October 3, 2025

Announcements

Thank you to everyone that donated to our class basket for the Comet Carnival! A special thanks to Emily Surapaneni for putting it together and making it look amazing!

Thursday, October 9th, is an early release at 12:50. Please let me know if your 3rd grader is going home a different way than usual. Friday, October 10th, is a teacher workday. There will be no school for students.

Last week, students completed their first Tinker Time with Mrs. Hanson. Students get to choose an activity that promotes problem solving, creativity, and cooperation. They were all very successful!

Our first field trip of the year was wonderful! Students were able to experience four different stations at the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. We tried lots of new vegetables and fruits in the gardens, ate every part of a plant, fed the chickens, and of course played on the playground!

The highlight for most students these past two weeks has been our special class visitors to help us understand life cycles. We were able to watch chick eggs incubate from days 15-21 of their hatching period.

We were even able to catch one hatching and sing Happy Birthday to it! 

Finally, we spent lots of time reading to our chicks, looking at their adaptations, and snuggling.

In the Classroom

You will find the Unit 1 reading test in the Friday folder this week. These assessments are difficult and ask students to think deeper about the text. We started Unit 2 this week and have been reading fables. Students inferred and recounted story elements.

I will be sharing our Unit 1 informative essays at our first conference in November. Students began their 2nd writing project this week. They will be writing an opinion essay using a Greek myth to provide supportive reasons and details.

Unit 1 math tests are also in the Friday folder this week. Unit 2 is all about multiplication! This week, students were able to use a pet store model to practice finding equal groups and calculating products efficiently.

While we finished our study of life cycles with the chicks, we also studied Government. Students learned about the 3 branches, rights/responsibilities, and leaders at the different levels. We will go back to science next week to finish our ecosystems unit.

Upcoming Events

October 3-Comet Carnival

October 9-Early Release at 12:50

October 10-No School, Teacher Workday

October 22-Picture Retakes

October 31-Fall Party

September 12, 2025

 Announcements

We really need your help to make our class basket a success!

In the Classroom

In reading this week, we read an article about animal coverings to ask questions, infer, and compare and contrast. We also learned about our digital reading options from our librarian, Mrs. Canepa.

In writing, students began drafting their informational/explanatory essay on animal fur. We took notes from both a print and media source. Next week, students will revise, edit, and publish their work.

In math, we have been demonstrating efficient strategies for adding and subtracting two-digit numbers. Ask your 3rd grader to show one of the strategies at home!

We wrapped up our first part of science this week by finishing our study of life cycles. Next week, we will switch to Social Studies and learn about government and its role in Missouri. (Chick eggs are scheduled to be delivered September 22, so we will go back to life cycles some days.)

Upcoming Events

September 22-No School, Teacher Workday

October 1-Field Trip to CCUA

October 3-Comet Carnival

October 9-Early Release at 12:50

October 10-No School, Teacher Workday

October 22-Picture Retakes

October 31-Fall Party

August 29, 2025

Announcements

We have had a fabulous couple of weeks in 3rd grade! Thank you all for such a great start to our year.

This blog update will serve as our newsletter, but please let me know if you would like a paper version in the Friday Folder.

HOMEWORK-It is an expectation that all 3rd grade students read 15-20 minutes each night. I will not be sending home a reading log at this time. If you need reading material, please let me know. Later on in the year, students will have additional optional homework. If you would like additional homework before that time, please let me know.

Students are bringing home their Weekly Journal today. This is an authentic writing project we will complete most Fridays. We wrote the letter together today. Next week, we will write part of it together, and eventually they will be completing it on their own. Please write a letter back to them in the notebook and return it no later than Wednesday of the following week. I hope these become a wonderful keepsake of their 3rd grade year for your family!

Each full week of school, we will feature a student on our All About Me board. The directions and schedule are located in the Friday folder. I will also send a reminder note the Friday before your 3rd grader's week. 

In the Classroom

We spent last week getting to know each other better. I loved getting to see all their Me Museums!

This week, we started taking the iReady test for both reading and math. In reading and writing, we have also been learning routines, building stamina, and reviewing concepts from 2nd grade.

We began our first science unit this week on Life Cycles. Students compared and contrasted life cycles of various plants and animals. We will be observing the life cycle of special classroom guests next month so be on the lookout for lots of pictures and videos then!

Upcoming Events

September 1-No School, Labor Day

September 3-Fall Picture Day

September 22-No School, Teacher Workday

October 1-Field Trip to CCUA

October 3-Comet Carnival