January News
Ms. Brokenshire's Grade 3 Class
Farewell, January!
Math: We began working on the concept of multiplication using arrays, equal groups, and repeated addition models to understand the processes involved. Have your child build equal groups or arrange objects in equal rows and tell you the repeated addition equation as well as the multiplication sentence. This is always a fun concept for Grade 3 students and they love to show off what they know about this "grown up" math skill! We are also solidifying our mental math strategies for adding 2-digit numbers, often within a problem-solving context. Our end-of-Grade 3 outcome is to be able to perform number operations to 100 without the aid of manipulatives (including pencil & paper), so we are not focused on "carrying" or "borrowing", and instead we are using pictures, models, and open number lines to guide the mental process.
Social Studies/Science: We completed a mini-unit on Chinese New Year as a real-world exploration of traditions and celebrations in cultures other than our own. We are in the final lessons of a science unit on hearing and sound, and we have learned a lot about the nature of sound, how it is produced, and how we can control the pitch and volume of sound through musical instruments. We are looking forward to integrating our understandings of culture and sound when we research instruments from various cultures, and then we will construct one of our own.
Language Arts: Our guided reading groups are still going strong, and as always, students are working on developing skills appropriate for their current reading levels. So, while some students are working on building up their repertoire of sight words and reading accurately and fluently, others are broadening their vocabularies and investigating author's purpose and themes within more complex texts. Please continue to ensure that your child is reading at home regularly, as practice is the best way to become a better reader! We are also continuing our daily writing practice, and this month we added in more narrative writing through "Make Believe Monday" journal writing topics. We have had several mini-lessons on the writing process, with students learning to brainstorm, draft, incorporate peer and teacher feedback in making revisions to the draft, and then editing and publishing a final copy. Ask your child to tell you about some of the stories s/he has written recently. Another new feature of our language arts program is our use of "personal spelling lists". Students have a list of ten words that they should be learning to spell by memory. Please help your child memorize how to spell these words at home, and know that we are also practicing at school with independent spelling tasks and partner spelling tests. As soon as students demonstrate automaticity with their personal spelling words (for example, in daily journal writing), they will move on to new words to learn.
January in Review
Upcoming Dates
February 7 - Skating @ 9:00
February 9 - Special lunch day (Extreme Pita)
February 10 - No school for students
February 13 - Skating @ 9:00
February 14 - Valentine's Day
February 15 - Special snack day (Bles-Wold)
February 17 - Assembly @ 2:30
February 20-24 - No school for students
February 27 - Special lunch day (Domino's Pizza)
February 28 - Special presentation - Magic Show @ 9:00
Contact Info
Email: lorelie.brokenshire@wolfcreek.ab.ca
Location: 5424 50th Street, Lacombe, AB, Canada
Phone: 403.782.8726 (4172)
Twitter: @3_brok