Weekly Update-April 28

Announcements

Our Poetry Breakfast is next week! We will be celebrating our poetry on Tuesday, May 2 from 7:40-8:20. If you would like to come and eat breakfast in the classroom, please bring a dish to share. I will provide juice, plates, and utensils. 

Please see the note about MAP testing in the Friday folder.

Third grade will be MAP testing during the morning on the following days:

Wednesday, May 3

Thursday, May 4

Friday, May 5

Tuesday, May 9

Wednesday, May 10

Thursday, May 11

Please refrain from scheduling appointments during this time. Students will be required to make up any test sessions they miss. It is very important your third grader is here on time those days, as they will not be allowed into the classroom once we have started testing. 

We have finished our spelling units for the year. We will spend this time on mentor sentences and grammar skills as we finish the year.

Weekly Journals were not completed this week. 

In the Classroom

We continued our study of fractions this week. Students used fraction strips to find equivalent fractions and compare fractions. We also learned how to add and subtract fractions with common denominators. We will finish our fraction unit next week and then spend time reviewing for the MAP test.

Students worked hard to publish their poems this week. We did self revising, partner revising, and teacher revising before publishing. We will create a class book of poems to be shared at our Poetry Breakfast next week. We will then begin our final writing activity for the year.

Our focus in reading this week was using text evidence to support our thinking. We practiced as a whole class with the book, Hiking the Appalachian Trail. Students practiced in their small reading groups as well.

Our ecosystems are doing wonderful! Each ecosystem has had the animals and decomposers survive and, they all have grass growing. The students have enjoyed observing them each day. On Tuesday, we went on a virtual field trip to analyze different animal habitats. We have also learned about producers, consumers, and animal adaptations. 

Upcoming Events

Paxton Keeley Color Run-April 28

Poetry Breakfast-May 2, 7:40-8:20

MAP testing window for 3rd grade-May 3-11

Last day of school, early dismissal at 12:50-May 25

Weekly Update-April 21

Announcements

Mark your calendars for our Poetry Breakfast! We will be celebrating our poetry on Tuesday, May 2 from 7:40-8:20. If you would like to come and eat breakfast in the classroom, please bring a dish to share. I will provide juice, plates, and utensils. 

Third grade will be MAP testing during the morning on the following days:

Wednesday, May 3

Thursday, May 4

Friday, May 5

Tuesday, May 9

Wednesday, May 10

Thursday, May 11

Please refrain from scheduling appointments during this time. Students will be required to make up any test sessions they miss. It is very important your third grader is here on time those days, as they will not be allowed into the classroom once we have started testing. 

Weekly Journals were not completed this week.

In the Classroom

We have been busy learning about fractions in math. Students practiced backwards sharing this week, learned about numerators and denominators, and practiced identifying fractions of a set. We will continue studying fractions next week.

In Poetry this week, students attempted to use alliteration in their poems. We also studied haikus, concrete poetry, and inferential poetry. Here are some pictures of our concrete poetry. 

We started our Ecosystems unit this week! We started by discussing what animals and plants need and have in their environments. On Wednesday, each table got to create their very own, self-contained ecosystem! We will use these to study living and non-living objects and journal about what we notice. 

Upcoming Events

Paxton Keeley Color Run-April 28

Poetry Breakfast-May 2, 7:40-8:20

MAP testing window for 3rd grade-May 3-11

Field trip-May 18

Last day of school, early dismissal at 12:50-May 25

Weekly Update-April 14

Announcements

Mark your calendars for our Poetry Breakfast! We will be celebrating our poetry on Tuesday, May 2 from 7:40-8:20. If you would like to come and eat breakfast in the classroom, please bring a dish to share. I will provide juice, plates, and utensils. Your third grader brought home a yellow sheet with more information on Tuesday. 

Thank you to those who have sent in clear 2 liter bottles! We still need quite a few more. We will be using them next week, so please send them in by Tuesday, April 18th. 

Third grade will be MAP testing during the morning on the following days:

Wednesday, May 3

Thursday, May 4

Friday, May 5

Tuesday, May 9

Wednesday, May 10

Thursday, May 11

Please refrain from scheduling appointments during this time. Students will be required to make up any test sessions they miss. It is very important your third grader is here on time those days, as they will not be allowed into the classroom once we have started testing. 

We have been practicing for the MAP test both in the classroom and in the media center. The entire test is on the computer, so students have been working on using and understanding the tools needed to answer certain questions. We have also been discussing test taking tips and what they can do at home to prepare, like get a good night of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. There will be no homework during MAP testing. 

In the Classroom

We finished our short Geometry unit with a quiz on Monday. Please check the Friday folder to see this quiz. We also began our new unit on fractions. Students used the concept of brownies to practice sharing equally between a certain amount of people. 

In our poetry unit this week, students used similes and metaphors in their poems. We created biopoems, made "small poems", and used the book, I Need My Monster as inspiration.

We used our reading time this week to prepare for the MAP test. Students practiced a reading passage on the website Edcite and we studied the 12 power words that are commonly found on assessments. We also practiced non-fiction reading with a Scholastic News Magazine.

We wrapped up our weather unit this week by learning about forecasts and severe weather. Students made severe weather brochures to teach others about 5 different kinds of severe weather. We tested over this unit Friday, and will begin our next unit, Ecosystems, next week. 

Upcoming Events

Paxton Keeley Color Run-April 28

Poetry Breakfast-May 2, 7:40-8:20

MAP testing window for 3rd grade-May 3-11

Field trip-May 18

Last day of school, early dismissal at 12:50-May 25

Weekly Update-April 7

Announcements

Welcome back from Spring Break! It was so wonderful to have the class back, and we enjoyed hearing about everyone's break. 

Third grade has the tentative dates for MAP testing. We will be testing the week of May 1st and May 8th. Please refrain from scheduling appointments during this time, especially in the mornings. Students will be required to make up any test sessions they miss. It is very important your third grader is here on time those days, as they will not be allowed into the classroom once we have started testing. 

Our class is still in need of many clear, plastic, 2 liter bottles for a science project. Please send these in as soon as possible. Thank you in advance!

See below for a note from our PTA president:

Dear Families,
    Don't forget to sign up for the 1st Annual Paxton Keeley Color Run. There is a link on our Facebook group page and websites. There are paper order forms in the office as well. Parents must be present with their child(ren). This is not a drop off event! Your child's safety is our concern. Besides, it will be a fun family event! Come join us!
    Also, PTA is desperate need of volunteers to fill many committee vacancies for the upcoming school year. We cannot function without the support of our families! Please consider joining one of the following committees:

a.     Carnival Committee
b.     Room Parent/Classroom Support Coordinator
c.     Staff Appreciation
d.     School Directory Coordinator
e.     5^th grade party Committee
f.      Book Fair Committee Fall and/or Spring
g.      Hospitality Committee 
h.     ​Yearbook Committee

If you have any questions, please email Kristin Eastman at teameastman@hotmail.com 

Thank you!

PTA

In the Classroom

Students studied geometry this week in math! We learned about the different kinds of polygons, especially quadrilaterals. We also explored the Chinese puzzle, tangrams, to learn how to combine and take apart shapes. We also spent some of our math time preparing for the MAP test. This is a short unit, so we will be starting Fractions next week.

We started Poetry this week! This is one of my favorite units to teach, as I really see students' creativity come to life. We began our unit by exploring published poetry and reflecting on what poetry means. 

On Wednesday, we used a poem called "Pirate Candy" to inspire us to write our own jellybean poems.

In our weather unit this week, students learned about the four main types of clouds. We also studied the difference between weather and climate. Finally we had a special guest on Thursday! Students were able to learn from a real meteorologist, Kenton Gewecke. 

Upcoming Events

Comet Culture Night-April 11 at 6:00

Paxton Keeley Color Run-April 28

MAP testing window-April 17-May 12