Mrs. Fox's Third Grade: September 2023

Friday, September 29, 2023

September 29, 2023

Announcements

Please note there is no school on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday next week for teacher workdays.

I hope to see everyone at the Comet Carnival on October 6th! A big thank you to Hannah Talecki for putting together our basket of gift cards. Please check out these links to learn more about the Carnival and see how you can help Paxton.

Information about Auction and Donating

Carnival Information

If you have not returned the completed field trip packet, please do so as soon as possible. It does have to be completely filled out and returned in order for your 3rd grader to attend our field trip to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture on October 20th.

Last week, we took a book break with famous author, Peter H. Reynolds. He has written and illustrated books such as The Dot and ish. Students loved being able to see him live, listen to him answer questions, and draw a winged dragon with him!

On Tuesday, our class went to the media center for Tinker Tuesdays. Students were given a choice of an activity to do that involved lots of problem solving and lots of fun!

We had a fun Sick Day on Friday! We spent time coloring, listening to stories, reading, writing, and snacking, all while being super cozy.

Now it's time to earn the next 100 gemstones!

In the Classroom

In reading this week, students used an article called "One Body, Many Adaptations" to practice making mental images, finding the main idea/supporting details, and inferring. We will finish up this first unit next week.

In writing, students started drafting their informative/explanatory essays on animal fur. We used our color-coded notes to create an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. We will work on revising and editing these pieces to finish up next week.

In math, students took their Unit 1 math assessment on Monday. We began Unit 2 this week by discussing basic and extended facts. For example, using 5 + 7 = 12 to get 50 + 70 and 500 + 700. We also wrote and solved multiplication number stories.

In science this week, we studied inherited and acquired traits. Students learned about inherited traits in apples by doing a taste test!

Upcoming Events

No School, Teacher Workdays-October 2, 3, and 4

Comet Carnival-October 6, 4:30-7:30

Field Trip to Columbia Center Urban Agriculture-October 20

Picture Retakes-October 25

No School, Teacher Workdays-October 26, 27

Fall Room Party-October 31

Friday, September 15, 2023

September 15, 2023

Announcements

Thank you to families who have already sent in gift cards for our Comet Carnival basket! Those are due September 29. Thank you for your support to make our class basket great!

In the Classroom

In reading this week, students have been using articles about animal adaptations to practice various skills. We have learned about comparing/contrasting, finding the main idea, creating mental images, and asking questions.

In writing this week, we have been studying informational/explanatory texts. We have analyzed writing prompts and studied rubrics to know what we need to include. Students will take notes on their topic next week and begin their first draft.

In math this week, we studied elapsed time by figuring out how long our morning takes. We also collected data and completed scaled bar graphs. Finally, we introduced multiplication by looking at repeated addition picture problems.

The big excitement in our room has been in Science this week! As part of our unit on Life Cycles, we had the opportunity to watch a chick go from egg to hatchling. We started by studying the incubator and parts of an egg. On Monday, we were able to catch one of the chicks hatching! Students were able to analyze chick adaptations like their beaks and claws. We also spent time cuddling our temporary class pets!

Last week, we studied the life cycle of a flowering plant by making a flower and bee. We used cornmeal and cinnamon as our pollen and cross-pollinated our flowers to produce seeds.