Our days just seem to fly by. They are full with reading, writing, math and science. They are also filled with opportunities to learn more about collaborating, cooperating, and the importance of considering other’s needs before personal wishes. Manners matter and a calm, focused classroom helps us all meet with success more often.

Science of Flight

Friday is our final launch. In the scenario, the glider is delivering supplies to an area devastated by a typhoon. They’ve had fun working through the challenge of creating a glider that could fly a straight distance of 7 or more feet and carry weight.

The children worked through a design cycle to create a glider that followed specific criteria. The class explored the difference between inventions and innovations. That discussion also influenced some of the children’s design choices too. Talk to your child his or her design and building choices.

This week I noticed the children learning from their test flights. They began to wonder, “If my model isn’t gliding straight, how can I change it so it is more balanced?” They began to fly their gliders with questions in mind and were more strategic in their changes. They began consider cause and effect relationships as they designed wings shape and size. The children are using what they’ve learned about balanced and unbalanced forces and considering how they affect flight. They are becoming more careful observers.

On Monday we’ll complete the unit with a final assessment and then move on to our next science study of habitats, food webs. We’ll begin the research part of our zoo project.

Developing As Writers

This week we’ve focused on the qualities of great writing and the habits a writer needs to write well. The children reflected on who they are as writers. They considered what makes writing easy and what makes it challenging. They reflected on what they most like to write and how they would like to challenge themselves as they continue to grow this year.

The class enjoys creative writing. They have strong voice and clearly enjoy sharing their work with others. They have fun inventing characters and creating poems and songs. Each day we read a few poems together that highlight the theme we are learning about. I’ve had a hard time finding poems about writing and mentioned that during our shared reading time. Because of that, we now have a couple poems written by classmates that we read together each day. It is fun to share with a wider audience.

Informational Writing

As we look forward to launching our animal research project, we’ve been learning about different organizational structures for writing. We’re doing this so the class is aware of different choice they have as they prepare to share their research at the zoo. So far we have learned about a Descriptive Structure by reading About Habitats – The Seashore. That has a main topic and the information is shared through subtopic chunks. We learned about a Sequential Structure as well. That structure follows a step-by step format. We read about A Day and a Night in the Desert. Another example the children might use is a life cycle. The final structure we were able to explore this week was Cause and Effect. We read If Sharks Disappeared as an example and to help the children consider how their animal fits into the web of life specific to its habitat.

As we move further into the research process you may want to talk to your child about the choices he or she is considering. How will it be interesting to share what they know with others? The zoo will be an open house event so families will be able visit each habitat and learn about each animal there.

Bits and Pieces –

• We’ll be having our first challenge with Mr. Caron on October 16. It will be outdoors, weather permitting, so the children should be prepared. It can be chilly on the Nature Trail.
• We finally have the date for our school pictures – November 8.
• We began learning about the Distributive Property of Multiplication this week. As you look through your children’s math problems this week, please let them know that you notice their effort. Most of the children are working to solve two or three problems a day. They are trying to select challenging problems and to use as much multiplication (and even division) as they can. It’s not always perfect, but they are growing and having fun. I am proud of them.
• As we read The One and Only Ivan, Ivan has just realized he can remember his past. He’s been in his “domain” at the mall for nearly 10,000 days. Ruby is not being treated well and the class is feeling pretty sad about the whole thing. At this point, the class is wondering if this sad book can change. It is hard to know how sad and lonely the animals feel.
• This week we completed the Clock Climber word practice this week so we’ve learned our first set of cursive letters. Those sheets are in the folders this week. The class did a nice job with the practice. Let them know you appreciate their effort.

Thank you for your support with homework and helping your child make the time for it and reminding them to record their choices.

Our week has been full of reading, writing, science and math. The children seem excited about what they are doing. They seem to enjoy being together each day. They are creative and hardworking. They are enthusiastic and kind. They like challenges and are learning how to support each other through them. They are eager to learn and do all they can. They’ve added a daily survey writer to our jobs list and created a storyteller’s time so that one student a day can read a book or poem of their choosing to us. They’ve added their personal touch to even the smallest things – this year, the teacher’s helper on our jobs chart is “The Teacher’s Pet.” ♥

Reading Challenge

Last Friday we began talking about setting goals and finding ways to document growth and learning. (We are preparing for Student Led Goal Setting Conferences to be held in about a month.) Because of this discussion, our class wondered if we could meet the challenge of reading 3 just-right books each month for the remainder of the school year. If we each do our part, the class collectively will have read 405 books. That seemed possible and exciting. I checked in with them on Monday, and they still wanted to give it a try. It feels exciting and doable if we keep our focus. We decided that we’d start keeping track by recording finished titles on strips of paper as if they are the spines of books on a 2-D bookshelf. We’ll put them in the hall so everyone can see our progress.

In the meantime, each of the children set personal reading goals. We also set reading goals as a class. Reading growth is tricky because much of it is invisible. We are excited to describe ourselves as readers now, and are looking forward to seeing how we change throughout the year.

What Is Multiplication?

Together we’ve developed an understanding that multiplication is repeated addition. One way we’ve practiced this model is with the game Circles and Stars. We are looking forward to learning more and more of multiplication facts. It is challenging to count or add on accurately when the amounts are large. We know about repeated groups: four groups of three can be represented as 3+3+3+3 and also as 4×3. We’ve learned about arrays and know the rule of reading down and then across so that four rows of five is 4 by 5 or 4 x5. The last way we are learning about multiplication is as a ratio model. If there are six horses then we can figure out how many legs there are as well. This week we’ve created some three-step riddles multiplication riddles. We’ve been having fun with the format. Our plan is to illustrate them and post them in the hall so everyone can try to answer them.

Homework Check-In

How are thing going with homework this week? A few of the children have mentioned that it has been challenging to find the time. They are busy and tired. If homework doesn’t fit in easily, we totally understand. Your child’s best effort is all that is expected and is appreciated. Learning to find and make time is a habit we are hoping to help the children develop over the course of the year.

Scanning briefly through the folders, I can see that some of the children have remembered to record their reading, while others have not. Some children have kept their reading record in their folders to bring it back and forth, while others have taken it out. Presumably it is being kept in a safe place. Whatever works best for your family is fine! Most of the children said they are already reading each day (Yahoo! Thank you!), so recording is the extra step. Thank you for reminding them. Hopefully it will only take a few gentle nudges before this becomes routine. Next week I plan to send home directions for a couple of games we’ve been playing in the classroom. They are really great for developing fact fluency. I hope you’ll be able find a bit of time for game playing next week. I know you are busy, so thank you in advance.

Bits and Pieces –

• We’ve reach the part in The One and Only Ivan where he’s made his promise to Stella to help Ruby get to a better place than the Big Top Mall. We wonder what he will do.
• We’ve continued to build and fly gliders. We are trying to discover the best wing and horizontal stabilizer combination for a long, straight glide. Next week is our final step in the challenge. In our simulation, we’ll be trying to send relief supplies into an area that has been devastated by a typhoon. It will be interesting to see how the teams use what they’ve learned through the flight trials to design their final glider.
• We’ll be having our first challenge with Mr. Caron on October 16. It will be outdoors, weather permitting, so the children should be prepared. It can be chilly on the Nature Trail.
• We’ve completed learning all of cursive Clock Climber letters and will practice writing words using those letters next week. It is an exciting accomplishment. The class is looking forward to the next letter set.

Thank you for talking to your child about what’s happening in the classroom and supporting their learning efforts. Thanks also for talking to them about the work that is coming home – most of it math at this point. Their thinking and organization is interesting to note at this point in the year. It will change so fast.

Our week has been full and busy, and, I hope the class would say, fun. We are finishing up the last of the beginning of the year assessments. We are looking forward to completing them so we can get into some more in-depth exploration.

Exploring An Array Model of Multiplication

This week we learned about the commutative property of multiplication. It is exciting to know that facts can be turned around backward and still equal the same thing. We can easily count by 5’s, so it’s good to know that 8×5=5×8. We can find that total without counting every single item.   We “built” Multiplication Main Street this week as a way to strengthen our understanding of this concept. We like our town. This class designed some pretty fancy buildings!

While working with some array worksheets, the class realized how learning multiplication would be a good thing. It will help us with accuracy and allow us to complete our problem solving work more efficiently. It is fun to see the children excited to solve math problems. At first the problems felt hard and now they are becoming easier. Many of the children are able to finish three and four problems in a work session. It is great to see their focus and dedication to learning new things.

Exploring Informational Reading and Writing

In the library this week Ms. Schmidt taught us how to use several of the amazing online resources available to children from our school. She shared ScienceFlix, Grolier Encyclopedia Online and SIRS Discover with the class. She showed them what the sites offered and helped them explore. They were excited to be using online resources and they were excited to think about the animal they’d be researching for our zoo. Please save the worksheet that is coming home in this week’s folder. The usernames and passwords for these sites are on them so the children can use them at home for any research project they devise. They’ll get to explore these and more resources next week in the Library as well.

We began thinking about what makes reading hard, easy and just right for each of us. We’ve discovered that nonfiction often contains “big words” (aka – content specific vocabulary) so it can sometimes be difficult to read and understand. We’ve realized that skipping those hard words isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes this causes us to misunderstand the facts. We’ve also discovered that it’s important to find a variety of books on a topic. By reading the easiest books first we are more likely to understand the information when the reading becomes more challenging. That is because we’ve built our background knowledge (called in the reading world – Schema) and we can develop a more detailed understanding of our topic.

The Forces of Flight

We have continued to explore the forces of flight during our science block. On Monday we had fun launching our propellers. It was interesting to compare a model that worked to our paper model.   Through it, we were able to discover what we could have done differently. Some of the kids want to have a second try. Yay! It was also interesting to notice how each person launched his/her propeller differently. Not everyone was successful (I was one of those people.)

During science we learned about, and engaged in the Engineer Design Process. The circular steps are: Ask, Explore, Model, Evaluate, and Explain. We are presently moving back and forth between the model and evaluate steps. We were given templates a variety of wings, fuselages and horizontal stabilizers and challenged to choose a combination that would glide the furthest when launched down a runway. We began the design process by using the 123D Design App to plan out our gliders. From these plans we made a variety of choices and changes and built. Many of the groups have created several designs. We hope that we’ll be ready to try them out tomorrow. Our final flight challenge will come next week. We are learning to deal with mistakes and disappointments. It is interesting to see the groups go back to their plans, examine their resources and make changes. As a teacher, I’m excited to see them engaging in this process. It is exciting to think about the possibilities when we all work together.

Bits and Pieces –

• Thank you for attending last night’s curriculum night. We hope you feel more aware of how your child’s year will build and what the immediate expectations are. If you were unable to attend, we totally understand – life is full. We’ll send home the handouts in your child’s folder. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask them.
• We began cursive. We are learning a set of letters called the Clock Climbers – a, c, d, g, and q.   It’s exciting.
• We are continuing to read The One and Only Ivan. As Max said, “This is a sad book.” It is, so be prepared. You might begin hearing some questions at home about how and why some people act so hatefully toward animals.
• We began reading journals this week and are taking time to consider who we are as readers and how we will document our growth and progress throughout the year.

Thank you so much for reading and talking to your child about what they are doing, thinking and exploring. Your attention and support are greatly appreciated.

Curriculum Night is September 28, 2017. The 3^rd grade presentation will be from 5:30 to 6:15. We will gather altogether in Mrs. Oliver’s Music Room for 30-minute curriculum presentation. Then families will have the opportunity to go to the classrooms to see where your children work and leave him/her a note about the work left for you to see.

We posted a new sign at our doorway – “Let’s leave chatting at the door.” Our class has a lot to say and for some this is at the expense of getting work completed. That’s putting us in an awkward place – half the class is done and ready to move on, while the other part of the class is not. They’ve literally, talked their time away. Any reminders you can offer at home to encourage your child to focus on the projects and assignment first, rather than chatting will be greatly appreciated. We are working as a class to come up with a plan as well. I am confident that we’ll find a way. Thank you for your helpful reminders.

Franklin Park Zoo

Since our trip to the zoo we’ve been reading about them, and trying to decide how we feel about them. We think zoos are good because people can see and learn about animals they wouldn’t normally be able to see. They are good because zoos are making an effort to help endangered species and helping to involve people like us in conservation. They are also good because many of the animals come to zoos after they have been injured. Zoos enable them to survive.

We think that zoos are not all good.   The animals are kept in cages. Yes, some of them are created to be like the animal’s actual habitat, but the animals are still enclosed. We’ve learned that some animals kept in zoos have shorter lifespans than they would in the wild. Zoos have a hard time raising enough money to keep the animals as they should be kept. And in some zoos, the animals are not kept or treated well.

We decided, though, that there are more “pros” than “cons” and we are glad we were able to visit the zoo. We learned a lot from our trip. Our favorite animals were: red river hogs, zebras, tigers, African crested porcupines, pottos hippopotamuses, fruit bats, red pandas, bongos, gorillas and camels. In folders this week you’ll see lists and illustrations of animals that share what the children are considering as they make their final choice about the animal they will research and become an expert on.

Finally, thank you to all who were able to join us on our trip as chaperones. We are grateful for your time and attention. Thank you for making the trip a fun one for all. We hope you had a wonderful day with your children.

Informational Reading and Writing

We’ve been reading a wider variety of informational books this week. We’ve begun examining some of the different text features found in nonfiction. This is not new for your children. It is a little refresher – a reminder of the text features and graphics they learned about last year. In your child’s folder you’ll find an activity he/she did with Steven Jenkins’ books in the library. If you’re not familiar with his work, check it out at the library. He has a real knack for presenting unusual facts in fascinating ways and illustrating them beautifully.

In the classroom we’ve explored a variety of topics to give your child some idea of what they might teach others about. Next week the children are going to choose a topic and write their first informational piece. It is fun to hear them talk about all the things they realize they can teach others about. They may need/want some suggestions from you. It can be challenging to know what you know enough about to write in a way that will inform and teach others.

Multiplication

We’ve begun learning more about multiplication. We’ve learned a bit about arrays and function or ratio tables. We’ve learned that the first factor in a multiplication equation stands for the number of groups and that the second factor stands for the amount in each group. We know that multiplication is a way to add more quickly. We learned to play Circles and Stars this week. It is fun game that allows us to learn and practice these facts.

Bits and Pieces:

• We practiced map-reading skills while we planned our trip around the zoo and chose the exhibits we wanted to be sure to see. Later we plotted our path through the zoo and the exhibits. Maps can sometimes be tricky.
• We began reading Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan as our new chapter book. This is a novel based on the true story of a gorilla kept as an attraction at the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. I imagine your children having lots to say about this book in the weeks to come about animal treatment and care.
• We finished some of our spelling assessments. This year I’ve chosen to send them home. It is a tricky choice. The assessments are meant to measure June accomplishments. The children are looking at them and realizing they have some words to practice and learn. I think that is a good thing for them to realize. A few of the children have felt worried. They’ve asked if they could do them over. I’ve assured them that they will. Please know that we’ve got a whole year to learn and grow. All of these kids are in a good place to meet with success.

Thanks for reading and for all you do to encourage your children.

Happy International Dot Day!   We’ll have fun making our marks today. Talk to your child about his or her favorite dot making experience. Some of the dots have to be brought home and baked so they won’t be coming home until Monday. Other dots have been saved so we can create our own gallery just as Vashti did in The Dot. We hope you’ll be able to stop in to view our beautiful dot gallery.

Rights and Rules – Social Emotional Learning

We’ve spent part of each day this week discussing how we would like to make a difference in the world. We began the week by reading, We Are All Born Free that shares The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948. We learned that rights are things that every person deserves. In 3E we believe we deserve to feel happy, safe, respected and able to learn. We spent time discussing how we would like to be treated and cared for. We agreed that we also deserve to be forgiven. We all deserve to have the chance to learn how to make better choices and to learn from our mistakes. We read The Bad Seed, Do Unto Otters, How to Lose Your Friends, Most People and If Everybody Did to guide and broaden our discussions. (If you’d like to borrow any of these books to read together as a family and continue the discussion at home, please let me know. I’m glad to share.)

The rules we decided should guide our classroom behavior are as follows.

In 3E we promise to:

Be respectful.

Treat others as we’d like to be treated.

Be responsible.

Be nice.

Be caring.

Listen to others and take turns patiently.

Forgive others.

We agree that following these rules may be hard sometimes, but we are all committed to doing our best. The children have been fully involved in our discussions and all are willing to make an effort toward building a positive learning community for all.

Reading Grows

As I get to know your children, one thing that I’ve been struck with is how eager and ready they are for reading. As a class they are able to choose “just right” books and have next choices in their book boxes or in mind so they are prepared to read for the full reading block. They’ve been reading nonfiction, picture books, poetry and “old favorites.” At this point in the year class favorites are Dogman, Bad Guys, Dragon Breath, Galaxy Zack and the I Survived series. Many of the books are getting passed from reader to reader. I am looking forward to the start of book clubs where we will build comprehension strategies for deepening understanding. They are a thinking class. I am looking forward to some rich discussions.

Bits and Pieces:

• We’ve begun our unit of study about multiplication. The class seems excited about this. It’s a little surprising as they realize how much they already know.
• We’ve continued our science exploration of Stability and Motion as we learn about the forces of flight. We’ve learned about balanced and unbalanced forces. We explored Newton’s Laws of Motion and we’ve made some paper airplanes to see how shape influences flight. See if your child can explain the opposite forces that must be overcome so an airplane can fly. This week we attempted to make handheld propellers to learn about lift. Only Izzy’s took flight. It was exciting to see at least one of our models working. We all had fun trying.
• We’re nearly finished with our second chapter read-aloud, Word After Word After Word. See if your child has a favorite character. I wonder if they’ll be able to tell you how real and unreal are both true. Ms. Mirabel explained that to the class in the story. It is an interesting idea.
• Be on the lookout for reminders about our field trip on Tuesday. Children will snacks and lunch in backpacks that they can carry all day long.
• Picture Day envelope are coming home today. Grade 3 will have their pictures taken on picture re-take day in early October. We will send you the date as soon as we know it.

As always thank you for taking the time to read this memo, to review your child’s work from the week and to talk to your child about what is happening in the classroom.

We’ve completed our second week of school and we are already becoming a community eager to learn together.   Your children are wonderful! They are funny and generous, hardworking and kind. They’ve been asked to change plans several times to accommodate other classes and they’ve done that with grace. They’ve been flexible and understanding. On top of those changes were fire drills, thunderstorms and indoor recess. In all that, they remained respectful and focused on doing their best. They deserve to be complimented for their effort to focus on learning.

Habits for Success – S.E.L. (Social Emotional Learning)

This week we continued to think about what habits lead to success. We read about Michael Jordan and Snowflake Bentley to see if we could discover how they had achieved success. They didn’t give up. They practiced A LOT. They were determined. And they had the help of their family. These habits coupled with the list we made last week have come together in a collection of habits we’d like to be able to say we have so that we can be successful learners in 3E. Ask your child about these stories and our habits list. I wonder if they’ll be able tell you which habits they’ll focus on making stronger as the year begins.

Exploring Scientific Inquiry

This week we conducted a chromatography experiment. Chromatography, simply put, is a technique for separating a combination into its original parts. We used water to find out if black markers are all the same. Look at the work in your child’s communication folder to see what was discovered. Talk to him or her about what they observed and noticed about the experiment. Please note that not all of the children completed the experiment write up so you may not find it in their folder.

We’ve begun a unit about Stability and Motion – the science of flight. We’ve only begun to explore balanced and unbalanced forces. Science is exciting.

Math Problem Solving and Fact Checks

We end each of our days with math. I’ve been getting to know your children as  mathematicians. They are looking for a challenge and seem to be enjoying the chance to choose the problems they will solve. Each day after a quick mini-lesson and activity, there are four story problems to choose from. They’ve been written with with a range of challenges – a variety of amounts in the 10’s, 100’s and 1,000’s, several operations and all with at least two steps. I use the children’s names and make up different stories about things they might be interested in – enjoying nature, dancing, building with Legos or playing sports. At this point in the year children often choose a problem because their name or their friend’s name is in it. The problem itself, though, may not be “just right” for them. Please don’t be concerned if you notice the math problems your child is bringing home are incomplete, incorrect or seem too simple based on what you know s/he can do. It will take another week or two, but soon enough your child will be selecting problems that will help him/her grow and thrive as a mathematician. You may want to put these early problems aside so you have something to look at as the year continues to help your child notice how he or she is becoming more efficient, accurate and able to handle more complex problems as their understanding of mathematics grows.

We did addition and subtraction fact checks this week. The goal in third grade is for children to be able to accurately complete 70 basic fact equations in five minutes or less with addition, subtraction and multiplication and at least 40 of seventy division facts. From what I saw this week, we are well on the way. Check your child’s folder to see where he or she is starting from this year so we can continue to support their growing fact knowledge through games and lots of practice.

Bits and Pieces –

• We’ve been reading and writing each day. Several of the children have finished reading the books they started last week. They’re discovering more of what our classroom library offers. Most of the children have chosen to begin the year writing fiction. Ask your child about what they are reading and what they are writing. There are some fun stories, poems and songs in 3E’s writers’ notebooks.
• We created a class word jar based on Donovan’s Word Jar. We are collecting words that are interesting, fun and feel good. If you come into our classroom make sure to check out our collection.
• We’ve begun our second chapter read-aloud, Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLaughlin. See what your child has to say about it.
• Thank you everyone for returning the zoo permission slip. We have five chaperones joining us so we’ll be in small groups and able to explore all of the habitats and learn as much as possible about the animals. This trip will launch our integrated study of biomes, global geography and informational reading and writing.
• The zoo trip is on the same day as School Picture day. This is not a problem at all. The photographers will plan to take the third grade photos on re-take day. That will be in early October. We will send you the exact date when we know it. Ironically, this same thing happened last year and all went smoothly. Please don’t be concerned.

Thanks for reading and for helping your child feel as though they have the combined support they need to succeed.