Friday, September 30, 2016

Dear 3C Parents and Families,

We have come to the last week of the quarter!  I can not believe we are already 1/4 of the way through the year.  I really feel that we are having such a wonderful year in 3C.  I hope you and your children feel the same way.  I hope you all have fun and/or relaxing plans for fall break.  The week after fall break we are holding parent-teacher conferences.  More information to come on that, but i am so looking forward to meeting with all of you and discussing your children's progress this year.

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

Announcements
1.     Our class celebration is on Friday, October 7th. Please be on the lookout for the sign ups and reach out to the class moms if you need to make alternative arrangements for food due to dietary needs. Please pack your scholar a light lunch for the day as we will be enjoying a prairie meal during the celebration.
2.     Fall Break is R and R; this means we will not be assigning any homework for the week.
3.     Please sent your scholar to school with their copy of Pinocchio when we come back from fall break.
4.     Your scholars will be coming home with a great deal of classwork in their homework folders on Friday, please be sure to help them empty their folders for a fresh start after fall break.

A Look in the Classroom
1.     Language Arts: Due to the class celebration and the Spalding benchmark on Monday we will have 10 Spalding words this week. Our new poetry selection is taken from Macbeth, act 4, scene 1. We will recite this in small groups on Monday, October 31st at the Read-a-Thon. In grammar we are classifying and diagramming sentences with proper nouns, helping verbs, and direct objects. Our adventure with the Ingalls family is coming to an end as Laura tells us about leaving their little house on the high prairie.
2.     Science: Our classification unit is coming to an end and we will begin to discuss our ecology unit. Living things and types of organisms will be on our plates first!
3.     Math: We are diving deeper into multiplication and division by closely reviewing word problems and going through bar models carefully.
4.     History: On Monday, students will take a final assessment of what they’ve learned about Canada. A study guide went home for review on Thursday; please be sure to review the information, which can be found in students’ Canada packets. Flash cards will be a great asset for this test! For the rest of the week, students will be able to share their Canada projects with their classmates. Our first glances at these projects are proving very promising; we’re excited to see what our amazing scholars came up with!

Tests and Quizzes
1.     Monday: Canada Test

2.     Thursday: Science Test and Spelling Test (10 words)

Friday, September 23, 2016

Week 8

Dearest Parents,

The quarter is flying by!  I can't believe that we only have two weeks until fall break!  Mrs. Geyer and I would like to kindly remind the parents of a few dress code issues that we have ben seeing- this really just affects the girls.  Nail polish should be light pink or clear and the only jewelry that can be worn is one pair of stud earrings.

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

Announcements
1.    Please take a few minutes to complete the Homework Survey! This vital feedback will allow the 3rd grade team to gauge how well we are helping your scholars balance their 45-60 minutes of homework daily. Please click here to complete the survey.
2.    Canada Projects are due this coming week on Thursday September 29th! Please be sure to have your scholar return their travel brochure as well as the 5 facts written in the original packet we send home.
3.    Individual poetry recitations for A Song of Mr. Toad will be on Monday, September 26th.
4.    Please ensure that your scholar is following the directions stated on the Spalding homework sheet. The spelling word sheet is to be kept in the homework folder during the week so your child has a reference for homework Mon - Thurs. We have covered this procedure in detail in the classroom, but it may be helpful to have a follow up conversation at home.
A Look in the Classroom

Language Arts: In Spalding class this week we are having a shortened list due to the 4 day week; our test will be on Friday. We will be reviewing the use of there, their, and they’re in class, please check in with you scholar and quiz them on their understanding of the different uses. We are having a grammar quiz on Tuesday. Students will be asked to define nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and sentences, they will also be asked to classify and diagram a sentence with all of the mentioned parts of speech (example: The sly fox hunted carefully.) In Grammar we are diagramming sentences with helping verbs and proper subject nouns. In Writing we will read about the first Sumerian dictator and create a whole class summary. In Little House on the Prairie we will see the conflict between Native American and the United States military through the eyes of young Laura as our book begins to wind down. We will have our final, individual recitation of A Song of Mr. Toad and move on to our next poetry selection from Macbeth.

Science: This week we will be finishing up our unit on classification. On Monday we are doing a mammal scavenger hunt and on Wednesday we will be making a flip book to review! We have had so much fun learning about fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Your scholars will be coming home with a study guide on Monday which is due on Thursday for next week’s assessment. They should use their MR. FAB packet to fill out the study guide.

Math: In math we will be continuing our exciting unit of multiplication. This week we will be getting into lots of bar model problems! Please have your scholar review multiplication facts for 1,2,3,4,5, and 10! We will be adding the rest throughout the rest of this quarter and into quarter 2. If students memorize their facts it will make long division and multiple digit multiplication much easier.

History: Students will learn about the Middle, Western, and Northern territories of Canada - more background for their project, which is due on Thursday, September 29th. On Thursday a completed study guide will come home with your child to prepare them for an upcoming assessment on Canada, which will cover certain vocabulary terms and important facts about Canada's culture, history, and provinces. Please review this information with your child; flashcards would be a great way to review for this one!

Tests and Quizzes
1.    Monday 9/26: A Song of Mr. Toad poetry recitation
2.    Tuesday 9/27: Grammar Quiz
3.    Thursday 9/29: Canada Project due and Spelling Test


Monday, September 19, 2016

Coffee Shop Conversations with the Headmaster

You are invited to join Mr. Gillingham and a few staff members for an informal grade-level conversation over coffee and light snacks. 3rd Grade's conversation will be held on Thursday, September 22nd from 8-9 am. Coffee conversations are great opportunities to ask questions, share your experiences, and meet other parents. We hope you can join us in our newly renovated library!


We hope to see you there!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Dear Parents,

My apologues for another Sunday blog post!  Last week was another great week of learning and fun in 3C!  I am looking forward to another great week.

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

1.    Tuesday 9/20; Math Test
2.    Thursday 9/22; Literature Test
3.    Friday 9/23; Spelling Test

Announcements

1.    Wednesday, September 24th is Singapore and Spalding night! The third grade teachers are excited to host this workshop that will walk you through these key pieces of our curriculum. We're adjusting homework expectations for the evening to allow parents extra time to attend; Spalding words only need to be written once and we are cutting Math homework down to 2 pages.
2.    Please remember that BURST tutoring starts Monday morning in the MPR at 7:20. If your scholar has been invited to this tutoring, we look forward to seeing them there!
3.    Our next Literature quiz is coming up; please guide your student through the study guide which is based on comprehension.

A Look in the Classroom

Language Arts: We will be having our usual 30 word Spalding spelling word list. Please be on the lookout for the Spalding homework this week, we have changed the process a bit. Each Monday your scholar will receive a list with the spelling words for the entire week; we ask that the words be written on a sheet of loose-leaf paper, once with markings and once without. On Thursdays each word should be written once without markings. We will be having a comprehension quiz for Little House on the Prairie on Thursday, the study guide will be sent home Monday. We are still exploring Ancient Egypt in our writing class by creating 3 sentence summaries as a whole class; if you would like to help your student practice their summarization skills after they read start with asking: who, what, when, how, and why! In Grammar class we are reviewing adjectives and adverbs, classifying more complicated sentences, and defining proper nouns.

History: We started our Canada unit on Thursday, which means this week students will be learning all about the culture, history, and native people of Canada. On Monday we will learn about totem poles, and students will be able to create their own! We will start talking about the different provinces and territories of Canada, so make sure your student is working on their Canada project, which is due in about 2 weeks!

Math: This week we will be wrapping up our unit on addition and multiplication and beginning the exciting next unit of multiplication and division. We will have an assessment on Tuesday! Multiplication and division are very crucial skills that we will be using throughout the year. We are focusing on multiplication is rocket math right now. It is essential that students leave third grade with a solid grasp on their multiplication facts 0-9. You can help at home by reviewing rocket math and/or making multiplication flash cards! Once students have mastered multiplication then you can move on to division.

Science: This week we will be finishing up our mini unit on ostriches. We will then begin learning about our final class of vertebrates, mammals! In this section we will learn about what makes mammals unique and create a venn diagram to compare three different mammals: the panda, the polar bear, and the blue whale.


Sunday, September 11, 2016

Week 6

Dearest 3C Parents,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I apologize for the first Sunday post this year-I spent the weekend in Kansas City with family.  We went to the season opener for the Chiefs!  See below for an update for next week.

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

Announcements

We are having our first Grammar Quiz of the year on Monday; it is a brief quiz on classification and diagramming sentences with subject nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Students should have taken their language arts journals home over the weekend and at the end of the last week to prepare. 

A Look in the Classroom

Language Arts: In Spalding we are finally well into our word list and will be having our usual 30 word spelling test. In Grammar we are defining adverbs and learning how to diagram them; we are also taking our first grammar quiz on Monday! Please look for Language Arts Journals to help your scholar study diagramming and classifying sentences with adjectives. In Literature we are learning about the importance of having good neighbors on the high prairie. We will continue summarizing stories while we learn about the ancient world.

History: On Tuesday we will be taking our second history test, this time on features of maps, directions, and land forms. Make sure you help your scholar study with the study guide that is going home today! On Thursday we will officially start our Canada unit, learning about how the culture of our neighbor to the north can be both similar and different to our own. The third grade team is excited to see how students will portray their chosen provinces on their Canada project, which is due in about 3 weeks.

Science: We will be making a small book depicting the life cycle of a frog! In addition, we will begin learning about the next class of animals: birds. For this section we will learning in depth about the ostrich. In addition, we will be having a quiz on Friday that covers reptiles, fish, and amphibians. Please have your scholar review their Mr. Fab packet at home next week to help them prepare for this quiz.

Math: This week we will be doing subtracting with 3 and 4 digit numbers. In addition on Friday we will look at two step word problems where students will be challenged to solve for the intermediate step on their own in order to get to the final answer!
Tests and Quizzes



Monday - Grammar Quiz on classifying and diagramming sentences (subject nouns, verbs, and adjectives)
Tuesday - History Quiz on Maps
Friday - Science and Spelling Test

Friday, September 2, 2016

Week 5!

Dearest 3C Parents and Families,

We are officially 1 month into the school year!  I am looking forward to a restful 3-day weekend and I am sure you all are as well.  As I reflect on the past month of school I have been thinking about  how lucky I am to work at such a wonderful school with such an awesome community of teachers, students, and families.  We are off to a great start and I am so excited to continue working with the fantastic students I have in my class this year.  I hope your children have been enjoying the start of the school year.  As always, please reach out at any time if you have any questions! 

Best,

Mrs. Bowers :) 

Announcements
  1. With MAP testing done for the first of the year we are finishing up Dibels testing to determine reading ability.
  2. There is no school on Monday, September 5th.
  3. Instructions for the Canada project have gone home, this project is due Thursday, September 29th.
  4. Reading and math groups start next week! Here are the links- there are plenty of open spots!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-reading
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-math

Wish List
  1. Tissues
A Look in the Classroom

Language Arts:
We're taking a look at building a house and barn in the Little House on the Prairie and considering what life would have been like on the high prairie so long ago. In Grammar we are reviewing adjectives and diagramming simple sentences that contain nouns, verbs, and adjectives. There will be a Grammar quiz the week after next so be on the lookout for Language Arts journals coming home as a study guide. In writing we are still exploring Ancient Egypt, identifying central themes, and creating 3 sentence summaries. We are finishing up our rule pages in Spalding and starting spelling list N. There will be a 10 word spelling test on Friday.

Science:
This week in Science we will be completing our section on fish! We will be continuing our animal classification unit with amphibians. The students are loving our unit on animals and ask so many wonderful questions!

Math:
This week in math we will be doing two-step bar models! We will also be doing addition up to the thousands place. On Thursday we will have a short quiz that will cover sum, difference, rounding, and simple bar models.

History:
Students will continue their study of spatial sense and their surroundings, going from the features that make up a city to physical land forms (such as islands, peninsulas, etc.). We will also look at our own country and discover just how far apart or close together cities in the U.S. really are. Study guides for an upcoming test will go home on Friday (due for in-class review on Monday, September 12th), and students should soon get started on their Canada projects!

Tests and Quizzes:
Thursday September 8th Math Quiz

Friday September 9th Spelling Test