Dear Family & Friends,
It has been a great week in 3rd grade.
We have been reviewing the classroom expectations that we set at the beginning of the year. The class is working on quick & quiet transitions so that we can maximize our learning time.
Our science unit on world biomes is in full swing. We have read and watched videos about the different biomes. Now the students have broken off into groups to create museum-like exhibits. Each group is in charge of one biome and will decorate a part of the class to highlight the important aspects of their biome. Students will focus on plants, animals, climate, and changes occurring in each biome. We will have a museum opening once the projects are complete.
Our math unit on addition and subtraction is coming to an end. The students are taking their unit test tomorrow and we will be moving on to measurement. Please continue to work at home with your students on addition and subtraction. Knowing their facts by memory will help them in the future, as the math begins to get harder & harder. Also, speak to them about how you use measurement in your daily life. When the students see math concepts applied to the real world it makes it more interesting and helps them understand why they are being taught the concept.
In writing we are proud to announce that our memoirs are now complete. The class worked diligently, writing, editing and revising their work. They are excited to show the final product to you tomorrow during our publishing party. If you can come, we would love to have you there! We will begin the party at 11:00 and go to about 11:45.
Tomorrow is our field trip to the City Heights Dia de los Muertos festival. The class has read informational passages about the holiday and will learn more tomorrow. We will leave school at 9:30am and return at 10:45am.
Thank you for your support!
Jennifer
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Zoo Trip
Dear Families & Friends,
This week the class started a science unit on biomes and habitats. The 6 biomes we are learning about are: tundra, rain forest, desert, grassland, aquatic, and deciduous/coniferous forest. The field trip to the San Diego Zoo was a great research trip for the students. I heard students reading the information about each animal they visited and this led to discussions about what biome they live in and why they are able to survive in that environment. One group of students told me the rattle snake is able to survive in the desert is because it's light brown color allows it to camouflage itself in the sand, while the Green Mamba's bright green allows it to camouflage into the green leaves of the tropical trees in the rainforest.
I owe a big "THANK YOU" to the parents who chaperoned today. This trip would not have been possible without your help!
Tomorrow is the American Stars Assembly from 2:00-2:45pm. Each month three students will be honored for their outstanding behavior. A letter will be sent home informing you if your student has been selected and you are welcome to come to the assembly and enjoy treats with your student after the awards are handed out. This month we are honoring Alissa, Kyi, and Ethan for their continuous effort and good citizenship. These students never say, "I can't," and are the first ones to do what is asked of them or to help a friend in need.
Next Friday, October 28th the 3rd grade will be having their first Publishing Party! Your students have been working very hard on their Memoirs and want to show them off. You are welcome to join us during writing time, 11:00-11:45 to enjoy their work. If you would like to bring treats to celebrate their accomplishment you are more than welcome to. Please post in the comment section below if you are planning to attend and what treats you would like to bring. A flyer will be going home tomorrow.
Thank you,
Ms. Garfinkel
This week the class started a science unit on biomes and habitats. The 6 biomes we are learning about are: tundra, rain forest, desert, grassland, aquatic, and deciduous/coniferous forest. The field trip to the San Diego Zoo was a great research trip for the students. I heard students reading the information about each animal they visited and this led to discussions about what biome they live in and why they are able to survive in that environment. One group of students told me the rattle snake is able to survive in the desert is because it's light brown color allows it to camouflage itself in the sand, while the Green Mamba's bright green allows it to camouflage into the green leaves of the tropical trees in the rainforest.
I owe a big "THANK YOU" to the parents who chaperoned today. This trip would not have been possible without your help!
Tomorrow is the American Stars Assembly from 2:00-2:45pm. Each month three students will be honored for their outstanding behavior. A letter will be sent home informing you if your student has been selected and you are welcome to come to the assembly and enjoy treats with your student after the awards are handed out. This month we are honoring Alissa, Kyi, and Ethan for their continuous effort and good citizenship. These students never say, "I can't," and are the first ones to do what is asked of them or to help a friend in need.
Next Friday, October 28th the 3rd grade will be having their first Publishing Party! Your students have been working very hard on their Memoirs and want to show them off. You are welcome to join us during writing time, 11:00-11:45 to enjoy their work. If you would like to bring treats to celebrate their accomplishment you are more than welcome to. Please post in the comment section below if you are planning to attend and what treats you would like to bring. A flyer will be going home tomorrow.
Thank you,
Ms. Garfinkel
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Finally Catching Up
Hi Families & Friends,
Sorry it has been so long since I last posted! I am finally caught up and ready to post weekly now. The past few weeks your 3rd graders have been working on so much in the classroom.
Math: In math we are working on addition and subtraction with regrouping. The students are working with whole numbers and numbers with decimals. They are also finding patterns within the problems they are solving. I have noticed that many students forgot about the regrouping rule. Please work with them on that at home for extra practice.
In math centers the students are having fun using geometric figure blocks.
Reading: The class is focusing on non-fiction text this month. We have read many books and articles about the government, weather, and our solar system. The class is working on answering questions from the text as well as determining main idea and supporting details. When reading at home with your students it is always a good idea to ask them questions directly from the text to determine their comprehension. If they cannot answer a question try reading the passage again.
Writing: We are in the beginning stages of writing Memoirs. The students have listened to many memoirs by authors such as Patricia Polacco and Eve Bunting to help inspire them. We are currently choosing meaningful memories about which we will write the memoirs.
To help make our writing exciting the class is learning figurative language such as personification and onomatopoeia. This week the students wrote personification poetry.
"A Leaf in a Pond" by Javhi & Broc
The leaf swam in a pond.
It spins in the pond because the wind pushes it.
The waves push and pull the leaf
and it swims a little bit more.
"The Pencil & Sharpener" by Belle & Arianna
The sharpener forced the pencil to go
around, around, around and around.
The pencil got dizzy and...
Fell right down!!!!
The students are also using dialogue to make their writing more exciting. Here the students are working together in table groups to put together a sentence with dialogue. They had to know where the punctuation, dialogue tags, and quotation marks went...
Social Studies: The class has been learning about landforms and geographic features for the past month. The students learned about landforms present in San Diego and created maps which highlighted these, such as: Cowles Mountain, San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Mission Valley, Tecolote Canyon, and the San Diego River. This unit's culminating project will be an atlas and a land they created out of dough that features at least 5 land forms. Pictures coming soon!
Sorry it has been so long since I last posted! I am finally caught up and ready to post weekly now. The past few weeks your 3rd graders have been working on so much in the classroom.
Math: In math we are working on addition and subtraction with regrouping. The students are working with whole numbers and numbers with decimals. They are also finding patterns within the problems they are solving. I have noticed that many students forgot about the regrouping rule. Please work with them on that at home for extra practice.
 | |||||
| In this math problem the students found the "rule" and then came up with different stories that would go along with the rule. |
 |
| Luis's creation |
Reading: The class is focusing on non-fiction text this month. We have read many books and articles about the government, weather, and our solar system. The class is working on answering questions from the text as well as determining main idea and supporting details. When reading at home with your students it is always a good idea to ask them questions directly from the text to determine their comprehension. If they cannot answer a question try reading the passage again.
Writing: We are in the beginning stages of writing Memoirs. The students have listened to many memoirs by authors such as Patricia Polacco and Eve Bunting to help inspire them. We are currently choosing meaningful memories about which we will write the memoirs.
To help make our writing exciting the class is learning figurative language such as personification and onomatopoeia. This week the students wrote personification poetry.
"A Leaf in a Pond" by Javhi & Broc
The leaf swam in a pond.
It spins in the pond because the wind pushes it.
The waves push and pull the leaf
and it swims a little bit more.
"The Pencil & Sharpener" by Belle & Arianna
The sharpener forced the pencil to go
around, around, around and around.
The pencil got dizzy and...
Fell right down!!!!
The students are also using dialogue to make their writing more exciting. Here the students are working together in table groups to put together a sentence with dialogue. They had to know where the punctuation, dialogue tags, and quotation marks went...
Social Studies: The class has been learning about landforms and geographic features for the past month. The students learned about landforms present in San Diego and created maps which highlighted these, such as: Cowles Mountain, San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Mission Valley, Tecolote Canyon, and the San Diego River. This unit's culminating project will be an atlas and a land they created out of dough that features at least 5 land forms. Pictures coming soon!
Don't Forget!
Field trip to the San Diego Zoo: Thursday, Oct. 20th
we will leave school at 9:00am and return at 2:00pm
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