Language Arts
We will be starting the Animal Habitats unit this month. Students will be learning to distinguish between fact and opinion, as well as compare and contrast content. Students will learn syllabication rules between consonants, prefixes, and suffixes. Students will also learn to use helping verbs and the verb to be.
In writing, students are learning how to write an opinion piece using a topic sentence, supporting details, transitional words, and concluding sentences. We will start with a fun writing assignment with “Calvin and Susie,” deciding which superpower we feel is best. We will then hold an informal debate in teams, one supporting the flying superpower, and one supporting the power of invisibility.
We are continuing our Reading Centers this month with parental support. Students will continue reading social studies text, lit circles, and doing word work from our language arts short stories. We look forward to reading with our volunteers!
Math
Division is our new focus for this month! We are teaching division using Smart Balance and MARS Tasks, Houghton Mifflin Practice and Problem Solving pages, Math Journal warmups, IXL, and Khan Academy. Students are given open ended math problems and asked to work in small groups to demonstrate solutions and justify their answers.
In order for students to be successful in their mathematical problem solving they must memorize their basic facts! I can’t stress the importance of this enough! Each student is at his/her own level and should practice for ten minutes each night until their facts become automatic.
Some students are continuing to work on long multiplication concepts. All students must continue to memorize their basic multiplication facts so that they are able to do the long multiplication steps and carry the correct products in their heads. Accuracy counts!
Another wonderful opportunity for all third graders has been for them to learn coding. Many students have taken this on for themselves and are becoming more and more proficient. Khan Academy has a great website that teaches anyone how to begin coding. There are also many iPad apps that have free downloads.
Science
We are officially starting our science rotations this month. This means your child will be leaving their normal classroom twice a week to learn science from a different 3rd-grade teacher! By specializing instruction this way, teachers continue to improve their craft and students make connections with more adults around campus. We love getting to know the other kids too!
Technology
We are looking forward to showcasing our fantastic 1:1 iPad program this month! Site Council and Board members will be visiting our classrooms on January 28th in order to see the wide variety of programs and advantages to having iPads supporting our curriculum.
Depth & Complexity
A common, universal language that helps promote critical thinking and gives students a chance to make connections between past knowledge and new knowledge and ultimately integrate that to the real world!
This Month’s Icon - Trends
Students will understand that certain patterns may occur over time based on changes in your environment or surroundings. Students will use the skill of comparing and contrasting to help identify where these trends take place.
We will be starting the Animal Habitats unit this month. Students will be learning to distinguish between fact and opinion, as well as compare and contrast content. Students will learn syllabication rules between consonants, prefixes, and suffixes. Students will also learn to use helping verbs and the verb to be.
In writing, students are learning how to write an opinion piece using a topic sentence, supporting details, transitional words, and concluding sentences. We will start with a fun writing assignment with “Calvin and Susie,” deciding which superpower we feel is best. We will then hold an informal debate in teams, one supporting the flying superpower, and one supporting the power of invisibility.
We are continuing our Reading Centers this month with parental support. Students will continue reading social studies text, lit circles, and doing word work from our language arts short stories. We look forward to reading with our volunteers!
Math
Division is our new focus for this month! We are teaching division using Smart Balance and MARS Tasks, Houghton Mifflin Practice and Problem Solving pages, Math Journal warmups, IXL, and Khan Academy. Students are given open ended math problems and asked to work in small groups to demonstrate solutions and justify their answers.
In order for students to be successful in their mathematical problem solving they must memorize their basic facts! I can’t stress the importance of this enough! Each student is at his/her own level and should practice for ten minutes each night until their facts become automatic.
Some students are continuing to work on long multiplication concepts. All students must continue to memorize their basic multiplication facts so that they are able to do the long multiplication steps and carry the correct products in their heads. Accuracy counts!
Another wonderful opportunity for all third graders has been for them to learn coding. Many students have taken this on for themselves and are becoming more and more proficient. Khan Academy has a great website that teaches anyone how to begin coding. There are also many iPad apps that have free downloads.
Science
We are officially starting our science rotations this month. This means your child will be leaving their normal classroom twice a week to learn science from a different 3rd-grade teacher! By specializing instruction this way, teachers continue to improve their craft and students make connections with more adults around campus. We love getting to know the other kids too!
Technology
We are looking forward to showcasing our fantastic 1:1 iPad program this month! Site Council and Board members will be visiting our classrooms on January 28th in order to see the wide variety of programs and advantages to having iPads supporting our curriculum.
Depth & Complexity
A common, universal language that helps promote critical thinking and gives students a chance to make connections between past knowledge and new knowledge and ultimately integrate that to the real world!
This Month’s Icon - Trends
Students will understand that certain patterns may occur over time based on changes in your environment or surroundings. Students will use the skill of comparing and contrasting to help identify where these trends take place.
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