Third Grade News
September 2015
What an exciting start we had to our new school year! We spent the
first week of school building community in our classroom and learning daily
routines and procedures. By the second week, we jumped right into all
subject areas with the year-long goal of making learning both meaningful and
enjoyable. I am very happy with how well the students seem to be adjusting
to third grade.
It was nice to meet many parents prior to the start of school at the
Open House, as well as at Back-to-School Night. I am sorry if I did not get
the chance to speak with you personally, but please know you can always send
an email or we can set up a time to chat in person. I am looking forward to
working with you and your child during this very exciting school year. Feel
free to contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns. The
classroom number is 610-627-7141. My e-mail address is aburke@rtmsd.org.
-Abby Burke
Mark Your Calendars
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Wednesday, 9/30: “All About Me” Posters DUE!
Friday, 10/2: Student Council Class Elections
Friday, 10/2: Box Tops DUE!
Tuesday, 10/6: PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM
Friday, 10/9: Bingo Night, 6:00 PM
Monday, 10/12: Inservice, No School for Students
Thursday, 10/15: Grandparent/Special Friends Day, 9:15-10:00
Friday, 10/30: Halloween Parade and Party, 1:45-3:15
Curriculum Corner
In Reader’s Workshop, we began our year examining some of the reading
practices that students use, and how we can become better readers. We learned
how to choose “just right” books, who we are as readers, and what good readers
do. Students will be learning and practicing the Reader’s Workshop routine, such
as meeting in small groups, independent reading, responding to what they are
reading, and building stamina while reading independently.
Writer’s Workshop has begun! This is a block of our day that is devoted
entirely to writing. Students have been working toward independently finding
topics to write about in a “fast and furious” manner and are most excited about
writing their first personal narrative. This personal narrative focuses on a “seed”
of a story; instead of telling the whole “watermelon” story, students choose a
smaller “seed” moment from the bigger picture. We plan on doing a lot of writing,
and the students are looking forward to publishing many writing pieces this year!
In Social Studies, we started out the year with our unit on continents and
oceans. Not only did we learn where each is located on a map, but we can put them
in order from largest to smallest. I’m serious…just ask your child and they will be
able to recite them from memory. We have been practicing our study skills, too!
In addition, students learned where their community is located in the world
through a fun Visual Discovery activity. Students acted as space shuttle
astronauts who were returning to Earth and learned about the geographic features
of the globe as they got nearer and nearer to their landing site. We had a
BLAST!!!
In Math, we have been focusing on interpreting the meaning of multiplication
and division, and using patterns to begin to build fluency with multiplication facts.
Students are using strategies such as repeated addition, number lines, and arrays
in order to develop an understanding that we use multiplication to combine a
number of equal groups. It is important that students accurately and efficiently
solve math problems in ways that make sense to them. At home, encourage your
child to explain his/her math thinking to you.
Keep your eyes open for quiz and test dates in assignment books!
ALL study guides are to be signed and returned to school.
KidBiz
Students will be shown how to work through an article on KidBiz in class. Once
this happens, they will have the chance to explore Kid Biz at home. The expectation is
that all students will complete at least one article as part of their weekly homework in
order to become comfortable with the program and routine. This number may increase
to two articles once the students become more comfortable with the program. KidBiz
Tracking Sheets must be filled out, signed by a parent, and brought back to school each
Friday to be checked. In order to count, they must get at least a 75% on their first
try score. To help with this, please encourage your child to take their time, read all of
the questions carefully before making their choice, and to use the “refer to article”
feature. **In school, your child took a brief assessment to determine their "just
right" level of the text in KidBiz, which means they should be able to work
independently to complete the activities. As tempting as it may be, please DO NOT
assist your child with answering questions, as it will adjust their level of text to your
level. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Oral Math Facts
Very soon, students will be assigned to their Oral Math levels in Tools for Success
and will be responsible for practicing their math facts at home every night! They will
have a math partner here in school, which they will practice with on occasion. Students
will “check out” with their partner every Friday in order to advance to the next level.
They may also choose to advance faster by checking out on Wednesday’s, but that is
optional.
Student Council
On Friday, October 2nd, we will be electing two Student Council representatives
from our class (one boy and one girl). Information will be sent home soon. Please read
this information and discuss the responsibility with your child. Each interested
candidate is expected to prepare a written speech to read to the class.
Box Tops
Box Top collection is right around the corner! Don’t forget to clip
your Box Tops and send them in by Friday, October 2nd. The money we
receive from Box Tops is used to help purchase new equipment for our
classrooms, and helps the school to have special events for our students.