Happy November! I
hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween! The kids sure had a fun time dressing up
in their costumes and playing some exciting and creative games in the classroom
at our party! Thanks again to Tanya, Heather, and Ali for organizing such a fun
party! Despite the new ‘no food rule’, the kids really had a positive attitude
and had a great time. I especially loved seeing all of the creative costume
choices!
I spent my
Halloween weekend passing out candy to trick or treaters in our new
neighborhood, going on a hike with my husband and dog, and will be cheering on
the Seahawks at the game tomorrow! I hope everyone remembered to set your
clocks back this weekend for Daylight Savings. I’m looking forward to catching
up with each family at conferences this week.
A quick note: as the weather continues to get colder,
please remember to send your child to school with a coat!
MATH: I can’t believe we are finally through the multiplication and
division units! The kids did an awesome job building fluency with these facts. I’m
looking forward to celebrating all of their hard work this Friday as we have
our math multiplication party! Please remember to pack a special treat with
your child on Friday, November 7th for them to enjoy during our
short movie.
In Unit 3,
students will begin to look at Measurement, Time, and Graphs. The first big
idea of this unit involves students focusing on customary and metric units of
length. They will also solve word problems that involve liquid, volume, and
mass. Next, we will take a look at telling time to the minute, quarter hour,
half hour, and hour. Students will also practice finding elapsed time and
solving word problems involving time. In the last part of our unit, our class
will draw and analyze bar graphs, pictographs, and line plots. Please refer to
your child’s homework and remembering each night to find out the specific skill
that was learned that day. The remembering side does a great job re-visiting
concepts already learned this year.
SCIENCE: I have to say, I have had such a fun time learning and
teaching the new science unit, Motion and Matter. The kids really have shown a
strong understanding of how magnets and forces work. Last week we spent a lot
of time studying the patterns of an objects motion. They have done a fabulous
job recording data, drawing diagrams, and answering focus questions in their
science notebooks. In investigation 3, students will tackle an engineering
challenge in which they will design a cart that can roll the farthest. They
will measure the distance their structure can roll in centimeters and meters.
Stay tuned for pictures of students constructing and testing their systems next
week!
WRITING: The class has worked really hard on this personal narrative
writing unit. Specifically, we have spent our time focusing on how to narrow a
special memory down to a small, specific moment. Kids have worked on adding
detail to help the reader better visualize their moment. After publishing two,
we will spend the next week or two analyzing our writing pieces and focusing on
more goal areas. We will look at specifics such as using strong leads and
strong words and details, using dialogue effectively, and creating a clear
ending. In November students will write one last personal narrative on a
special small moment of their choice as their writing assessment. I am proud of
the progress they have made and love how excited they are about writing!
READING: Our class continues to do a lovely job during our reading
block each day. On Mondays, students are introduced to a new CAFÉ skill through
the use of a children’s book. I just love children’s books and think they are
so great for teaching life lessons and skills such as cause and effect, compare
and contrast, making inferences, identifying story elements…and the list goes
on! On Tuesdays we continue to focus on the skill within our Journeys textbook.
The skill(s) are touched throughout the week in the whole and small group
settings in a variety of literature.
Independently our
third graders are doing a great job showing responsibility for their Daily 5
‘must do’ weekly list. I enjoy reading with kids each day and observing their
growth in comprehension, accurate reading, fluency, and expanding vocabulary.
Please continue to
ensure your child reads at home each night! The big thing I am encouraging is
reading and sticking with just right CHAPTER
BOOKS. I am encouraging the kids to explore new genres and books that they
have not read before. Please let me know
if you have questions about appropriate book choices for your child.
UPCOMING DATES TO KNOW:
November 4th: Picture Retake
Day
November 10th & 11th:
NO SCHOOL: Professional Development Day and Veterans Day
November 21st: Reflections
Projects Due
November 27th & 28th:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! NO SCHOOL
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