Mrs. Fox's Third Grade: January 17, 2020

Announcements

We have now had 2 weeks back and are getting into the groove! I loved hearing the third graders share about their winter breaks.

Now would be a great time to check in with your student about supplies. We have quite a few third graders who are out of pencils. While I have a classroom supply, I would love for that not to be completely used up this early in the year. Ear buds are also a supply that seem to be missing frequently. These are necessary for the upcoming MAP test in the Spring, so please make sure your student has them. If you would like to donate pencils or ear buds to the classroom, I would gladly accept donations!

As Valentine's Day is coming up, please look for the pink piece of paper next week with details. Students are encouraged to bring a decorated box or bag to collect cards.

We had a guest speaker on Wednesday! Meteorologist Kenton Gewecke was supposed to visit us in December as part of our weather unit. However, weather played a role in why it was cancelled, as that was one of our snow days. The students were great listeners for Kenton and learned more about meteorology, severe weather, and climate.

In the Classroom

In our new math unit, we have spent time learning about fractions. Students explored wholes and parts using fraction circles as well as the notation with numbers. We also circled back to multiplication. We are building our tool kits with strategies to solve unknown problems. Students have learned how to use helper facts, add or subtract a group, and use doubling. Students also played a game they know from 2nd grade called Salute. Instead of addition/subtraction, we practiced our multiplication and division facts through this game.

We have been working on summarizing in reading. This week, students focused on finding the main idea and supporting details in a non-fiction text. We also spent some time discussing Benjamin Franklin and Martin Luther King Jr.

We began our 2nd non-fiction writing unit last week. Each student will be creating an expert book centered around a topic with which they already feel like an expert. In our class, we have experts on dogs, baking, soccer, Julius Caesar, Minecraft, and more! So far, students have brainstormed facts about their topic and organized them into chapters using a color code. We have also started drafting our pieces.

We started our Health unit last week. Students have learned about diseases, symptoms, and infectious vs. non-infectious. We have also discussed germs including what they are, where they come from, how they multiply, and how to get rid of them.

Along with our classwork in Health, we are also partnering with Sandra Zapata from the University of Missouri. She comes in twice a week to teach the students about nutrition. Students are focusing on the six nutrients as well as exercise. Ms. Zapata has food tastings most days. Last week, students tried whole grain quinoa and blood oranges.

This week, students compared low fat and whole chocolate milk. They also learned about vitamins and minerals by trying cucumber, plums, pineapple, and sweet potato.