Third Grade News From Room 2108
Mr. Donnellon's Classroom Newsletter
Odds and Ends:
Stay warm and dry! Thursday, December 14, brought the first "Snow Day" of the school year. I hope you were able to enjoy the day and did not get too stressed out with the shoveling out.
Students will watch, "Because of Winn-Dixie" on Friday, December 22. Thank you for returning those movie permission slips so promptly!
Math Worshop:
Reader's Workshop:
Writer's Workshop:
We have begun our unit on the "Persuasive Essay". As Lucy Calkins states, "Third-graders are brim full of opinions. They'll argue for later bedtimes, puppies, trips to Disney World, baby sisters, and pizza for dinner. They'll assert passionately that chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla. They'll claim they need new markers, new shoes, the next book in the hot new series. And the list goes on. Eight- and nine-year-olds have no problem being seen and heard and making opinions well known. And that's great news!"
As most third graders are ready and eager to persuade others, this unit will channel their opinions into writing that can make a difference. This unit is tailored to help students transfer this exuberance and passion into working for local and then more global causes, realizing that their voices have power and the well-supported opinions can and do change the world.
Social Studies:
Due to the snow day, the final test over the "Geography of Michigan" will take place on Friday, December 15. Please remind students to look over their study guides. Our next unit is on Michigan History. We will begin the unit by looking at the development of Waterford through a Historian's lens, looking at both primary and secondary sources and artifacts. We will then answer the questions:
- What happened?
- When did it happen?
- Who was involved?
- Why did it happen? (This last question looks at cause/effect relationships.)
Next we review the prehistoric Native American groups found in Michigan and the reasons they came and settled here. Once that wraps up we study the Native American groups known as the "Three Fires" by studying their common culture and how each of the groups specialized in different things which allowed them to settle in different environments/areas of Michigan.