3rd Grade Newsletter
Third Grade Newsletter
Volume 7, Number 12 sadkins@pennoyerschool.org December 12, 2008
Hello Parents! We had a really great week together. The field trip on Wednesday to the Planetarium was fun for everyone, and hopefully the kids learned some new things about the solar system. They were all really well behaved, and I was proud to be there with them. We all had an especially outstanding morning yesterday for some reason, and I couldn’t stop singing their praises. We have worked a lot on making good choices and doing the right thing, and the whole morning was filled with those kinds of decisions. Hopefully they can keep it up. Today we went to Santa’s Workshop (or whatever politically correct name they call it nowJ) and that was really fun for the kids to shop for you. We had a special visitor at the end of our day today, so be sure to ask your child all about her. Her name is Miss Wierzgac (pronounced where’s Zack) and she will be student teaching with me starting in January, and remaining with us until the end of April. It was a pleasure to meet her, and we are all looking forward to working with her next semester. We were busy this week, so here’s what’s been happening:
Reading ~ Our story for this week is one of my favorites, One Riddle, One Answer. This was a tough one for the kids to figure out, and we spent much time this week finding other riddles. The kids came up with quite a collection, and some of them chose to share what they had gathered with the class earlier today. Ask your child to tell you a riddle! Or maybe you have one you can share with your child. Here’s my favorite, taken from Mr. Bilbo Baggins: A box without hinges, key, or a lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid! What is it? You can ask your child to help you out with that one if you get stuck. J
Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on present tense verbs. I suggested to the kids to read their sentences aloud to see what sounds right. He walk to school just sounds wrong, and hopefully they will remember to add the s to walk. We only had a couple of days of writing this week due to our field trip and Santa’s Workshop, but I was able to introduce the Writing Workshop to the kids. They seemed pretty open to the idea, so we will see how it goes next week. Most of the kids were able to finish up their expository papers today, and I hope to get those graded and returned by next Friday.
Math ~ We worked on time all week. We started with elapsed time, and that one proved a little difficult for some kids. I was able to provide some extra support with that lesson in the afternoon, and that seemed to help. We also practiced reading a calendar and schedule, and then today we went over temperature, a review from science. We will review this lesson on Monday, and the chapter 12 test will be given on Tuesday next week. Please have your child practice telling time to the minute and elapsed time as often as you can over the weekend.
Science ~ This week we learned about seasons and night and day. We also learned much more during our trip to the Planetarium, so please make sure you ask your child about something new they learned at the museum. Also have your child explain to you why we have seasons, and why we have night and day. (Seasons because our axis is tilted, and night and day because Earth rotates on its axis.) We filled in four more vocabulary, so please make sure your child is starting to practice these vocabulary words. Our test on the solar system will not be until January.
Social Studies ~ This week in social studies we recognized that community governments make laws to keep order and to keep people safe. We also learned the role citizens have in settling disagreements. There are four steps: Smile about it, tell an adult, walk away, and compromise. We expressed ideas about conflict orally, based on knowledge experiences, and recommend solutions.
Other Areas of Interest:
Next week on Wednesday, December 17, is our winter concert. I hope you all will be able to make it. The kids have been spending their gym time every afternoon preparing for this concert, and they sound good! The concert for parents is at 7:00 in the evening in our gym. Please bring your child to school by 6:45, and they should come right up to our classroom where I will be waiting for them. After the concert is over, please come up to our room to pick up your child from there. I will keep them in our classroom until you can get up there. See you Wednesday!
That’s it for now! It actually looks like we have a warm front coming through this weekend, and we should get up to about 50 degrees! Great shopping weather. Too bad the Bears couldn’t play in temperatures like that last night. I would like to extend a special welcome to my brand new niece, Evelyn, who was born at 1:15 this morning. J I can’t wait to go meet her in Evanston after school today. All three of my sisters each have a son, so I’m delighted to finally have a niece. My other two sisters are also pregnant at this time, both due this summer, so maybe I will end up with a couple more pretty soon. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!
Mrs. Sarah Adkins
