We are so fortunate to be in such a great district that provides this opportunity for our students. Living near Lake Michigan and in a state with so many inland lakes, water safety is essential. Thank you to our gym teachers that made this such a positive experience with their smiles and encouragement and thank you to our administrative staff in St. Joe that worked so hard to find life guards and additional instructors so that we could move our swimming to October. This will time change has helped us to avoid conflicts with many end-of-the-year events and state testing.

Conferences

It has been so nice to meet and talk with families about the upcoming school year. We hope that we have helped you gain an understanding of the year ahead. We also hope that we have shown you that your child matters and that we understand the needs of your child both academically and emotionally. We appreciate your partnership and helping us to get to know your child even better. If you have not scheduled a conference time with your child's teacher, please do so soon. Additional invites will be sent out for November.

Covert: November Conferences

Donuts with your Superhero

Thank you to all the superheroes that supported our students this week and enjoyed a donut. If there are any male role models out there that would like to sign up to be one of our Watch D.O.G.S (Dads of Great Students) we can certainly send home paperwork to get you involved.

Planners

Please check and sign planners each day! We want to communicate all that is happening in 3rd grade this year.

Classroom Parties

Our Halloween/Harvest parties will be on Thursday, October 31st at 2:30 until the end of the day. As a reminder, any volunteers or helpers must complete the background form provided by the office. Also remember that for school, no weapons or costumes that are overly gory are permitted. Save those accessories for your family trick-or-treat time!

Student Council Elections

Running for student council can be a very difficult thing to do. We commend all of our students who ran for student council. Just running for the representative position proves that you are a winner! We would also like to mention that work on kindness, respect, and acceptance of all is paying off as we had many students that positively supported those students that were not elected. Please encourage your child to be a positive role model each and every day. We want to build leaders in all of our 3rd graders!

Thursday, October 10, 2019

October 2nd-11th

Reading: We have been discussing the different features of a Personal Narrative for our genre study. It has been exciting to watch students make the connections between what we have been reading and their own personal narrative.

Word Study: This week we worked on adding -ed to the end of words. The rules for the week come home each Monday along with a few words that your child will need to know how to apply the rule to on the Friday assessment. Assessments will be sent home on Mondays along with the new rule sheet for the week.

Math: We are still working on adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers. Please continue to practice this at home as well. Students are now beginning to work with word problems involving addition and subtraction.

Social Studies: Our unit on the 5 Themes of Geography is underway! A Kahoot is posted on itslearning for practice as well as a very catchy song to help them remember the 5 Themes (Mr.HELP). We will be testing on this unit next week. Please look for a study guide early next week.

Writing: Your child has chosen a topic to write about for their personal narrative, and we are learning about all of the important features that must be included in their writing (strong emotion, writing through the senses, a crystal clear moment, small amounts of dialogue, and clear events throughout the story). Don't forget to ask them what they decided to write about!

Next Week's Schedule:

Upcoming Events:

Oct. 14th: Swimming starts! (Please send a dry towel and swimsuit each day)

Oct. 16: Late Start
Oct. 17: PTO (noon)
Donuts with your Superman (Last name A-K)
Oct. 18: Donuts with your Superman (Last name L - Z)
Oct. 23: 3rd Grade Teachers out in the afternoon for curriculum development
Oct. 23: Late Start
Picture Retakes
Oct. 30: Late Start
Book Fair Begins

Oct. 31: Halloween Party
Nov. 1 : Popcorn Friday

Swimming

We were recently informed that we will be heading to the St.Joseph High School each morning next week to swim! Permission slips for swimming were sent home on Tuesday. If your child has not returned their slip, PLEASE SEND THIS IN TOMORROW. We ask that you please send in a dry towel and swimsuit each day in a plastic bag (where they will then keep their wet suit). Swim shirts are fine and one piece swimsuits for girls are suggested, but not required. Please speak with your child about the importance of quickly changing when we arrive (we will be able to use the locker rooms) and again when we are finished. Students will learn about water safety, being comfortable in the water, and different strokes while swimming. Goggles are allowed, but please remind your child that they are responsible for them and not to leave them behind. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to email or call.

Conferences

The second session of conferences will begin the week of Nov. 4th. You will be contacted by your teacher to sign up for a time during one of those two sessions. If you feel it is important to meet with the teacher during the first round of conferences, please contact her and let her know.

Planners

The goal of planners is to increase communication between home and school. To ensure that parents see what we are doing each day, we have asked that planners be signed nightly. We understand that occasionally your family may forget to sign the planner. However, we ask that you do not sign the planner ahead of time just so that it is signed. The nightly conversation that happens between you and your student while looking at the planner is the reason that we request your signature. Thank you for understanding and taking time to be part of your child's learning this year!

Classroom Parties

Our Halloween/Harvest parties will be on Thursday, October 31st. As a reminder, any volunteers or helpers must complete the background form provided by the office. Please look for an email/sign-up from our room parent within the next couple weeks.

Student Council Elections

If your child is interested in running for student council, please have them complete their speech (by Monday) and let their teacher know by tomorrow. If they would like to make campaign signs, they are welcome to. We will be voting next week. If you have any further questions, please contact Claire Krieger at ckrieger@sjschools.org.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

September 30th-October 4th

Reading: We continues to work on recognizing traits of the characters in the stories that we are reading. Students are busy reading, doing Lexia, and teachers are reading individually with students to understand what skills each student needs.

Word Study: This week we worked on adding the -ing ending to words with the patterns we have been practicing over the last couple of weeks (VCe, VVC, VC, and VCC). The rules for the week will come home each Monday along with a few words that your child will need to know how to apply the rule to on the Friday assessment. Assessments will be sent home on Mondays along with the new rule sheet for the week.

Math: We have continues to practice adding 3-digit numbers together while making sure that we round and estimate first in order to know if our answer is reasonable. We still have a number of students that are struggling to add and subtract 10 easily or count backwards from larger numbers. Please have fun with your child at home by practicing this skill.

Science: Our first "mystery" was solved this week! Students learned what a plant needs to make seeds. Our next lesson will focus on why and how plants give us fruit.

Social Studies: Our unit on the 5 Themes of Geography is underway! A Kahoot is posted on itslearning for practice as well as a very catchy song to help them remember the 5 Themes (Mr.HELP).

Next Week's Schedule:

Upcoming Events:

Oct. 7 : Teachers will begin conferencing with families

Oct. 10: 1/2 day of school (dismissal 12:05)
Oct. 11: Access at 8:00 a.m.
1/2 day of school (dismissal 12:05)
Oct. 16: Late Start
Oct. 17: PTO (noon)
Donuts with your Superman (Last name A-K)
Oct. 18: Donuts with your Superman (Last name L - Z)
Oct. 22: 3rd Grade Teachers out in the afternoon for curriculum development
Oct. 23: Late Start
Picture Retakes
Oct. 30: Late Start
Book Fair Begins

Oct. 31: Halloween Party
Nov. 1 : Popcorn Friday

Conferences will begin the week of Oct. 7th. In the fall, conferences are split into 2 sessions. The second session begins the week of Nov. 4th. You will be contacted by your teacher to sign up for a time during one of those two sessions. If you feel it is important to meet with the teacher during the first round of conferences, please contact her and let her know.

Planners

Classroom Parties

Student Council Elections

All 3rd-5th grade students have the opportunity to run for our student council! If your child is interested, they would need to create a short speech explaining what they hope to accomplish as well as campaign signs to hang in the hallway. Speeches would need to be completed by October 11th, with the election being held on October 15th. This may require students to occasionally miss lunch recess to meet with the council. If you have any further questions, please contact Claire Krieger at ckrieger@sjschools.org.