Word Study
We worked on hard /k/ sounds produced with closed syllables/short vowel sounds (e.g., kick), vowel-consonant e syllables/long vowel sounds (e.g., bike) and vowel teams/irregular vowel sounds (e.g., book). Students are encouraged to share what they see first (syllable type) and then what they hear (short, long, irregular vowel sound). I'm working to draw more connections from their word study to their applied reading and writing (e.g., Find one of each visual pattern in your reading and record it on a post-it note; Use one of each syllable type in your writing today.).
Reading Workshop
We are continuing to work on summaries and they are really improving. We are also going over a few practice tests to talk about test taking strategies (e.g., reading the multiple choice answers as part of the question to help us know what we are being asked to do and what to look for in the text) and to familiarize students with what kinds of questions and content will be on the test.
Writing Workshop
We are focusing on creating multi-paragraph informational writing pieces in Google docs on our iPads. Keyboarding is a real challenge for most, but I have most students typing with two fingers pretty adequately. I'm pleased with the class' writing. I'm looking for a specific title that indicates what they are writing about, a strong topic sentence, evidence from the text in their own words, and explicit explanations of why that evidence fits the prompt. Your student is welcome to share their writing with you, but I ask that you not make any changes.
Math
We are solving fraction story problems and learning how to simplify fractions by dividing by 1 represented as a fraction (e.g., 2/2, 3/3, etc.).
Science
We had a lot of fun in science this week. I used an apple to represent the small proportion of the Earth that is available for growing natural resources (e.g., crops, livestock, trees, etc.). This dovetailed nicely with our fraction study. See if your student can remember how we arrived at our usable land fraction.
We also used pinto beans (coal) and great northern beans (solar) to demonstrate the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy.
Finally, I used a leaf blower to model how powerful wind energy can be. We will continue with our natural resources study for the remainder of the quarter.
Important Dates & Reminders
It's Kid Fest Raffle Basket time again. Please click on this link for the 3rd Grade Star Wars sign up genius. You can donate items or money through April 18th.
Homework
Beginning next year, students K-3 will keep their devices at school. As excited as I was about the potential of online individualized homework, I also understand and support the reasons this decision was made. However, rather than investing a lot of time on my end learning about online homework options that I cannot use in the future, I am going to go back to paper based homework. Your student is welcome to continue to use Khan Academy until device collection in late spring, but I will not require it or check it. I hope your student has enjoyed it and may use it as a resource next year in 4th grade.
April 2018
17 & 18 Spring 3rd Grade State of Ohio Reading Assessment (AIR)
24 & 25 Spring 3rd Grade State of Ohio Math Assessment - Students need headphones.
May 2018
April 30-May 4 Scholastic Book Fair
4 KidFest, 5-8 p.m.
8 NO School for students or certified staff - Ohio Primary Elections
11 Science field trip to Livingston Elementary - chaperones needed
18 Field trip to the Columbus Zoo - chaperones needed
21 Field Day
21 Field Day
28 No School Staff: Memorial Day
30 Last Day for Students
30 End of third trimester
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