October 8 - 12

I sure am enjoying these cooler temperatures that have finally arrived.  As the air is getting cooler, remember to send your child with a light jacket to wear at recess. 

We had our Solar Cookout yesterday!  The baked apples were a big hit!  Although it didn't get warm enough outside for the cheese to melt on top of the nachos, the kiddos had a great time preparing them. They sure learned a lot about the process of creating and using a solar cooker as well.  Thank you so much to all of you who either donated items for this project, to those who were able to join us on Friday to help assemble the cookers and to those who joined us Monday to help the kids with the nachos.  I really could not have done that without all of your help!!!!!

Here is a look at this week:
Reading
We will be completing Theme 3 on Friday with a vocabulary quiz.  The students have been practicing how to infer the meaning of text when they are reading.

Spelling
The pattern this week is consonant digraphs.  The digraphs that will appear in the spelling words are: sh, ch, th, and wh.  The test will be on Friday.

Writing
The students will continue writing their personal narrative about losing a tooth.  Be sure to ask them about the story we read together, Trevor's Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth.

Math
The students will be using subtraction in a variety of ways.  They will learn how to use it in an expanded algorithm, model subtraction, subtract using 3 digit numbers, subtract across zeros, and how to draw a picture to help them solve problems.

Science
We will begin studying weather later this week.

Social Studies
We will complete our 3-dimensional communities.

October 1-5

Thank you all so much for attending parent teacher conferences. I really enjoyed having the chance to speak with each of you about your child last week.  I hope that you were able to share some positive feedback with him or her after we met.

This week is Bully Prevention Week at PRE.  Here is the schedule of events for the week:

Monday, October 1 – "Words Hurt, so…Choose them Kindly!"　 All classroom teachers will get a word bubble, your class is in charge of brainstorming a list of kind words – if you could get these to me by the end of that day that would be awesome!　 I want to get them on display, so they can be a reminder to kids all week.　 I will assign a few letters to each class to brainstorm – that way we don’t have a bunch of word bubbles with the same words on them!　

Tuesday, October 2 – "Team up against bullying!"

　 Today we want everyone to show they are teaming up against bullying by wearing their favorite team jersey or t-shirt!

Wednesday, October 3 – "Walk out on Bullying!"　

Today we are walking out on bullying, so wear your favorite fitness gear and sneakers!　 First thing, right after announcements, we will have our second annual bully walk.　 The students will walk around the perimeter of the school and playground to make a bully free barrier.　 Please make sure your students know the reason behind it!

Thursday, October 4 – "I’m too Bright to be a Bully!"　

To show that we are too bright to bully, wear bright clothing today!　 I will also be giving students a bookmark with this year’s bully theme on it.

Friday, October 5 –

"Our school is Bully Free!"　 To show pride in making our school bully-free, wear your favorite PRE spirit wear!

Reading-

We will begin Theme 3 today, What is Light?  Students will practice the reading strategy "inferrring" during this theme.  When you infer, you use your own ideas to help you understand what you read. 

Spelling-

The spelling pattern this week is when the long vowel sound is created by adding a silent 'e' at the end of a word.  This is also called the VCe pattern(Vowel, Consonant, silent e).

Writing-

Students will be practicing their friendly letter writing as they write letters to pen pals.  The pen pals that we will have this year are from the Derrick Thomas Academy in Kansas City, Kansas.  We will also be writing to another very special pen pal, Addisen, who moved to Texas last week! 

Math-

We will begin Topic 3 this week, Using Place Value to Add and Subtract.  The lessons this week will be adding with an expanded algorithm, adding 3-digit numbers by showing a model, adding 3-digit numbers, and adding 3 or more numbers.  We will also be reviewing skills from Topic 2 and restesting later this week.

Science-

We will be preparing Solar Cookers on Thursday.  This will require you to send in $0.50 to purchase the pizza box and a few other items as well.  Please check your child's Monday folder for a list of things that we are in need of to help us make solar cookers.  Our plan is to have a solar cookout on Friday, however, the weather looks a little chilly and we may need to postpone it until next week.  We still plan on preparing the cookers Thursday regardless of when the cookout will be.  Please let me know if you are able to supply us with one of the items on the list, and make sure to send it in by Wednesday this week.  Thanks!

Social Studies-

Students are working in groups to create 3-dimensional  models of rural, urban and suburban communities.

September 17-21

Hello!

We will be taking a Community Walk next Tuesday!  We will be walking through the neighborhood and to our local McDonald's restaurant for a treat.  Your child will be encouraged to bring no more than $5 so they can buy themselves a treat.  I will not be holding onto their money for them.  They will use this as a learning experience on how to order and pay for themselves. 

Picture Day is on Wednesday!  If you are ordering pictures you should send in the order form by Wednesday. 

Common Core Night is Wednesday evening from 6:00-7:00.  If you plan on attending and haven't sent in your RSVP, then please let me know so we have enough space.  Thanks!  :)

Parent Conferences are next week!  I can't wait to meet with each of you to set some goals for the year and to discuss your child's progress with you.

Reading
We are continuing to make connections and ask questions about the text we read.  Ask your child to create a few connections and "I wonder..." questions after he or she reads from a book, and check to see if they can answer their own questions.  Small reading groups began today!

Spelling
The spelling pattern this week contains word families.  Each of the words in the list will contain one of these endings:  -ay, -an, -ip, -old, -ack, and -own.  The spelling test will be on Friday.

Math
This week we will be practicing our mental math skills as well as rounding and estimating numbers.
If your child is struggling with homework and you are not sure how to help, please encourage them to bring their textbook home so that you can reveiw the lesson with them.  This might help some frustration that your child may be havingwith homework.   

Writing
We will be writing a special poem this week.  Biopoems are poems that describe ourselves and our characteristics.  They should be finished in time for you to read at conferences. 

Social Studies
We are still studying communities and will review the differences between urban, rural and suburban communities.

Science
We will continue learning about solar energy by experimenting with sun beads and the effectiveness of UV strengths in various sunscreens.

September 10-14

The students did an awesome job last week as they completed their MAP tests!! I am so proud of them and the hard work that they put into taking the tests.  This was the first time these kiddos ever tested on computers for a long period of time.  They did a great job concentrating, staying focused and trying their best on all three tests.  I will share and review individual results with you at parent confences in a couple weeks. 

Parent Conferences- Parent Conferences are a few weeks earlier this year, Sept. 26 and 27.  If you have not signed up for a conference yet, you will need to sign up for a conference time through our Prairie Ridge website.  Here is the link: http://www.usd232.org/education/components/form/default.php?sectiondetailid=33036&

Lap-A-Thon is this Friday.  Make sure your child wears tennis shoes.  The third grade will be walking/running from 10:50-11:30.  Please feel free to join us at this time.  :)

Book Orders-  I sent home book order forms in Monday folders last week.  I will be collecting orders until Wednesday.  You may also order online if you wish.  Let me know if you have any questions at all.  Thanks for supporting your child's reading with Scholastic! 

Reading- We began Theme 2 today, Life in Many Places.  The reading strategy that we will practice for the next two weeks is "Asking Questions."  We will continue to review making connections as we progress through the various reading strategies.  I will complete benchmarking this week and will begin meeting with small reading groups next week.

Spelling- The spelling pattern for this week is consonant blends.  All of the words will contain one of these blends: cr-,dr-, gr-, pr-, and -st. The spelling test will be on Friday.

Math- We will take our first math test tomorrow on Topic 1.  The students have a practice test for homework tonight.  On Wednesday, we will begin Topic 2.  This week the students will learn about the meaning of addition and subtraction, as well as have the opportunity to practice using mental math to add numbers.

Social Studies- We will continue learning about communities, specifically, the differences between the 3 types of communities- rural, suburuban and urban.

Science- This week we will be making sun prints.  We will also determine the temperature differences between several earth materials like dirt and sand when they are exposed to the sun.

Have a great week!!

September 4

Hello!

Welcome to another week of 3rd grade!  We are off to a great start and have a busy 4-day week ahead of us.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessments-  MAP testing begins in 3rd grade!  This is a district tool that is used to help us evaluate the progress of our students from year to year.  Students will take MAP assessments in the fall and in the spring every school year from 3rd grade through 12th grade. 

Our class will take their very first round of these tests this week- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  The students will take 3 tests:  reading, math and language arts so there will be one each day.  I will review the results from this first round of testing with you at parent conferences at the end of September.

Reading-
We are continuing with Theme 1, Community Spirit.  We will keep practicing how to make connections with the text that we read.  Small reading groups will begin in a couple of weeks.

Spelling-
The spelling pattern for this week is "beginning consonant sounds".  The lists contain words that begin with the consonants b, d, f, m and v. Your child's list was sent home with them in their homework folder and should be written in their agenda this evening. The final test will be on Friday.

Math-
We are still learning about place value this week.  We will be comparing numbers, ordering numbers and using an organized list to represent given information in a problem. 

Writing-
Students will prewrite ideas for their story and write a first draft.
We will continue reveiwing nouns and verbs this week, as well.

Science and Social Studies-
We are learning about how the sun is the main source of the solar energy we recieve on earth.  We have several activities planned for this unit in which sunlight is required.  Therefore, we may go back and forth between science activities and social studies based on the sunlight's cooperation. 

We will begin learning about our community in social studies.  By the end of the week, students should know where they live-- on the planet earth, on the continent North America, in the country of the United States, in the state of Kansas, in the county of Johnson, and in the city of Shawnee.  They may even be able to tell you which neighborhood they live in.

Have a great week!

August 27 - August 31

August 27-31

Hello! 
Read below to see what we will be working on this first FULL week of 3rd grade.

Math

We began Topic 1 in math today. Students will be using place value to learn about numbers and different ways to represent them. Some of the key concepts that they will learn this week are:
* Representing numbers
* Ways to name numbers
* Greater numbers
* Counting and identifying numbers on a number line

Students will have homework every night in math. They are expected to complete the "Practice" side of the sheet while the "Enrichment" side is optional. The first assignment was given to them today so they should have their homework sheet in their take-home folder with them.

Reading
Theme 1 was introduced in class today. Students will study Communities while practicing a variety of reading and writing skills. The reading strategy that students will practice this week is 'making connections.'

Students will be expected to read 15-20 minutes 4-5 nights a week in my class. The school will have several reading programs throughout the year in which the boys and girls will need to track the time they read. That will be the only time I send home an official reading log for tracking. Students will write in their agendas daily the 15-20 minutes I expect them to read. When the parent or guardian signs the agenda nightly, that will be my confirmation that your child has completed his or her reading for the day.

Spelling
"Short Vowel sounds" is the pattern for the first spelling list of the year. Students will take a pretest on Fridays. It is a child's score on the pretest that determines which of TWO lists they will recieve.
The Rigby list will contain 15 words with the pattern of the week.
The second list will also follow that pattern of the week, contain 15 words, but will contain words that are a little more difficult.
Your child has the opportunity to fluctuate between the two lists on a weekly basis. We will take a weekly pretest to determine how well each child knows the new pattern.

I will not be assigning nightly spelling homework for the students to turn into me. They will be completing an activity during class time each day instead. However, they are expected to learn study skills at home that require them to practice their words at home which will help them prepare for Friday's test.
You can have your child practice spelling at home by asking them to do an activity each night. This will help them prepare for the test. Here are a few ideas for you to have them do at home: reading and/or writing the words, putting them in ABC order, using them in sentences, finding them in a dictionary, take a practice test, find them in a book they a reading or copy them 3 times.

Science
We began learning about the sun today. We have a fun Solar Energy unit planned for the 3rd graders in which they will actually be building their own solar house. Watch for more about that in the next few weeks.

Writing
The year will begin with students writing a story while making sure to emphasize a Beginning, Middle and End so that it is organized, has flow and makes sense.

In grammar this week students will review nouns and verbs.

That's all for Week 1!!

May 7 - 11

The year is quickly winding down, but we are going to keep working hard and stay as busy as we can to help us stay focused through the last couple of weeks of school.

Here are the plans for the week:
Reading-- We will complete our chapter books that we have been reading in groups. We will be working on monitoring understanding, as well, as reviewing previous strategies that we have learned.

Spelling--
This is the LAST week of spelling!!  The pattern for the Rigby list this week is pronouns.  The Rigby words are bone, how, cookies, goes, half, whoever, himself, danger, join, them, who, ache, anybody, aunt & itself.  The Extension list is the suffix pattern "-ance, ence" which means 'state or quality of'. The Extension words are tolerance, radiance, perseverance, patience, elegance, dominance, diligence, defiance, convenience & annoyance.The test will be on Friday.

Math--Our perimeter unit went very quick and we will spend the rest of the year learning about area. We will also do some graphing before the year is over.

Science-- SCIENCE FAIR-- this Friday from 2:00-3:30. Parents are welcome to come by and check out all the experiments our students have been working so hard on.

The students have done a great job working on "the parts" of their Science Fair Project. Every thing should be turned in by today. I will accept late work through tomorrow because we will be assembling our Science Fair boards today and tomorrow afternoon in class.

Reminder- The board your child is using cost $1.50.