optional_math_challenge_due_2-8.pdf |
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Just a reminder that there is information about Valentine's Day posted below. Please also make sure you've read my email and the attached letter about our upcoming health lesson.
Reading - Students are finishing up their blog posts with book recommendations. We talked about what makes a good comment, and students can now comment on each other's posts. I will also send home a copy of students' passwords, and they are welcome to write more recommendations from home if it's something you and they are okay with. We've gotten a bit of a head start on reading nonfiction in Social Studies, but that will be our next unit, starting late next week! Writing - Students have been working so hard to publish their information books! Our Writers' Celebration is at 1:50 in the cafeteria next Thursday, February 4th. Math - We worked to connect side lengths of rectangles to the shapes' areas. We'll continue focusing on area over the next few days, but will also keep tying in perimeter to give students practice distinguishing between the two measurements. Social Studies - Students continued writing their nonfiction books about the Pilgrims using main idea + supporting details format. We'll work on these more next week, delving into the Pilgrims' trip on the Mayflower (always fascinating for students!). Miscellaneous -As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns! Students can choose to bring in valentines on Friday, February 12. We ask that if students choose to bring in valentines (homemade or store bought) that they make one for each member of the class. I will send home a class list to ensure that all students are included. Please note that students cannot distribute food as part of their valentines. If there are small items like pencils or erasers, that is fine. However, we ask that students do not distribute gender-based gifts - i.e., one gift for boys and something different for girls. Finally, if students want to bring in a shoebox or bag to act as a mailbox to hold their valentines on February, that's fine! We will not have time to create or decorate one in class. For those who do not bring in some sort of "mailbox," I'll have small paper bags. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thanks!
Reading - Students finished drafting their book recommendations and we'll post those to the blog over the next few days. For those who asked for blog access, keep your eyes out for more information once students have posted!
Writing - Students have been working very hard to publish their information texts, which are impressive in their final form. I will send details about our upcoming Writers' Celebration via email. Math - We are continuing to work with the concepts of area and perimeter. Again, any real-world application of these two skills will go a long way in helping students distinguish between the two measurements and apply their understandings in novel situations. Social Studies - We began studying the Pilgrims, and students will each create a nonfiction book about the Pilgrims. We'll continue working on this next week! Miscellaneous - Our monthly reading projects are due next Friday, January 29th. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!
Just an FYI that there won't be Word Study homework next week due to the shortened week.
Reading - This week students began working on their book recommendations for realistic fiction. The recommendations will tie together all the work we've done throughout the unit so far. Students who have returned permission slips will get to post their recommendations to our classroom blog! Writing - Students finished revising their information texts and began editing them. We'll move on to publishing next week. Stay tuned for information on our next Writers' Celebration - these pieces will take a while to publish, but once I can predict when we'll be done, I'll set a date for the celebration! Math - We began our new unit, Area and Perimeter. The concepts of area and perimeter can be challenging for students to distinguish between, so any real-world applications and connections would be great! If you are measuring around the house, getting a new rug, or walking the perimeter of the grocery store, help your student make these connections! Our multiplication study next week will be a review week of 0s, 1s, 2,s 10s, and 5s. We'll do a longer check-in on Friday so students can get a sense of what they're retaining over the slightly more long-term. Science/Social Studies - We finished up our Science unit with students demonstrating how their carts rolled. We started our new Social Studies unit: the Pilgrims! Miscellaneous - No school this Monday, January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. See our Instagram feed for a picture of our third grade project connecting our lives to Dr. King's legacy! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Happy New Year! The big news in 2016 is that our class was lucky enough to be awarded a generous grant from the Arlington Education Foundation. We are so grateful to receive 5 standing desks and stools. Here is one article that talks about some of the benefits of standing desks. We'll rotate through using the desks on a weekly basis so all students get a chance to use the desks. Right now, we are still waiting for the stools to be shipped. Many students volunteered to use the desks without the stools, so I'll start with those students using the desks over the next few weeks. These students will have alternate spots to sit in the room for those times they want to sit.
Our class has been working hard to improve transition times to allow us more learning time. Each time they complete a transition in less than 4 minutes, they earn the extra minutes towards a reward. This week, the class hit 30 minutes and earned a pajama day with an afternoon read-a-thon. So, Friday, January 15th will be a pajama day for students who would like to participate. I will go over details with them this Wednesday, but students are welcome to wear school-appropriate pajamas, bring slippers for classroom wear, and/or bring one stuffed animal or small pillow. The stuffed animal or pillow must be able to fit inside students' lockers. Reading - We finished our small group realistic fiction books and students are now doing a culminating project with individual realistic fiction books. They'll create a book recommendation, which we hope to post on a classroom blog - please keep your eyes out for more information and a permission slip for this! Writing - Students have been working incredibly hard to finish drafting and revising their information writing. Next week, we'll edit the pieces. Math - We are wrapping up our study of multiplication and division, but will definitely keep working on multiplication facts! We'll also cycle back to important concepts to practice. Our next unit: area and perimeter! Science - We began our last investigation in our unit, which has students work as engineers create carts that roll. We'll wrap this up next week! Miscellaneous - Next week is a pretty regular week! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. |
Mrs. WalterPlease visit here regularly for updates on what we're learning in third grade! Subscribe to the RSS feed below. Archives
February 2016
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