House

Getting to Know You Update:  I'm so proud of the kind, caring third grade family we'ver created!  We've had a wonderful time getting to know each other during the first month of school, and we're all looking forward to continuing  to strengthen our new friendships throughout the coming months.  Together, we'll make sure that all ouf our fabulous hopes and dreams for the year come true.

We spent a lot of time discussing the six Pillars of Character.  Children talked about what each pillar means to them, and we've been looking for examples of how we show each pillar in our everyday lives.  We even look for how characters in stories are following the Pillars of Character. 

Remember!

Responsibility

Respect

Fairness

Trustworthiness

Caring

Citizenship

 Please ask your child about our class rules!  We worked diligently as a class and with our teams to generate classroom rules that will help our Hopes and Dreams come true.  We then spent time discussing what these rules might look like and sound like.

Our Class Rules

Be responsible by doing what you need to do without being told.

Treat people the way you want to be treated.

Be respectful of our classroom, the Pillars of Character, and the objects around you.

Be happy, and have fun!

At the end of September, we had the priviledge of meeting our first grade building buddies.  It was really neat to interview our new friends and get to know them.  We can't wait until our next meeting this month!  Together, we'll be doing a little Halloween activity.

Brain Gym:  We've definitely been working those brain muscles over these past few weeks! I'm sure you've heard all about the fun exercises we've been doing to get our brains ready for learning.  Here are a few of the movements  we'll be learning to help our brains get integrated for learning.  Stay tuned for a few new exercises as we add onto our routine!

   PACE - set of 4 exercises to start our day

Lazy 8s & The Elephant - help with handwriting & spelling

Cross Crawls - help to learn spelling words & math

Thinking Caps - help refocus at any time

 Throughout the webpage, I've listed other exercises we've learned.  If your child is ever having some trouble getting focused for homework, remind them that they can do Brain Gym at home too! 

Don't forget your water bottles for those "Brain Drinks!"

Reading:   This month we'll be working on making meaningful connections to texts.  By seeing how literature connects to our own lives, we are able to understand what we read at a much deeper level.  As we work on each reading strategy, the students will be expected to apply them independently while reading their reading group books and books they're reading on their own.  We've also been learning how to respond to open-ended questions using tons of juicy details and support from the texts we're reading.

In the coming weeks, we'll be starting our first core book of the year:  Sarah Plain and Tall.  Please ask your child about this great story!  Through their reading, children will learn about life on the prairie, and they'll compare and contrast their lives to those of the main characters.

Brain Gym:  Calf Pumps, Thinking Caps, The Owl

 Writing:  This year we'll be learning to write like professional authors in Writer's Workshop.  Ralph Fletcher, Mattie Stepanek, Roald Dahl, Sharon Creech, and Patricia Polacco have already inspired our writing!  Recently, we learned about Writer's Notebooks, and we had loads of fun decorating our own.  Currently, we're working on the importance of punctuation to writing.  Without it, we wouldn't be allowed to breath while reading!  We'll also be working on collectng seed ideas for our personal narratives.  Whoever thought that in every single memory of our lives lies a wonderful story to tell?  Our third grade writers are learning that there are stoies hidden in every corner of their lives.  It's so exciting!  :)

Brain Gym:  The Elephant

Math:  In our current math unit, we'll be working on various problem solving strategies to use when working through story problems.  We'll also be learning the Partial Sums & Trade First Subtraction Algorithms.  As we learn these algorithms, please refer to your Student Reference Books as they will be an invaluable resource to both you and your child.  Not only will they reinforce learning, but they'll also be helpful when doing the homework.

FACT RINGS COMING THIS MONTH!

Please be on the lookout for fact rings coming home in the next couple of weeks.  Your child must practice his or her learning ring each night as a part of homework. 

These fact rings are to go home and come to school EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Practice is the key to mastery! Each week, a parent helper will review your child's rings with him/her.  If your child has mastered the facts on his/her learning ring, those facts will be transferred over to a zoom ring. 

PLEASE DO NOT TRANSFER ANY FACTS OFF OF THE RINGS AT HOME.  WE'LL DO THE TRANSFERRING HERE; HOWEVER, FEEL FREE TO SHUFFLE THE CARDS AROUND TO ENHANCE REVIEW. 

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Note:  If your child has mastered all of the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, he or she will NOT have fact rings!

How can I challenge my child in Math?

Encourage your child to complete the Practice Pages for the CML.  "If your child enjoys being challenged in Mathematics and shows enthusiasm for tackling challenging tasks - this is for them!"  Remind them to use their problem solving strategies & show all of their work! 

Happy Problem Solving!

Brain Gym:  Cross Crawls, Thinking Caps, The Owl

Science:  This month we'll be wrapping up our unit on Structures.  The children truly did a tremendous job creating and presenting their structures.  Their creativity never ceases to amaze me!  Also, please check out my links below and visit the Building Big website to learn even more about structures.  On the website, you'll learn about loads, forces, and bridges.  You'll even get to be engineers and help plan out a city's bridges!

Computer Lab:  This month the children will begin learning how to type without looking at the keyboard!  Yes!  It's true!  Once a week, the students will be working with the laptops on a program called Type to Learn in which they learn how to type without having to look down at the keys anymore.  You'll be surprised at how much they learn!