Class Newsletter
News for Bammerlin/Mongenas Team
Content Corner
In Word Study, we have been focusing on pronouns and verbs. We have learned how pronouns take the place of nouns in our writing so that our writing isn't so repetitive and it make it sound more interesting to our readers. We have also been working on verbs and verb tenses. Students have learned the different rules for making a verb past tense.
In Reading Workshop, we have worked on many skills over the past couple of weeks, but most recently we have focused on identifying main idea and the details. We also continue to work on story elements and making connections while we read. We also are working on the strategy of visualizing and creating pictures in our mind while reading.
We also have switched our focus to the genre of non-fiction. As a means of understanding non-fiction more clearly we have been working on identifying the main idea of a text and how the text features help us to understand the text, as well. When working on main idea and details, we are looking at "what is this passage mostly about and what are the details that support that main idea?"
When looking at non-fiction writing, we really take a hard look at the text features and discover how they help us better understand the material. Students were introduced to the bold print, pictures with captions, titles and subtitles, diagrams, and table of contents, just to name a few of the text features they have be working on.
In Writing Workshop, we continue to work on improving our writing. We just finished writing our descriptive pet paragraphs and our turkey persuasive letter. With our descriptive paragraph writing we worked on building a good "lead" to grab the reader's attention followed by details to support our topic sentence. Finally, we worked on our word choice by adding vivid verbs, exact adjectives, and similes to create a vivid mind picture for our reader. We also continue to work on the basics of good paragraph writing: topic sentence, detail/body, and concluding sentence. Through their writing, our goal is for each student to create a writing piece that the reader can visualize. Now, we have moved onto writing a conservation persuasive writing piece. The students began the process of researching and gathering information on ways that you can conserve at your home and why it is so important to conserve. The students will next write a 3 paragraph persuasive writing piece about why it is important to conserve our resources.
In Math, our big focus has been multiplication. We have practiced numerous strategies to help us solve and understand the process of multiplication. The students have been working very hard on this. They seem to have a deep understanding of multiplication and what it means. We have now begun discussing division. The students are very excited for this and they love to see the strong connection between multiplication and division. Remember to keep working on multiplication facts at home. Our goal is to know them by memory by the end of third grade :)
In Science, we began our first unit on Earth's Resources. During this unit, the students are learning first hand the importance of soil, the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources, as well as the meaning of contamination and conservation.
Important Dates & Reminders
· Dec 1st-2nd – AIR Testing
· Dec. 8th and 10th– MAP testing
· Dec. 18th 2:20-3:30– Winter Party
Green Acres/Space Station Conservation
In the month of November all of the 3rd grade classes went on a field trip to Green Acres. Students learned about our Earth's Resources and how soil is layered material that is made up of organic material, water, and living organisms. Students also discovered that soil looks differently in different locations and rocks can be categorized by their characteristics and properties that they possess.
We also were lucky to have The National Theater for Children come to our school and present "Space Station Conservation" to all of the 3rd graders on the importance of conservation and what we can do to save our resources. It was a fun way to learn about conservation!
Technology
Seed Sightings
These students have been seen spreading the seeds of LIFESKILLS.
Ethan, Walker, Jackson, Crisper, Ryan and Simon are showing collaboration and teamwork by working together on their creative writing piece.
Kamryn and Pierre are always cheerful and smiling! How great to be greeted in this way!
Aidan and Alyssa always do a great job with their handwriting.
Amy C. Mongenas
3rd Grade ELA Teacher
Indian Hill Elementary School
Email: amy.mongenas@ih.k12.oh.us
Website: http://indianhillschools.org/es/
Location: 6100 Drake Road, Cincinnati, OH
Phone: 513-272-4724
Jennifer Bammerlin
Indian Hill Elementary School
Email: jennifer.bammerlin@ih.k12.oh.us
Location: 6100 Drake Rd, Cincinnati, OH, United States