Mrs. Britta Banchero

3^rd Grade Newsletter

May 21^st – 25^th, 2012

OUR REFLECTION: Let Us Learn Together What Is Good.

 

General News:

       Thank you to all the parents who graciously joined us on our Pike Place Market field trip.  It is always such a memorable event and we lucked out having sunny weather.  We would not be able to do these fun trips without your support, thank you! 

       As we are nearing the end of the year, it is time to mark your calendars for our 2^nd annual Writing Workshop Celebration on Tuesday, June 12^th at 2:00pm.  3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders will showcase their amazing work over the past nine months and you will have time to conference one-on-one with students regarding their best writing pieces.  I am SO impressed with our third grade writers.  They continue to rise to the challenge!

 

Dates to Remember:

5/22 – Tues. – Vision Screening

-    Math Night in Banchero Hall from 7:00-8:00pm

5/24 – Thurs. – Talent Show at 1:15pm

5/25 – Fri. – Free Dress

 

Looking Ahead:

5/31 – Thurs. – Sandwich Book Report Due

6/1 – Fri. – Field Day

6/12 – Tues. – 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Writing Celebration

 

 

What we are doing this week:

 

Math

This week, we will review the three new forms of measurement, capacity, and time.  We will have test on Wednesday, May 16^th.

 

****Students will continue to have their fast facts tests on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please continue to practice these multiplication facts each night.  Once students have mastered individual numbers 1-12, they will move on to the entire multiplication chart.  Memorizing these facts will ensure success in 4^th grade when they tackle double/triple digit multiplication.

 

Readers’ Workshop

This week, we will begin reviewing the many reading skills and strategies we have learned about this year. I will begin administering the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) to evaluate reading progress over the past few months.  Students will complete an in-class circle cube project, identifying the many strategies they use while reading.

 

Religion

This week, we will understand our responsibility in the kingdom of God.  We will begin learning our final prayer for the year, the Gloria.

 

Science

We will continue to grow these seedlings in nutrient solution and observe them throughout their life cycle, watching for the emergence of flowers, fruit and new seeds.  We are already four weeks into our growth cycle and our seedlings are doing great.  We will begin to indentify the different stages of growth. 

 

Social Studies

This week, we will introduce marketing plans, speculating where our toys might be sold.  We will create marketing plans for the toys and discuss why some local, regional or international markets might be more popular than others. 

 

Spelling

Queen Anne – contractions

Fremont – Long –a patterns in accented syllables

Magnolia – Silent/Sounded Consonant Alternation

 

Writers’ Workshop

This week, we will work on finding honest and precise words.  We will also learn about the power of patterns in poetry.  We will begin using comparisons to convey feelings in our poems like similes and metaphors.  By the end of the week, we will contrast ordinary language with poetic language, identifying the power of our words.