Quick Note From Coach Hecht

Students,

Remember to wear athletic shoes to PE, especially when the weather starts to change.  I’ve been reminding you at least once a week since school started, and most of you have done a good job!

Thank you,

Coach Hecht

Reminder: Diorama is Due October 10th

Diorama Rubric

	Yes	No
1. The shoe box is the appropriate size: 12" x 9" (no boot boxes)
2. The diorama includes accurate animals for my life zone, including my research animal.
3. The diorama includes accurate plants and trees for my life zone.
4. The diorama includes accurate ground cover.
5. The diorama includes a background appropriate to the life zone.
6. The scene in the diorama is an accurate picture of the life zone.
7. The outside of the box is covered or painted in an attractive way.
8. The items in the diorama are neatly and attractively labeled and resemble a museum diorama.
9.  The diorama reflects thoughtful and careful work.
10. The diorama is turned in on time.

Comments:

Spanish Field Trip

The students had a fun and educational experience at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market this week!  A special thank you to Señora James for planning and leading this great field trip.

Click here for pictures!

First Day of Fall

Today we read Fall Mixed Up by Chad Cameron, and the children traced leaves and wrote poetry outside.  It was a beautiful first day of fall!

Sharing

Sharing is part of each Morning Meeting!  It is a wonderful time for students to learn more about one another.  In our class, sharing looks very different from the normal "show and tell" where a child might bring in a toy they really like.  Our sharing time is dedicated to learning about the sharer, so what they bring in should teach us something about him/her.

The children sign up on a calendar (they can sign up once every two weeks) and they are responsible for sharing on their sign-up day.  Sometimes they forget, which is always fine, and other times students choose to switch days with someone else.  We are flexible and this is a fun, relaxing time, so a forgotten share day is never a big deal.

Some examples of sharing include family pictures, a vacation souvenir, playing piano, bringing in an instrument to play, singing (buddy sharing is a fun idea!), dancing, a short Keynote presentation on a family pet, and trophies/medals for sports.

Phillip played piano for us today!

Edited 9/23/14:  Bryce played piano for us the following day, so I thought I'd add this video, too!

Edited 10/1/14:  Ty (yesterday) and Neela (today) played piano for the class.  These will be the last two piano videos for awhile.  :)

Buddies

We had our first buddy activity today!  The third and seventh graders interviewed one another and had a wonderful time learning about their buddies.

Our Class Buddy List:
Click here for pictures of each buddy pair!

Ty C.	Aiden
Charlotte	Anna
Bryce	Jack
EY	Wyatt
Walker	Hails
Caroline	Marie
Estella	Marthaly
Phillip	Henry
Nina	Julia
Chloe	Carmen
Bricin	Lulu
Neela	Arisela
Sam	Matthew
Marco	Jack
Julian	Paul
Charlotte	Christine
Sami Y.	Ellie H.
Addie Z.	Annie M.

September Newsletter

What an exciting month our third graders are experiencing. In every aspect of the curriculum learning is happening.  From building our community though Responsive Classroom to researching Colorado life zones, we are hard at work.

In math, we’ve been reviewing place value and extending our understanding of our number system.  We’ve also spent some time on graphing, gathering data, and talking about ways we can record it.  Moby Max practice in the classroom and at home will reinforce and grow automaticity with math facts and provide practice and challenge in other math areas.

During the last two weeks, we have been conducting reading assessments, using a new tool, Fountas and Pinnell, to find reading levels for both instructional and independent reading. The students already know "The Rule of Thumb” for figuring out whether a book is just right for them, but this online tool will help confirm it.  Your child may actually be able to decode the words, but not understand the content of a book.  “Just Right” books should be used for the daily 15/5 assignments as well for Repeated Oral Reading.

Instructions for using Typing Pal went home in the Back to School Night Folder, and are also on the blog in the post below.  This year Typing Pal will be done in library, but students will gain prowess by following up with home practice.

Our Writing Workshop during this unit focuses on writing personal narratives. We are learning how to use details to enhance stories. One game you might play to help this skill is to say a noun and see how many descriptive adjectives your student can attach to that noun. We are also exploring kinds of sentences, compound words, subjects and predicates, and more.

During social studies, students have been researching Colorado life zones in small groups. They have selected a specific life zone and an animal for their Life Zone Project, which will come home this week. Technology will figure importantly in this unit.  After September 19^th, ask your child what they know about Google Slides!

Third grade has just climbed Chief Mountain. Our students are  climbing a mountain of independence and responsibility.  Parents and teachers are essential for supporting the journey, but students must accept the challenges they meet with positive attitudes, and perseverance.  In third grade, “museum quality work” is our expectation. We are a team!

Typing Pal Directions

Go to:  http://school.typingpal.com

1. Add this page to your Bookmarks or Favorites. 

2. Click “Typing Pal School Login”

3. Use the “Existing User Log in”

4. The Institution code is GralandC

5. Using the “Existing User Log in” enter the student’s information.
Username = firstnamelastname (ex. suesmith)  Password = graland

6. Click “Log In”.

7. Practice with good technique for 10-15 minutes.

8. Be sure to “Exit” when you are finished. (upper right hand corner)