Mrs. Loppnow's News & Notes
Week of October 22, 2018
I hope you have all had a great week. Students have been working hard in Third Grade, and finding some time to have fun, too. It's hard to believe that Halloween in next week which means...November is, too! The year is zooming by!
As I prepare for the upcoming conferences, please let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns you would like me to address. Our 15 minutes together is not a lot of time, so I want to be sure I get to everything you need. I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Loppnow
A Peek into this Week and Next!
Math: This week we reviewed and took the test on Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction. A note went home today to share the results of that test and hopefully provides a deeper understanding of the specific topics your child needs to continue to practice. I look forward to sharing the contents of their math portfolio during the upcoming conferences! Don't forget to use the Student Resources page to find specific activities to practice.
Next week we will begin...MULTIPLICATION! The curriculum we use is called Contexts for Learning: Mathematics. This is a little different approach as students work to solve problems based on realistic contexts. We will begin with The Grocery Store where students will practice repeated addition, skip counting, doubling strategies, and identifying "groups of" an object. We will have some traditional practice with multiplication facts which will help increase fact fluency. More information will come home on that in the coming weeks.
Social Studies: Don't forget, the MAP PROJECTS are due on MONDAY! I can't wait to see the final results and hear the kids share. Next week we will also spend time reviewing what we have learned about maps. Students will get a study guide and some review items on Thursday to review before the test on Friday. Don't worry, we will spend a lot of time in class practicing, too!
Reader's Workshop: This week we looked at our first "Paired Passage". One text was an informational text and the other was a fictional drama. Students practiced FINDING EVIDENCE to support their ideas and answers. We are use close reading strategies to identify the "big ideas" of each passage and how the texts relate to one another. Students are also learning to "tun in to interesting words" and find meaning based on the evidence in the text. In guided reading groups, students are practicing Asking and Answering Questions with their small group texts.
Standards Based Instruction
Third grade is new to the standards based approach to grading. I will be honest, there have been some growing pains along the way. We are doing our best to navigate the changes and document the best information to share with you regarding your child's grade. As such, I have been creating student portfolios to share with you at the upcoming conferences. I know it is tough to know what is going on in math when there are not a lot of "papers" that come home. For this first reporting session, I have kept most of the evidence in these portfolios.I look forward to sharing them with you soon. I am hoping the information in this weekly update will provide you with enough information to know what we are working on in the classroom, and ideas for at-home practice.
Please see the video below for a short explanation of the new grading process. In the meantime, THANK YOU for your patience with me. I look forward to sharing with you at conferences in November.
Keyboarding Camp!
Mrs. Larsen has been engaging the Third Graders with her creative ways to introduce the HOME ROW! We are lucky to have such an amazing Media Specialist to help us with our lessons!
Little Red Typinghood!
Keyboard Ninja Master
Harry Potter-Typer
Battle of the Books Titles 2018-2019
Boosterthon-GLOW RUN!
We are moving quickly up our Pledge-O-Meter! As of this moment, the students have earned CRAZY SOCK DAY, which we will have on MONDAY!
FYI: Our Dollar amount is represented by lap. For instance, we currently have $31.00 that would be multiplied by 30 (avg number of laps per student) to get our actual dollar amount raised. Confusing, I know, but... Way to go!!
MATH SPOTLIGHT STRATEGY
This week's SPOTLIGHT STRATEGY is...ADDITION and SUBTRACTION with REGROUPING!
REMINDERS & REQUESTS:
- Keyboarding Camp Celebration: I am still looking for donations of: Hershey's chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and Golden Grahams cereal for our activity on the 31st. Please let me know if you are able to help. We also are looking to borrow a few "Pop Up" tents for the day. If you have one you are willing to loan to us, please let me know!
- Reading Logs: Rocky's Reading and Writing Club sheets are due on MONDAY! Please make sure you have recorded your minutes AND received a parent signature. Thank you! Writing notebooks should be returned each Monday for an opportunity to SHARE.
UPCOMING EVENTS
10-31: Keyboarding Camp Celebration
11-5: Wendy's Night
11-6: NO SCHOOL
11-15 & 11-20: Conferences
11-22 & 11-23: NO SCHOOL
12-3: WENDY'S NIGHT: THIRD GRADE TEACHERS HOST!
12-8: Barnes & Noble Day
12-22: Winter Break Begins