The Class Store

Last week, we wrapped up our math chapter on money.  The class decided to create a store so that they could practice their money counting skills.  This was student-led and created!  They created six different companies and made or provided the items they wanted to sell.  We invited the other third grade classes to come shopping, and we provided each buyer with $15 (play money).  It was a success, and I believe our students learned a lot and had fun!

   

   

  

 

Practicing Numbers in Spanish

3rd graders are practicing numbers 0 - 1000 in Spanish class.  Here are the links to the Quizlet activities for practice at home (sent by Señora James).

Quizlet

 0 - 10

Quizlet

 11 - 20

Quizlet

 10 - 100

Quizlet 100 - 1000

Assembly

We had so much fun watching a very entertaining juggler and acrobat at our last assembly!

 

History Colorado Center

We went on a great field trip to the History Colorado Center.  I want to thank Abbie Smith and Bruce Odette for coming along and helping with this trip!

 

Colorado History Affinity Project

Odyssey of the Mind

Christy Anderson and Samantha Thompson coached the Smart Cookies team and won 2^nd place at the Odyssey of the Mind competition over the weekend.  They now get a chance to compete at State!  

Click here to see a few photos!   Congratulations, Smart Cookies!

Helping Verbs

Singpore Math

Shelly DuBose, Math in Focus National Specialist and former Graland teacher, taught our class last week!

  

Newbery Ceremony

Six students from our class joined the Newbery Book Club last Wednesday (Adam O, Sloane, Ginna, Carter, Audrey, and Carmen).  This means they have read five Newbery books and tested successfully on them.  Keep reading!

 

March Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We continue our exciting and busy learning in third grade. This week we will take a terrific field trip to the History of Colorado Center to continue our learning of our wonderful state’s history.

Student-led conferences are Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11. We look forward to this opportunity for your children to share their learning and progress with you around the table. While we believe this is a powerful and celebratory experience, it can also be daunting for some children. We ask that you come prepared to ask uplifting questions and supportive comments for your child. They are excited to share their work with you, and they have all accomplished so much! 

The curriculum has been driving a busy classroom environment. In math, we have been exploring division with remainders and the concepts of using bar models for solving word problems. We will begin working with money and fractions this month. Ask your children questions about these topics when you are cooking, shopping, or traveling. We are always looking for ways to apply their learning to real-life activities. The automaticity of multiplication facts and division facts is critical for student’s confidence and success with long division and fractions. We will continue to work on these skills in class and practice at home will help your child solidify the processes.

Literacy instruction is woven into everything we do each day. In reading, we are learning about many rules that govern our language: suffixes, adjectives, and articles to name a few. We are investigating various author purposes to enhance comprehension. In small groups, we are identifying the cause and effect of events in stories, how to draw conclusions, and also how to read text and graphic features in a passage. Our writing is taking us into our past as students have scribed about an autobiographical event in their lives. From there, we have been working on formulating an opinion and convincing a reader to agree. This is the art of persuasive writing. Third graders truly enjoy succeeding in this art form! Newbery books are flying off of the shelves and students are sharing their book reviews of titles they have read. New genres have been enjoyed and an excitement of reading has been seen in our classrooms. Thank you for supporting this endeavor. Our annual book fair will be held in the Fries Theater and will be a great place to pick up some books for your home library and be perfect for Spring Break reading!

Book Fair Sale Hours

March 9           3:10-4:30 PM              after school sales

March 10         8:00 AM – 4:00 PM     sales during parent conferences

March 11         8:00 AM – 1:00 PM     sales during parent conferences

“Pike’s Peak or Bust!” In social studies, we are exploring the lives of the Colorado gold miners. We are looking at the lure of the possibility of riches and also the extreme hardships of those who pursued the promise. We even become prospectors ourselves and try our hands at gold panning. Ask your child to share some of the fascinating facts that are a part of the foundation of Colorado’s history.

All of this learning leads us up to Spring Break, Thursday, March 24-Tuesday, April 5^th. Thank you for your continued support in our teaching and your child’s learning. Welcome Spring!

Sincerely, 

The Third Grade Team