Thanks to everyone
who was able to participate (or volunteer) at our school Walk-A-Thon. It was a
HUGE success! The kids absolutely loved having Blitz, the Seahawks mascot there
to cheer them on. The third grade teachers enjoyed it as well J.
I’m looking forward to spending more time
getting to know your kiddos over the next month and speaking with you all
individually at conferences. If you have not signed up for a conference, please
do! Let me know if you have any issues with Sign Up Genius. It is a super
helpful website that makes scheduling so easy!
READING: Daily 5
Workshop is up and running! After spending weeks getting familiar with the
different parts of the Daily 5 (read to self, read to someone, listen to
reading, word work, and work on writing) the kids are beginning to make their
weekly ‘choices’ and start rotations as I work with guided reading groups. Each
day is going better and better. The class is really taking on the
responsibility of independently getting their work done, and ensuring that they
complete all appropriate tasks within the week. Next week I will introduce one
more component, respond to reading, where kids will thoughtfully respond to the
text that they are currently reading. Students will use evidence and make
connections within the text to support their thinking.
Along with Daily
5, we still are introducing new CAFÉ (comprehension, accuracy, fluency, expanded
vocabulary) strategies that will help all third graders become great readers! This
group is so fun to read with. They are already so excited about the variety of
texts they have been exposed to in the last month. I love seeing their love for
reading!
WRITING: Personal
Narratives- This week we began talking more about personal narrative writing.
Students were asked to think of a small moment in their life to write about.
After reading a book called ‘Salt Hands’ we decided the moment should be 10
minutes or less in order for the reader to really get enough specific detail
about the event. Instead of writing about a “watermelon topic” (ex: trip to Disneyland),
kids were asked to narrow in on a “seed topic” (ex: riding on Splash Mountain).
Students brainstormed detailed words by thinking about the 5 senses and also
discussed ways to ‘hook the reader’ at the beginning of the writing piece. They
are turning out so good! We can’t wait to revise, edit, and publish. Look for
our small moment writing pieces hanging in the hallway in the next couple of
weeks! We will continue various personal narrative writing topics throughout
the remainder of the trimester.
MATH: Multiplication
continued! The kids are doing an amazing job with their multiplication and
division fluency. We have been using multiplication.com to help with our fast
facts. With each fact that is passed, the kids get to put a part of a colored ice
cream cone on the wall. Once all the facts are passed…we celebrate with ice
cream sundaes!
Next week we will
take the Unit 1 assessment. This assessment covers multiplication and division
facts and story problems with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10. Unit 2 deals
with similar concepts with 6, 7, and 8. Please continue to quiz your child on
these facts at home!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Over the past month, the kids have learned about the hemispheres, oceans,
continents, countries, states, and communities. We also read about landmarks
around the United States and learned which direction (N, S, E, W, NE, SE, NW,
SW) these places are from us! Next, kids will learn about the physical
geography, natural resources, and climate of our community, and 3 other
communities in the United States. Kids will also learn about the US regions and
will choose 2 regions to compare and contrast physical features, resources, and
climate.
SCIENCE: Motion
and Matter. I am really looking forward to starting this new science unit. We
are the first group to pilot the program in Bellevue! The motion and matter
module provides third graders with physical sciences core ideas dealing with
forces and interactions, matter and its interactions, and engineering and
design. Magnetism and gravity are the forces students explore. Throughout the
investigations students will collect data, answer questions, and define problems
in order to develop solutions. Stay tuned for more information once we dive
into this new curriculum!
