December 15, 2023

 Announcements

Thank you to the families who were able to attend the Winter Open House! Students will be bringing home their biography report and their drawing so everyone can see it. 

Monday, Mrs. Patton has encouraged everyone to wear their holiday flare including hats, necklaces, shirts. etc! Wednesday is our class pajama day. 

We had another Book Break last week. This time, we met with Raul the Third! He writes and illustrates the series Vamos!. We learned all about his book, Let's Go to the Market, and we did a directed drawing with him. 

In the Classroom

In reading this week, we started our new unit. We used two texts about Cinderella to practice a variety of reading strategies including figurative language, creating mental images, and asking questions. 

In writing this week, we learned all about narrative journals. We practiced writing in the first person and using descriptive language to show the reader what happened from beginning, middle, to end.

In math this week, students learned about measuring the perimeter and area of shapes. We discussed the difference between the two concepts and practiced using various strategies. 

We have been learning all about Missouri history this week in Social Studies. Students studied about the Louisiana Purchase as well as Lewis and Clark. We discussed the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, and learned about Missouri becoming a state.

Upcoming Events

Winter Break-December 21-January 2

School Resumes-January 3

Field trip to Planetarium-January 4

November 21, 2023

 Announcements

We hope you will join us for our Winter Open House on Friday, December 15th! This is a time to come in the classroom, visit with your 3rd grader, and see their biography projects. Third grade is scheduled for 1:00-1:20. Here is the full list for all the grade levels.

1:00-1:20- 3^rd Grade

1:20-1:40- 2^nd Grade

1:40-2:00- 1^st Grade

2:00-2:20- Kindergarten

2:20-2:40- 4^th Grade

2:40-3:00- 5^th Grade

We had an excellent field trip to the Missouri Theater last week! Students listened to a variety of pieces, concluding with the story of Peter and the Wolf.

On Tuesday, we were able to learn from the Giant Map of Missouri! Mrs. Hanson led us in an exploration of map features. Then we were able to use our coding skills to code robots traveling around Missouri for Thanksgiving!

In the Classroom

In reading last week, students read an article about Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. We used this text to learn about comparing/contrasting, cause/effect, and inferring. We will finish this unit before Winter Break.

Most students have completed their first drafts of their biography pieces. Make sure to ask your 3rd grader who they chose for this project! We will revise, edit, and publish when we return after Thanksgiving. 

We have looked at multiple strategies the past week for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Students are building their toolkit so they can solve these problems when they see them in multiple contexts. 

We started our health unit by discussing the human life cycle and body systems. After Thanksgiving, we will discuss diseases and how to keep our body safe.

Upcoming Events

Thanksgiving Break-November 22-24

Winter Open House-December 15, 3rd grade is at 1:00-1:20

Winter Break-December 21-January 2

School Resumes-January 3

Field trip to Planetarium-January 4

November 9, 2023

   Announcements

Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent Teacher Conferences! Our next round will be at the end of February, but please let me know of any concerns or questions that arise before then. 

Friday Folders are not coming home this week. Weekly Journals were not completed this week either. They will both resume next week.

Some students are beginning to run low on supplies. Please check with your 3rd grader to see if they need replacements. Our class would greatly appreciate donations of pencils and play-doh!

Thank you to everyone who donated time and supplies for our Fall Party! The students had a great time.

We had another round of Tinker Tuesday last week!

Last week, we had some special guests come talk to our class! Mike Lilien, Anna's dad, along with employees from the City of Columbia came to discuss electricity and safety. 

In the Classroom

In reading this week, students used texts about communities and government to practice various skills. We discussed how to determine important and unimportant information, talked about the importance of text features, and practiced summarizing. 

In writing this week, students began their Informational/Explanatory Essay. Each student will be writing a biography this unit. They were asked to choose someone who has changed the world in a positive way. We focused on finding credible sources and taking notes in our own words this week. We will start drafting next week. 

In math this week, students have been learning various addition and subtraction strategies. We have been studying place value and discussing how strategies are efficient.

In Geography this week, students learned about maps and globes. They used a grid system to find locations, and we discussed physical and human characteristics of a place.

Upcoming Events

No School, Parent Teacher Conferences-November 10

Field trip to MO Theater-November 16

Thanksgiving Break-November 22-24

Winter Open House-December 15

Winter Break-December 21-January 2

School Resumes-January 3

Field trip to Planetarium-January 4

October 25, 2023

  Announcements

Thank you to all the families who donated for the Food Drive last week! Our class had a combined total of 1,183 cans and funds! We met the goal we set for ourselves everyday, and we had many discussions about the impact we had on our community.

On Tuesday, we had another Book Break with author/illustrator Dan Santat! He wrote the book, The Adventures of Beekle. We were also able to do a directed drawing with him and see a sneak peek of his new book.

We had a wonderful field trip to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture last week! Students were able to learn about the parts of a flower, experience a predator/prey scavenger hunt, and go on a hike. We also tried lots of vegetables and fruit. Our first field trip was definitely a success!

We have another field trip in November to the Missouri Theater. Please return the permission slip as soon as possible so your 3rd grader can attend on November 16th. 

This paragraph was written by the class! We are learning about media safety and literacy. One of our activities was writing for this blog. We are going to post a link to a safety guide. This is so when we are playing video games, it can be safer. 

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-are-some-basic-gaming-and-social-media-rules-for-elementary-schoolers

In the Classroom

In reading this week, we have been using the myth of King Midas. We have practiced comparing/contrasting, finding similes, and learning how the actions of characters influence plot. We will finish this unit next week.

We are continuing our opinion writing work by using the King Midas story. This week, we wrote an opinion piece as a class to answer the prompt, "Who is the most vivid character in the myth?" Next week, students will write their own opinion piece to answer a prompt about a folktale.

We finished Unit 2 in math this week. Students were able to solve all types of story problems and write their own. We will start Unit 3 next week.

We also finished our Government unit this week! Students learned about how a bill becomes a law, how important voting is to our democracy, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. We will begin Geography next week.

Upcoming Events

No School, Teacher Workdays-October 26, 27

Fall Room Party-October 31

Student Flu Shots-November 3

Conference Week-November 6-9

No School-November 10