Third Grade News
Mrs. Behm, Mrs. Hempel, and Mrs. Pilo
March 23, 2018
Learner Profile:
The learner profile for March is communicator. We will look for students who understand and express ideas confidently and creatively as well as work effectively and willingly in communication with others.
Language Workshop:
In Language Workshop, we are studying the theme of power. Each of the books that we will be reading in this unit have an interesting theme about how people can still have power when experiencing different types of difficulties in their lives. The first book that we have read in the unit is entitled Tight Times. Please have your child share the plot of this book with you.
Reading Workshop:
In Reading Workshop, some groups have just completed a Literature Discussion book or they are starting a new book this week. The students are very excited to receive their new books and are anxious to get started discussing them with their group members.
In Reader’s Workshop, we continue to grow the students’ skills in the areas of critical reading, identifying social issues present in texts, and discussing reading to better understand. We are working on growing our higher level reading skills each and every
day.
Writing Workshop:
Students are working on their fractured fairy tale. Most students chose Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Billy Goats Gruff to create their fractured fairy tale. Students were encouraged to use dialogue in their tales. We are hoping to get our fractured fairy tales completed and ready to share before spring break.
Math:
Today we had our final assessment on equivalent and comparing fractions. Recently we have been working on a measurement unit. In third grade students need to be able to tell time to the nearest minute with AM and PM. We have also been practicing elapsed time. This would be a good thing to keep practicing at home, for example: you could ask them to figure out how much time it takes them to get ready in the morning if they get up at 7:19 AM and need to leave by 8:07 AM. They should draw a number line to solve it.
We have also been working on measuring length to the nearest inch, half inch, and quarter inch. It would be good practice to measure various things around the house. Finally we have been organizing our measurement data into a tally chart and making line plots. This is the 3rd type of graph we have learned this year. So they should already have a good idea how to make a tally chart and answer questions about the graph.
Social Studies:
The last few weeks we have had several lessons on digital citizenship. The lessons focused on finding helpful and appropriate websites, being kind when online, and being careful about what information you give out. The next two weeks we will have a brief social studies unit on “Wants and Needs”.
Second Step:
“Managing Test Anxiety” was our Second Step lesson this week. It taught our students the first two “Calming -Down Steps” that they can use when they feel strong feelings.
Report Cards & Continuums:
Student report cards went live for viewing on Monday, March 19th. If you have not yet seen your child’s report card, please make sure you look to see their current progress for academic subjects, characteristics of lifelong learners, and comments. Continuums have also been updated recently. Please refer back to the 2 files that were shared with you via email back in December. Any questions should be directed to your child’s teacher for that subject.
FORWARD Testing:
Third graders will be starting their state FORWARD testing after spring break. Students will be using their ipads and earbuds/headphones to take the test. Ask your son or daughter if they have earbuds/headphones that work and are able to be kept at school all the time (not taken home each night). Please also make sure your son or daughter has their ipad each day and it’s charged to 100%. Thanks for your help in making this process go smoothly!