Third Grade Newsletter #1
Third Grade Newsletter
Volume 7, Number 1 September 5, 2008
Hello Parents! We have had a terrific start to our school year, and I have really enjoyed getting to know your children. This is such a nice, small group to work with, and I know we are going to have a successful year together. We have been busy learning procedures and routines of the classroom, and are just now starting to get to the meat of our curriculum. We have been busy, so here’s what’s been happening:
Reading ~ I have given each of the children fluency and comprehension assessments, and have placed them in reading groups with people of their same reading level. We will start our reading groups next week. I used this week to teach the kids how to complete the seat work independently that they will be working on every week. Our story for this week was called First Day Jitters. Hopefully this story was read aloud to you by your child this past Tuesday night. Your child will be reading each of our weekly stories aloud to you on Mondays (or Tuesday if we have off on Monday) so please make sure your child is accomplishing this with you every week. Your child will be given a reading test every Friday based on the skills learned that week.
Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson for this week was on fragments, statements, and questions. Everything we learn in grammar is review from last year, so there are no new grammar concepts in 3rd grade, just more practice. The kids will also have a grammar and spelling test every Friday. Please make sure your child practices their spelling words every night. I usually introduce the grammar lesson on Mondays, then the kids will have grammar homework on Thursday night to help prepare them for the test. The kids are to take home their grammar paper on Mondays, and use that to review the lesson each night for just a few minutes. We started expository writing this week. Please ask your child to explain to you what expository writing is. (I taught them to associate the word explain with expository.) The kids did a short paper on how to brush their teeth. We will learn from those and move to a longer assignment next week.
Math ~ We have made it all the way through chapter one in our math book. The kids learned about place value (last year they learned place value through thousands, this year we went up to hundred thousands), comparing numbers to 1,000, and number patterns. I realize that many of you helped re-explain the homework to your child this week, and I thank you for that. Math is third grade is very fast paced, and I’m not always allowed enough time to spend on a topic that I would like. We do math centers in here every few days, and that provides an opportunity for the kids to review and revisit concepts that we practiced earlier. I always allow the kids to bring home their math textbook if they want some help with their homework. If they found something confusing during the day, I will encourage them to bring it home along with their workbook.
Science ~ Our first chapter is on the water cycle! The kids did an experiment last week on how much water covers Earth’s surface. Ask your child to tell you about it if they haven’t already. Yesterday we read through the first part of our chapter and did some vocabulary definitions. All of our vocabulary words are always on the test, so it is a good idea for your child to bring home their science notebook (green) at least once a week to start reviewing those definitions.
Social Studies ~ This week in social studies we learned about communities. We discussed who lives in communities, what are communities, where are communities, and why do people live in communities. We read about a community called Eagle, Colorado. We looked at pictures of this community and your child had to illustrate the differences between our community and Eagle, Colorado’s community.
Other Areas of Interest:
We celebrated Michael’s 9th birthday last week on Wednesday. His actual birthday had been the Sunday before, August 24, and we were happy to celebrate with him a few days late. Happy birthday Michael!
Curriculum Night is coming up this Thursday, September 11, at 7:00. Please come! This is your opportunity to meet me and see where your child spends much of their day. I have important information to pass along to you that evening, so please make arrangements to be here on Thursday.
That’s it for now! The weather has taken a chilly turn, so please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for this change in temperature. I would like to thank all of you that came through for me and volunteered to help out with my reading groups: Mrs. Houpy, Mrs. Manos, Mrs. Plesha, Mrs. Sanchez, and Mrs. Stocchetti. I look forward to working with you, and I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to be with us here in the classroom. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!
Mrs. Sarah Adkins
