October News!

I can’t believe we’ve been in school for a month already! I have had the best time getting to know my students personally and academically. I have to say…this class is amazing! They are so sweet, respectful, and really love to learn! They are all so unique and fun in their own way. I love the start of a new school year!

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!