Third grade is certainly well underway in our class. Students know their way around the classroom, they can locate the right textbooks at the right time, and they call each other by name. Furthermore, everyone finally knows that I am Miss Honda, not Mrs. Honda!
During the first week of school, our class developed a Classroom Promise that our students recite together every morning. "Our Classroom Promise" is shown below:
We are responsible and polite. We say kind and respectful things to each other. We care about our classroom. We stand up for others and ourselves. We raise our hands before speaking aloud. When asked to stop, we stop. This is who we are, even when no one is watching.
Several students have repeatedly told me that the last line of "Our Classroom Promise" is their favorite. I would have to agree with them.
Each week, I will list the major subjects we are studying in class and provide a brief summary of what we are learning.
Reading
We have been reviewing and learning strategies that make us better readers. In my classroom, I use the CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expanded Vocabulary) board to teach reading strategies. Thus far, we have learned the strategies listed below:
- Check for understanding
- Back up and reread
- Make a picture or a mental image
- Infer and support with evidence
- Cross-checking
- Reread
- Tune into interesting words
This week, we have been focusing on how to make inferences with support from the books we are reading.
We use several texts in class to help us learn these reading strategies. We use the Houghton Mifflin reading textbook as a large group to learn about reading tactics together. Students also read independently from books they brought from home or borrowed from the classroom or school library. Last, we practice the strategies together during story time. Currently, we are reading Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins. Please click on the link below to read a summary of the book.
Over the past couple weeks, we have been reviewing how to write complete sentences. Many students are forgetting to capitalize the first letters of sentences and put a period, exclamation mark, or question mark at the ends of sentences. We have also been reviewing other punctuation marks such as commas and quotation marks.
This week, we have been learning how to write basic paragraphs. Students are now able to tell me the three major parts of a paragraph: (1) the topic sentence, (2) details, and (3) the closing sentence. Students are doing an excellent job of remembering these components during journal writing time at the end of the day.
Our third graders are also thoroughly enjoying our "free writing" time. On special afternoons, I give the students a topic for a story and tell them to "free write" a story. Students are able to write creatively without critique or correction during this time. These journal writes allow ideas to flow smoothly onto paper. During this time, I put classical music on and let the students write for 10-15 minutes. It is amazing how fast their hands can move! Talk about writer's cramp!
Handwriting
Our third graders are now learning cursive! This is a very exciting time for them. They are very proud to show me their cursive handwriting. Today, we learned how to write the lower-case letter p. We have already learned the following lower case cursive letters: i, t, u, w, r, and s.
Math
In math, we are finishing up with Unit 1: Place Value and Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction. Below are the goals that your student should be meeting in this unit:
- Read, write, identify, and represent the place value of whole numbers through ten thousands.
- Add and subtract whole numbers to 10,000.
- Add and subtract money amounts.
- Write and solve related addition and subtraction word problems.
Social Studies
*Please see our "Projects" page to see what we are currently doing in Social Studies!
Announcements- Please sign off on the Homework Sheet every day your child has homework. Children lose homework credits if there is no parent signature on the Homework Sheet. Students may miss only one parent signature per week to receive a star on the Homework Chart.
- Remember that students are expected to read at least 25 minutes every night. Please do not sign off on the Homework Sheet until your student has read, or is read to, for at least 25 minutes.
- Students have been doing an excellent job remembering to bring a healthy snack to school. Please help your student remember to pack a wholesome, nutritious snack every day.
- Snack donations are still very welcome in our class! Bulk snacks from Costco or Walmart would be greatly appreciated!
- VIP of the Week begins next week. Aleena is our first VIP of the week! We are excited to learn more about her!
Important Dates
September 29 - Open House
September 30 - Waiver Day, No School
October 7 - Early Dismissal (12:45)
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." --Helen Keller
Have a wonderful 3-day weekend! I hope to see you at Open House!
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
