We've completed another great week here in CC3! It's truly astounding how quickly the weeks fly by! Students are working hard and already making great progress on 3rd grade skills. Here are some of the big ideas that we're working on in class.
Reading
This week in reading workshop we've been concentrating on important skills associated with reading narratives. We've been reading Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. It's quickly become a class favorite!
One important skill we've been working on is envisioning/predicting. For third graders, this means to make a "mental movie" as they read. This "movie" should include imagining the setting, the characters, the events, and characters' reactions to the events. Predicting involves being able to imagine what the character will do, say and think based upon earlier parts of the text and most importantly explain reasons for predictions.
Another skill is inferring about characters. For third graders, we're working on developing ideas or theories about the kind of person a character is. This means being able to talk about a character's traits or personality without confusing the way a character feels for a trait. For example, a character trait shows that a character may act or behave studious, talkative, trustworthy or friendly. But a character may feel frustrated, annoyed or happy.
Stone Fox has many rich characters you can ask your child about. Ask your student to tell you about Little Willy, Grandfather, Doc Smith, or Searchlight.
Writing
In writer's workshop we continue to work on narrative stories. A main focus of this work is writing like a storyteller, rather than a reporter. For example, a reporter just states the facts, whereas a storyteller includes the setting, the action, the dialogue that will bring a story to life. Here's a quick example.
Reporter:
Today we earned a PBIS celebration. We voted on having extra read aloud. Everyone enjoys drawing and coloring at read aloud. We read Ramona, Quimby Age 8.
Storyteller:
"Yeah, we've filled a bucket!" Mrs. Christiano announced to the eager, attentive third graders. The classroom was filled with smiles and applause. "What shall we do for a celebration?"
"Hmmm, we have a lot of ideas on our list!" responded one lively third grader.
"How about we take a vote?" suggested Mrs. Christiano. The idea was well received and an exciting voting session broke out. It was a close call...but in the end extra read aloud won out by three votes. The class was excited and settled in for a great read aloud, everyone was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Mrs. Christano opened up Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and began to read.
Math
This week we have continued to work on geometry and two-dimensional shapes. We have been concentrating on the vocabulary of geometry and it's exciting to see students notice shapes throughout the day. Sample vocabulary includes: polygon, quadrilateral, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus, etc. Ask your child to explain some of these math trms to you. We're also working on prerequisite skills for multiplication. This includes fluency with basic addition facts.
Reminders:
Homework: Students are expected to be well prepared and practiced for their sharing days. Students are currently sharing things they appreciate about AUTUMN. Also, please make sure your child is reading for at least 30 minutes 4 times a week.
Popcorn Sale: Next Wednesday during the day, 3rd graders will pop and bag popcorn to be sold for $1.00 a bag. All our proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts. This is our first kindness project for the year.
Hike Day: We hope this beautiful weather holds for hike day next Friday. Student groups are still being solidified, your child will bring home a notice and permission slip soon. As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts for EMES Hike Day, so stay tuned!
Book Orders: Our first book order is due next Tuesday, September 26th. You can also order on line at Book Clubs our classroom code is DXCXK.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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