Week of September 30th-October 4th

Don't forget all fundraiser orders need to be in on Monday, September 30th!  Thank you to everyone who helped raise money to fund our school.

Math:

This week we will begin diagnostic testing on i-Ready, this is a computer program that determines your child's strengths and weaknesses in math. It can only be accessed from school, that is why we use MobyMax for at home support.  Please continue to get on the computer during the week.  2 nights a week either Reflex Math or Moby Max.

We will also be working on multiplication. We will build arrays and look at multiples on a 100's chart for 2's, 4's, 6's, 8's, and 10's.



Science:

We will do a few different explorations this week, we will record and discuss data that we collect from these explorations  We will discuss the temperature of crushed ice as it changes over time, and we will look at the temperatures of sand and water both in shady and sunny conditions.  We will compare all our data with our classmates.

ELA:

In our Charlotte's Web study, we will begin the week determining how the author develops the character of Charlotte. We have created a chart in our journals with the following headings:  Just the Facts, Character Traits, How Others React to Charlotte, and Charlotte's Feelings. These are great things to talk about at home with the characters in books!

Please check out the Vocabulary tab at the top of our blog. This gives words that can be talked about at home. The best way for children to learn new words and build their vocabulary is to use new words in conversation.

Toward the end of the week, we will read some informational text about spiders. Knowing how to read informational text is really important in third grade. It is quite different than fiction. We will note text features such as subheadings, photographs, and captions. For each section of an article about spiders we will talk about the main idea and what details support it.

We are well into our planning for our slice of life narrative in writing. Below you will see my planning sheet and a student's plan. Everyone is pretty excited to share their stories.

Resources:
Tiberio:
Monday- Media (return all books)
Tuesday- Computer lab for iReady
Thursday- Music
Friday- Art

Kluge:
Tuesday- Music/Computer lab in afternoon for iReady

Week of September 23rd-27th

This week we will have early release on Wednesday-- dismissal begins at 1:35.

Picture day is this Friday. Remember to bring a smile! 

Math:  We will finish up our unit on addition and subtraction of larger numbers.  We will test on Wednesday. On Thursday, we will begin multiplication.  We will talk about how many things come in groups.  For example, things that come in 4's: seasons in a year, legs on a dog, quarters in a dollar.


Science: We will continue our discussion on matter and its properties.  We will also measure the mass of some objects we can find around the classroom that will fit on a double pan balance.  We will also measure volume using a graduated cylinder.

 

ELA: 

We will continue to read Charlotte's Web. With partners we will reread and find specific evidence showing how the author, E. B. White uses his words to let us know how Wilbur is feeling. At this point in the story Wilbur is feeling quite gloomy, sad, hopeless, and depressed. Poor Wilbur...

Fortunately, Wilbur will make a new friend, Charlotte the Barn Spider, in our reading on Thursday. The author teaches us many facts about spiders in this fictional text. We will continue learning how authors use words to cause us to make judgments about characters.

Click the picture of Wilbur to link to a site where you can create your own comic strip using the characters, speech bubbles, objects, and various settings from Charlotte's Web! Think about the plot of the story and retell a scene you think is important to the story.
              
We have started work stations during our reading block. Students rotate to activities such as FCAT Explorer on the computer, reading poetry for fluency practice, working with vocabulary words, creating literary mood webs, small group reading with me, and writing.

During our writing time, we have created lists of the best and worst times of our lives. We have tried to think of important smaller moments rather than complex moments such as a week long vacation. After choosing one memory to write about, we are planning and organizing the elements of our personal narrative:

• characters
• setting 
• problem or challenge 
• solution or how the challenge is overcome 
• the time frame of the story

     

Resources:

Tiberio:
Tuesday- P.E. (wear tennis shoes)
Wednesday- PLC (resources for 2 hours -- be sure to wear tennis shoes)

Kluge:
Monday- Art
Wednesday- PLC (resources for 2 hours -- be sure to wear tennis shoes)
Thursday- P.E. (wear tennis shoes)
Friday- Media (remember to return all library books)

FCAT Explorer is up and running!

Student log in and password information for this online reading program is in the front of the planner with all other passwords. The third grade program is called Galactic Library under the Reading column. We will use it at school as well. This gives me great information about student strengths and weaknesses for strategy based small group reading lessons. Students can count this for their reading one day a week on the RAH log. Just write FCAT Explorer in the title column.

Week of September 16th-20th

Thank you to all of our families who joined us for Open House on Thursday.

Students need to continue to get on the computer for math (two nights a week) either Reflex Math or Moby Max.  Students can also begin to get on FCAT Explorer for reading.

Academics:

Math:

Last week in math we talked about rounding.  We had a fun rounding rap we watched!  See if your kids can sing it! :)

This week, we will be working on adding and subtracting larger numbers.  By the end of the week, we will be discussing subtracting across zeros.  This is a skill that is usually difficult for third graders.  Please offer help and support at home.

When subtracting  larger whole numbers,
start in the ONES column and move left.However sometimes we can't  subtract
from the column we're in,
so we need to borrow from the column to the left.

But  there are times
when the number to the left is a ZERO ;
when this happens
you must to borrow from the next TWO places to the left.

Science:

In science, we will begin incorporating some reading strategies during our lessons.  We will be doing some close reading techniques, as well as holding Socratic Seminars.
We will also begin our discussion on Chapter 3:  Matter.  We will look at objects and describe their properties using our senses.  Next week, we will talk about the different states of matter.

ELA:
We will continue our novel study, Charlotte's Web. This week we will be using context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words,  working with plot structure, and learning how an author can convey a mood or feeling within a text.

Using context clues:

This is an important skill to be aware of as we read. As we read Charlotte's Web, we will look at specific words and figure out the meaning from clues in the text. This is a great concept to talk about at home if the question, "What does this word mean?" comes up during reading.

Click here for Online practice with Context Clues

Understanding Context Clues Activity

Plot Structure:

We are very familiar with plot structure (characters, setting, problem, solution) now. On the back of the RAH log is an assignment to choose a character trait (internal) that describes a character and provide evidence from the story that support the trait. The author rarely tells the reader, but instead provides clues that cause the reader to infer and make judgments about the character. Here are some examples of evidence:

• how a character acts
• what the character says to others
• how a character responds to events
• what others say or think about a character
• what a character thinks to himself

Mood and Feeling:

E.B. White is very good at showing how his characters feel in Charlotte's Web. This week we will focus on how Wilbur's feelings change during the story. We will discover how the author shows Wilbur's feelings by describing the setting, Wilbur's surroundings, how Wilbur acts, and what Wilbur is thinking.

Resources:

Tiberio:
Tuesday- Media (please remember to bring your library books)
Thursday- Teacher directed P.E.(Wear tennis shoes)
Friday- Music

Kluge:
Monday- Media (please remember to bring your library books)
Thursday- Teacher directed P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Thursday- Music

New BSE School Spirit Shirts!

Check out the logo for our new BSE school spirit shirts! Order forms came home today. The shirts will be navy blue. Only $6.00 for short sleeved shirts!

Thank you!!!

It was great to see so many parents and students at our Open House last night. We have emailed the PowerPoint to all of you. Please let us know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Week of September 9th-13th

Open house will be this week on Thursday, September 12th from 6:15-6:45 and then a second session from 6:45-7:15.  Mrs. Kluge and I will be talking together about the curriculum, and classroom expectations.  Please plan on attending.

Also, on Thursday will be a volunteer orientation.  If you would like to be a volunteer at BSE and be more involved, plan on attending the volunteer orientation at 8:30 in the media center.

Wednesday, Sept. 11th is our first early release, dismissal will begin at 1:45.

Resources/Events:

Tiberio:
Monday- Art
Wednesday- Early Release
Thursday- Open House/P.E. (wear tennis shoes)

Kluge:
Tuesday- Art
Wednesday- Early Release
Thursday- Open House
Friday- P.E. (wear tennis shoes)

Math:

We have finished our discussions about place value and will begin working on rounding.  In third grade students will be asked to round numbers to the nearest hundred thousands place.  We will start with basic rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000 place.  We will also discussing adding and subtracting larger numbers.

We will also begin math centers this week!  The centers for this week will be a review of place value, we want to continue to reinforce past skills during center time.

One of our strategies we will use to remember how to round numbers. :)

Science:

We will be using our inference skills this week during science.  We will discuss why scientists observe and infer when conducting experiments.  We will have a short open book/open note quiz on chapter 1 on Friday.

Reading and Social Studies:

I am so excited about this week. We will begin our first of four third grade novel studies. Our first novel is the much loved Charlotte's Web. Although it is familiar to many, we will read it in a whole new way. Before we begin reading, we will take an in depth look at the story's setting, the Zuckerman's farm in the state of Maine. We will incorporate social studies by studying about the weather, climate, and geography of Maine as compared to Florida. As we learn about the setting, we will talk about informational text and how we read it differently because of informational text features.

Another focus throughout the reading of Charlotte's Web will be character development. As we look at the characters, we will think about their motives, actions, and feelings. We will distinguish between the feelings of a character and how their actions show what kind of person they are on the inside.

We will read Charlotte's Web together in class. Each student will have a copy in class, but the books will not come home. The book is a tool to guide our instruction of reading strategies and skills. Everyone will continue reading their personal chapter books during independent reading and at home.

By the way... our RAH logs looked much better this week! Thank you!