Links to complete your Shawnee timeline:

Here is the City of Shawnee timeline and podcast for more information http://www.cityofshawnee.org/WEB/ShawneeCMS.nsf/vwContent/CommunityHistory?OpenDocument

Here is the site for the timeline maker. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline_2/

April 14-18

I hope you were all able to enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasted!!!  This Kansas weather is crazy!!  Looks like this week will be chilly with nice temperatures returning next week. 

We are getting ready to begin 3rd Grade Science Fair Projects.  Our Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, May 8th.  Today in your child's Take Home folder you will find several documents related to this project. 
        1.  There is sheet with a list of due dates.  We have broken the project up into parts so your child will only need to concentrate on one or two pieces of it at a time.
        2.  There is a parent letter that asks for you to sign it after you have had a chance to review the packet with your child.   This sheet also asks for your child to have chosen a Science Fair topic and purpose.  (This is due by Friday, April 18).
        3.  There is a packet of information that will help guide you through the expectation of each section of the project.  Please review the packet with your child and let me know if you have any questions.  The internet is a great resource to help come up with a topic.

The majority of the project will be done at home.  Your child is to come up with a topic and purpose that can be measured through experimentation.  The experiment will be done at home along with data collected and a conclusion being made.  For the final presentation, students will bring in each part typed up, with any titles, pictures and/or decorations they want to provide.  The students will put their entire project together on a display board AT SCHOOL.  Boards will be purchased through the school so the kids all have the same size.  I'll keep you posted on the cost, but it will be minimal.  I believe last year it was only $1.50 since we are able to get them at a discount when bulk ordering.

It's going to be a busy week of learning:
 3rd Grade Math State Assessments are this Wednesday and Thursday, April 16 and 17. 

Math- We will continue our study on area this week.  We will also start a program called Hands on Equations:  Making Algebra Child's Play.  It is a fantastic program that exposes kids to algebra using a hands on approach.  The kids always love it and are proud of themselves because they are actually solving algebraic equations.  The program is designed to complete 1-2 lessons per week.

Science-  We are finishing our study on life cycles and traits with our new species project.  We will begin to read and learn about ecosystems.

Spelling and Vocabulary-  Students should be learning their ecosystem vocabulary and will have their final test this Friday.
Vocabulary practice:  http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_15/Ecosystems_Vocabulary_ta57y.htm
Spelling City:  http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=17623174

Reading-  We are continuing our reading groups with our novels this week.  

Writing- We began drafting a press release of a new species last week.  We will finish our drafts this week, edit and revise before writing a final draft.

Have a wonderful week!

April 7-11

We began State Assessments this morning and the students did a great job staying focused throughout the test.  We will have one more reading test day, which is tomorrow.  If your child is not at school for the test, they will have the opportunity to take the 'make-up' test in the next couple of weeks.  We are scheduled to take the Math Assessments next week.

April 7 and 8--3rd grade Reading State Assessment
April 16 and 17-- 3rd grade Math State Assessment
Fri., Apr. 25-- No school- Staff Professional Development
Apr. 28- 30--3rd grade MAP testing
Apr. 28- May 2-- Science Week
Fri., May 2-- PTO "Spring Thing"
Fri., May 9--3rd Grade Science Fair
Wed., May 21--Field Day
Thurs., May 22-- Last Day of School

Science Week- 
If you have not had a chance to check the sign-up genius for 3rd Grade Science Week, here is the link for you to look at:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084CA5AB2FA31-third2

Reading-
Students will continue reading through their group novels, while answering questions and practicing different reading strategies.

Science-
We will finish our study on life cycles, discuss adaptations and begin to learn about traits--inherited and learned.

Math-
The students are still learning about area this week.  We will dive deeper into understanding area of irregular shapes and comparing area to perimeter.  We will also make Area Animals and research any adaptations they have to live within their habitat. 

Spelling-
A new list will be coming home today in your child's Monday folder.  The words on this list are all about "ecosystems".  The final test will be on Friday, April 18th.  A link will be added for Spelling City.  Until then the kids can hop on this link to practice vocabulary:  http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_15/Ecosystems_Vocabulary_ta57y.htm

Writing-
Students have learned about a variety of animal adaptations, and will write a creative story about which "Power of Protection" they would choose to help protect themselves.

Have a wonderful week!

March 24-28

Welcome back to school!!  I hope you were able to have some fun during Spring Break!  I am so glad that the weather was nice at least for a couple of days so we could get outside and enjoy some fresh air! 

We are now entering the 4th quarter...can you believe it's nearing the end of the year already?! 

Here are some upcoming dates and reminders:
 Mon., Mar. 24- 4th quarter begins
Fri., Mar. 28-Dad's Door Celebration Party!!!!  Thanks to Brett Pickett and Chad Milam for designing the coolest door EVER!!  The PTO sponsored the contest and our class WON!  The kids chose to have doughnuts with their electronics party.  They were pretty excited! 
 Mon., Mar. 31- Spring Picture Day
Thurs., Apr. 3- Skate Night
April 7-8- 3rd Grade Reading State Assessments
April 16-17- 3rd grade Math State Assessments
Fri., Apr. 25- No School for students (staff professional development day)
April 28-30- MAP Assessments
                     Science Week

Here is what we will be working on in class this week:
Spelling-- A new list will be coming home tonight.  The words on the list this week will come from our "Life Cycles and Traits" vocabulary list.

Science--  Students will be learning about plant and animal traits and how they each follow a life cycle.

Reading-- We will start novel studies later this week.  Kids will be reading within a group and assigned daily activities to complete while reading. 

Math-- Our focus in math this week and next will be perimeter and area. Students will be practicing how to find the distance around a shape and the amount of space it takes up.  We will be completing various activities to help us explore more about those two topics. 

Have a wonderful week!!

March 10-14

Wow!!  What gorgeous weather we are finally having!  I sure hope it is here to stay!

Upcoming Reminders:

• March 13--End of the 3rd Quarter
• March 14-23-- Spring Break-- No school

Here is the 3rd grade assessment schedule for the Spring:

• April 7-8 Reading State Assessment
• April 16-17 Math State Assessment
• April 28-30 MAP testing

Writing-
Students will be completing their Auto-Biography this week.  They are turning them into a published book. The books will be mailed-in later this week.  So, if you have not returned your signed order form, please send it in immediately.  Signing the form and returning it to me will allow your child to receive a FREE book.  If you would like to order more, just follow the instructions on the order form.

Math-
Students will continue their practice of telling time this week.  The problems will focus on units of time, elapsed time and the problem solving strategy will be to work backwards.  We will have a brief quiz on Thursday.  Also, students will be given addition, subtraction and multiplication timed tests this week to check their progress for the 3rd quarter grade card.

 Spelling-
 The topic is government and civics.  The final test will be on Thursday, March 13.  Here is the link to practice the words and their meanings: 

http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_82/Government_Vocabulary_yuxD5.htm

Social Studies- 
Students will  learn about citizenship and what it takes to be a good citizen.

Reading-
The students will practice finding the main idea and supporting details in a text.

Have a great week!

February 24-28

Hello!

It was so great to sit down with all of you during conferences a couple weeks ago!  It was fun for me to witness your child having the opportunity to shine by sharing all that he/she is learning in school.  Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to attend conferences with your child.  Your kids are far ahead where we were in 3rd grade.  The expectations have certainly grown since we were in school.  Your children are rising to the occasion and are doing well with the new Common Core standards.  I'm looking forward to witnessing their academic growth this last semester.  Hard to believe we are already nearing March!

Here are some upcoming reminders:

• International Festival Taste Fest and the music programs are Wed., Feb. 26.
• The Taste Fest will begin at 1:30pm.
• Here is the link to the sign up genius in case you need a reminder of your food item or if you signed up to help.  There are still volunteer slots available if you have time to help on Wednesday.  **The sign up states it is Thursday, the 26th.  It is actually WEDNESDAY, February 26th.  :) 
• http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080944A8AC2E5-international1
• Music programs will be at 3:00 and 7:00 (students need to meet in the music room at 6:40)
• Feb. 28th--Books and Breakfast begins at 8:00
• March 14-23-- Spring Break
• I attached a flyer to the class news email for the Seussical Week of Fun!

Government and Civics-
We are beginning a new social studies unit this week about government.  Our focus this week will be to learn about laws and rules and why they are important for us to have.  There are some fun stories in our reading book that relate very well to this topic that we can read as we continue to practice our reading strategies.  Ask your child what "silly" laws they have learned about this week.

Math-
We are continuing to learn about polygons and their attributes in Topic 11.  There is a lot of vocabulary with this topic so it is important for your child to be able to identify all the different shapes and attributes.  This week we will continue reviewing a the various polygons we learned last week.  The students will take those polygons to create a Geometry Zombie and become cartographers to create a city map using geometric shapes.  We will have a test over topic 11 early next week.

Spelling-
Students have geometry words this week as their spelling list.  The test will be Friday, Feb. 28.  They may practice the spelling on Spelling City https://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=16884772 and can practice the vocabulary here:  http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_36/Geometry_Vocabulary_ovFq8.htm

Writing-
Students will be introduced to a new writing assignment this week.  They will be publishing their own books and will actually get to order a copy of it.  We will begin prewriting their auto-biographies this week.

Have a wonderful week!

February 3 - 7

Are you enjoying this cold wintery weather that we've been having? Well, whether you have or not, get ready for some more. It looks as if we might have a snow day (or 2) in our near future.

UPDATE!!!!!
International Festival:  Our International Festival and Taste Fest were schedeuled for this Thursday; however, because of some bad weather coming into the area resulting in possible snow days, the students will need more time with the music teacher to prepare for their program.  The program, and all related activities, have been re-scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26th. Please plan to send food for the Taste Fest on that day instead.  

Spelling: The students were supposed to take their next spelling test this Friday, however, I am going to reschedule that as well, to Tuesday, Feb. 11. This will give us a little more classtime to practice and study the list.  Kids can practice the vocabulary by clicking on the following link. 

http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_90/Country_Spelling_and_Vocab_3ge3k.htm

They can also practice the list on spelling city here:   https://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=16438068

Math: We completed fractions today with a review and a test. I had planned on giving the test tomorrow but after spending time reviewing with them, I did not want them to have to wait a few days to take the test.  I decided to have them take it today while it was all still fresh in their minds.
We will be learning about polygons next.

Reading: With the Winter Olympics beginning this weekend, I have a few articles in which the students will read to help them learn more about it. The Olympics ties in perfectly with our International Festival study. As the kids learn about the Olympics they get to see and hear more about different countries around the world. 

Read to Feed Update from Mrs. Luschen:  February 9th is the last day for students to read and record their minutes. On Monday, February 10th students will need to total their reading minutes and collect their pledges from their sponsors. Students will have until February 20th to collect and return their pledge money to school.

Quick Reminders
Feb. 11--Symphony Field Trip and Valentine's Party
Feb. 12-13--Student-Led conferences-Please plan on having your child attend this conference with you.
Feb. 13-17-- No School for students- Presidents Weekend

Have a safe week and try to stay warm!!