Happy Thanksgiving

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

e-book of Important People in Colorado HIstory

Early this month we started our Native American unit, and I am wondering if any of our students have shared information with you about the Ute Indians. This week they learned about the White River War and Nathan Meeker, the United States Indian Agent who was at the center of the Meeker Massacre.  The children learned about Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta, as well as Ouray's successor, Chief Buckskin Charley. Yesterday, the students started their own e-book of Important People in Colorado History. This e-book, using the app Book Creator on the i-pads, will be added to throughout the school year.  After Thanksgiving Break we will focus on the Plains Indians.

DEAR with Sam's Dad

Scott Reisch came in this morning for DEAR with Dad and read out of The Odyssey.  Thanks, Mr. Reisch!

November and December Third Grade Newsletter

"Oh the weather outside is frightful…"  We hope everyone is staying warm during this very cold week. Please remember to send a coat, hat, and mittens or gloves to school. Students can leave these items in their lockers, since the weather can be unpredictable. It is important to label everything with your child's name. On days when it has snowed, but the weather is acceptable for students to have outdoor recess, they must wear snow boots if they are playing on the field and playground area. If they do not have boots, then they must stay on the sidewalk areas.  

It is because of the cold temperatures this week that we rescheduled our field trip to the Plains Conservation Center. We now plan on going on Wednesday, December 3rd. This field trip fits in nicely with our current Native American social studies unit and will serve as an introduction to pioneers, which is a unit we will cover in March.

Our Native American unit focuses on the Ute and Plains Indians. The students have added both the Utes and Plains to their Colorado interactive maps using Google Draw, and have started a new Colorado history timeline using an app on the iPads.  We will be using an online Venn diagram to compare the Utes and Plains Indians, and we will begin an e-book of important people in Colorado history. 

 In literacy, we have been practicing a variety of comprehension strategies, including inferring and predicting, using text and graphic features, analyzing and evaluating, identifying the main idea and details, and drawing conclusions from text. Students are working on reading skills in teacher-led book groups (variety of genres) at their instructional level.

We have been studying different types of words:

·              Multiple meaning words

·              Verb Tense

·              Synonyms

·              Antonyms

·              Pronouns

·              Proper Nouns

Phonics skills you will see in spelling lists include:

·              Silent letters (kn, wr)

·              Vowel diphthongs (ow, ou)

·              Words with au, aw, al, o

Third graders have been introduced to the six writing traits and will continue to focus on idea development, organization, sentence fluency, word choice, and editing (including the use of commas in a series). We are expecting students to use capitals and ending punctuation appropriately. Third graders have been introduced to the complete writing process: brainstorming, rough draft, editing, and a final copy. Dictionary and glossary skills will be introduced and practiced in December.

We have noticed the students working hard on Moby Max for homework. By winter break, all third graders should be fluent in the addition and subtraction facts. Students have been learning addition and subtraction up to 10,000 with regrouping. Subtraction across zeros can be a tricky process!  We are applying these skills to counting money. When grocery shopping, ask your child to add or subtract the items and figure the change.

We appreciate all of your support at home! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Winter Break!

The Third Grade Team

Subtraction With Regrouping

We have started chapter four in our Math In Focus curriculum, Subtracting Numbers Up To 10,000.  Today we reviewed how to subtract with regrouping.  Charlotte Corkins taught the class how to find the difference between 523 and 148.  Good job, Charlotte!

Colorado History Timeline

Third graders started their Colorado history timelines using the Read Write Think app on the iPads.  They have added the Ute Indians and Plains Indians on their timelines so far, and included pictures.  These timelines will be added to all year - throughout each Social Studies unit.

Veteran's Day

Our drama teacher, Tony Catanese, is a veteran who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.  Mr. Catanese put together a Veteran's Day presentation for the Third Graders today.

Penny Harvest

Penny Harvest is well underway and our class excitedly counted our collection (so far)!  According to the students' careful counting, our class has brought in $266.36.  Our class has voted to use Penny Harvest money to help cure Cancer.  We shared this with the Penny Harvest Leaders for their consideration.  Penny Harvest ends on December 5th.

Tea Time

Mrs. McSwain organizes Tea Time with our class once a week (Thursday or Friday afternoons).  Many students have asked her where she buys her tea.  :)  The tea used is Tetley brand bought at Safeway.

Here are directions from Mrs. McSwain on how she makes her tea.

DEAR with Dad

A special thank you to Paul Krueger for reading The Giant Book of Giants to our class today!

Field Trip Rescheduled

Due to the extremely cold temperatures forecasted for this Thursday, we have decided to reschedule our field trip to the Plains Conservation Center for Wednesday, December 3rd.  Brrrrr!  Stay warm!

Recess Groups

Come join at any time!

Recess Writing Group

 Recess Drama Group

Recess

This morning third grade students and teachers met to discuss recess.  Everyone was reminded of the many fun activities that take place during recess, other than an organized sports game:

• Drama Group
• Writing Group
• Art
• Sandbox
• Four Square
• Playground
• Jump Rope
• Hopscotch 

We also created a recess field schedule:

• Monday:  Kickball
• Tuesday:  Soccer
• Wednesday: Open Field
• Thursday: Football
• Friday:  Stuck in the Mud
• Everyday:  Basketball is always available off the field.

Coach Hecht joined our recess meeting and reviewed the rules of Four Square and Kickball.  He also discussed sportsmanship.  Everyone left the meeting excited about our new recess plan!

Halloween Classroom Videos and Pictures

We had a wonderful time celebrating costumes, treats, and harvest!

I had some difficulty getting our videos to upload onto the blog, so you can find them on my private YouTube channel.

Videos:

• Click here to view our students exploring the decorated classroom.
• Click here to view a video of the Halloween Parade.
• Click here to view a game the children played during our party.

Pictures:

• Click here to view our classroom Halloween Photo Album.
• Our room parent, Trina Reish, has set up a Shutterfly account to view and share photos taken by the parents.  Click here for that link!