Monthly Newsletter

November/December

Newsletter

Literacy:  In reading we will focus on the strategy of questioning.  Your reader will understand that good readers ask question before, during, and after they are reading and that some questions will not have answers provided within the text.   We will also work on the structure of writing a paragraph and what the main components of a paragraph are.  

Learning Targets: Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types of literary genres. Comprehension strategies are necessary when reading informational or persuasive text.

Math:

Visual Displays are used to Describe Data

What can data tell you about your class or school? How does data displays help us understand information? These are a few guiding questions that are helping our student think about why data collection and data representation are important mathematical strategies. In our current unit, students have started to collect, represent, describe, categorize, and interpret both categorical and numerical data. They are using the 21st century skill of Problem Solving by reasoning abstractly and quantitatively to analyze data and generate solutions. They have already begun the important work of seeing a data set as a whole as they design and carry out their own data investigations, create representations of the data collected, and compare and discuss these representations. By the end of this unit, students will be able to draw scaled picture graphs and scaled bar graphs to represent a data set with several categories. Additionally, students will solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.

Time & Attributes of Objects can be Measured With Appropriate Tools

Since the beginning of the year, students have become amazing Problem Solvers by selecting appropriate strategies and tools to develop understanding and increase efficiency. We will build an understanding of standard units of measure that will now include solving problems that involve measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects. Our science unit on matter has already touched upon the measurement of grams for weight of small objects. In addition to using standard units of grams (g), students will measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using kilograms (kg) and liters (l). Lastly, our class will use models to add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units.

Writing- Persuasive Writing

In our new Lucy Calkins curriculum, our 2nd unit of study is titled “Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches, Petitions, and Editorials.” Students will continue to use critical thinking to create meaning strategically in the genre of persuasive writing. To start the unit in bend one, third graders will gather and support bold and brave opinions as they write persuasive speeches. Students will learn that persuasive writers look at their world and imagine how it could be better to grow ideas for possible writing projects. They’ll see problems that need to be addressed and imagine solutions then write quick persuasive speeches. After practice writing many short speeches, students will spend the second bend of this unit choosing to work for an extended amount of time on one piece, taking it through the writing process. In the third bend of this unit, students will transfer and apply everything they have learned about writing persuasive speeches to writing other types of opinion pieces- petitions, editorials, persuasive letters, and so on. Students will see that much of what they have already learned to do applies to these other persuasive genres. In the final bend of this unit, “Cause Groups,” students will work in collaborative groups to support causes. These groups will decide on various projects they need to create to get others to act for their cause. To finish off the unit, students will write a final piece and consider where in the world the text should go for it to reach the particular audience the write has in mind. This entire unit will allow our third graders to put their civic responsibility into action through writing!

Science:

Physical Science

Throughout every science unit, all third graders are using critical thinking to demonstrate the process of inquiry. By experimenting, reading articles, discussing and reflecting, students are creating knowledge through the process of inquiry based on evidence from many sources. When we return, our focus will be to finish up our unit on Physical Science so we can move on to Life Science.  Before break, students learned how to identify the state of different samples of matter. Through Foss Investigations, videos, literature and class activities, students discussed different attributes of solids, liquids, gases and plasma while using evidence to develop a scientific explanation around how heating and cooling affects states of matter. Our grade-level science day later in the year will allow students to practice writing observation paragraphs after analyzing and interpreting observations about matter as it freezes and melts, and boils and condenses.

Important Dates:

November 20th: Digger’s Thanksgiving Feast

November 20th: Digit’s with Digger Math Night

November 24th – 28th: Thanksgiving Break

December 19th – January 2nd: Winter Break

October Newsletter

2014

Math

In math students will be working with multiplication and division. They will be able to use more than one way to find the product of two factors and explore the meaning behind these concepts. Students will develop their mathematical tool belt with strategies when attacking multiplication and division problems through skip counting, creating equal groups, learning math facts and creating arrays to solve problems.

Student Handbook: 39-46, 49-53    

Learning Targets: Multiplication and division are inverse operations and can be modeled in a variety of ways

Literacy

In reading we have focused on building on our schema and applying our background knowledge to new learning through activating, and building on our connections. We have modeled these strategies and students have independently applied this skill through text to various content areas.

Writer’s Workshop we will work on finishing up our personal narratives. We will also work on the structure of writing and how that helps the reader better understand, retain information, and gain meaning from our writing.

Learning Targets: Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types of literary genres.

Social Studies

Students have learned that Citizens join a community to live, work and play. We have compared and contrasted Parker and how it has changed overtime.  Being a responsible citizen, students will add to their background knowledge, to analyze and take action on how to become a positive influence within our community through making a difference projects.  For a better understanding of this we have implemented "Peace Fridays". On Fridays we will be exploring the lives of Nobel Laureates through literacy, geography, history & civics. In addition to using our thinking strategies while reading about the laureate's childhood stories, we will also be analyzing the characteristics of effective citizenship, learning about locations around the globe where the laureates live, as well as comparing and contrasting those communities to our own community here in Parker. It's truly amazing how "Peace" can weave itself into every part of our 3rd grade year.

Learning Targets:

Problem Solving: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.

Resilience and Adaptability: Appraise the interaction between individual and societal activities.

Collaboration: Evaluate environment influence on sustainability.

Critical Thinking: Create knowledge through the process of inquiry based on multiple evidence.

Dates to Remember: 

October 7th: Now and Then Project Due

October 9th: Now and Then Gallery 3rd grade rooms, from 2:45-3:45

October 10-19th: Fall Break

October 31st: Fall Parties