3rd Grade Newsletter
Third Grade Newsletter
Volume 7, Number 13 sadkins@pennoyerschool.org January 9, 2009
Hello Parents! This has been quite a hectic week, to say the least. Coming back from break after having left with so many loose ends, we have been playing catch up for much of this week. Whew. I finally feel like we have gotten back in our groove, and I expect next week to be much smoother. Miss Wierzgac has joined us this week, and she will be with us until the end of April. She has been getting to know the kids and helping out with little things throughout the day. She will be taking over one subject a week until she is teaching full days. I will still be here, helping out with the kids and guiding her in the right direction. The kids have responded very well to her so far, and we are glad to have her with us. We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:
Reading ~ Our story for this week was a realistic fiction story called The Jones Family Express. This was a great story for making connections and inferences. We had learned about inferring a month or two ago, and many of the kids needed reminders of what it is. (To infer means to figure things out without the author directly stating it. For example, you know the boy felt sad because of his actions, although it was not directly stated that he is sad.) We will continue to work with inferring throughout the year. We also focused on making connections and using good prosody (expression) when reading. The page when Steve visits Mr. Perkins is a particularly fun page to read aloud and we spent quite a bit of time practicing talking like Mr. Perkins.
Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson for this week was on future tense verbs. The kids did really well with this when they learned to look for the special word will when using future tense. During our reading centers, the kids put together posters that had examples of past, present, and future tense verbs. They did a really good job! So my plan for grammar after break did not work out as I had hoped. Many kids lost their grammar papers over break, and they did not do well on their tests. So I made the executive decision to only mark the grammar paper as extra credit, and to throw away the grammar tests. Our grammar test from today should be much better. For our writing time, we had one day of Writers Workshop, then I was able to introduce the kids to persuasive writing. I finished grading their expository papers, and they are included in your child’s Friday papers they took home today. These papers are worth 100 points of your child’s language arts grade, and I have attached a rubric to each paper so they know exactly why they got the grade they got. Please look for this paper and read it with your child. Many of you will find yourself featured in your child’s paper. J
Math ~ We finished up chapter 13 yesterday with a test on customary measurement. We worked on capacity and weight earlier this week, and we reviewed in our centers on Wednesday. We started metric measurement today, and that is much easier to learn. That system makes much more sense than our customary. Our chapter on metric measurement is short, and the test will be given next Friday. Starting on Wednesday, January 21, we will be having Multiplication Mania for two weeks. I will send home an explanation of this fun event next week so you understand exactly how your child will be learning multiplication. Your child will be expected to practice their multiplication flash cards every night starting January 21, so please get a set of flashcards before then.
Science ~ We have finished up our chapter on the solar system, and we spent time reviewing. We read through the last section on Monday, then yesterday we reviewed the chapter, created some mini books, then the kids got started on their review homework. The assignment is page D86, problems 1 – 22. I have changed question 21 to: Why is Pluto no longer a planet? This review is due next week on Wednesday. The chapter test will be on Thursday next week. There are 11 vocabulary words for this chapter, so please make sure your child knows all of them by Thursday.
Social Studies ~ This week in social studies we read and discussed the three branches of government. We identified local government officials and explained how they are chosen. We also identified and used symbols to locate state and the capitals on a map, especially focusing on Illinois. We identified states that border other states. Finally your child drew freehand style, four states and labeled the city, capital, and bordering states. Make sure you ask your child about this activity. Just a reminder that next week Tuesday, we will be reviewing for the Chapter 3 social studies test, the test will take place on Friday, January 16th.
Other Areas of Interest:
We celebrated Annie’s 9th birthday today! Her actual birthday is tomorrow, and we were delighted to celebrate with her a day early. Happy birthday Annie!
Next Friday, January 16, is the final day of the second quarter. Report cards will go home the following week.
We have been having behavior issues in library here at school. I received a list of 10 students who had “exceedingly poor behavior in the library” from our library teacher yesterday. We only have 17 in the class! I took time to discuss proper library etiquette and behavior in any library, and we are going to take more drastic measures to ensure better behavior. If your child misbehaves in the library (some of them were screaming and running in the library) they will receive one warning. After that, they will be removed from the library which means that they will not get to participate in their activities, they cannot check out a book, and I will send home a note to you, letting you know about their poor behavior. I appreciate any support you can give us on this topic at home.
That’s it for now! It is nice to be back with the children, and fun to hear about what they did over break. I heard this morning that we are in for 30 hours of snow this weekend, so please be careful out there! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and remember to keep your child reading!
Mrs. Sarah Adkins
