Third Grade Weekly News
Week of October 1st
Dates to Remember
- Monday, October 1st: Wear Blue for Bullying Prevention Month; Tech Trek labels Due
- Tuesday, October 2nd: Murphy Book Exchange
- Thursday, October 4th: Broomall Book Exchange
- Friday, October 5th: 2 Hour Early Dismissal; Reading and Math Homework Due
Important News
For all Reading and Writing related questions please contact Mrs. Broomall and for all math related questions please contact Ms. Murphy. Of course we will be happy to forward emails to the correct teacher and address any questions and concerns.
TYPING CLUB
As the students use of technology increases, so does the need for efficient keyboarding skills. Efficient keyboarding requires less time to accomplish tasks, more focus on skills than on the aspect of keyboarding, and less errors. Your child will spend a small amount of time at school practicing keyboarding, but they can also practice keyboarding at home. All students are enrolled into a website called Typing Club which they can access at home from the Whittier site, Media Center, Whittier Start Page, Typing Club. Any extra practice at home is helpful.
TECH TREK
Students brought home their TECH TREK packet last week. We appreciate your support with this event. Since our 1st event- 5 years ago we have been able to ensure that every classroom has smart boards, Ipads, laptops, and Chromebooks.
Our students in Grades 3 and 4 are starting the year with each student having access to a device for learning. Our goal for this year- to purchase Chromebooks for our students to be 1:1 in 5th Grade.
Labels due: Thursday September 27th
If you are able to assist with envelope stuffing, we could use your help. - Tuesday October 2nd@ 4pm. Can't get to WHES till later- don't worry- it goes on for quite a while. But many hands make light work!
CHESS, CODING, AND ROBOTICS CLUB
Students brought home a flier for the clubs listed above. If you missed the flier, there is still time to register. Here are the links:
FIND OUT FIRST
In order for you to receive Find Out First notices, our school must enter the parent/guardian email address in eSchool.
- To get FindOutFirst (FOF) email such as emergency-closing notices and school newsletters, parents MUST provide a current email address to the school and notify the school if it changes.
- This means clearly printing any change on the Student Information Card parents complete at the beginning of the school year.
- For new parents, it means providing a current email address during enrollment.
- The new procedure for parent news uses the email address uploaded nightly from the FCPS Student Information System to FOF. Notifying the school is the ONLY way to update a parent's primary email address for FindOutFirst news.
Thank you for working with us so that we can communicate best with you!
PTA
Please take a moment and become a member of the PTA. Your membership entitles you to discounts in and around Frederick County. More importantly, your membership says that you are in support of our school. We would love to have you join us. ALL ARE WELCOME!
Follow the PTA on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/WhittierPTAFrederick/
Our next PTA meeting is Monday, October 15th @ 6:30pm.
Homework
Reading Homework (Mrs. Broomall):
Homework begins this week. Your child will bring home on Monday, a detailed letter explaining the reading homework. The letter and book recommendations can be found on my class website. Please have your child let me know if they are having difficulty selecting “just right” books. Young readers selecting and reading “just right” books is the key to success with this homework.
Math Homework (Ms. Murphy):
Your child will bring home on Monday, a detailed letter explaining the math homework. The letter and homework menu can be found on my class website. Please have your child let me know if they are having difficulty completing the activities on the homework menu.
Language Arts: Reading and Writing
Spelling:
Correct spelling is often an area of concern for many students and parents. Here are a few tips for when your child is writing at home.
High Frequency words-These are words that appear frequently in our reading and writing. These words are commonly memorized. Students use a list to refer to when using these words. They also have a copy of this list in their Reading Homework Booklet. Students should use this list to check the spellings of these words until the word has become a part of their memory. Students are expected to spell these words correctly.
New words and multisyllabic words-Students are encouraged to use higher level vocabulary words in their writing to help their writing and vocabulary grow. Spelling these words can provide a challenge. Students are taught to break apart these words into syllables on their arms (ask your child to show you) and to spell out each syllable using what they know about letter patterns and their sounds. Once they have attempted to spell the word, they ask, “Does this look right?” and then make changes as necessary. For each writing, students use a sticky note to write these words. Then when I conference with students, we review these words and work together to spell them correctly. Of course using a dictionary or an online dictionary is always recommended.
“Right there words”-When students are copying words from a resource such as a word list or book, they are expected to spell these words correctly because they are right there.
Reading:
I can use the structure of fiction literature to write a summary which shows that I understood what I read.
I can analyze character’s actions and feelings to help me understand the plot of the story.
Writing:
I can edit my small moment narrative so it has few errors and it is clear to my reader.
I can “hook”my reader by beginning my small moment narrative with an interesting lead such as sound words, dialogue, or painting a picture in their mind.
Math
This week, we will begin Unit 2 in math. Unit 2 focuses on building the foundation of multiplication. We will begin by using their knowledge of arrays from last year to discuss how to find the area of a rectangle by counting unit squares. Then we will discuss the concept of multiplication and how multiplication relates to equal groups.
Click here for an overview of the unit and ideas to try at home!
Social Studies/Science
This week we will begin our first science unit: Weather and Climate. Our driving question for this unit is How can recognizing trends and patterns of weather and climate in different regions help prepare people for and lessen the impacts of natural hazards? Students will begin by setting up an interactive science notebook that will be used throughout the school year.
Later in the week, students will explore the differences between weather and climate. Weather is what happens day to day, while climate is the trend of the weather over time.
Leader in Me
Students explored Habit 2- Begin with the End in Mind
Setting goals and making plans helps students find success now and in the future.
Future skills that can be learned by beginning with the end in mind:
1 Use critical thinking to organize information.
2 Develop the intrapersonal skills of self-confidence and self-management.
3 Use creative thinking to solve problems.
4 Develop the ability to set goals and follow through.
5 Develop strong oral and written communication skills.
How you can help your child at home:
1 Set behavior, academic, and/or other goals at the beginning of the week
2 Make a plan for accomplishing homework
3 Talk with your child about the schedule
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Amy Broomall
240-236-3160
Robin Murphy
240-236-3156