Doc Grizzly

A Real Mountain Man!

On May 11 and 12, excitement and adventure are coming to our Third-Grade students. Doc Grizzly is coming to Graland. Doc Grizzly is a real Mountain Man. He will teach about an important part of Colorado history. He will demonstrate how traders and trappers lived and what a rendezvous was really like.

On his first visit, Thursday afternoon, May 11, Doc Grizzly will show us some of the Mountain Man’s important tools. He will tell stories about how people lived in the mountains in the mid to late 1800’s.

On Friday, May 12, Doc Grizzly will set up camp on the field. He will pitch his tent, cook his food, share more wonderful stories, and trade with us

Here’s what our students need to do to be prepared for the FRIDAY visit:

·      Come dressed as a mountain man, explorer, settler, trapper, storekeeper, trader, or Native American. (There is no need to purchase a costume. Use things from your own closets.)

·      Bring a dozen items to trade in a plastic bag. Some examples are beef or turkey jerky, beads, buttons, fabric scraps, biscuits, cookies (please bring in the package with the label-homemade baked goods are not allowed), or other small items that you can trade. Be creative with your ideas. There is no need to make major purchases. Just remember that whatever you trade you will not get back. No items containing nuts, please. No chocolate, it melts. You may want to bring in your trading items on Thursday (or anytime that week) so that you don’t forget them on Friday.

·      Spend time thinking up a tall tale about your trading items. It makes trading more fun. Your teacher will give you examples.

·      Apply and bring sunscreen; we will be outside for most of the day. Teachers do not apply sunscreen.

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·      Bring a water bottle and a towel with your name on it.

ERB Information

Dear Parents,

Third grade students will take the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) test each day next week, May 15-19. These tests are designed to showcase what your child knows, as well as identify goals he/she can work on in the future.

Here are a few things we have told the students to help alleviate any anxiety.  Please review them with your child.

• This test does NOT decide whether or not they go to fourth grade.

• The most important thing students can do is READ, TAKE TIME TO THINK, AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY.

• They should NOT worry if they are unable to finish a section of the test in the allotted time.

• They will NOT know how to do every problem on the test.

• They should not spend too much time on any one problem.

Please be sure that your student has a good night’s sleep every night next week, eats a healthy breakfast each morning, and arrives to school on time. Homework will not be assigned next week.

Thanks for your support,

The Third Grade Team

May Newsletter

It is hard to believe that this school year is coming to an end. We have had such a wonderful experience with this special group of students, and we don't want to say goodbye! Lucky for us, we still have five weeks left to learn with them! We know there are a lot of activities, late nights, and busy schedules. Please help your child stay organized and get good sleep, as we wrap up this important third grade school year.

The Colorado History Affinity Project is in full swing, and we are working hard on the final drafts here in school. We have spent an incredible third grade school year studying Colorado history. Our Google slides of Colorado historical people are almost complete, as are our interactive Colorado maps. Our final social studies unit is called, “The Making of a State.” We will learn how territories became states, as well as read about territory and state governors. Students will write bills that they will propose to the class, and we will have a voting process that will culminate at our Third Grade Constitutional Convention. Throughout this final social studies unit, we will be answering the following questions:

• What is a territory?
• How did Colorado become a territory?
• Who were the first territory governors?
• What was a Constitutional Convention?
• How was a Colorado territory law passed?
• How did Colorado finally become a state?
• What are some of Colorado's state symbols?

In literacy, we continue to practice a variety of comprehension strategies, including story structure, monitor/clarify, compare and contrast, visualize, sequence of events, analyze/evaluate, author's purpose, questioning, text and graphic features, and inferring/predicting. We are studying different phonics skills, grammar, and vocabulary strategies:

·         Base Words and -ed, -ing, -s, -es endings

·         Suffixes -ful, -y, -ous, -ly, -er, -est, -less, -ness, -able

·         Base word and prefix non-, in-, im-, un-, pre-, re-, bi-

·         Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

·         Less Common Plurals

·         Changing Final y to i

·         Abbreviations

·         What is an adverb?

·         Analogies

·         What is a preposition?

Our classroom writing instruction is now focused on two specific writing traits: voice and word choice. These traits will enhance our students' writing. We will continue to practice brainstorming, editing skills, and development of ideas. “Go Writes” are now complete, and students are busy completing their photo essays.  Each student will complete one final writing assessment in just a couple of weeks.

Students have been working hard in math. They learned how to solve word problems using multiplication and division bar models. Now we are ready to dive into fractions!  We have reviewed the third-grade science lessons on measurement, and we are exploring the properties of angles and lines, as well as two-dimensional shapes. It is still essential that students practice their math facts daily!

As you can see, we are busy in third grade, and we have even more events to look forward to. Mountain Man, Doc Grizzly, will be joining us on the afternoon of May 11, and all day on May 12. Also, the third-grade tradition is to hold our end-of-year party on the last morning of school. Parents and students celebrate at a potluck breakfast on the terrace off the Anschutz Commons. More information will be coming from your room parent, and please plan to join us for breakfast from 8:20-9:10 on June 6^th!

We appreciate all of your support at home! Thank you for a wonderful school year!

The Third Grade Team