Friday, November 21, 2014

Third Grade Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  We just finished our unit on informational text and main idea. In Reader’s Workshop, we are focusing on how chapters build upon each other in fictional text. We will continue to work on asking and answering questions.
Writing: We are working on our informational unit.  Students picked format (chapter book, picture book, article, or pamphlet) to use to publish their research. We are continuing to transfer our research into a written format.
Math: We just finished Unit 4.  We are working on Unit 5: place value up to the millions. We have had a great kick off on multiplication facts fluency.  
Keep working at home on...
  • multiplication facts
  • ballpark estimation to nearest tens
  • addition and subtraction with regrouping
Science: We just finished our Ecosystems Unit. We are working on our Matter Unit. We are learning about mass, density, and how water changes forms.
Social Studies: We just finished our Government Unit. We are working on our Economics Unit. We are learning about bartering, profit, and currency.
Word Work: The test will be on Friday, November 21!  Students will get new words on Monday, December 2.
Important dates
Nov. 17-25   Book Fair
Nov. 26, 27, & 28 NO School
Dec. 4 McTeacher Night in Blue Springs 40 Hwy 4-8 pm
***Dec. 10 2nd and 3rd program will be at 6:30 pm in the gym
   (All students will wear "dress clothes")
Dec. 11 Papa John's Night
Dec. 19 End of 2nd Quarter
Dec. 20 - Jan. 5 NO School
Jan. 6 School Resumes on Tuesday
Reminders
  • Grade Level Shirt Orders Due Tuesday, Nov. 25- See attachment for order form

  • Remember to wear tennis shoes on PE days
Donations
***Thank you for all your help!!!!

Specials Schedule for the week of November 24-25.
Monday-C  Tuesday -D
Dec. 1-5: Monday-E Tuesday-A Wednesday-B Thursday-C Friday-D

Third Grade students are working hard!  Thanks for the support at home!  

Mrs. Doughty's class has created a kid blog page. It is more kid friendly for students. This blog can only be used by the kids in our class. I have to approve all posts before they are published. Parents can sign up for the blog as well by going through your child's profile and using the parent code. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Third Grade Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Our focus in Reader’s Workshop is focusing on key characters in a story.  Students are determining key characters and the character’s emotional and physical traits.  Also, understanding the character’s motivations within a story to help the reader relate to the character, assisting them in understanding the story better.
Writing: Students continue to draft and revise their personal narratives.  This week’s focus was editing, revising, and publishing their narrative piece.
Math: This week we took the test for unit 2. Then started Unit 3, we have started measuring to the nearest ¼ of an inch.
Keep working at home on...
  • number stories using addition and subtraction
  • ballpark estimation to nearest tens
  • addition and subtraction with regrouping
Science: We are working on the unit Force and Motion.  This week we focused on simple machines. We test on Friday.
Social Studies: This week we started our government unit. We focused on law and rules (why they are important).  Also, defining the difference between laws and rules.
Word Work: Students received new words on Monday. We continue to work with the words throughout the week.  Please make sure they are practicing spelling and sorting these words at home.  Our language skill is identifying adverbs and how to include them in their writing to add detail.
Important dates
Oct 8- Late Start
Oct 8- Sonic Night
Oct 9-Burr Oak Woods
Oct 14 McTeacher Night
Oct 15 Picture Retakes
Oct 20-22 Red Ribbon Week
Oct 21/23 Parent/Teacher conferences
Oct 23-24 No school
Oct 31 Fall Parties

Reminders
  • Please let teachers know if you are planning on coming to the Burr Oak Woods field trip this Thursday, October 9th
  • Practice estimation and 3 digit subtraction
Donations

Specials Schedule for the week of Oct.6-10.
Monday-B    Tuesday -C     Wednesday-B Late Start      Thursday-D     Friday-E

Your students are working hard on becoming independent learners!  

Friday, September 26, 2014

Third Grade Update Sept. 26th

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Our focus in Reader’s Workshop is focusing on key characters in a story.  Students are determining key character’s and the character’s emotional and physical traits.  Also, understanding the character’s motivations within a story to help the reader relate to the character, assisting them in understanding the story better.
Writing: Students continue to draft and revise their personal narratives.  This week’s focus was adding nonliteral language (idioms, similes, and metaphors) and to create a closure to their narrative.
Math: In Unit 2 this week, we have continued to work on ballpark estimating with addition and subtraction problems (rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds).  Also, addition and subtraction with regrouping.  The students are practicing adding with 3 or more addends.  Key concepts to study for Unit 2 test on Tuesday, September 30 are…
  • fact extensions
  • finding number patterns to fill in missing pattern
  • Number stories using addition and subtraction
  • telling time to the 5 minutes
  • place value to the thousands place
  • ballpark estimation to nearest tens
  • addition and subtraction with regrouping
Science: We are working on the unit Force and Motion.  We are reviewing concepts of... force -any push or pull
friction- a force that goes against motion
contact forces are  push, pull, and friction
noncontact forces are gravity and magnetism
work-using a force to move an object
***study guide coming home soon with key concepts to study for the Force and Motion assessment on Friday, October 3!
Social Studies: We are still in our Maps unit. We are implementing the essential parts of a map (key, compass rose, symbols) in creating their very own Foot Island.  
Word Work: On Friday, we assessed individual word lists.  The students will receive their new individual word work list on Monday, September 29.  We continue to work with the words throughout the week.  Please make sure they are practicing spelling and sorting these words at home.  Our language skill is identifying adverbs and how to include them in their writing to add detail.
Important dates
Sept 26- Going to Grain Valley Library
Sept 27- Homecoming Parade and Stony Point Carnival
Oct 8- Sonic Night
Oct 9-Burr Oak Woods
Oct 14 McTeacher Night
Oct 15 Picture Retakes
Oct 20-22 Red Ribbon Week
Oct 21/23 Parent/Teacher conferences
Oct 23-24 No school
Oct 31 Fall Parties

Reminders
  • Unit 2 Math Assessment (Tuesday, September 30)
  • Force and Motion Assessment (Friday, October 3) -study guide coming soon!
Donations

Specials Schedule for the week of Sept. 29-Oct.3
Monday-B    Tuesday -C     Wednesday-D      Thursday-E     Friday-A


Busy week of studying!  Thanks for the support from home! 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Third Grade Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Our focus in Reader’s Workshop is finding the central message of a story(what is the author trying to tell the reader without coming out and saying it).  We continue to retell/recount text (stories, myth, fable, or folktale).
Writing: Students are drafting and revising our personal narratives.  Students are adding dialogue and character’s thoughts, feeling and actions, to bring their narrative to life.
Math: In Unit 2 this week, we have been solving addition and subtraction number stories.  Also, we introduced students to the partial-sum algorithm to solve larger number addition problems.  We are beginning to give ballpark estimating addition and subtraction problems (rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds).
Science: We are working on the unit Force and Motion.  We are reviewing concepts of... motion -anytime an object changes position
relative position- location of one thing in relation to another thing
speed-how fast something changes position
variable speed-speed that changes; the speed changes as object moves
Social Studies: We are still in our Maps unit. Students will be assessed on identifying the 7 continents and 4 oceans on Friday. We are exploring the essential parts of a map (key, compass rose, scale) and how to read a map.
Word Work:The students received their individual word work list on Monday.  We continue to work with the words throughout the week.  Please make sure they are practicing spelling and sorting these words at home.  The test will be next Friday, September 26!
Important dates
Sept 26- Going to Grain Valley Library
Sept 27- Homecoming Parade and Stony Point Carnival
Oct 8- Sonic Night
Oct 9-Burr Oak Woods
Oct 14 McTeacher Night
Oct 15 Picture Retakes
Oct 20-22 Red Ribbon Week
Oct 21/23 Parent/Teacher conferences
Oct 23-24 No school
Oct 31 Fall Parties

Reminders
Please check the weather as it starts changing and send students with jackets for outdoor recess.
Donations

Specials Schedule for the week of Sept. 22-26
Monday-B    Tuesday -C     Wednesday-D      Thursday-E     Friday-A

Keep reading 20 minutes a night!  Practice those fluency addition facts!  Soon will be moving to multiplication!  Thank you for supporting us!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Third Grade Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Our focus in Reader’s Workshop is retell/recount a text (stories, myth, fable, or folktale).  We continue to discuss the important parts to include in a retell (characters, setting, problem, and solution) in the students own words.
Writing: Students are drafting and revising our personal narratives.  Students are adding temporal (transition) words and show- not-tell to their writing.
Math: Student started unit 2 this week. The class in focusing on fact families and fact extensions. We also introduced commutative property (turn around facts) .
Science: We are working on the unit Force and Motion.  We are discovering what is motion, what is force, how mass affects inertia, position, speed, and friction.
Social Studies: This week we kicked off our Maps unit. Students are reviewing the continents. We have also started to learn the difference between a globe and a map. Students will be assessed on identifying the 7 continents and 4 oceans.
Word Work: Student have been studying verbs. Students will take their Friday, September 12th. They will receive their next individual word work list this Monday.  Please make sure they are practicing spelling and sorting these words at home.  The test will be next Friday, September 26!
Important dates
Sept 12-Midterms (please sign and return)
Sept 26- Going to Grain Valley Library
Sept 27- Homecoming Parade and Stony Point Carnival
Oct 8- Sonic Night
Oct 9-Burr Oak Woods
Oct 14 McTeacher Night
Oct 15 Picture Retakes
Oct 20-22 Red Ribbon Week
Oct 21/23 Parent/Teacher conferences
Oct 23-24 No school
Oct 31 Fall Parties

Reminders
Please check the weather as it starts changing and send students with jackets for outdoor recess.
Donations

Specials Schedule for the week of Sept. 8-12
Monday-B    Tuesday -C     Wednesday-D      Thursday-E     Friday-A

Keep reading 20 minutes a night! Thank you for supporting us!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Weekly Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Our focus in Reader’s Workshop is asking and answering questions.  We continue to discuss the difference between thin (answers found right in the text) and thick (answers from head and text evidence) questions.  We discuss the importance of asking questions that help the reader better understand the story.
Writing: We have started our planning and drafting of personal narratives.  Students have chosen a small moment and planning out the beginning, middle, and end events of their story.
Math: Students are finishing up on Unit 1.  This unit is a review of skills taught in previous grades (graphs, number sequencing, finding differences, money,  and patterns).  Our Unit 1 Assessment is Friday, September 5.
Science: We have kicked off our unit on Force and Motion.  We are discovering what is motion, what is force, how mass affects inertia, position, and speed.
Social Studies: Students are understanding the BIST policy for our school.  We've discussed safe seat, buddy room, think sheets, and apologies.  
Word Work: Student have been studying verbs. They have be received their individual word work list this week.  Please make sure they are practicing spelling and sorting these words at home.  The test will be next Friday, September 12!
Important dates
Sept 10- Fall/Class Pictures
Sept 11- Late Start
Sept 12-Midterms
Sept 27- Homecoming Parade and Stony Point Carnival
Reminders
Student may bring a HEALTHY snack and water every day.
Student need to bring/wear tennis shoes on PE days.
Donations
Smart Energy Light bulbs
***Please send in a 1 inch binder and 5 tab dividers for your student’s portfolio by Monday, September 8!

Specials Schedule for the week of Sept. 8-12
Monday-C    Tuesday -D     Wednesday-E      Thursday-A(Late Start)     Friday-A

We are enjoying the enthusiasm the students have for learning!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Weekly Update

Third Grade Update
Curriculum
Reading:  Students are working on responding to their journal using the source, thinking , and evidence.
Writing: Students are discovering ways to collect ideas as a writer. Also, students are immersing in mentor narrative text, noticing text structure and plot.
Math: Students are working on money using dollar-cent notations and finding differences between larger numbers.
Science: Students are using the scientific process through experiments. This week we followed the whole process!
Social Studies: Students are working on the RIGHT behaviors in school and what to do if others around them are not ok.
Word Work: Students have been practicing all the different sorts (individual, buddy, blind, and write).. They will be receiving their individual word work list on Tuesday, September 2, 2014.
Important dates
Sept 10- Fall/Class Pictures
Sept 12-Midterms
Sept 27- Homecoming Parade and Stony Point Carnival
Reminders
Student may bring a HEALTHY snack and water every day.
Student need to bring/wear tennis shoes on PE days.
Donations
Candy
Energy Smart Light Bulbs
***Please send in a 1 inch binder and 5 tab dividers for your student’s portfolio. (If you are unable to, I have some available that I will have students return at the end of the year).

Specials Schedule for the week of 9-2-14
Monday-No school    Tuesday -D     Wednesday-E      Thursday-A     Friday-B