Team Third Grade
Mrs. Behm, Mrs. Komar, Mrs. Frye & Mrs. Marcks
October 16, 2020
Community
At the publishing of this newsletter we have completed 7 weeks of school. We are aware of our building, local and state news regarding the increase of COVID-19 cases. As a 3rd grade team we continue to evaluate our digital platform of BB9 to best support all our learners. We are grateful for the amazing efforts of our students toward their practice and responsibility within our procedures of BB9, Explain Everything and Google Classroom. There have been some challenges along the way but the desire to persevere and do the best we can is strong within our team of teachers and all of our students. We would like to thank our families for their continued and consistent support and patience in this historical time. Your support makes a huge difference!
Language Experience
During our language experience, we have launched our second unit. The theme for this unit is identity. The students will collectively unpacked what the concept of identity means and will work hard to analyze how the characters’ identities are formed and shaped. The students will discover different ways that these individuals responded to a challenge, event, or relationship that caused them to problem solve and persevere. It will become much clearer as to why each person we learn about was able to grow a positive identity and become the best version of themselves.
Grammar/Patterns of Power
During our language experience, we have also been focusing on using coordinating conjunctions and a comma to produce compound sentences. We will be rereading our own sentences to see if each side of the compound sentence answers these questions: Who or what does or is something? And what are they or what do they do?
Reader's Workshop
In Reader’s Workshop, we will begin to explore a variety of biographies both independently and in small literature discussion groups. We will learn, question and develop theories about individuals and discover a variety of ways that they will make a difference in the lives of others. We will also use a variety of resources to gather more information and grow a better understanding of the people that we will be learning about in our biography study.
Writing Workshop
Writers have selected a seed story to publish this week. This is exciting! This personal narrative will be the foundation of their first series of grades in writing. Ask your writer what story they selected to publish. Next week writers will begin a new writing unit called Identity / Biography. Students will learn about research and determine what details are important and unimportant in writing their own biography. Stay tuned for what biography topic they get to research. Our 3rd grade writers are growing.
Word Study & Phonics
In our phonics study this week, we have worked with both “Long o” and “Long u” vowel sounds. It is fun to listen to your child emphasize these long vowel sounds out loud. Next week we will work on the many different spellings (7 of them!) of “Long e”.
Math Workshop
We are well under way into our second unit - addition and subtraction strategies! Students are learning how to use efficient strategies while solving equations and word problems. You can read more about these by reading the Unit 2 Parent Newsletter at the bottom of this newsletter. Curious on how to do the strategy? Ask your kiddo! You may ask: “How would you add 514 + 356 on a number line? What about by expanding the number and using the partial sums strategy?”
Social Studies
We are all finished with our geography unit. Hopefully, you had a chance to see the world map study guide that your child brought home to study for their assessment. If you would like to see how your son or daughter is doing, just ask them to show you their practice work, graded assignments/assessments, and teacher comments right on Google Classroom.
Science
Our second force and motion experiment is focused on launching rubber stoppers using the flipper system. They are discovering a cause and effect relationship between the length of the flip stick and the distance it traveled as well as the compression of the flip stick and how far the rubber stopper traveled. Next we will take what we learned from our flipper system and pendulum experiments to do a final project. Please watch for a note to come home on Monday asking for some supplies that your child can use for our design challenge. They will each need their own bag of supplies by Friday, October 23rd so we can start their final project.
Second Step
As we are starting Unit 2: Empathy, students are gaining a solid foundation on how to respond to strong feelings and opinions. They also are understanding how people may hold different perspectives on the same topic, and that each person’s opinion matters. Next week, we will dive into how feelings may conflict about a situation. For example, you may feel happy about something but also be bittersweet towards what is unfolding. Keep an eye out for Second Step support sheets that you may do with your child.
Conferences!
If you haven’t signed up for parent teacher conferences yet, please do so by using the link for your child’s teacher below.
Mrs. Behm: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084dacab23a2fa7-mrs52
Mrs. Komar: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084dacab23a2fa7-mrs45
Mrs. Frye: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084dacab23a2fa7-mrs51
Mrs. Marcks: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084dacab23a2fa7-mrs58
We are looking forward to meeting with you! Thank you to those of you who have already met with us to discuss your child. :)