Wednesday, December 18 - January 2, 2014

What a super fun week we've had! We have been learning about rocks & minerals and created model geodes using eggshells and two different solutions. We already see evidence of crystals growing in some of the solutions from Monday!

Thanks to S.S. for bringing in a model volcano that we started putting together this afternoon. After break we will paint it and then add the baking soda & vinegar for an explosion!

There is no homework over break.  I do encourage everyone to read -- a lot-- and play math games, or practice math flash cards.

After break we will begin our biography reports, so your child certainly can begin to research ideas for who he/she may want to learn about.

We return to school on Thursday, January 2. Many students will not be back at school on that Thursday or Friday. We won't begin anything new or have homework given on Friday, Jan. 3. We will resume our regularly scheduled school days on Monday, Jan. 5.

Best to you all! Have a fantastic break and please email me with any questions or concerns!

Friday, December 13 - Friday, December 20

A special Thank You!
Thanks for being willing to try a new reading homework assignment! You are a great group of parents to work with. I truly appreciate you and your children! I am striving to provide your child with meaningful work that will help improve valuable skills.  Nothing is more meaningful than reading & comprehension. These skills will help your child in his or her academic years to come.
So thanks for rising to the challenge!  I appreciate your input!

Homework:

math:
home-link 2 word problems

reading:
3 choices from menu - go with what you know. If one assignment is familiar and easy for you to understand, do that one and no worries about the others. Only complete 3, one from each category.

spelling:
gh and ph for /f/
tough, laugh, photo, rough, graph, cough
telephone, enough, Philip, dolphin
No excuses:   some, said
Bonus:   nephew, phantom

Idiom: 
to make a mountain out of a molehill- to make a big deal out of a small thing

Dates to remember:

Tuesday, Dec. 17 - Library   Please return overdue or checked out items.

Friday, Dec. 20 - dress down day, 2:00 dismissal & Winter Break begins.

Thursday, Jan 2, 2014 - Return to school

What's up in third grade:
We are studying rocks & minerals. We will make model geodes next week & attempt to grow crystals!
Students are really excited about this topic and have lots of great ideas to share and items from home that have been fun for other classmates to see!

We will have a review week next week over concepts we have learned thus far:
 multiple digit addition/subtraction with regrouping
identifying sentences & types  of sentences- subjects & predicates
multiplication of 0,1,2, 5 & 10.
reading comprehension & finding textual evidence

Friday 12/6- Friday 12/13

UPDATE: no math homework is due Wednesday & no idiom to study for Friday's spelling test.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I  am going to change the reading portion of the homework assignment. Instead of simply coloring in squares to indicate amount of time read on a reading log, I am providing students with a menu choice board of assignments.

The menu choice board provides 3 "appetizer", 3  "main course" and 3 "dessert"  reading assignment choices.  Students should select one assignment from each category and complete one a night. I am also providing a suggested homework schedule on the back of the Language Studies assignment. Of course, this is only a suggested guideline. If it works better for your family to complete all homework over the weekend, then do that. I am simply providing a framework to break the assignments down so that they are more manageable.

Your child will have spelling words to practice, but I am not asking to see evidence of their practice. The test is evidence enough. I am only asking that your child return the math homework and 3 completed reading menu choice items on Wednesdays.

I would like us to use these next two weeks as a time for feedback on the new homework assignments.  It's new, so we may have some kinks to work out. Let's see how things go and if you run into difficulties or challenges, just let me know and we can work together to amend them.

Your child is bringing home all information in  his/her HI folder on Friday. I also sent out an email to you all with PDF attachments so you would have copies of everything (excepting math homework) at home in case you had any questions.

HOMEWORK due Wednesday 12/11: 

2 math part/whole word problems. Answers should be in complete sentences. Show math work. 

3 reading choice menu assignments

Spelling test on Friday, 12/13

Spelling words: 

long a and long e sounds

ay, ai, ee, ea spelling pattern

lay 

real

treat

afraid

leave

always

sweeten

speed 

season

NO EXCUSES: please

BONUS: 

explain

multiplication