MATH: Unit 3 has sure been jam packed with lots of new concepts and skills for our class to learn! Students have done a great job with measuring length, mass, and capacity. We also spent quite a bit of work on telling time using an analog clock, adding and subtracting time, and finding elapsed time! This, I have discovered, is a very hard concept for a lot of our kiddos! With the use of several different strategies on paper, using number lines, or using mini analog clocks, kids are starting to get the hang of solving word problems related to time. At home please continue to have conversations about time with your child! It would be a great idea to refer to the analog clock often, as well as ask questions related to time passed doing specific activities. For example: If it is 5:20 when your child starts math homework, they finish the math homework at 5:47, and still need to read for 20 minutes, a good question might be, “what time will it be when you are finished with your reading homework?” or, “how long did you spend on your math and reading homework together?” Thanks so much for your help with this skill! The more practice they have and real life connections they can make with time, the stronger they will understand the concept.
Next up: Reading, analyzing, and creating horizontal and vertical bar graphs and line plots!
READING: We have been busy working on our CAFÉ skills in reading! I have been so impressed with the kids’ excitement for reading during the Daily 5. Students are doing an excellent job balancing their daily 5 choices throughout the week. I have especially been enjoying watching their growth and improvement in the ‘respond to reading’ choice. This involves responding to one of two questions about the chapter book they are reading independently in the classroom. Students are asked to give a complete answer, share evidence from the text, and come up with a connection, quote, or prediction to support their answer. They are doing a great job! In December students will be practicing all of the CAFÉ strategies we have learned so far and participate in a whole class literature circle reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. Students will be making predictions and inferences, identifying cause and effect and sequence of events, and practicing vocabulary and fluency skills while reading this fun book.
*Side Note: Recently we have been discussing the importance of reading books from different genres! While third graders really seem to love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series here at school, they have been encouraged to branch out and explore new authors, series, and genres! Ask your child about the books they have explored in our classroom. If you would like recommendations for books to read at home, please contact me!
WRITING: This month our class will begin to practice procedural writing by writing a descriptive and festive 5 paragraph piece on ‘How to Eat a Candy Cane’. Students will focus on their five senses and descriptive word choice while writing an opening, closing, and three detailed paragraphs on their opinion of the BEST method in eating this sweet treat! They even get to munch on a candy cane of their own to discover their unique methods, as well as pay close attention to what the candy cane looks, smells, tastes, feels, and sounds like! Keep a look out for these in our third grade hallway.
SOCIAL STUDIES: It seems simple to us as adults, but understanding where we live on planet earth is a very abstract thought for kids. It's not easy for kids to visualize that we live on a continent, in a country, in a state, in a city, and in a community within that city. We've been observing maps, learning the location of the continents, oceans and regions of the United States. Anytime you go on a trip, it would be great for kids to look at a map or globe to find out where they are going - which continent, which state, which city - using these terms. They could even use the compass rose to determine the direction you will travel.
In December each child will go in depth to learn more about a particular state of choice and write a state report. We'll learn about Washington state together, and then each child will choose a state of interest! It should be fun!
SCIENCE: We finally finished up our Motion and Matter unit and I have to say, the kids had a blast! I have been so impressed watching them carry out investigations to make different discoveries about magnetism, motion, and mixtures. The science notebooks share great evidence of student learning and understanding the big ideas from the different investigations.
Next trimester students will participate in more STEM investigations, and will also be learning more about metric measurement!
Other News...
Winter Wish Drive: If you can, please stop by the foyer and check out the Winter Wish Drive wall. Mittens are posted with items needed by families this season.
Weather Report: It's cold out there! Please make sure your child wears a coat and if you can do it, hat and mittens.
Art Imagination: Thank you to Britta Knapman for taking on the role of Art Imagination and Auction Project volunteer this year. The kids had a fun time making and framing festive prints with metal, as well as creating different designs of their own! It is such a fun time for kids to have these creative art opportunities in the classroom setting each month.
Toy Maker: Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming Toy Maker experience on Friday, December 19th! Permission slips will be sent home on Monday, December 1st. Toy Maker Rick Hartman will be here to help students create toys related to our Motion and Matter science unit!
