Third Grade News
May 2015
Important Information
*Please check your child's ABC countdown daily. There are many things on the list that cannot happen without students bringing something in from home. We are excited to "let our hair down" and have a little fun while still learning these last few weeks of school.
*Wednesday, May 6th - Math test over measurement
*Thursday, May 7th - End of quarter Reading test
*Tuesday, May 12th - End of quarter Writing assessment
*Wednesday, May 13th - School Stores are open for business
*Wednesday, May 13th - Word Study Post-Test
Social Studies Update
It's school store time! The Economics unit is almost complete, and on Wednesday, May 13th we will have the opportunity to have a real-world application of economics! The school store will be open! As a reminder, the School Store parent letter when home on Monday April 27th and it’s due back on Monday May 4th. Please sign and list the good or service your child will be doing and don’t forget to check the bottom as to whether your child can or cannot purchase food from the stores.
Investigating Science
Now that most of our major tests are complete, instead of a magnets unit test, our magnets summative grade will be based on a curriculum based choice board that will be done and graded in class on Monday, May 4th and Tuesday, May 5th. A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to choose how they learned a concept. Choice boards usually have about nine squares. (There is no minimum or maximum.) Inside each square is an activity. Students will be asked to choose one activity to complete over the two days. Some examples are to draw, explain, write, create etc.
Math Corner
In the coming weeks, the students will be using all of the math skills they have learned this year to complete a few math projects. One project will focus on area and perimeter as well as graphing; in the other project, students will use what they have learned to plan a pretend "end of the year field trip and party". It is fun and exciting to see how math can help you in the real world.
Reading Rocks
The last few weeks of school we will focus on the following:
What hidden meaning in relation to the characters, setting, problem, solution and plot are found by examining the illustrations closely?
We will be looking at different pieces of literature and zoom in to the specific details in the illustrations that tell another part of the story.
Dramas: Students will learn the language/vocabulary associated with a play or drama. We will practice reading scripts fluently through reader's theater and put on mini class productions to practice.
Vocabulary will include: play, drama, script, character, actor, actress, lines, scenery, props, narrator, set, scene
Poetry: We will examine, interpret, and write poetry. Students will learn the correct vs. incorrect language associated with poetry
incorrect correct
author poet
paragraph stanza
sentences lines/verses
Reading homework for the end of the year will focus on reading for pleasure. Students will bring home a reading log starting Monday. It will be a front/back copy, divided in sections Monday to Thursday. Students need to read for at least 20 minutes, record the title, number of pages read, author, and a brief summary of what they have read. The lines allotted for the summary should be completely filled. Third grade expectations for a brief summary is 3-4 sentences. Students that do not put in a full effort on the summary or complete the reading log will read at recess.
Writing for Success
Grammar Rules
Review, review, REVIEW! We will continue to review the skills that we listed in the April newsletter, and those that we have worked on throughout the year. Be sure to check out our eClass page for links to some great resources for review. We will also try to squeeze in a few mentor sentences and of course some Mountain Language for review as well. A fun way to review is to have your child diagram a sentence on occasion. If you allow them to do it using white boards and dry erase markers it will be much more fun! We will be taking our final summative writing assessment on Tuesday, May 12.
Word Study Fun
The final three lessons introduce roots for numbers from 1-3: uni-(1), bi- (2), tri (3). These number roots most often occur at the beginning of the word. The final test on all three roots will be next week.