November 17, 2017

Announcements

Students enjoyed going to the Symphony at Missouri Theater on Tuesday! We learned how to build an orchestra and were able to hear lots of different instruments. We even got to hear from a special narrator, Dr. Stiepleman!

Here is the link to sign up for our Winter Party on December 21st. We still need a game, craft, and a healthy snack.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4ca9ad23a1fd0-winter1

Friday folders and Weekly Journals will not be sent home next week.

Our class is in need of notebook paper and black dry erase markers. Any donations would be greatly appreciated!

In the Classroom

In math this week, we studied how to solve multiplication problems by adding or subtracting a group. Students used helper facts like 5 x 6 to solve harder problems like 6 x 6. We assessed over this unit Friday. We will begin Unit 4 after Thanksgiving Break.

Most of our reading and writing time this week was taken up by either science or our field trip. Students did complete the pre-test for our non-fiction writing unit. 

We spent tons of time this week on science! Students applied their knowledge of simple machines to a project called Save the Tigers. We started the week by using Vex kits and video instructions on the iPad to build three simple machines. Then we learned about a tiger that fell into a moat at the zoo! Our job was to create a machine that involved at least 2 simple machines and a magnet to save the tiger and get him safely back to his area. I was so impressed with how students worked together and used their imagination to accomplish this task!

Upcoming Events

Backwards Day-November 21

Thanksgiving Break-November 22-24

Winter Open House-December 15, 12:15 for 3rd grade

Winter Room Party-December 21

Winter Break-December 22-January 4

November 9, 2017

Announcements

Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent Teacher Conference! If you would like to meet again before our February conference, please let me know. 

Friday folder checklists were not completed this week because of conferences. Checklists will resume next week.

Weekly Journals were not completed this week.

Our next field trip is right around the corner! Every third grader in Columbia Public Schools will attend the symphony at the Missouri Theater on November 14. Students are learning about the parts of the orchestra and proper etiquette during music class. Parent volunteers are not needed for this field trip. We will leave Paxton around 11 and return around 1:30.

Here is the link to sign up for our Winter Party on December 21st. We still need a game, craft, and a healthy snack.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4ca9ad23a1fd0-winter1

In the Classroom

We studied subtraction, picture graphs, and multiplication this week in math. Students learned about a subtraction strategy called expand and trade. We also learned about multiplication squares which are facts where the factors are the same. For example, 4 x 4=16 has a square product. Here are pictures of students building multiplication squares with cubes and then recording the matching number model.

We finished our personal narrative unit in writing! Students enjoyed the final step of the publishing process, the celebration! These stories will be shared during conferences. We will begin our next unit, Informational Writing, next week.

In reading this week, students studied how to make predictions in non-fiction texts. We used non-fiction features like titles, photographs, captions, table of contents, and diagrams to make realistic predictions about what we were going to learn.

We also skyped with another class about our Global Read Aloud book. This week, we talked to a 3rd grade class in Omaha, Nebraska. The students loved discussing the book and asking each other questions.

We began our Force unit this week in Science. Students learned about what force is and the six simple machines; inclined plane, wedge, lever, screw, pulley, and wheel and axle.

Upcoming Events

Parent Teacher Conferences-November 9-10

No School-November 10

Toy Drive begins-November 13

Field Trip to Symphony-November 14

Backwards Day-November 21

Thanksgiving Break-November 22-24

November 3, 2017

Announcements

Your conference date and time is on the Friday folder checklist sheet. Please let me know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule. For conferences next week, please try to be on time. I will also try to stick to my schedule. I know that things come up, but it may mean we have a shorter conference so it does not affect another conference. Thank you for being understanding!

Our next field trip is right around the corner! Every third grader in Columbia Public Schools will attend the symphony at the Missouri Theater on November 14. Students are learning about the parts of the orchestra and proper etiquette during music class. Parent volunteers are not needed for this field trip.

Students did a wonderful job on their field trip Thursday to the Central Missouri Food Bank! I was impressed with how well teams worked together to bag cereal. The two third grade classes there filled a pallet of boxes!

There will be no Friday folder checklist next week due to conferences. The checklist will resume November 17th.

In the Classroom

We focused on addition and subtraction strategies this week in math. The strategies for addition were partial sums and column addition. We also started discussing the counting up strategy for subtraction. We will continue these discussions next week. 

Students started their final copies in writing this week. Hopefully we will be finished in time to share the pieces at conferences. We will then begin our next writing unit covering non-fiction. 

For Global Read Aloud this week, we skyped with a 3rd grade class from British Columbia! We talked mainly about our book and shared our favorite parts so far. We also had time to ask each other questions about school, weather, and sports. The students and I enjoyed connecting with a class so far away!

In science this week, we finished our Weather unit. Students learned about the 3 components of a weather forecast and we used Plickers to review everything we had learned. We will begin our next science unit next week which will be Force. 

Upcoming Events

Dental Varnish-November 7

Parent Teacher Conferences-November 9-10

No School-November 10

Toy Drive begins-November 13

Field Trip to Symphony-November 14

Backwards Day-November 21

Thanksgiving Break-November 22-24