March 23, 2016
Hello and Happy Nearly Spring Break!
I am sending this out early because tomorrow will be a little bit busy due to the field trip.
FIELD TRIP INFORMATION:
Please remember to have your child bring a completely nut free lunch in tomorrow. We do have food
allergies in our classroom; please be aware of this as you and your child pack the lunch. Also remember to
include a drink for your child as we will not be going to the cafeteria for milk. Finally, we ask that your child
dress up a bit for our trip to the Marriott Theatre.
Important Dates:
March 24 – field trip to see Cinderella at the Marriott
March 25 – no school
March 26 – April 3 – spring break
April 5 – April 8 – PARCC testing for 3rd grade – SEE NOTE BELOW
April 18 – Wax Museum written speech, Venn diagram, resources, and presentation due
April 19 – 3rd grade Music Performance – 6:00
April 21 – Open House
PARCC Testing INFORMATION:
3rd grade will be PARCC testing the week we return from spring break, from Tuesday through Friday. On
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we will take two tests each day: a math test and a literacy test. On
Friday, we will take a fourth math test. Each testing session will run up to 90 minutes.
Please make sure your child is well-rested for this week, and also eats a healthy breakfast and has a sustaining
lunch planned (either purchased from school or brought from home.) Unfortunately, the way the testing
schedule works out, we will not be having snacks on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of that week. We
will have snacks as usual on Monday and Friday. Also, third grade has opted not to allow gum or mints to be
brought in during PARCC testing. It is possible that older grades may allow this, but again, third grade does
not.
Now onto a brief description of what has been happening in the classroom.
Mathematicians: We have been working a great deal on area and perimeter and fractions. Fractions are still
proving to be tricky for many. Please find opportunities to bring them up at home (they naturally arise all the
time, actually!) and point the fractions out to your child.
Writers: We are finally at the publishing stage of our Patricia Polacco inspired personal narratives! Your child
will be producing a beautiful piece of work for you to treasure for years. The class has been working so hard
on these stories. I know they cannot wait to share their final published pieces with each other and with you!
Readers: We finished up our mini-unit on biographies this week, although we will be doing one more activity
with biographies here in class in order to prepare for the Wax Museum.
We are getting into the middle of Ninth Ward, our current read aloud. Every time we read a book together as
a class, we have a book-long goal that we work on as the story progresses. The objective this time around is
for everyone to jot their own notes down about the actions and traits of the two main characters, Lanesha and
TaShon. These notes will be used to participate in a class debate about which character changed the most
once we have finished the book
Wordsmiths: A new WTW unit will begin when we return after break. In the meantime we have been
studying all of our past vocabulary words. During PARCC week, we will get to do some fun activities with these
words, such as Charades and Headbands. First though, the words’ meanings must be learned and internalized.
Social Scientists: We have wrapped up our unit on the effect of the Civil War and the Great Migration on
Illinois. This week, your child worked with a partner to sequence the events of the Great Migration in order of
when the events actually occurred as opposed to the order they appeared in the book. This was a challenging
task, and many critical-thinking and analytical discussions took place as partners debated and presented their
views and evidence. As always, I was extremely impressed with and proud of what this group has proven to
be capable of!
I hope you all have a wonderful spring break! Enjoy the time off with your family!!
Kathryn Flemming