Here’s the Scoop from Rm. 17!
November 12, 2009
This newsletter is just to let you know what we’ve been working on in Rm.
17. Also, please remember to check our classroom website as often as
possible to assist your family in helping your child to succeed in 3rd grade!
READING/ELA
We are finishing the last story in our second theme – Celebrating
Traditions. This story is entitled “Dancing Rainbows”. It is about daily
life of a native boy living in an Indian pueblo. The skills we have focused
on are monitoring & clarifying.
We continue daily with our DLP or Daily Language Practice, where we identify
various parts of speech in a sentence or short paragraph. This unit in
English we have focused on all types of nouns, from singular & plural to
common & proper. This skill will spiral throughout the year.
MATH
In Math, we have finished Chapter 4, which focused on addition and have moved
onto Chapter 5 which deals with subtraction. This is a good review for the
children. Many of them have forgotten the skills that they were taught in
2nd grade. *When time provides, please review some basic addition and
subtraction of 2 to 3 digit numbers with your child. The more practice they
get the better!
The test on Chapter 5 will be sometime next week.
MCAS PREP
We have continued with our daily MCAS Prep questions. Each day we solve at
least 1-2 MCAS type questions. We discuss the possible solutions and how we
got our answer. For your knowledge or personal use with your child, there is
a link to the DOE where you can find actual math & ELA questions from past
MCAS tests.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We have begun our unit on the Pilgrims and their journey to America. We are
discussing why their trip was so important to them and in turn is so
important to us. The children have been split up into groups and have
created their own “ship.” The names of the three ships sailing from Rm. 17
are the “The Freedom”, “The Wonder” and the “New England”. The children have
been asked to create a list of 102 names to board their ship. These will be
their shipmates. Every day they will be asked a few questions pertaining to
the Pilgrims and their journey. If they correctly answer, their ship will
move across the ocean from England towards Cape Cod. The children are very
excited to begin our journey. Keep your eye out for the first ship to reach
the new land!!!
CORRECTED PAPERS PACKET
This week the 3rd Corrected Papers Packet will be sent home. Please make
sure to look through your child’s papers, then sign and return the bottom
portion of the front page with your child. It is crucial that I get each of
these back. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated!
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
If you have not done so already, please make sure to send in your conference
slip. It is very important that I meet with each and every one of you to
discuss your child’s progress and explain the report card. This is a great
time for us to discuss the ways in which your child can strive to be the very
best student he/she can be! If we continue to work together, I know your
child will have a wonderful 3rd grade experience.
HOMEWORK
Lately, we have had some difficulty with children both completing and
returning homework on time.
*Please remember that homework is NOT busy work. Homework is a reinforcement
of the lesson your child learned that day and a means for me to judge whether
or not there is a need to reteach the lesson at hand. Please make sure your
child has a quiet place to complete his/her homework each night. Kindly,
make sure that your child completes his/her homework and places it directly
into the Weekly Organizer so that it doesn’t get misplaced. Also, don’t
forget the classroom web-site if your child has forgotten spelling words,
vocabulary words or that night’s assignment.
Your child can only be successful if you and I work together! With that in
mind, PLEASE check and sign your child’s Weekly Organizer EVERY day so that
you know exactly what he/she
is responsible for. I thank you greatly!
QUESTIONS….CONCERNS?
Please be sure to ask your child what he/she is doing in school on a daily
basis. I realize that our children don’t always give us a great or detailed
report about what went on in their day, but it’s still worthwhile to ask.
They just might share something that they found very interesting that day.
Also, be sure to check our website often for new and updated information.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact
me at any time by either e-mailing me at mpete@chicopee.k12.ma.us or calling
the school any time from 8:00 – 3:00 at
594-3545. Due to our busy days, I may not always be able to return your
phone call or e-mail that day, but will get back to you as soon as I can.
*If it is urgent, please call the school and
they will contact me so that I can take the call at that time.
Have a GREAT week!
Michelle Pete