Friday, January 15, 2016

January 15, 2016

Dear Parents,

We have been working very hard since we returned from winter break. Here is a recap of what we are working on in third grade.

Important Dates:
Monday, January 18- NO SCHOOL- MLK Day
Thursday, January 21- Field Trip to Denver Museum of Nature and Science 
Saturday, January 23-PTA Trivia Night

Literacy:
This week we took the second of three diagnostic assessments on iReady. I will analyze the results and this will help inform my instruction for the next trimester of school. I will share the results of this assessment with you in February at parent/teacher conferences.

We have been working on how to write informative pieces in writing using a text or multiple texts for evidence. This week we read two texts about Alaska and then wrote about why it is hard to live in Alaska in the winter. Your child is working on paragraphing skills as well during this writing. Next week we will read and write about Egypt before moving on to our culminating unit project- Animal Reports. The students will choose an animal to research and write about it using text evidence. Then they will create a Google slides presentation to showcase their learning.

Don't forget to keep encouraging your child to use Reading Plus on the computer at home for part or all of their Reading Log.

Math:
We took our Unit 3 Assessment (Time, Measurement and Graphing). Our next unit will be Multi Digit Addition and Subtraction. You will be seeing a new math/homework book coming home for this unit. We have completed Volume 1 and those will be coming home. There are many pages that we did not complete in class. These make great practice pages at home to keep up skills we have already learned. If your child would like to complete the rest of the pages, I will reward their hard work with RIDE bucks for the RIDE store. They have until the end of the year to complete those pages.  

Science:
We started our new unit in Science, Metric Measurement and Matter. This unit will be about 3 weeks long. This week we learned about the metric system of measurement and were able to use balance scales to measure mass in grams, syringes and graduated cylinders to measure capacity in milliliters, and meter sticks to measure distance.  Next week we will begin learning about the three states of matter and how matter can change. 

Reminders:
Next Thursday (Jan. 21) is our field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. If you have not had a chance to send in the permission slip and $10 fee, please do that as soon as possible. We have several parent volunteers: Mandy Cummings, Jaclyn Sealy, Scott King, Korrie Skibinski, Scott Hansen, Sheila Wogen, Terry Oakley, and Heather Ottem. If you are planning on going and don't see your name, please let me know, or if you are not planning on going and are on the list, let me know as soon as possible. This is a trip that will have parents in charge of small groups for part of the time. Parent volunteers will need to bring $5 for the IMAX movie. Parent volunteers should be in our classrooms that morning at 8:45. Thank you!

Have a great weekend. See you on Tuesday!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt