December 13, 2024

 Announcements

We do not have Winter Room Parties at Paxton. We will be participating in Mrs. Patton's school-wide activity of wearing our holiday pajamas on Friday, December 20th. We will also be watching a holiday movie. If you would like to donate a snack or drink, please use this sign-up.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0845A9A729A6FA7-53936408-holiday

We are hopeful you will join us Thursday for our annual Winter Open House! This will be in our classroom, room 215.

On Wednesday, we were able to watch our school talent show! Our own Haena and Gaella represented our class and did a fabulous job!

On Friday, students took part in another Tinker Time with Mrs. Hanson. 

There is lots of important information in this week's Smore, sent out by Mrs. Patton. Please make sure you especially pay attention to the district's new policy this year on snow days being AMI days. The AMI packets are in this Friday folder. I will send out an email the morning of a snow day. Please respond to that email when your 3rd grader has completed their activities so I can count them present for the AMI day. You can keep the packets at home for the next AMI day.

Paxton Keeley Post

In the Classroom

We finished our third Benchmark unit this week. Students learned used a variety of non-fiction texts about government. We studied how to use graphic features (especially timelines), summarize the text, and compare and contrast. 

Most students have completed their biography project! Each student chose someone who has positively changed the world or been a leader in some way. They took notes on their person, organized the information, and drafted their sections. Then we revised/edited, and finally published. We also completed an art project to accompany their writing. We look forward to sharing them at our Open House next week!

In math, students have been studying geometry. We learned about polygons, types of quadrilaterals, and perimeter/area. We used geoboards to practice making various polygons with specific attributes.

We have been studying Missouri history in Social Studies. Students learned about what groups of people and explorers were in our state, as well as why we are known as the Gateway to the West. 

Upcoming Events

Winter Open House-December 19

Winter Break Starts-December 23

School Resumes-January 6

November 22, 2024

 Announcements

Thank you to everyone for attending Parent Teacher Conferences last week! Our next conference is scheduled for the last week in February. Please let me know if you have any concerns come up before then.

Many students are without headphones/earbuds and pencils. Please check in with your 3rd grader over Thanksgiving Break to ensure they have these things.

We had a wonderful field trip Thursday to the Missouri Theater. We watched the Missouri Symphony Orchestra perform!

In the Classroom

In reading, students have been using non-fiction texts to practice a variety of reading skills. This week, we used an article about Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez to find main idea/details, cause/effect, and practice our inferring.

Students are working on their next informational essay. This unit, they chose an influential leader and are writing a biography about them. Most students have finished researching and their first draft. We will work on editing, revising, and publishing next. Students will have these on display at our Open House in December.

We finished Unit 3 this week in math. Our focus lately has been on efficient multiplication strategies. Students have learned how to use helper facts to solve harder facts. For example, if they know 5 x 4, they can add on a group of 4 to get 6 x 4. 

We finished a short Health unit on diseases last week. This week, students began working on Geography skills. Our focus in 3rd grade is on the state of Missouri. We talked about important cities and rivers, border states, and the 5 regions. 

Upcoming Events

Thanksgiving Break-November 27-29

Winter Open House-December 19

Winter Break Starts-December 23

School Resumes-January 6

October 18, 2024

 Announcements

Please make sure to send back your conference form as soon as possible so I can begin scheduling. I will make every effort to give you the day/time you requested. Dates and times will be in the Friday folder next week.

It is time to start thinking about our Fall Party on October 31st! Please use the sign up link to volunteer materials to make our party great.

Fall Party Sign-Up

We had a wonderful field trip to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture! Students were able to do taste tests of the produce they still had growing including tomatoes, cantaloupe, and peppers. They did a camouflage scavenger hunt in the food forest. Students also learned more about the life cycle of a chicken and were able to hold one. We also tested out the playground!

 

In the Classroom

In reading, students have been using the myth of King Midas to practice various skills. We have inferred, analyzed plot elements, and studied non-literal language. 

In writing, students are using the King Midas myth to compose an opinion piece. Students will be formulating an opinion on the more vivid character. They will be brainstorming character traits and gathering text evidence to support their reasons. 

In math, we have been studying multiplication and division. At this point in the year, our focus is on drawing efficient representations of these concepts. For example, drawing an array that shows 3 rows of 5 tally marks and counting by 5 quickly to get a product of 15. We will test over this unit next week so be on the lookout for a review.

We have started our Community/Government unit in Social Studies. Students learned about their place in various communities, as well as the three main levels of government. 

Upcoming Events

Picture Retakes-October 28

Fall Room Parties-October 31

No School, Teacher Workdays-November 1, November 4-5

Parent Teacher Conferences-November 13-14

No School-November 15

Field Trip to MO Theater-November 21

Thanksgiving Break-November 27-29