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:
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.
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!
