Third Grade Newsletter
Third Grade Newsletter
Volume 7, Number 4 September 26, 2008
Hello Parents! We had a pretty good week together, although I have confiscated many toys from the kids. Many of them have these ball toys that turn into figures, called Bakugans, or something like that. I compared them to Transformers once, and the kids were quick to tell me the difference. J These small balls fit nicely in the desks, and I have found many children playing with them when they should be paying attention. Please make sure that you child leaves their toys at home. There is no place for them in school, and they only serve as a distraction. Even at recess, they often get lost or broken, so please check your child’s backpack to make sure there are no toys in there. We had a beautiful afternoon today for our Walk-a-Thon, so be sure to ask your child all about it. We had a busy week together, so here’s what’s been happening:
Reading ~ Our story this week was an informational nonfiction story about penguins in Antarctica. I hope you enjoyed reading it with your child! This was a story that led itself to great discussions as well as cross curricular projects. I enjoyed the discussions we held in our reading groups about penguins and how the fathers care for the egg, they sleep standing up, how the babies are fed, and how quickly the penguins grow up. We spent time in computer class writing stories about what it would be like to be a penguin in Antarctica, and the kids have been very creative. Be sure to ask your child about what they wrote. We also spent time yesterday during science watching the movie Penguin March which showed many of the things we had learned about. Big thanks to Jessica for bringing in that movie to share!
Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on predicates. We spent time on Monday learning the Mr. Morton song which the kids really got in to. The main chorus line goes “Mr. Morton is the subject of my sentence. What the predicate says he does.” Ask your child to sing you a few lines from that! We spent our writing time working more on details. I had the kids write directions on how to put on a coat, and not one of them were able to instruct me to put it on correctly! That was a fun lesson – ask for details on it from your child. We will do one more lesson on details that involves colored marshmallows and toothpicks before we get into the meat of writing an expository paper.
Math ~ We finished up our chapter on money, and the kids took their test on Wednesday. Please look for this test and go over it with your child. I was glad to see an improvement on rounding overall in this chapter, and we sang our rounding song numerous times during the week. We did our centers yesterday to review the first three chapters, and the kids took a unit test today. It was all multiple choices, and we took the time to discuss good strategies to use when taking a multiple choice test. We will start our new chapter next week on addition.
Science ~ The kids took their first science test on Monday, and those went home today. Please look for this test and go over it with your child. It is a difficult format, but now that they have seen what it is like, hopefully the next test will be better prepared for. Our new chapter is on weather and we will start that next week.
Social Studies ~ This week in social studies, we learned to make and explain the differences between a picture graph and a bar graph. We compared and contrasted different culture groups in our community, including their food, clothing, and customs. We explained the ways in which people of different ethnic groups help to make the community a better place. We will be concluding Chapter One at the end of next week and the first social studies test will take place on Friday, October 10th.
Other Areas of Interest:
A topic that has come up repeatedly in our class this week is manners. I have had to speak with the kids repeatedly about being respectful of others and not talking when others are trying to listen. This was an issue with our penguin movie as well as during several lessons that we had. Please take the time to go over this kind of thing at home with your child – making good choices, appropriate times to talk, being respectful of others around you. I appreciate your help in this manner and I will continue to not let these things slide in the classroom.
We had a really nice show and tell day yesterday. The kids earned their class reward last week and they chose to have a show and tell day. Just about everyone brought in something special and had the opportunity to share it with the class. We will have special days like this throughout the year, but those days are the only days that toys and items like these should be brought in to school.
Progress reports went home today! Please look for one in your child’s Friday papers and sign and return to me by next week on Wednesday. Missing homework has been a problem with this group, so I sent home reports for those with grades less than a C- in any subject, and for those who have had 5 or more missing homework assignments.
Book-It is a mandatory program in 3rd grade, and it starts in October. I will send home a sheet on Wednesday for your child to keep track of the books they read each month. In third grade the children are expected to read one chapter book a week. Each month completed counts for 100 points toward your child’s reading grade, so please make sure your child is reading every night at home.
That’s it for now! It looks like this may be our last beautiful and warm weekend for a while, so I hope you are able to enjoy it. Blueberry and apple picking are in peak season, and that might be a fun way to spend the weekend with your family. I wish you all a wonderful weekend and remember to keep your child reading!
Mrs. Sarah Adkins
