Updates for the week!

We hope all families have regained power from our recent storm, we know it was a challenging week for many of you!  Monday's storm and missed day of school caught us all by surprise, that was followed up by Halloween, Wednesday's field trip, and Friday's special Harvest Feast, it was quite a week!

Our field trip to the Mill Stone in Barre was an incredible experience for all of us!  We were so proud of all of the kids and their willingness to challenge themselves by setting a goal and persevering to meet it. A huge thank you to Mr. Blanchard for his planning and expertise and to all the family members that came along as drivers and chaperones.  It was a fabulous day!

Literacy Updates
We're currently focusing on navigating non-fiction (informational text) in reader's and writer's workshop.  This work is also connected to our global studies curriculum.  Students are currently learning about the regions of the USA, and also choosing a state of interest to research.

We're really paying attention to text features and how they help us navigate informational text.  For example, this week a major mini-lesson was to "Rev up our minds" before reading non-fiction.  This means to ask ourselves the important question "What do I think this text will be about?" We also focus on revving up by reading text features. This includes reading the table of contents, headings, sub headings, pictures, captions, diagrams, charts, etc.  to help us warm up for the more complex reading ahead.  Student enthusiasm and engagement has been high in this work.

Please encourage your child to do a variety of reading at home.  Reading non-fiction is extremely important to creating a well balanced reader.  It's always wonderful for kids to read and explore non-fiction magazines as well.  Reading recipes, catalogs and even cereal boxes are great practices!  Here are a few pictures of books and links to some popular non-fiction series and/or sites for third graders.
Who Was? What Was? Where Is? Series
National Geographic Kids Website
National Wildlife Federation/Ranger Rick Site
Ben's Guide to the USA Site

The Circus is coming!  

This week begins our EMES Circus residency!  On Thursday, November 16th EMES students will be performing at U-32 beginning at 6:30 p.m.  We'll fill you in on any more information you may need as the residency gets going. 

Reminders:

• It's getting chilly and wet on the playground.  Please help your child remember proper clothing.  Leaving a pair of indoor shoes in lockers is a huge help!
• Homework~Some students are struggling to remember their share day and/or being prepared for sharing.  The sharing calendar link is right here on the upper right hand corner of our blog page.  
• Is your child reading independently 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week?  Students are always welcome to borrow books from our extensive classroom library as well as the EMES library.
• We look forward to meeting with all of you at conferences on Thursday evening  and Friday.  Remember, there is no school for students on Friday, November 10th!

 Enjoy the rest of your weekend!