3rd Grade Newsletter
Third Grade Newsletter
Volume 7, Number 16 sadkins@pennoyerschool.org February 20, 2009
Hello Parents! We had a good but short week together. I think our highlight of the week would be our science experiment we did Wednesday afternoon. The kids loved it, and it was thrilling to see the excitement in their faces when they got their circuit to work. Please ask your child all about it if you have not heard already. Many kids asked me if we could do it again. While we will not have time to repeat the experiment in school, this is one that could be done at home as well. We had a busy week, so here’s what’s been happening:
Reading ~ Our story for this week, Washington Weed Whackers was a news article about school kids trying to help out their community. This was a great article for the kids to practice asking questions for. Our related leveled books were drawn on the same theme, and provided the kids ample opportunities to be metacognitive and ask questions. We also spent time working with contractions (ask your child about the posters we made) and comparing and contrasting various things.
Language Arts ~ Our grammar lesson this week was on helping verbs, which are very similar to linking verbs. Hopefully the kids will all be successful on their test they took today. We were only allowed enough time this week for one day of Writer’s Workshop (which they all complained about) and we spent the rest of our writing time working on persuasive papers. Our goal for today was to have all rough drafts finished so that we can move on to editing and publishing before we take the ISAT tests in just over a week.
Math ~ Congratulations to Jason for successfully completing his timed multiplication test! Four kids down, only 13 to go! This week, we were learning about area and volume in addition to learning about perimeter last Friday. The students did fun activities such as, moving around the classroom to find objects to trace on a grid so they could count the square units and find the area. They also used linking cubes to explore the concept of volume. To review this material, the children did math centers and worked together in groups. So please be sure to ask your child about area and volume! If you have sugar cubes at home, you and your child can explore volume by creating different figures! Today the kids were introduced to fractions.
Science ~ Since there was no school on Monday; we scheduled science for Wednesday afternoon this week. I was so pleased with everything about the science experiment; I wish every science class were like that! Yesterday we read through the last section of our chapter on energy and started our review. The energy test is scheduled for next week on Thursday, February 26. The review homework is due next Wednesday, and it is page F32, numbers 1 – 21. Please make sure your child’s work is written in cursive in complete sentences in their green science notebook.
Social Studies ~ This past week we identified the interactions between rights and responsibilities. We learned about the importance of acts of civic responsibility, including obeying laws and voting. We discussed the Bill of Rights and that it provides us with the rights and freedoms to all Americans. We have the right to speak in public about our ideas and beliefs, including religion. Lastly, we resolved a classroom dilemma by using the democratic process of majority rule. We did this by identifying the steps in the voting process, we held a small election regarding the choice of school uniforms or not, we voted on ballots and tallied the results. Ask your child what the majority vote was.
Other Areas of Interest:
- The ISAT tests are quickly approaching. They will begin on Tuesday, March 3, and will last all four days that week. I will send home detailed information on these tests next week, along with what our schedule will be like.
That’s it for now! Although it has been very cold these past couple of days, they say the weather is turning warmer, thank goodness. The kids wrote me a poem during their library time this week which was extremely sweet and fun for me to receive. I understand that they read some poetry in library, and then created a poem for me as a class. I have it posted just inside our door for all to enjoy. Ask your child how they enjoyed the experience of writing their own poetry! I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and remember to keep your child reading!
Mrs. Sarah Adkins
Miss Sarah Wierzgac
