March 17, 2017March 17, 2017
Dear 3rd grade parents,
I can’t believe we’re quickly approaching the end of March, soon to be Spring Break! Whew! This year feels like it’s flying!
A lot has been going on in 3rd grade since our last update- I enjoyed meeting with you at our conferences in February, students finished up their Tic Tac literary assignments and enjoyed an all 3rd grade celebration, and we’re off to a great start on our third trimester!
Curriculum Update
In the area of math, 3rd grade has been wrapping up our unit on multiplication and division. Students have been working with products and quotients of whole numbers and applying properties of operations to problem-solving situations. Students have uncovered patterns within multiplication and division and use these to build fluency.
Our next unit in math will be on developing our understanding of fractions as numbers.
In the area of reading, students have been placed in student-led book clubs. In these clubs, students have been assigned a book to discuss with their peers. They have been assigning each other chapters to read. Students are in the process of creating a summative project to show their knowledge of the book. Book clubs had the option of making a board game, creating a reader’s theater script and performing, making a newspaper, a mock interview, a comic strip, or an art exhibit.
In the area of writing, students are in the drafting stage of their realistic fiction stories. We learned how authors use a story arc to help plan a realistic fiction story, including multiple problems that the character has to resolve before a final solution at the end. Be sure to ask your 3rd grader about their story arc and realistic fiction story!
In the area of science, students began exploring the structures and functions found in various animals. Students have also researched different habitats, while making connections as to why animals have certain structures in order for them to survive in a certain habitat. For example, a structure of a whale is the blowhole. The function of the blowhole is so a whale can breath! Ask your 3rd grader to share a structure/function example with you!
Classroom Update
Students are incredibly excited about the start of our classroom newspaper. 3rd graders voted for a newspaper name, reached out to previous teachers for a letter of recommendation before applying for jobs, and now hold positions at our class newspaper! We will share our first edition of Scott’s Super Newspaper at the end of next week! Be on the lookout!
Ss filled out apps and got letters of rec. Will they get a job at our class newspaper?! Spoiler: they were all hired! #3rdgrade #journalism pic.twitter.com/Pyb2EBcA7k
— Kathryn Scott (@MissScott_says) March 10, 2017
I introduced a new resource for students after we read the story, The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter. I taught students about a thesaurus, a tool used to help us find exciting synonyms for words used in our writing. This brought up many interesting conversations about words and how depending on the topic of conversation, words can have a different meaning. For example, the word MAD can either mean angry or crazy depending on the topic. Please be aware that when a student typed DOG into the thesaurus, a certain word came up that we knew was not appropriate, which brought up more discussion. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.
Forest View News
*This Monday, March 20, is International Day of Happiness. Encourage your child to wear orange to school and, of course, wear a smile!
*Friday, March 24th – Early Dismissal at 2:35pm
*No School March 27-31 – Spring Break
*April 8th – support our very own Charlotte Hansen as she represents Forest View at the D59’s Got Talent Show
Dear 3rd grade parents,
I can’t believe we’re quickly approaching the end of March, soon to be Spring Break! Whew! This year feels like it’s flying!
A lot has been going on in 3rd grade since our last update- I enjoyed meeting with you at our conferences in February, students finished up their Tic Tac literary assignments and enjoyed an all 3rd grade celebration, and we’re off to a great start on our third trimester!
Curriculum Update
In the area of math, 3rd grade has been wrapping up our unit on multiplication and division. Students have been working with products and quotients of whole numbers and applying properties of operations to problem-solving situations. Students have uncovered patterns within multiplication and division and use these to build fluency.
Our next unit in math will be on developing our understanding of fractions as numbers.
In the area of reading, students have been placed in student-led book clubs. In these clubs, students have been assigned a book to discuss with their peers. They have been assigning each other chapters to read. Students are in the process of creating a summative project to show their knowledge of the book. Book clubs had the option of making a board game, creating a reader’s theater script and performing, making a newspaper, a mock interview, a comic strip, or an art exhibit.
In the area of writing, students are in the drafting stage of their realistic fiction stories. We learned how authors use a story arc to help plan a realistic fiction story, including multiple problems that the character has to resolve before a final solution at the end. Be sure to ask your 3rd grader about their story arc and realistic fiction story!
In the area of science, students began exploring the structures and functions found in various animals. Students have also researched different habitats, while making connections as to why animals have certain structures in order for them to survive in a certain habitat. For example, a structure of a whale is the blowhole. The function of the blowhole is so a whale can breath! Ask your 3rd grader to share a structure/function example with you!
Classroom Update
Students are incredibly excited about the start of our classroom newspaper. 3rd graders voted for a newspaper name, reached out to previous teachers for a letter of recommendation before applying for jobs, and now hold positions at our class newspaper! We will share our first edition of Scott’s Super Newspaper at the end of next week! Be on the lookout!
Ss filled out apps and got letters of rec. Will they get a job at our class newspaper?! Spoiler: they were all hired! #3rdgrade #journalism pic.twitter.com/Pyb2EBcA7k
— Kathryn Scott (@MissScott_says) March 10, 2017
I introduced a new resource for students after we read the story, The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter. I taught students about a thesaurus, a tool used to help us find exciting synonyms for words used in our writing. This brought up many interesting conversations about words and how depending on the topic of conversation, words can have a different meaning. For example, the word MAD can either mean angry or crazy depending on the topic. Please be aware that when a student typed DOG into the thesaurus, a certain word came up that we knew was not appropriate, which brought up more discussion. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.
Forest View News
*This Monday, March 20, is International Day of Happiness. Encourage your child to wear orange to school and, of course, wear a smile!
*Friday, March 24th – Early Dismissal at 2:35pm
*No School March 27-31 – Spring Break
*April 8th – support our very own Charlotte Hansen as she represents Forest View at the D59’s Got Talent Show
