Third Grade Weekly News
Week of March 18th
Dates to Remember
- Monday, March 18th: Volunteer Training 6pm; PTA Meeting 6:30 pm
- Tuesday, March 19th: Murphy Book Exchange
- Wednesday, March 20th: Chevalier Book Exchange
- Thursday, March 21st: Broomall Book Exchange; Field Trip 11:45-2:15; Night of the Arts 5:30pm
- Friday, March 22nd: Pritts Book Exchange; Reading Homework Due; Class Picture Day
Field Trip Permission Slips
All permission slips and money were due last Friday, March 15th. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions.
Homework
Please see files below for information about reading and math homework. In order to provide students time to complete their STEM fair projects, there will be no math homework this week.
Ms. Pritts's homeroom class has a different reading assignment. Please email Mrs. Chevalier with any questions.
Language Arts
Reading:
This week, students will continue to read for meaning. Students will practice understanding an argument/topic through the lens of a writer. Students will describe logical connections and explain how reasons support the author’s claims and how evidence supports specific points in the text. Sample questions:
What key point does the author make from these sections?
How does the author connect the ideas in certain sentences (or paragraphs)?
Students will also analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics.
Compare literary elements and themes with two or more texts in one genre or more than one genre, depending on the grade level;
Compare central ideas, topics, or points of view with texts that have points of comparison and invite questions beyond superficial observations;
Analyze how ideas are transformed from one text to another; and
Synthesize ideas from texts depending on grade level.
Sample Questions:
What key conclusion ( or generalizations) about the topic/text can be made from comparing/contrasting ____ with (to) _____?
How is the same topic presented differently in Text A and Text B?
**Helpful hint - you can use these same questions to compare your days, favorite TV shows or commercials**
Writing:
The purpose of our writing unit during Quarter 3 is to Write to Persuade. During this unit, the students will develop opinions about topics, brainstorm support for their opinions, and organize their ideas into an essay. Persuasive writing pieces can be in the form of an essay, letter or petition. This is always a fun unit!
This week in writing, we will focus on how we can strengthen our argument to truly persuade our reader. Students may strength their arguments using examples, facts, comparisons, personal experiences, etc. See chart below.
Math
In the beginning of this week, we will finish Unit 8 in math. This unit focuses on deepening understanding about the relationship between multiplication and division. It discusses how you can use a multiplication problem to solve a division problem and vice versa.
This week, students will begin by using the 3 step problem solving strategy to solve 2 step word problems involving any operation. Students will make sense of the problem by taking notes. They will then use those notes to make a model and solve the problem using drawings and equations. Finally, they will communicate their answer by relating their solution back to the problem.
Later in the week, we will start Part B of Unit 7. This unit focuses on fractions and includes fractions on a number line, fractions beyond 1, equivalent fractions, whole numbers as fractions, and comparing fractions with the same numerator or same denominator. This part of Unit 7 involves determining equivalent fractions and comparing fractions with the same numerator and the same denominator.
We will begin this part of Unit 7 by determining equivalent fractions. Students will recognize that equivalent means equal and will use various visuals and number lines to determine which fractions are equivalent. They will also recognize that in order to for fractions to be equivalent, you must use the same sized whole when comparing.
Click here for an overview of the unit and ideas to try at home!
Social Studies/Science
This week, students will continue our new social studies unit called Road Trip. The driving question for this unit is: How can geography help us learn about the United States?.
This week, students will begin their research by creating a political map of that state. They will learn about the different states that border their state as well as their state's capital and different cities within that state.
Later in the week, students will review the different types of landforms and use them to explore physical maps.
STEM FAIR PROJECTS DUE ON MARCH 27; STEM FAIR MARCH 28TH
STEM Fair Projects Due on March 27:
Be sure to register your child's STEM Fair project here: https://goo.gl/forms/nJNzC4DjwZh3FQyM2 Required for grades 3-5 and optional for grades PreK-2. Remember no live animals and do not include anything of value. Taking pictures and displaying them on the board would be a safer option! Please also have lids on all containers. Questions? Email Tina Dattoli at tina.dattoli@fcps.org.
STEM Fair is March 28th from 6-8pm! Come enjoy STEM Fair project displays and various STEM stations for hands-on fun like edible slime, Lego balloon cars, Saving Sammy, coding, LittleBits, Ombre Butterflies, our famous egg drop, Gak, Balloon skewers and more! Remember to take your projects home with you that evening.
Questions? Contact Tina Dattoli at tina.dattoli@fcps.org.
Quarterly Expectations
Important News
SCHOOL PICTURES- MARCH 22ND
Class photos will be taken on Friday, March 22nd. Picture envelopes went home on March 7th in Thursday folders. Please have your student bring back their completed envelopes so they can have their class or individual photo to remember this wonderful school year!
PTA
Reminders:
PTA Discount Cards
We are still selling the PTA Discount Cards! Each card is $15 and can be used over and over again! This is a huge fundraiser for the year so please consider purchasing one if you'd like to. You can now purchase these right from the Whittier PTA Website! Click here: http://whittierelementarypta.com/Article/View/Discount-Cards-Available
Upcoming PTA Meetings:
Monday, March 18th
6:30pm-7:30pm: Media Center
Follow us on Facebook! We post all our events here!
https://www.facebook.com/WhittierPTAFrederick/
Night of the Arts THIS THURSDAY, March 21st
Whittier's Night of the Arts is right around the corner on Thursday, March 21st from 5:30pm to 8:00pm! Come to view and enjoy framed artwork from each of Whittier's nearly 700 students in the gym. Framed artwork will be on sale for $26 that evening (cash, check, or School Cash online credit card payments will be available). If you wish to purchase the framed artwork but are unable to attend the show frames can be purchased online via School Cash in advance on Wednesday , March 20th or Thursday March 21st. Frames paid for in advance will be held aside at the show. Please note that the $26 payment is for the quality frame and art mat with original artwork mounted inside. Artwork that is not purchased in the frame will be returned to students after the show. See Mrs. Coats (leah.coats@fcps.org) or Mrs. Hench (heidi.hench@fcps.org) with questions.
We are excited to perform SEVEN mini-concerts throughout the night! Please let us know who will attend the mini-concerts by filling out the short Google Form below for each of your students. See Miss Fishel (amanda.fishel@fcps.org) or Mr. Wagaman (damien.wagaman@fcps.org) with questions. Students will line up in the media center 10 minutes before their concert time. We look forward to an amazing Night of the Arts!
3rd grade mini-concert at 6:50pm
STEM NIGHT DONATIONS NEEDED:
STEM Night Donations Needed:
Our STEM Club is in need for the following items for a successful STEM Night on March 28th. Please consider donating any of these items below or send in a gift card for Walmart or Food Lion so that we can purchase items on this list. Please be sure to write STEM Night on your items and have your child drop them off in the library. Our STEM Club students thank you in advance for your help!
Gummy worms - 4 bags of 50 count
Egg cartons
Life-saver Gummies - 8 bags of 25 count
Bubble wrap
Marshmallow Fluff - 16 large containers
Aluminum foil
Confectioners/10x sugar - 10 boxes (1 lb)
Plastic cups - small and large
Eggs - 8 dozen
Cotton balls - 3 bags
Balloons - 4 packs of 50 count
Coffee filters - 200 small
Food coloring - 2 packs of various colors
Coffee filters - 50 large
Ziploc bags (sandwich size) - 200 ct Plastic wrap
Clear plastic cocktail cups (9 fl oz) - 4 packs of 50 count
Disposable bowls - 50
We will update this list as donations come in using this link:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qM6m0oOvAyQHLvCJwgYzMbgXbYVp0Vwn69c9hYMsDug/edit?usp=sharing
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Amy Broomall
240-236-3160
Jaime Chevalier
240-236-3158
Robin Murphy
240-236-3156
Megan Pritts
240-236-3154