A Few Reminders:Please send your child's recorder form and money by Friday, February 14th! Reading & WritingReading: This week, we will officially wrap up the end of our Mystery Unit. We will draw on all we have learned to participate in some fun activities during our "Mystery Celebration." Later in the week, we will begin our Poetry Unit. We will study the basics of poetry and explore the various types of poetry (narrative, humorous, lyrical, and free verse). Writing: In writing this week, we will continue in our "Changing the World" unit by exploring and drafting other forms of persuasive writing. We will practice creating petitions, surveys, and interviews. Specifically, we will explore how to incorporate the best evidence and quotes our peers have to offer us. Word Study: As we continue in our study of prefixes, we will explore suffixes "-ful," "-y," and "ness." Grammar and Conventions: This week, we will review various concepts from throughout the past few weeks. We will revisit adding prefixes and suffixes to root words, identifying abstract nouns within sentences, and ensuring subject/verb agreement in sentences. Math & ScienceMath: This week in math we will start our unit on fractions! Students will make a fraction kit to help them visualize fractions. They will learn about unit fractions, fractions of a whole, fractions of a set, and fractions on a number line. Science: In science we are continuing our journey through the solar system. We will be exploring Jupiter and Saturn, and also the relationship between the Sun, Earth and Moon. A Few Reminders:Digital Citizenship Week Join in on the fun as we promote a healthy balance of technology and other activities!
Reading & WritingReading: In reading this week, we will be wrapping up our "Mystery" unit. We will discuss the impact of "red herrings" in our mysteries and how authors include these clues to throw us off track. We will also learn to search back for clues we might have missed when a mystery's big reveal surprises us. Later in the week, we will explore how much of what we learn in mysteries transfers over into everyday fictional reading. Specifically, we will closely study characters and use our knowledge about them to predict what they might do next. At home, you can work with your child by reading fiction, "Just-Right" books. Ask your child questions such as, "Who is the main character, and what kind of person is he/she?", "What might the character do next?", and "What is the biggest problem in this story?" Writing: As we finish up our "Persuasive Speeches" unit, we will practice structuring our persuasive writing pieces into logical paragraphs. We will also learn to think of our intended audience and analyze each piece of evidence in our drafts for relevance and importance. Then, we will practice incorporating strong word choice that might evoke an emotional reaction from our reader. At the end of the week on Friday, January 31st, we will have our in-class Persuasive Timed Writing Test. Please make sure your child has prepared for this test by completing the light-blue review and outline sent home last Friday. Word Study: This week, we will be reviewing multiple concepts leading up to an assessment we will be having next week. We will review homophones, syllable patterns, and multiple sound spelling patterns such as "-eigh," "ough," and "-en." Grammar and Conventions: This week, we will continue our study of root words and affixes. Math & ScienceMath: This week in math we will be working on reviewing 2D and 3D figures, as well as area /perimeter with regular and irregular shapes. Your child will be rotating through small group stations where they will be practicing these skills. Your child came home with a math review sheet that is due Tuesday, January 28th. Our Geometry test is this Thursday, January 30th. Science: This week in science we will be continuing our journey through space! Our focus will be both Earth and Mars! Your child will learn various facts about both of these planets! It's going to be out of this world!
A Few Reminders:Join us for a Spirit Night at Hungry Howie's (Highland Knolls location) on Tuesday, January 21st. We look forward to enjoying some delicious pizza with you from 5-9pm! ELA:Reading: This week in reading, we will continue our unit on mysteries. We will continue studying how mysteries typically go and we will look for patterns in the books we read. On Thursday, we will review for our test. Our mystery test will be Friday, January 24th. Please use the review to guide your conversations with you child while you read together at home this week. Writing: In writing this week, we will learn how to really convince our audience by using detailed evidence to prove our point. We will practice showing, not telling. We will also learn how to pick the strongest evidence based on our audience. We will think, "What would really convince the people I'm addressing?", and then we will discard evidence that is not convincing. At home, please continue working with your student on coming up with big, bold opinions. Practice thinking of reasons that would be the most convincing. Word Study: This week in Word Study, we will learn about multiple sound spelling patterns. Grammar and Conventions: This week in Grammar and Conventions, we will study root words. We will discuss how adding a prefix or suffix changes the meaning of the word. Please practice creating new words at home by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words. Math & Science:Math: This week in math, we will finish up our study of 3D shapes and then we will work on finding the area of composite shapes. A composite shape is formed from two shapes (like 2 rectangles joined together) so to find the area we must decompose the shape. Multiplication Facts: In third grade, we are studying our multiplication facts so that students can move into 4th grade knowing them very well. Facts set to music are a great way to learn the facts. This week we are studying our 8's - so here is a great video to help them learn! ScienceThis week in science, we continue our journey "through" the solar system. We will be studying the planets Venus and Earth. Students should now be able to recite the order of planets.
Homework: This week for homework in science your child will need to complete the Solar System reading passage/Order of the planets. Your child can use their interactive science notebook in order to help them place the planets in order. Check out the StoryBot video for another great reinforce of the order of the planets! A Few Reminders:Picture Day is Wednesday, January 15th! Monday, January 20th is Martin Luther King, Jr. day - there is no school! Reading & Writing:Reading: In reading this week we will continue our study of mysteries. We will learn how to keep on going when reading gets tough. Students will learn how to make their own strategies for when books get tricky. We will also learn different ways to talk and write about our reading. Later in the week, we will learn how to hold onto the story and clues as books get longer and longer. Lastly, we will look for patterns in mystery books and notice those patterns as we continue reading more and more mysteries. To help at home, encourage your child to problem solve when they feel "stuck" or confused in their reading. Have your child retell the biggest parts in their just right book. Writing: This week in writing, we will practice our persuasive writing. We will consider audience and learn how to address that audience in our writing. We will learn how to really expand our reasoning and explain why our opinions should matter to our reader. At home, help your child develop their big bold opinions by noticing problems and things that are noteworthy. Word Study: This week in Word Study, we will practice the VCV vowel pattern and breaking words into syllables. Grammar and Conventions: This week in Grammar and Conventions, we will study abstract nouns. Math & Science:Math: This week in math we are beginning our unit on geometry. We will start with identification of polygons and move into classification of quadrilaterals (4-sided figures). By the end of the week, we will be starting on 3-D shapes. At home, please encourage your student to keep up with their dream box and fluency practice. They should be able to know multiplication facts for x0, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, and x10. Science: This week in science, your students will continue to learn about the planets that make up our solar system. Students will identify the names of the planets and their order. We will be exploring each planet in depth, starting with Mercury. |