We sure did have an eventful and festive month of November! Each morning, we shared one thing we were thankful for and let me tell you, there was much thanks given. From our parents to our favorite foods, we all expressed our gratitude for what we have. We read books about escaping turkeys, Pilgrims, Wampanoag Indians and even a story about the woman who saved Thanksgiving. Students collected leaves from their morning walks to school and adorned the classroom with them. Now we are onto December! Wow!
I am proud to say that we all finished our first personal narrative writing pieces just last week. Students wrote about a small moment in time and were given several revision assignments (ask your student what these are like) to polish our writing pieces. Each narrative is just as unique as the student who wrote it. One piece was about eating pancakes for breakfast, while another was a moment when they were waiting in line for a soda. The purpose of these personal narratives was to step away from the extreme moments in life that we often enjoy and instead write about the ordinary event that can happen to us each day. This strategy of small moment writing allows students to strengthen the writing skills of focus and showing. Again, I am very proud of the effort these students put into their pieces.
In reading we finished our lessons on comprehension strategies. Students have been hard at work practicing comprehension strategies with non-fiction texts since the start of the school year. Last week we started reading the book My Name is Maria Isabel. We will spend several weeks analyzing the main character of this book while also using specific textual evidence to state and prove a claim.
In science we started our unit on the solar system! Students made a representation of the solar system and they are displayed outside our classroom. Come take a look!
Multiplication has begun! These third graders are so eager to learn this and I am impressed by their drive and hard work each day. You will notice their homework also includes division as well. We are learning both simultaneously and I am seeing strong concept development with this pairing. I will ask that your student practices their math facts, up to twelve, for at least 10 minutes a night. Fluency in their math facts is an important skill to master this year. They can do this practice with either store bought flashcards or ones made on index cards. I have extra index cards at school if you need.
That is all for now! I am looking forward to what December holds and appreciate each day with your children!
Mrs. B
I am proud to say that we all finished our first personal narrative writing pieces just last week. Students wrote about a small moment in time and were given several revision assignments (ask your student what these are like) to polish our writing pieces. Each narrative is just as unique as the student who wrote it. One piece was about eating pancakes for breakfast, while another was a moment when they were waiting in line for a soda. The purpose of these personal narratives was to step away from the extreme moments in life that we often enjoy and instead write about the ordinary event that can happen to us each day. This strategy of small moment writing allows students to strengthen the writing skills of focus and showing. Again, I am very proud of the effort these students put into their pieces.
In reading we finished our lessons on comprehension strategies. Students have been hard at work practicing comprehension strategies with non-fiction texts since the start of the school year. Last week we started reading the book My Name is Maria Isabel. We will spend several weeks analyzing the main character of this book while also using specific textual evidence to state and prove a claim.
In science we started our unit on the solar system! Students made a representation of the solar system and they are displayed outside our classroom. Come take a look!
Multiplication has begun! These third graders are so eager to learn this and I am impressed by their drive and hard work each day. You will notice their homework also includes division as well. We are learning both simultaneously and I am seeing strong concept development with this pairing. I will ask that your student practices their math facts, up to twelve, for at least 10 minutes a night. Fluency in their math facts is an important skill to master this year. They can do this practice with either store bought flashcards or ones made on index cards. I have extra index cards at school if you need.
That is all for now! I am looking forward to what December holds and appreciate each day with your children!
Mrs. B