We hope you enjoyed
conferences, Fall Break, and Halloween festivities. One extra hour of
sleep is coming our way (Daylight Savings, Nov. 6th)! We have been
fortunate with our pleasant temperatures, but changes in the weather are sure
to come. 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.
In the next couple of weeks,
we will begin our new social studies unit about the Native Americans of
Colorado. On Friday, Nov. 4th we will head to the Plains
Conservation Center for an all-day field trip. This field trip fits in nicely
with our Native American social studies unit and will serve as an introduction
to pioneers, which is a unit we will cover in March.
Our students will be making a
Colorado interactive map using Google Draw. They will be adding to this
all school year. Our Native American unit focuses on the Ute and Plains
Indians, both of which will be added to the maps. They will soon create a
timeline of major events in Colorado history, and we will use Google Slides to
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
learning about 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 studying math facts for homework. By winter break, all third
graders should be fluent in the addition and subtraction facts. In class,
students have been learning addition and subtraction up to 10,000 with regrouping.
Subtraction across zeros can be a tricky process! When grocery shopping,
ask your child to add or subtract the items and figure the change. After Winter
Break we will explore the world of bar models to solve addition and subtraction
word problems. Ask your child what part-part-whole means, and let your third
grader be the teacher at home to explain these visual representations.
Reminders and upcoming
events:
•
Friday, 11/4: Plains
Conservation Center field trip (dress in layers)
•
Friday 11/18:
NOON DISMISSAL, Spirit Day, Go Green with Graland
•
Monday 11/21 –
Friday 11/25: Thanksgiving Break
•
Monday, 11/28: Classes
Resume
•
Thursday, 12/15: Spirit
Day
•
Friday, 12/16: Holiday
Sing Along, NOON DISMISSAL for Winter Break
We appreciate all of your
support at home! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Winter Break!
The Third Grade Team
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