ROOM 305 NEWS. author organizes his or her information.

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1 ROOM 305 NEWS January 20, 2017 Valentine s Day Party Please let me know if you would be interested in planning a Valentine s Day Party for our class on February 14 th. This is our one and only official party of the year (not including earned celebrations) and one that students look forward to. Thanks for considering! KCLS Family Night This is a reminder that our 3 rd Grade team and a representative from the King County Libraries will be hosting an information session to show families how to access the King County Library System s online databases, audiobooks, ebooks, tutoring, and other no cost resources. I hope to see you there! When: Tuesday, Jan. 24 th 6pm to 7pm Where: Moorlands Library What s Happening? Reading Workshop: The 2 nd block of our Nonfiction Unit of Study consisted of using strategies for pre-reading in preparation for nonfiction. Specifically, we have recently been looking closely at different text structures or how an author organizes his or her information. The other day, we read a TFK article about vultures. That particular author used a problem-solution structure. By identifying this structure, we realize that we will be introduced to a problem regarding this topic and then given possible solutions later in the text. As a result, we change our thinking to anticipate the information we are reading about. Our remaining blocks are: 3. Readers use a variety of strategies in order to process the large amount of new information. 4. Readers summarize and draw conclusions about the information learned in nonfiction text. Writing Workshop: Students are using the app Book Creator on I-Pads to publish a personal narrative. Once these are finished, you will be able to find a pdf of your child s story on Google Drive. Next week, we ll start to use nonfiction reading strategies to sift through information about countries and learn how to jnicholas2@nsd.org take notes about a topic and subtopics. Math: We are finishing up Unit 2 and reviewing challenging areas of the unit order of operations, area, 2-step story problems. Each day this week, the class has been collecting information by answering a different question on a tally chart. We ll use this data to create line plots, bar graphs and different organizing charts for our Measurement Unit right around the bend. Multiplication and Division Diagnostic Quizzes Please carefully look over your child s quizzes, which will look like a page from his/her math book, and will have x facts on one side and / facts on the other. How to use the quizzes: Missed Problems Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Need to Practice Xs 2s, 5s, 10s 0s, 1s, 3s 4s, 9s 6s, 7s, 8s Thank you for ensuring your child is practicing his or her math facts at home.

2 Class Website You can check our classroom website for daily homework assignments and projects. On it, you can find: homework, newsletters, spelling lists and our monthly calendar. Next week, I will ask students to write their full address for a class project Me on the Map. Over the years, I ve found that many children don t actually know their address so this will be a good opportunity to memorize this important information. You might ask your child if s/he knows his or her address. alternated them within the grid. Look for pictures of finished artwork soon on our website. Social Studies: I began our geography and map skills unit by asking students to draw a world map from memory on a large sheet of construction paper. Although it seemed like a daunting task, most students jumped right in and drew and labeled what they knew.

3 about volunteering interests. Many thanks to those of you who have already filled out this survey. Parent Input Form Thank you for sending in this pink form. They are very useful in getting to know your child better. Please return them to school at your earliest convenience. September Calendar My apologies for not sending home a September calendar. In my head I did, but that doesn t count. J There is now one in your child s binder. Snack Your child may bring a small snack to school each day. Our lunch is very late and learning can be difficult on an empty stomach. Something small and healthy is best. We will continue taking timed quizzes in class for students still working through their multiplication and division facts. This and That Wipes: We are completely out of baby wipes and if you have a box to spare we would happily welcome it. Math: We are currently working on fractions. We ve explored unit fractions, finding fractions less than one and more than one on number lines, and comparing fractions. Reading: We have been reading a lot of tall tales about Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Pecos Bill. We ve studied the features of tall tales and have tried to see if these stories fit into the genre. Students have also worked on comparing and contrasting the different tall tales. We ve talked about noticing important parts of a text and how this helps us be more aware of similarities and differences within and between texts. Observing and charting story features such as characters, setting, plot, etc. is one way we were able to have more meaningful comparisons and contrasts. Writing: We ve now finished up our informational report unit and are moving into persuasive letter writing. This can be an exciting unit for many students.

4 You can help your child brainstorm topics he or she feels strongly about in preparation for the brainstorming we will be doing in class. Students are responsible for memorizing an 8 or longer line poem to be recited on Friday, April 27 th in front of our class. You are welcome to come also! We will start promptly at 10:15 a.m. Your child will be graded on how fluently and expressively s/he recites the poem, along with the choice of a prop or illustration to show that s/he understands what the poem is all about. (Please note that our April calendar shows that this project is due on the 25 th. This is a mistake.) Words Their Way After Spring Break, we will start our new word work and spelling program. The program s focus is on spelling patterns and word meanings. Students will get a set of words at their level to study every two weeks. They will practice them using a variety of sorting methods we will do together in class during the first week. In week two, you will help your child with different sorts at home. There will be a paper that comes home with a description of the sorts and a place for you to initial each night. Thank you for helping your child to become a better speller, writer, and reader! This and That Change in schedule notes: Please send in a note with your child to give to me if you know that your child will be picked up early in the day. It can be very disruptive to have a child leave during a lesson. Thanks. Pencils! We are in desperate need of pencils. If you have any to spare, we could use them. Clay: For our Pacific Rim project, students will be creating a souvenir that one might buy if ever visiting their country. I thought it would fun to actually make one out of some sort of clay that we could paint on, but that doesn t have to be fired in a kiln. Please contact me if you would be willing to donate some to the room. MSP Testing: We haven t been told the testing dates yet; however, the window is open from 4/27-5/18. Please try to minimize the amount of time your child is out of school during this period. Ways you can help at home: 1. Read to and with your child. 2. Listen to them read out loud. 3. Engage in activities involving fractions and measuring. (Cooking, baking, and finding the lengths of things) 4. +,-,x,/ practice

5 5. Have your child write a persuasive letter to you if they want something. the month of January. However, there will be some work students will need to do on their own in February. BIOGRAPHIES One of the major projects of third grade is to read a biography book of a famous person and then give a memorized speech as that person. Students have chosen a biography book this week. They will have time to read the book in class, and we will work together in class with finding important information so that they can write their own small book. Once they have completed their books, they will use the information to write a short speech which they will then have to memorize and give in front of the class on an appointed day before mid-winter break. Parents will be invited to come hear the speeches on this day, and students will come to school dressed up as their famous person This will probably be sometime during the week of Feb. 17 when Mrs. Nicholas is back. Another part of this project will be for students to use the information they have learned to make a power point slide show in the computer lab. PACIFIC RIM