Dear Families,
Here is what's been happening over the past week and what is planned for this coming week.
What's Up!
Reading: This week we spent finished our novel study of Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Students have been reading one chapter of the book each day/night and filling out a “job” sheet. The jobs included the Discussion Director (writing questions about the story), Connector (comparing the story to their lives or other things they have read/seen), Illustrator (drawing a picture about the story and explaining its significance), Summarizer (writing a summary of the chapter) and Word Wizard (finding interesting words in the chapter and their meaning). Students bring these worksheets to class each day and use them when they get with their group and discuss the chapter. I have been very proud of how well the students have been doing with their discussion groups. They are having very respectful, enlightening, cooperative discussions about the chapters and working well as a team. Next week we will be back in the text book to read the story Pepita Talks Twice. We only have two stories left in our anthology!
Writing: We have been working on our comparative writing this week. We wrote character comparisons about Ramona and Beezus.
Spelling: Words from Pepita Talks Twice
summer
winter
little
October
travel
color
apple
able
November
ever
later
purple
thermometer
mumble
Vocabulary: Words from Pepita Talks Twice
language: spoken or written human speech
Spanish: a language
enchilada: tortilla rolled around a filling, then covered with spicy sauce
salsa: a spicy sauce usually made of tomatoes, onions, and peppers
tortilla: a round, flat, Mexican bread
tamales: fried chopped meat and crushed peppers rolled in cornmeal dough and steamed
taco: tortilla folded around a filling such as ground meat or cheese
Math: We finished chapter 8 on geometry this week with our study of area and perimeter! We have learned how to figure area and perimeter when we have graph paper and without the boxes. We have also talked a lot about the differences between these two measurements. We took our test on this concept today. Next week we will be moving into our study of fractions!
Science: We have begun our last unit of study this year which is all about matter! This week we began learning about more of the useful properties of matter including buoyancy and flexibility.
Social Studies: We will be starting learning about the West very soon. This week we worked on finishing our Pirate love letter papers about the resources of the East. You can begin studying the states of the West with the following online resources: www.sheppardsoftware.com (USA) & http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/maps/usa-numbers.pdf
Cursive and Keyboarding: Students finished writing papers comparing 2nd and 3rd grade in cursive. These papers need to be completed by the time they come to school on Monday. We are writing these papers in our best cursive. On Mondays we will be taking our pretest on fractions during keyboarding time.
Report Card Envelopes
If you have not already sent back the signed report card envelope, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks!
Tiger Trek – PLEDGE FORMS DUE MONDAY!
The Tiger Trek is our one big fundraiser for APT every year. We do not ask students to go out and sell any products. What we ask is that they go out and collect pledges for the number of laps they will run/walk at our Tiger Trek. Pledge forms went home before spring break. Every single child will participate in the run/walk. Even the teachers will be out their running/walking laps. Students can collect pledges per lap or a flat pledge. If you need a new pledge form, please contact the office. Pledge forms are due back to school on April 25th. Thanks!
Book Orders
Our final book order of the year is going home today. This is a great opportunity to order some inexpensive summer reading for your child. You can place your order online by going to http://www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our class code is: GY2HX. You can also order the traditional way by sending in the paper order form and a check made out to Scholastic. All orders are due by Monday, May 2.
More Multiplication Ideas
Keep studying those facts. We are taking 1 minute timed fact tests several times a week. The more they have memorized, the easier it will be. Here are websites or use the flashcards we sent home earlier. If you are looking for other ideas, send me an email or give me a call!
· http://www.mathfactcafe.com/
· http://www.aaastudy.com/mul.htm
· http://www.multiplication.com – LOVE this for self-timed and graded tests!!!
· http://www.coolmath4kids.com/times-tables/index.html
· http://resources.oswego.org/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html
Behavior
Our new word is Honesty. This is our shortest word yet! Please remind your child of your expectations and the Amberly High 5. This includes being responsible for doing their chores around the classroom including making their lunch choice in the morning and turning their homework in first thing. We will also be reviewing our expectations for hallway behavior on Monday.
Dates to Remember
April 25 – Tiger Trek Pledge Forms are due
April 28 – Spring Pictures
April 29 – Tiger Trek 12:30 to 1:10 (third grade time)
May 2 – Tiger Trek Pledge sheets and collections envelopes sent home
May 9 – Tiger Trek Money Due in collection envelopes
May 19 or 20 – Third Grade Field Trips to the Nature Center
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Mrs. Winstanley
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