Weekly Update

Good evening,

     I hope everyone has enjoyed the beautiful weekend! Please encourage your child to read each weekend for 30 minutes. Reading logs are due every Monday and should show that your child has read for at least 110 minutes for the week. It is your child's responsibility to ensure that it is filled out and signed. We are still working on learning the genres, so assistance is required for that portion of the log. If you have any questions please let me know.

     This week we will be taking our first eValuate tests in reading and math. If your child was at Long School last year, he or she is already familiar with how this test works. This test allows for your child to get practice with a standardized assessment that is given at the end of third grade, but it also informs me about their progress with the third grade curriculum. Do not be alarmed if you see a low score recorded on the graph inside your child's binder; your child is not expected to be proficient with third grade skills at the beginning of the school year. The goal as the year moves on is for them to score 80% or higher on this assessment.

Important Reminders:

1. Wednesday, September 17 will be a 1:40 Early Release Day/ and Crazy Hair Day.  Lunch will be served at school. Please ensure that your child is aware of afternoon transportation plans before Wednesday. If these plans change, please e-mail or send a note so that I am aware. Please send this note on Wednesday morning at the latest. I often cannot check e-mail until after school is dismissed.
2. Wednesday, September 24 is Fall Picture Day. Order forms will be coming home soon!
3. There will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, September 26. This is a professional development day for teachers. 
4. The class synergized well and filled our marble jar! As a reward, students can bring either an electronic device, a toy or stuffed animal to play with on Tuesday. Please limit your child to one item and ensure that it fits inside the book bag! 
5. NOTE: I will be sending home a progress report this week with an invitation for you to sign up for our classroom behavior system, Class Dojo. We have tested it out for a few weeks and have had time to get used to classroom expectations. Look for a note in your child's take home folder on Friday.

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Reading: readers understand a story more deeply by making a mental movie and revising it
Writing: crafting strong leads for our personal narratives
Math: using place value to help add larger numbers (Chapter 2: Addition)
Science: wrapping up our unit on Ecosystems (there will not be a test for this unit; students should study vocabulary cards for a end of unit quiz)
Spelling: in class activities due to early release and eValuate testing


If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks and have a great week!

Weekly Update

Good morning!

Last week we wrapped up our first unit in math! This was a very difficult chapter about place value and rounding. Even though we are officially finished with the unit, we will continue to work on these concepts all year! Please sign and return your child's math test by Wednesday. I will send it home again for you to keep after I see that you have signed it. It is helpful to me for parents to sign tests so that you are aware of your child's grades. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Miss Catherine visited our class last week! She is a counselor who works for the NCADA and is scheduled to teach the class five lessons about building lasting friendships. We have really enjoyed her visits and look forward to the next lesson! Please ask your child what it means to use "wrecking ball words" and they should be able to tell you! 

Here is what we are learning about this week:

Reading:how to be an active listener and retell a story by including the four most important things
Writing: how to tell a story with characters, actions and dialogue (as opposed to reporting on it)
Math: begin Chapter 2: Addition
Science: ecosystems and food chains (focus on how ecosystems can change)
Spelling: in class activities; lists will be coming home soon.

Upcoming events:

• Wednesday, September 17 is a 1:40 PM early release day. Teachers will be in professional development meetings. Lunch will be served. Please make sure to tell me ahead of time if transportation plans have changed for early release day. Often I cannot check my e-mail until after the class goes to block, which is at 2:20.  I did make a note based off of  the form that you filled out for the office at the beginning of the year.

Important Reminders:

• Please have your child finish decorating their writing journal by Wednesday 9/10. 
• We will be going on a field trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden on November 19.  We will depart Long School around 9 and return by 2 PM. Four people signed up to be a field trip chaperone, but we need one more! If you are able to attend that day please send me an email. 
• Please make sure the reading log is being filled out properly. We have a school-wide goal this year for reading and I need to keep track of how much your child is reading. Reading logs are due every Monday. 

Weekly Update

Hello!

On Friday, we will have our first math test over Chapter 1: Place Value. Please use the study guide and vocabulary pages/cards in the binder to help your child prepare for the test. If you are logging into the math textbook, be sure to check out my previous post that included a video for how to log in to the cloud and access the book. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Here is what we are learning this week:

Reading: building our reading community, how to share books with each other
Writing: generating ideas for personal narrative stories
Math: Review of Ch. 1, test on Friday
Science:  interaction of living/non-living things in an ecosystem, how energy is transferred from one organism to another
Spelling: learning the rotation schedule/routines for groups, words will be sent home in binder soon. 

Important Reminders:

1. Your child is bringing home his/her writer's notebook today. He or she should use pictures, magazines, etc. to decorate the front cover. This will help them generate ideas during writing. Please review the handout in the take home folder and complete the project by the due date. The notebook MUST be brought back to school each day so your child has it during writing time.
2. Please listen to your child read twice a week. For the "code for parent checks" section, mark A for accuracy, F for fluency or C for comprehension. The yellow sheets in the binder explain everything on the reading log. It is due every Monday when your child gets to school. Please let me know if you have questions. All of third grade is testing out this reading log this year. Thanks! 

I hope you have a fantastic week!