Dear Parents & Students,
A huge thank you goes out to all parents for your generous support of our
holiday activities. Our craft day and holiday party were a big success and a
great time was had by all. Thank you to everyone for sending items in, for
those who came in and volunteered and to those who did "behind the scenes"
planning. Another tremendous thank you has to go out to our room moms for
their unending support and dedication. Thanks to all of you, Room 10 ROCKS!
We have completed Theme 2 in our anthology on Traditions. Students
really enjoyed this theme because it allowed them to learn about and share
traditions. Some students even told me about brand new traditions they just
started! We then spent two weeks working on Trickster Tales. We identified
the characteristics of a trickster tale and discussed it as a genre. We then
read and completed story maps on three different stories. At the end of the
two weeks, students wrote their own trickster tale, focusing on including the
characteristics of this genre. In January we will work on editing our drafts
and publishing them. Once back from vacation we will spend one week working
on Native American legends. In groups, students will read a different legend
each day and will learn about the characteristics of a legend. At the end of
the week, they will write their own Native American legend and explain how
something in the world came to be (ie. Why Snakes Crawl; Why Thunder Booms!
etc).
The flip book book reports came out great and students really seem to be
getting more comfortable speaking in front of the class. As you know, the
book report for this month and next month is to decorate a fabric square. We
will then sew the squares into pillows - but your child is only to decorate
the square at home. The rest will be done in class. If you would like to
see samples of these, stop by the classroom; and if you would like to borrow
some fabric pens, have your child let us know. We have a set that we are
lending out. We will be working on voice projection this month for our oral
speaking focus.
This last month we worked on and wrote Character Sketches. Just a
reminder that we keep student writing in the classroom in student
portfolios. If you would like to see this writing, just let us know. We are
trying to send home all rough drafts, but sometimes students inadvertently
throw them away.
We hope you enjoyed your child's letter writing journals. Look for them
again in January. It is our hope that these will help with fluency and
create a special conversation between you and your child.
In January we will be moving on to Chapter 4 in math. This is a big
unit in third grade - multiplication. In third grade students are expected
to memorize the multiplication tables through 12. We will spend a lot of
time on this in class, but students will need to be working with flash cards
at home in order to pass their time tests. More information about this unit
will come home after we return from break.
In Social Studies, we have started our unit on Native Americans, with a
focus on the tribe that lived in the area we are in now - the Gabrielino
Indians.
We have finished our first science unit on Matter and Energy. We will
begin our unit on the Sun, Moon and Stars in January. This unit will
incorporate technology as students pair up and use research to create a power
point.
We will be focusing a lot on the study skills unit beginning in January
also. As you can see, there is a lot still to cover, so be sure your
children get lots of rest and relaxation and return in January ready to go!
We have uploaded pictures on the Class Photos page from our holiday
activities so be sure to check them out. We have also updated our
wish list. We really appreciate the support so many of you have shown by
sending items in from our wish list - thank you! We are thrilled to see so
many of the students working on Mastery Club and participating in the Mind
Expanders program. The winter break is a perfect time to work on both of
these!
Happy Winter!
Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Gerbosi