LEGO PARTY DAY

Lego Party Day in Third Grade

This Week In Our Classroom...

I hope you enjoyed Memorial Day weekend!  Thank you to all of your family members who have served for our country.  💙

Literacy:  Students will work on a small project to showcase the subject they studied last week.   They will also take an assessment to demonstrate mastery determining important events, identifying setting details, and distinguishing between episodic and chronological structures within a text.  Midweek, students will choose a new subject to study.  They will learn to identify the theme in a biography text as well as obstacles the subject overcame.  In writing, students will continue to type realistic fiction stories.

Science:  Today we'll finish up learning about food chains and webs.  Tomorrow students will explore a population simulation to understand how humans impact food chains.  Later in the week, students will take the Investigation 2 assessment.

Social Studies:  We will begin our next social studies unit this week as well.  It will be integrated into both writing and reading.  Students will spend time researching a large city in the US and comparing it to Chicago.

Math: We will begin Unit 8 this week.  Unit 8 is a review of skills we've learned this year.  Students apply knowledge of fraction operations to solve a variety of multi-step number stories.  Please expect the corresponding Home Links.

NWEA:  Students will take the NWEA this week- both tomorrow and Thursday.  We will test in reading first and then math on Thursday.

WAX MUSEUM SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, June 12th 2:15-3 p.m.
Research papers due Monday, June 3rd.  Please have your child begin memorizing his/her speech.  It should be NO LONGER than 1 minute long.

Writing Conferences

Peer Writing Conferences

Realistic Fiction Story Conferences

Students worked together to revise their stories today.  They will finish writing today and tomorrow.

SEL for Parents

The way that we interact with our kids when they are misbehaving impacts the relationship you have with them as well as what they are learning from the situation. We all get mad, we all yell sometimes, but when we yell at our kids, we send the message that we can't control ourselves when they are misbehaving. When we lose control, we are putting them in a situation where they feel in control of our reactions. During times of misbehavior, we want to model regulation while helping our kids calm down so they can learn. Anger and anxiety are contagious, but so is calm. In order to stay calm, try these things:

1. Know what you can control and what you can't. If you feel responsibility for every action and decision your child makes, you will be anxious and feel inadequate. You can control your reactions, the consequences you give and the lessons you teach, but not the actions of others. You have to remember that your child is a separate person from yourself. 

2. Know your triggers. If you know that specific behaviors trigger you, make a plan ahead of time for what you will do instead of yelling.

3. Make a commitment to practicing emotional regulation. Staying calm under extreme stress is not something that happens without practice. Find time daily to practice strategies that help you regulate, so they become habitual.

4. Recognize stress in your life. Think of how you can reduce your daily stress load to avoid bringing personal stress into the interaction.

5. Focus on learning Think, what life skills do I want my child to learn? What, when we are both calm, can we take away from this. Remember, a misbehaving child is a discouraged child. They are expressing need from their misbehavior. 

By not yelling and by staying calm and level headed, you will be more credible and respected by your child, and therefore more deeply connected. 

This Week in Our Classroom...

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Below you find a brief overview of what to expect this week in your child's classroom.

Literacy:  Students are studying the biography genre for the next few weeks.  Throughout the study, they will learn to distinguish between chronological and episodic structures.   They will also practice distinguishing between details and important events.  Towards the end of the week,  students will practice developing a theme based on the events and contributions of the subject.  In the writing block, students will wrap up drafting their realistic fiction stories.  I will teach students several strategies for ending their stories and then we'll begin the revision process.  Part of the homework this week will include taking the drafts home and having a parent or guardian help with editing and revising.

Math:  We'll wrap up unit 7 this week!  Students will practice measuring to the nearest 1/8th of an inch and practice gathering data from a line plot.  We will review for our unit 7 test.  Students will be assessed on Friday.

Science:  This week in Science, students will learn the different components of a food chain and a food web.  They will also explore different ecosystems.

Progress Reports:  Progress reports were sent home on Friday.  Please make sure you sign and return the Progress Report as soon as possible.

30BT:  The final 30BT Check-In is June 7th.

Wax Museum:  Please make sure to SAVE THE DATE!  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12TH IS OUR THIRD GRADE WAX MUSEUM.  WE WOULD LOVE YOUR PRESENCE!  IT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE GYM FROM 2-315PM.

Bug Day

The ABC Countdown has begun!  Thursday the class participated in Bug Day.  They designed the strongest ant possible in a STEM challenge and explored mealworms and isopods in Science.

Spring Wax Museum Project

The Spring Wax Museum Project was sent home today.  Please look over the project with your child and help him/her choose a subject.  Your child will study the subject and eventually "become" that subject in the Wax Museum.  This has always been a favorite project in third grade!  Please have fun with it.  If your child would like to choose a famous Chicagoan NOT on the list, I am more than happy to hear his/her ideas.  Subject choices are due Thursday, May 9th, so I can approve them before the weekend.

This Week in Our Classroom...

Literacy:  Students will finish reading their literature circle choice books and meet with their peers to discuss the end of the book.  Next week, we'll begin our biography unit.  In the writing block, students will continue to draft their realistic fiction story.  Today, students outlined their story on a plot mountain.  Tomorrow we'll begin developing characters and character motivation.

Math:  Our seventh math unit teaches students to multiply fractions and mixed numbers.  They'll continue to use multiplication strategies to solve word problems and analyze data on a line plot.  I will assign several assignments on www.freckle.com as well.  These assignments are great practice and offer more of a challenge than the Home Links alone.

Science:  For the remainder of the week, students will wrap up projects and assignments using the theme set text.  Today they met with each of the different animal groups to learn about the life cycles of Poison Dart Frogs, Giant Pandas, Monarch Butterflies, and Komodo Dragons.  Tomorrow we'll study life cycle diagrams and read a short article.  The test will be given on Friday.  Students will be able to use their book to help them on the test.  Next week, students will begin studying the life cycles of insects and the environmental factors that affect survival.

Field Trip:  This Thursday, May 9th, we'll travel to the Irish American Heritage Center to see a play based on the history of immigration in Chicago.  You can find a detailed description on the theater company's website: http://www.greatworkstheatre.com/chicago.html

Spring Music Performance:  Students will perform in the Spring Assembly on Thursday afternoon from 2-3pm.  Please come!  It will take place in the auditorium.

Shared Learning in Science

Thank You

Thank you for all of the beautiful flowers and kind notes and cards.  I am very lucky to have your children in class this year- they are a fantastic group of kids!