Weekly Update

Hello Third Grade Families,

I hope you all enjoyed the week off (despite the weather)! We are excited to see everyone bright and early tomorrow morning. Please read this information carefully as there are several important updates and announcements.

Georgia Milestones Assessment

You have probably heard of the Milestones test. Beginning in 3rd grade, students take an assessment in ELA and math toward the end of the school year. Please save these dates for 3rd grade testing so you can be sure your child is in attendance:

April 16th, 17th, 18th - ELA (reading & writing)

April 24th & 25th - Math

*Please note that students in 4th and 5th grade will be testing on different days.

We have been working hard all year to cover the 3rd grade standards to prepare your child for success on this assessment. We will continue reviewing skills as the testing dates get closer. One new part of testing this year will be that all students will take the test on a computer. The students are fairly familiar with computers, but one big difference is that there will be no spelling or grammar check as students are typing their answers and writing essays. Some students seem to rely on the red or blue squiggly lines and auto-capitalization features. If you're able to turn these off, your child would benefit from typing practice at home on a computer without these features. He or she could type a short paragraph about what happened that day or a few sentences telling what happened in a story he or she read. Even typing an email to a friend or family member (with those grammar and spelling features turned off) could be a fun way to practice typing. We will, of course, continue working on this at school as well. 

For more information about the test, the content and some sample items, please click here. http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/EOG-Study-Resource-Guides.aspx

Read Across America Week

Feel free to participate in these fun events this week:

Monday-Door Decorating-judging on Friday

Tuesday-Student Book Mark Contest- ends Wed.

Wednesday-Get caught reading by people in red hats and receive a treat.

***Thursday-Dress up like your favorite book character. ***

Friday-Wear spirit wear and Dr. Seuss' hat

STEM Supplies

In a couple weeks, we will be completing a stem activity in 3rd grade. We are in need of the following supplies if you have them lying around at your house. Please don't go out and buy anything. This project will be all about using recycled materials.

recycled milk jugs

plastic bottles

recycled small plastic containers from snacks (like fruit cups or yogurt)

cardboard boxes/cardboard pieces

paper towel or toilet paper rolls

egg cartons

Here's a look at our learning this week:

In writing, we will finish up our opinion rough draft and hopefully begin typing a final draft. In reading, we will focus on character traits and understanding how the feelings and actions of a character affect the plot of story. In grammar, we will learn more about conjunctions.

In social studies, we will continue learning about early explorers. This week, we will learn more about Hernando De Soto and Henry Hudson.

In math, we will continue working on measurement to the nearest quarter inch and then plotting measurements on a line plot.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me at laura.kloos@cobbk12.org.

Thanks!

Compare/Contrast Quiz

Click here to take a quiz about Jumanji and Zathura

Weekly Update

Hello 3rd Grade Families!

Here's a look at our learning this week:

In writing, we will write a first draft of our new opinion piece. The students have gathered some research and formed an opinion on a topic of their choice. We will work on putting all this research into well-organized paragraphs this week.

In reading, we are continuing our skill of comparing and contrasting texts. We will practice with two books by Chris Van Allsburg.

In social studies we will continue with our unit on explorers! We will be learning about Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Jacques Cartier this week.

In math, we will learn about measuring to the nearest quarter inch with a ruler. Click here for measurement games from our blog. We will then learn how to plot measurements on a line plot.

This Thursday, we will be exchanging valentines at school. You are welcome to send in a pre-made box to collect cards if you'd like. We will not be making boxes at school. If you choose to send in valentines, please send in enough for the whole class. There will be 23 students participating in our valentine exchange.

We are also having our multiplication ice cream party on Thursday afternoon. Thank you to those who have signed up to send in supplies! There are still a few empty slots to be filled if you're able. We could especially use a volunteer or two to scoop ice cream from 1:00-2:00 on February 14th. Here's the link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f094cada82ea7f85-multiplication

We're looking forward to another great week in third grade!

Weekly Update

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Go Rams! 

Please add these dates to your calendar:

Thursday, February 7th, Individual & Class Pictures

Monday, February 11th thru Friday, February 15th, Teacher Appreciation Week

Tuesday, February 12th, Papa John's Pizza Night

Thursday, February 14th, Progress Reports go home, Valentine Exchange, Multiplication Ice Cream Party

Monday, February 18th thru Friday, February 22nd,  Winter Break, No School

Monday, February 25th thru Friday, March 1st, Read Across America Week

Tuesday, February 26th, 5:00-8:00 pm, Firehouse Sub Night

Friday, March 1st, 7:00-7:45 am, FBI Breakfast

Friday, March 1st, 6:00 pm, Talent Show

Homework: We will resume regular homework this week. Spelling words will be written in agendas on Monday and should be studied in preparation for Friday's quiz. Reading and math review homework will be sent home on Monday to be returned Friday. Your child should also be reading a minimum of 20 minutes each night. It's amazing what a difference nightly reading makes! Thank you for your support with this habit!

Ice Cream Party: On Thursday, February 14th, all third grade classes will have our multiplication ice cream party to celebrate all the facts we have learned this year! We will continue to have multiplication 2-min timed tests every few days up until the 14th. Some students have already mastered all facts! Way to go! Remember the more facts your child knows, the more toppings he or she can choose. Talk about a delicious incentive! Please stay tuned for a sign up genius to help with supplies for the party. Your child should know which set of facts he or she is on, but if not, just send an email or dojo message and we'll let you know.

Here's a look at our learning this week:

In writing and ELA we a few different things going on. First, each student will be completing a writing piece for the Cobb County Writing Fair. One winner from third grade will be selected to move on to the county level. We won't know any results for several weeks. This piece will be completed entirely by the student with no help from adults. We will also being a new opinion writing this week. We will begin with some research to help us form our opinion and choose fact-based reasons which support our opinions. We will wrap up our unit on comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs this week as well.

In reading, we will work on comparing and contrasting fiction texts. We will look at texts written by the same author and then compare the characters, setting, plot, and theme of the books. We will use some Patricia Polacco books this week to help us with this skill. If your child has been reading books from a series, ask him or her about the similarities and differences between 2 of the books.

In social studies, we will begin our unit on the Age of Exploration. Throughout this unit, we will learn about the reasons for exploration, the accomplishments & obstacles of the explorers, and about the relationship between the American Indians and the explorers. This week we will focus on Christopher Columbus and John Cabot.

In math, we are continuing with fractions. Between snow day and STEM day last week, we didn't get much fraction practice in! This week, we will work on comparing fractions and understanding equivalent fractions. We will also work on understanding that fractions can represent whole numbers. There are several fraction games on our class blog here. There are also some great lessons and videos from Khan Academy here to help with fractions.

Let's have a great week! As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.