Room 219 Update - Week of February 29, 2016
Dear Families,
Here is what we are working on in our classroom:
Thank you! Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come out to see our
performance of A Movie Star Mystery! I was so proud of how much effort the students
put into their performance; it was so fun to see that “other side” of them. Also, thank you
to anyone who sent in refreshments to enjoy and to those of you that helped to set up
beforehand or clean up afterwards. It was all very much appreciated! Hopefully you
enjoyed watching the show as much as we enjoyed performing it 
Math: We will finish up our work with fractions this week by using number lines to
compare fractions, as well as learning how to use fractions to name whole numbers.
The Topic 13 assessment will take place on Thursday, March 3rd. Also, I wanted to
remind families to continue to regularly practice your child’s Tools for Success level.
Because we only have TFS every other day, and it is often impossible for volunteers to
check every student, students sometimes do not get checked for close to a week at a
time. If they do not pass their level when they are checked, it is possible it will be a while
until they have the opportunity to move up levels. A quick nightly run-through of their
facts will help your child to be prepared for his/her next level-check! Thanks for your
help with this!
Reading: After completing our mystery unit, third graders are moving on to start
reviewing all of the skills we have learned so far this year! We will begin by looking back
at narrative text (fiction). This week we will review good reading skills such as
considering point of view and narrator, thinking about how a character’s actions affect
the events in a story, determining the central message of a text, and comparing and
contrasting themes. Ask your child about the difference between first person and third
person narrators! We will also celebrate Read Across America Day on Wednesday,
March 2nd; look for a small note in your child’s homework folder that was sent home
today with more information!
Writing: Improvement has already been seen in students’ abilities to write long about
ideas they grow about their book characters! We will continue to study characters
closely this week by paying attention to turning points, including moments of both
personal and social change. They will also learn how to elaborate on entries using
thought prompts, and will end the week by choosing a seed idea for a literary essay.
Ask your child, “How do you know when character change has occurred?”
Science: We will begin our study of land and water for our next science unit! This week
students will model and investigate the water cycle, examine different earth materials,
and find the effects of rain on land. Ask your child about the water cycle process.
Upcoming Events:
3/2 – Read Across America Day (Pajama Day/Forts & Flashlights)
3/9 & 3/10 – Parent/Teacher Conferences – Sign up via the link on Media’s website!
3/10 & 3/11 – NO SCHOOL for students
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your
dedication to your child’s education!
Sincerely,
Kaylee Viscuso