Our students have been very busy working on creating a community of caring
and motivated learners. We have spent a lot of time working on our classroom
rules. These rules are guidelines to help us reach our goals for third
grade. We focused on using Creative Problem Solving to generate rules that
would work well in our classrooms. We've also discussed the importance of
rules for safety. Students will be bringing home a copy of these rules.
Please take the time to go over them and discuss what these rules look like
in the classroom. Both classes have spent a lot of time creating our rules.
Have students explain our rule creation process with you.
Don't forget to ask your child about the literature we've been sharing in
class. Here are some of the stories we've shared so far:
First Day Jitters, Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse, Hooray For Diffendoofer Day.
We've also begun a discussion on reading genres. Students should be able to
share with you at least 4 genres that they know about.
Be sure to ask your child about Shiver, Gobble, Snore and how it relates to
equality of law. Ask about our Bill of Rights and about responsible choices
we make. In math we are going over number sequences, number grid patterns,
and we're also analyzing and displaying data. Math games that students
should be able to talk to you about include Less than You, Addition Top it,
and Name That Number.
Please check this page frequently for updates on what's going on in our
classrooms.
STRUCTURES
While exploring with various structures students have come to the following
generalizations:
Structures exist in all things
Structures have parts
Structures have parts that are interrelated and interdependent
Structures can be combined
Changing a part of a structure changes its function
You may want to spend some time discussing with your child activities they
have engaged on in the classroom to understand these generalizations better.
WRITING TRAITS
We have discussed a couple of writing traits that good writers demonstrate.
Ask you child about the trait of "ideas". Have them explain to you a pre-
writing plan. Your child should also be able to discuss with you how a
writer uses "organization" and the importance of "conventions" in our
everyday writing.
STORY ELEMENTS
We've had some discussions about the elements of a story and how
understanding these elements helps us understand the story better. Discuss
these elements with your child in relationship to some of the stories we've
read in class. You may want to begin by asking "What was the plot in the
story Swimmy?" Please refer to the information below.
Plot - The main story line. The plot is usually mentioned at the beginning
of the story. Swimmy was about a small fish who tried to help others when he
lost all his family members and community of fish.
Setting - the story takes place in the ocean
Characters - Some of the characters are Swimmy, the big tuna, Swimmy's first
community, and his second community.
Conflict - (there can be more than one conflict)The big tuna is a bully and
tries to eat smaller fish
Solution - Swimmy teaches the small school of fish how to avoid being eaten
by the big tuna.
Ending - the school of fish avoids being eaten and they're all happy
Hope this helps.
WORD STUDY
Our class has started word study this week. All students have the same words
and the classroom activities will be the same. Next week students will be
working in different groups with different words. There will be several
activities that we will be using throughout the week. Encourage your child
to explain words that are "out of sorts" to you. Usually this explanation
demonstrates a clear understanding on the student's part about the sort
he/she is working with.
Please refer to the explanations below on other Word Study activities if you
more clarification.
OPEN SORT
Students use this sort on Monday when they are first introduced to their
words. They sort their words in any way in which they can see a pattern.
This activity allows students to become familiar with the words and allows
them to practice looking for patterns in words.
CLOSED SORT
Students work in small groups with the teacher as facilitator, looking for
specific patterns among the words. The words are then grouped according to
the patterns. These are the patterns students need to review and understand
throughout the week.
SAW activity - Sort Alphabetize Write
Students will sort their words and then group each category in abc order.
students will then write the alphabetized sort in their word study notebooks.
WRITING SORT activity
In this activity students practice their words and patterns by having
someone call out the words while the student writes the words grouped in the
appropriate patterns. All out one word at a time and have your child write
the word in the column that corresponds to the appropriate pattern. This
sort can be timed for an extra challenge.
BLIND SORT
Students flip their word study cards one at a time and read each word. As
the word is read, the student places the work in its corresponding pattern
until all words have been placed within a pattern. Upon completion students
checks the groupings by comparing to Monday's closed sort written in class.
OPERATION
When using this WS activity students need to become surgeons and "operate"
on some words. They will need to isolate the "heart" of the work and built
other words by changing letters on the word. They begin with one of their
assigned WS words and continue making new words "operating" from there.
RHYME TIME
Students choose a WS word and keep the last part of the word. They then come
up with other words (WS or their own) that rhyme with the original word.
When they have a list of words, they use the words to create a rhyming poem.
READING LOG
We will begin using a reading log in November. Students are expected to read
for 20 minutes every day. Please make sure you go over the reading log with
your child and remember to sign it or initial it daily. On Fridays students
will write a response to a reading selection from the reading log. The
response will be written in class and it will be for a grade.
PLAY DOH RECIPE - here is the recipe for the play doh we used in class
INGREDIENTS:
• Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Water - 2 cups
• Oil - 2 tablespoons
• Salt - 1/3 cup
• Cream Of Tartar - 1/4 cup
• Food coloring (optional)
PREPARATION:
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan over low/medium heat until excess moisture
has all dried up, and play doh texture has been reached. Allow to cool, and
then pack up into a sealed plastic container or zipper bags.
