March 19-23

Thank you for attending Student-Led Conferences!  This week just a few reminders:

• Links are on the blog to support the children who made academic goals (i.e. word problems worksheets, math fact practice worksheets, etc...)
• Don't forget about using IXL to help with math goals as well. 
• Goal sheets will be sent home this Friday in folders.
• CHARACTER DAY is Wednesday.
• Spring Break is next week.

See below for Problem Solving Steps (for those working on word problems as a goal)

February 27-March 2

W.A.L.T.

• punctuate simple quoted speech in grammar
• add the suffix -ing to base words along with the rules that go with the addition (Word Study)
• follow how the character of a realistic story changes
• understand the climax of a realistic story and identify when it happens in the story
• write a realistic fiction story by creating a character with our same likes and dislikes
• write a realistic fiction story with problems and solutions that could really happen
• empathize with children who live in a developing country

Week of February 13-17

W.A.L.T.:

• understand the characteristics of realistic fiction books (using Abdullah's Butterfly as an example)
• sustain our writing focus on longer pieces of work through the continuation of our realistic fiction books (based on the ideas of Beatrice's Goat)
• identify prefixes and the fact that their meanings change the meaning of a base word
• use extended multiplication facts to answer 'multiplication puzzles'
• apply problem solving strategies to solve our Open Response
• create a brochure that will be useful for our Read to Feed project (more info coming home next Monday)

NEWS:

Friday we will attend a 3rd grade assembly on Read to Feed.

There are three games that focus on prefixes under the Reading Language Arts Links section.

Tuesday is Valentine's Day and students may come in holiday attire. 

We will have a small celebration in the classroom with donuts for Valentine's Day.

Week of February 6-10

W.A.L.T.:

• use commas in a series to separate a list of three or more items
• apply the writing process to continue drafting, revising, and editing partner books based on the idea of Beatrice's Goat 
• extend our multiplication facts
• recall the animals Heifer International donates as 'gifts'
• describe the benefits of each animal that Heifer International donates
• use various comprehension strategies (make connections, visualize, and compare and contrast) to better understand what we are reading

RAZ-KIDS
Students now have access to books to read on line through http://www.raz-kids.com.  Simply click on the link in the Reading Language Arts Link list to go to the website.  After that, your child can select their name and read the books available to them.  There are quizes online as well to check for understanding.

Week of January 30-February 3rd

• The students have published their non-fiction books, and they should be very proud of their hard work!  They were diligent at following the writing process to create books with various non-fiction text features.
• In math, we are moving on to multiplication and division.  If your child still does not know the x1, x2, x5, or x10 tables, then nightly math fact practice would be beneficial. 

Week of January 16-20

W.A.L.T.:

• identify the key text features in non-fiction books (table of contents, index, pictures, and captions)
• use non-fiction books to read for fun and for learning
• skim and scan for information about a main idea
• write a non-fiction 'book' by applying what we learned in October about expository paragraphs
• write captions for pictures/illustrations in our non-fiction book
• name some of the key geographic landforms in Singapore
• label a map of Southeast Asia
• recognize the difference between a developed and developing country
• use specific websites such as maps101 to find information about countries

REMINDERS:
No school on Monday, January 23rd and Tuesday, January 24th due to the Chinese New Year

WELCOME BACK!

Snail Photovisis

Photovisi Collages by: Mrs. Buxton's 3rd Grade Class on PhotoPeach

Students demonstrated their learning from our snail unit by making photovisis, a collage of words and photos.

'Juicy Words' Popplet by: Janna Lee

Here is one student's example of a popplet made during our Readers' Workshop lesson.  The students were reading poetry and finding juicy words that poets used to be very specific with their writing.

Week of November 28-Dec 2

W.A.L.T.:

• decide "what makes a poem?"
• respond appropriately and meaningfully to poems
• read poems with 'white space'
• notice 'juicy words' that a poet uses
• write different kinds of poems (white space poems, poems about everyday objects, and color poems)
• place value with decimals to the tenths and houndredths place
• take care of our land snails by making sure they have water, food, and keeping their cages clean
• observe their structures and behaviors

Week of November 21-23

This week is a short week due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday break.  I hope you enjoy the time with family and friends.

Week of November 14-18

W.A.L.T.:

• write paragraphs from a brainstorm 'tree' to build a mini-essay
• identify red herrings while listening to the story Mystery at the Club Sandwich
• recognize that mysteries teach readers valuable life lessons
• read, write, and order numbers through ten-thousands and explore place value to millions
• study crayfish behavior and adaptations

REMINDERS:
Field Trip to Hydroponics Farm on Friday.
Library is Friday.