4/26

Good afternoon, 

It is great to be back! From the sounds of it you all had fantastic breaks full of lots of joy and time with family and friends.   

Your child is coming home this afternoon with a permission slip for our trip to Old Sturbridge Village on 5/23.  Please fill out the second page of the document and return it to school along with the fee as you are able.  If you are in need of assistance with the fee for the trip, please reach out to me and/or Mrs. Hutton and we will help.  Just a reminder that if you are not chaperoning you are still more than welcome to drive up and join us! Let me know if you plan to do so. We are looking forward to a great day! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Deleted phonemes from the beginning of words

-Reviewed irregular plural nouns

Readers' Workshop 

-Reviewed the elements of narrative nonfiction

-Made inferences based on what we know and the information the author gave us

-Identified point of view

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Equivalent Fractions, Fractions of an Hour

-Reviewed for our end of unit assessment 

-Completed our end of unit assessment 

Writers' Workshop

-Completed drafting our persuasive essays

-Revised our persuasive essays for persuasive language

Social Studies

-Learned about William Pynchon and his settlement with the Agawam Native Americans to purchase the land that is now Longmeadow, Springfield, and East Longmeadow

-Discussed the importance of beaver fur trade and how it connects to our town's history 

Have a great weekend,

--Jill 

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4/12

Hello to all, 

Reporting live from the last day before break! The energy is high and the halls are filled with so much joy! We had an incredible week in third grade.  Students observed the solar eclipse and completed the ELA MCAS.  I was blown away by their work ethic.  They without a doubt did their absolute best.  I am very proud! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Peacebuilders

Emotion Management

-Recognized the differences between the levels of intensity of emotions

Readers' Workshop 

-Read about the life of Isatou Ceesay

-Made inferences

-Reviewed text structure 

-Identified the text structure of the biography  

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Equivalent Fractions, Fractions of an Hour

-Calculated area of rectangular shapes

-Split shapes into smaller shapes to calculate area

Writers' Workshop

-Completed a "RACES or Narrative" challenge

-Practiced using the tools available to us when we take the MCAS

Language Study 

-Learned about reading with intonation 

-Added and deleted sounds in words

-Learned about and identified plural nouns 

Wishing you all a fun-filled break with your family and friends!

--Jill 

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4/5

Hello to all, 

Happy Friday! Next week friends will take the ELA MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Your child's homework before MCAS days will be to:

-Play outside

-Go to bed early 

-Eat a healthy breakfast 

A couple of announcements:

From P.E.: 

Join our community of lifesavers!

Event date is from March 25-April 12.

Register by downloading the AHA Schools app or by visiting heart.org/schools.

Complete Finn's Mission and learn about the lifesaving skill of Hands-only CPR.

Let's raise funds to help kids with special hearts.

From Mrs. Giuggio:  

Third graders brough the pizzazz in their latest green screen movie in technology! Enjoy!! Third Grade Continents Movie!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Built compound words

-Read abbreviations

Readers' Workshop 

-Learned that one person can make difference in their community

-Read about the life of farmer Will Allen 

-Identified author's purpose 

-Identified author's point of view

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Equivalent Fractions, Fractions of an Hour

-Solved sharing and grouping problems 

-Practiced solving division equations

-Calculated area of rectangular shapes

Writers' Workshop

-Reviewed the parts of a strong opinion essay

-Brainstormed problems we would like solved

-Began collecting reasons to defend our arguments

Language Study 

-Learned about the phrasing fluency strategy 

-Added and deleted syllable to words

 Have a great weekend, hopefully all this wacky weather is behind us!

--Jill 

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3/29

Good afternoon to all, 

We had a great short week in third grade! We began the week with a bus safety presentation and ended the week by celebrating the end of our Animal Classification unit with a Makerspace challenge.  We also learned about insects from our second grade friends!

Please see below for information about our annual Kids Heart Challenge  from our Physical Education team: 

Join our community of lifesavers!

Event date is from March 25-April 12.

Register by downloading the AHA Schools app or by visiting heart.org/schools.

Complete Finn's Mission and learn about the lifesaving skill of Hands-only CPR.

Let's raise funds to help kids with special hearts.

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Language Arts

Animal Classification 

-Read about animal vertebrates around the world 

-Completed our student skills assessment

-Participated in a Makerspace challenge to celebrate the end of our unit

-Revised and edited our informational paragraphs

-Crafted a narrative based on The Mysteries of Harris Burdick 

-Brainstormed synonyms for the term shed 

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Elapsed Time, Collecting Square Feet

-Solved division story problems

-Wrote division story problems

-Determined whether an equation was true or false 

Language Study 

-Learned that quotation marks are used to show people talking

-Crafted sentences with quotation marks 

Enjoy the extended weekend with your friends and families.  Wishing a happy Easter to all who celebrate.  

--Jill 

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3/22

Good afternoon to all, 

We had a fabulous week together in 3B.  On Wednesday, we celebrated Grace's birthday! Thank you to the Bishop family for bringing in the beautiful spring activity for us.  It was such a special way to celebrate!

What a joy it was celebrating your child's growth at conferences this week!  I am so proud of all they have accomplished academically and socially.  

A couple of things as we head into the weekend:

1. An important notice from Nurse Hughes was sent home in your child's Weekly Folder 

2. A note from Mrs. Giuggio - Please practice lines for tech green screen movie - Mrs. Bombardier's Continent Movie.  Use enthusiasm!  The preparation will make for a much better experience.  Thank you!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Language Arts

Animal Classification 

-Went on a bird watch around town green 

-Read about birds

-Used context clues to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words 

-Participated in a bird leg experiment

-Measured our own wingspans

-Read about mammals 

-Used text features to learn more about mammals

-Learned about the life of Jane Goodall 

-Drafted an informational text about how a vertebrate is classified

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Elapsed Time, Collecting Square Feet

-Solved division story problems 

-Used the array model to show division equations

-Wrote our own division story problems

Language Study 

-Learned about abstract nouns

-Reviewed nouns, verbs, and adjectives

-Added the suffixes -ed and -ing to root words to change their meaning 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, Thank you all. 

--Jill 

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3/15

Happy Friday to all, 

We had a great week together in third grade.  A highlight was celebrating Samuel's birthday! Thank you to the Fortsch crew for visiting and for the generous goodies!

I am looking forward to meeting with you all next week at conferences.  If you have not done so already, please click here to sign up.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Language Arts

Animal Classification 

-Read about fish

-Read about reptiles

-Learned about compound sentences

-Identified the parts of speech in sentences

-Compared and contrasted the poison dart frog and the tree frog

-DIscussed what we learned about fish and reptiles from the text features 

-Used context clues to uncover the meaning of unknown words

-Wrote and reflected about our research 

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Elapsed Time, Collecting Square Feet

-Completed our end of unit assessment 

-Explored the connection between multiplication and division 

-Modeled multiplication and division using arrays

Language Study 

-Learned about subject and predicate

-Identified the subject and predicate in sentences

-Added the suffixes -ed and -ing to root words to change their meaning

-Learned about the prefixes re- and pre-

-Added the prefixes pre- and re- to root words to change their meaning

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3/8

Hello to all, 

We had a great week together in 3B as we began working through our pilot lessons for Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)! Thank you to those that have shared with me all of the knowledge your children are gaining (already!) from our unit.  It is great feedback for me and the curriculum committee. They are blowing Anne-Marie and I away!  

A reminder that March Conferences will be held on Thursday, March 21st and Friday, March 22nd.  Please click here to sign up.  If the available times do not work for your schedule, please reach out to me and we can coordinate. 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Language Arts

Animal Classification 

-Observed and described basic characteristics of animals at zoo 

-Defined and identified text features in our reading

-Wrote a short reflection on our experiences as animal researchers 

-Added the suffixes -ed and -ing to root words

-Explained how text features help readers identify information about classifying living things

-Defined and determined the author's point of view about animal classification

-Identified nouns, verbs, and adjectives to explain their functions in sentences

-Identified the connection between vertebrates and invertebrates

-Identified the important points from two informational texts on vertebrates and invertebrates

-Determined the meaning of words formed when -ed or -ing are added to a known root word

-Identified the main idea and supporting details in passages about warm and cold blooded animals

-Wrote a short reflection about an interesting animal to further research

-Determined the meaning of words formed when un- and non- are added to a known root word

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Elapsed Time, Collecting Square Feet

-Plotted fractions on the number line

-Compared fractions

-Solved measurement story problems

Science

Force and Motion 

-Reviewed the patterns of motion of rolling cups.

-Modified our cup systems so that they would roll straight down a ramp. 

-Added weight to our rolling cup systems and discussed the effects.

-Created a twirly bird system.

-Changed our "standard" twirly bird by changing different variables.

-Discussed the impact of these changes

-Drafted our own comic strips featuring a magnet character using science vocabulary

*Students will head back to me for another round of Language Study next week!

Enjoy the extended weekend, 

--Jill 

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3/1

Happy March to all! 

It was wonderful to welcome friends back to school and hear about all of their adventures over break. We had a productive week in third grade! A few things for you:

1. March Conferences - I am looking forward to celebrating your child's progress and growth! Conferences will be held on Thursday, March 21st and Friday, March 22nd.  Please click here to sign up.  If the available times do not work for your schedule, please reach out to me and we can coordinate. 

2. Save the Date! Third grade is heading to Old Sturbridge Village on Thursday, May 23rd.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please fill out the bottom of the sheet in your child's Weekly Folder and return it to school.  

3. Arctic Informational Texts - Friends have completed their informational text unit in writers' workshop.  Please encourage your child to "teach" you about the arctic animal they chose to write about.  Well done writers!  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Peacebuilders

Emotion Management

-Gave examples of the information emotions give us

-Discussed the differences between feeling angry, annoyed, and furious

-Recognized when to take a break when feeling a strong emotion

Word Study 

-Learned about the exception to the y to i spelling rule (try + ing --> trying)

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Reviewed our written responses from our post assessment

-Revised and edited our written responses

-Went on a nature walk to look for signs of spring

-Wrote about the evidence we collected using RACES

Writers’ Workshop

Art of Information Writing 

-Prepared our informational texts for publishing

-Celebrated the end of our unit with a special share with 2W and 2E!

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Area and Perimeter, Parts of an Hour

-Compared and ordered unit fractions

-Identified fraction amounts using pattern blocks

-Used fractions as distances

Science

Force and Motion 

-Investigated patterns of motion with wheel and axle systems and rolling cups

-Engineered a design to solve a problem using magnets 

Enjoy the weekend!

--Jill 

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2/16

Good morning to all, 

We had a fun-filled week in 3B! Highlights included celebrating Valentine's Day, visiting the second grade marketplace, and experimenting in the studio.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Peacebuilders

-Played brain builder games

-Discussed the importance of emotions

Word Study 

-Completed our end of unit assessment

-Learned about the y to i spelling rule

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Celebrated the end of our nonfiction unit by showing our learning using makerspace items

-Completed our end of unit assessment

-Visited the studio 

Writers’ Workshop

Art of Information Writing 

-Typed our informational texts into Google Slides

-Began adding text features to our texts to enhance our writing

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Area and Perimeter, Parts of an Hour

-Solved multistep measurement problems

-Completed our measurement checkpoint

-Reviewed unit fractions 

-Explored fractions with a "pizza party"

Science

Force and Motion 

-Conducted our floating paperclip experiment

-Sketched our observations and discussed the forces at work

-Read about forces and magnetism

-Experimented to determine the result of adding more magnets. Answered the question: How does adding magnets impact the magnetic field?

-Watched a video about magnetic poles and the different types of magnets

Wishing you all a wonderful winter break, filled with time with family and friends!

--Jill 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

2/9

Good afternoon, 

We had a great week in 3B! We began the week by celebrating 100 days of third grade and ended it with sdrawkcaB yaD and celebrating  Thea's birthday! Thank you to the Keenan family for visiting and for organizing such a wonderful craft! 

Valentine's Day :  We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Wednesday, 2/14. We will also have a Valentine's Card exchange.  If your child would like to participate, please make sure there is a Valentine for each member of our class.  Please click here for our class list.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Built and marked up words with open syllable exceptions 

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince, The Secret Soldier 

-Learned that narrative nonfiction readers read with different lenses (to learn, and to be entertained)

-Learned about central idea

-Identified the central idea of The Secret Soldier 

-Wrote long about the central idea using the RACES strategy

-Read and learned about Lunar New Year

Writers’ Workshop

Art of Information Writing 

-Researched the adaptations of our arctic animals 

-Wrote about the adaptations of our arctic animals

-Drafted the conclusion of our informational texts

-Drafted the introduction of our informational texts

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Area and Perimeter, Parts of an Hour

-Completed our telling time checkpoint

-Measured liquid volume

-Completed a measurement scavenger hunt

-Solved measurement story problems

Science

Force and Motion 

-Investigated the force of magnetism 

-Learned the vocabulary attract and repel 

-Learned that gravity is a pulling force

-Shared our findings with the full group 

Enjoy the weekend and happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate!

--Jill 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2/2

Happy Fri-yay!

As you may have heard, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow so spring is right around the corner! We had a fabulous week of learning in 3B.  I am so proud of your children for their progress and hard work!

100th Day!:  We will be celebrating 100 days of third grade on Monday 2/5! To celebrate, friends may dress as if they are 100 years old! Get creative with glasses, hair and outfits! This is, of course, completely optional.

Valentine's Day :  We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Wednesday, 2/14. We will also have a Valentine's Card exchange.  If your child would like to participate, please make sure there is a Valentine for each member of our class.  Please click here for our class list.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Built and marked up words with open syllable exceptions 

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince, The Secret Soldier 

-Completed our text structure quiz

-Compared expository nonfiction to narrative nonfiction

-Used what we know about fiction story elements to read narrative nonfiction

Writers’ Workshop

Art of Information Writing 

-Researched the physical characteristics of our arctic animals 

-Wrote about the physical characteristics of our arctic animals

-Researched the behavioral characteristics of our arctic animals

-Wrote about the behavioral characteristics of our arctic animals

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Area and Perimeter, Parts of an Hour

-Calculated elapsed time on the number line

-Estimated mass

-Calculated mass

Social Studies

First People of Massachusetts

-Learned about the 50 year peace treaty between the Wampanoags and Pilgrims  

-Began constructing our end of unit projects! 

Have a great weekend,

--Jill 

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1/26

Good afternoon, 

We had a fun-filled Student Appreciation Week at Center! Friends enjoyed special activities throughout the week.  Thank you to our PTO for putting on such a special event for our Cardinals.  

Report Cards: A reminder that the Elementary Standards Based Report Card  for your child will be ready for your review on Monday, January 29th. Report cards will be available on Powerschool for Parents at 3:00 on the 29th.  

Please keep in mind that many of our standards are multifaceted and “year end”, they can only be marked as “Emerging” or “Progressing” at this point.  For example, even if your child received “Meeting” on a unit assessment, that standard may not have been covered in full and would be marked “Progressing” on the report card. 

Valentine's Day :  We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Wednesday, 2/14. We will also have a Valentine's Card exchange.  If your child would like to participate, please make sure there is a Valentine for each member of our class.  Please click here for our class list.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Reviewed open syllable exceptions

-Learned about the open syllable exception i 

-Built and marked up words with open syllable exceptions i and a 

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Determined author's perspective 

-Analyzed nonfiction text structures

-Completed our winter iReady diagnostic 

Writers’ Workshop

Art of Information Writing 

-Brainstormed all we knew about arctic animals

-Selected an arctic animal to write about

-Organized our facts into categories or "sections"

Math Workshop

Measurement and Fractions

Number Corner Focus:  Polygons and Fractions, Collecting Minutes and Hours

-Completed our winter iReady diagnostic

-Reviewed telling time on an analog clock 

-Practiced telling time on an analog clock 

Social Studies

First People of Massachusetts

-Learned about the Pilgrims first winter in their "New World"

-Discovered how the natives helped them survive with the help of Samoset and Squanto 

Enjoy the weekend,

--Jill  

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1/19

Good afternoon, 

We had a very short but productive week in 3B.  A couple of items for you as we head into the weekend:  

Report Cards: Please review this message from Mrs. Hutton:  A reminder that the Elementary Standards Based Report Card  for your child will be ready for your review on Friday, January 26th. Report cards will be available on Powerschool for Parents at 3:00 on the 26th.  Please and thank you for contacting the front office before Friday  if you need assistance logging into the portal. 

You will also receive a separate email explaining that because many of our standards are multifaceted and “year end”, they can only be marked as “Emerging” or “Progressing” at this point.  For example, even if your child received “Meeting” on a unit assessment, that standard may not have been covered in full and would be marked “Progressing” on the report card. 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Reviewed open syllable exceptions

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Summarized nonfiction using boxes and bullets

-Taught others what we learned using our boxes and bullets 

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Presented our speeches to our classmates

-Completed a personal narrative on-demand assessment

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Polygons and Fractions, Collecting Minutes and Hours

-Reviewed for our unit assessment 

-Completed our end of unit assessment

Social Studies

First People of Massachusetts

-Wove baskets using the same technique the Wampanoag used in the 1600's 

Have a great weekend,

--Jill  

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1/12

Good afternoon, 

We enjoyed a full week of learning in 3B! This afternoon, we celebrated Ender's birthday by decorating homemade slime! A huge thank you to the Bunch family for visiting and organizing such a fun activity.    

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Learned about open syllable exceptions

-Wrote words with open syllable exceptions

-Marked up words with open syllable exceptions

Readers’ Workshop 

Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Reviewed nonfiction text features 

-Thought about how text features help us as readers

-Completed our nonfiction text features quiz

-Summarized nonfiction using boxes and bullets

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Practiced our speeches 

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Polygons and Fractions, Collecting Minutes and Hours

-Learned the standard algorithm of addition

-Learned the standard algorithm of subtraction

-Solved multi-step word problems

-Reviewed for our unit assessment 

Social Studies

First People of Massachusetts

-Defined the term native and how it relates to the Wampanoag people

-Discovered how the Wampanoags life changed depending on the seasons 

Enjoy the long weekend, 

--Jill 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1/5

Happy New Year to all! 

We had a great week in third grade.  We wrapped up our units in Readers' Workshop and Language Study.  Friends will begin their second social studies unit with Mrs. Miller on Monday.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Learned that when y is at the end of a one syllable word, it says i

-Learned that when y is at the end of a two syllable words, it says e

-Learned about soft c and g sounds 

-Wrote and marked up multisyllabic words

Readers’ Workshop 

Fables, Myths, and Legends, Reading to Learn 

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Learned about New Year's celebrations around the world 

-Completed our end of unit assessment 

-Completed our expository nonfiction unit preassessment

-Jotted what we already know about the arctic habitat

-Jotted what we we would like to learn about the arctic habitat 

-Read about the arctic habitat

-Jotted what we learned about the arctic habitat

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Visited the K-1 Studio

-Transferred our persuasive speech drafts to index cards

-Began rehearsing our speeches

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Polygons and Fractions, Collecting Minutes and Hours

-Rounded numbers and added hundreds

-Sketched and added expanded notation

-Estimated lengths and distances

-Solved travel miles problems 

Language Study 

Patterns of Power Focus:  I craft active voice to show my subjects acting

Sight Words:  warm, full, light, done

Enjoy the snowy weekend! 

--Jill 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12/22

Hello to all, 

Ahh, I loved yesterday! So much joy! Thank you to Katie Allen for all of her help with our holiday craft and for organizing our special new years toast.   

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:  

Word Study 

-Completed our Unit 5 assessment 

Readers’ Workshop 

Fables, Myths, and Legends

Read Alouds: Shadow Prince

-Drafted our own fables 

-Read about celebrations of light around the world 

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Drafted our persuasive speeches

-Crafted a copycat poem inspired by A Visit from St. Nicholas 

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Fractions and Equivalence, Collecting Grams

-Shared subtraction strategies

-Solved three digit subtraction story problems

-Used rounding to determine reasonableness 

Language Study 

Patterns of Power Focus:  I craft active voice to show my subjects acting

Sight Words:  drink, only, better, hold

-Learned about active voice

-Discussed the differences between active voice and passive voice 

-Wrote sentences that have an active voice

I hope you all have a relaxing, fun-filled, break with your family and friends.  Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Happy New Year!

--Jill 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12/8

Good morning, 

We had a full week of learning in third grade.  Thank you all for your generous donations to our Holiday Gift Basket collection.  Your donations will bring so much joy to others.  Next week, we will gather before school on Tuesday for Helping Hands! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area: 

Word Study 

-Wrote words with the schwa 

-Marked up words with the schwa

-Spelled words with -et

-Marked up words with -et

Readers’ Workshop 

Fables, Myths, and Legends

Read Alouds: Indian Shoes, Shadow Prince

-Looked for patterns in the way characters think, talk, and act

-Made connections between characters in traditional tales and characters in modern fiction

-Thought about what is important to the authors that retold traditional tales

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Developed thesis statements for our speeches

-Gathered all we know about our opinions

-Considered the audience of our persuasive speeches 

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Fractions and Equivalence, Collecting Grams

-Rounded numbers to the nearest ten

-Rounded numbers to the nearest hundred

-Solved three digit addition story problems

-Learned the CUBES strategy

-Practiced using the CUBES strategy

Language Study 

Patterns of Power Focus:  I use verbs to show action

Sight Words:  try, start, ten, bring  

-Learned about the three different types of verbs

-Practiced writing sentences with verbs

Enjoy the weekend and happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!   

--Jill 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12/1

Hello to all and happy December!

We had a productive week in 3B.  A couple of reminders as we head into the weekend:

Book Fair - Our crew will visit the Book Fair on Monday 12/4... We get first pick of all the great reads!

Holiday Gift Baskets - Our collection has begun! This year we will be collecting for an 8-9 year old girl and an 8-9 year old boy.  Information was sent home in your child's Weekly Folder.  Thank you in advance for your generosity!  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area: 

Word Study 

-Completed our Unit 4 assessment

-Learned about the schwa

-Marked up words with the schwa

Readers’ Workshop 

Fables, Myths, and Legends

Read Alouds: Indian Shoes

-Learned that myths have unique characteristics

-Used our understanding of each form of traditional literature to make predictions

-Made inferences in order to understand why characters feel the way that they do

-Identified traits that describe characters in traditional literature

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Created a writing product based on a gratitude story they heard or told

-Completed our personal narrative on demand assessment

-Read and listened to persuasive speeches

-Gathered brave, bold opinions for persuasive writing

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Area, Fractions and Equivalence

-Reviewed for our unit assessment

-Completed our unit assessment

Science - Students will be heading back to me for Language Study on Monday! 

Water and Climate

-Learned about different types of extreme weather and ways to stay safe

-Learned about flooding

-Engineered a house that could withstand a flood

-Tested out our designs

-Learned about ways to conserve water, a valuable resource

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11/24

Good afternoon to all, 

We had a great mini-week in 3B.  A highlight was attending second grade's balloon parade!

During writer's workshop this week, we discussed storytelling and shared our own gratitude stories.  As part of our work, I asked writers to interview a family member or friend over the long weekend.  Please click here to see our list of possible questions.  It is also posted on our Google Classroom.  They are to choose one question to ask and should be prepared to share on Monday.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Identified the base word in words with suffixes 

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Fables, Myths, and Legends

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home, Jingle Dancer

-Learned that fables have unique characteristics

-Learned that legends have unique characteristics 

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Discussed storytelling 

-Shared our own gratitude stories 

-Created a writing product based on the stories we heard

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Area

-Calculated prices of items using ratio tables

-Analyzed the multiplication table

Science

Water and Climate

-Completed our weather quiz

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am extremely grateful for you all and, of course, your children.  

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill

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11/17

Good morning to all, 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed r controlled vowels

-Reviewed vowel teams

-Reviews 1-1-1 words 

-Reviewed vowel consonant e words

-Added suffixes to 1-1-1 words

-Added suffixes to vowel consonant e words

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Fables, Myths, and Legends

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Developed a counterclaim for the opposite side of our debate topic

-Participated in our class debate

-Completed our Unit 2 Post Assessment 

-Explored published fables, myths, and legends 

-Recorded what we notices about the fables, myths, and legends

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Typed our personal narrative drafts in Google Docs

-Read a partner's published personal narrative

-Identified themes present in our partner's published personal narrative

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Area

-Calculated products of arrays (area)

-Solved multiplication story problems

-Sketched arrays 

Science

Water and Climate

-Tested our wind vanes outside to measure wind direction

-Continued to track weather: temperature, precipitation and wind speed

-Watched videos of real meteorologists noticing the things they do, say, and report out

-Drafted our own weather reports and presented them to the class

-Learned about the difference between weather and climate

-Analyzed a map with different zones

-Read about different climate zones and began writing about our favorite

Have a nice weekend, 

--Jill 

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11/10

Hello to all and happy "Friday",

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed r controlled vowels

-Reviewed vowel teams

-Learned about vowel consonant e exceptions (ex:  give)

-Marked up vowel consonant e exceptions 

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home, Duck! Rabbit!

-Noticed how characters in different stories face different problems

-Noticed how the characters react to problems

-Compared lessons and themes across books

-Prepared reasons and evidence for our class debate

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Revised our drafts by using precise language 

-Revised our drafts by substituting "trash can words" for more precise language

-Crafted a title for our personal narratives 

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Area

-Created multiple trains

-Calculated area using the array model

-Wrote equations to represent arrays

Science

Water and Climate

Read Alouds: Come on Rain!

-Discussed reasons for studying weather: Why is weather important to us? How does it impact our lives?

-Learned about different tools used by meteorologists to measure weather

-Created our own wind vane

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend with your family and friends.  I would also like to extend my sincerest thank you to all of the veterans in our 3B family.  I am grateful every day for your service to our country.   

--Jill 

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11/3

Hello to all!

We had a fun-filled week in 3B.  We celebrated Halloween with themed activities and by walking in our annual Halloween parade... Thank you to Celia Alvarado for joining us and assisting with our activities! We ended the week by celebrating Owen's birthday with a special read aloud by his sister Olivia! Thank you Olivia!

Students also wrapped up their first unit in social studies with Mrs. Miller this week.  They will begin their first science unit on weather and climate with Mrs. Craft on Monday.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Wrote words with more than one syllable

-Marked up words with more than one syllable

-Completed our unit 3 assessment

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Determined the lessons our characters learned

-Noticed how our characters changed from beginning to end 

-Identified themes present in our texts

-Compared characters across texts

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Jotted what we were thinking and feeling during the moments we are writing about

-Revised using techniques observed from mentor authors

-Learned how salsa words spice up our writing

-Added salsa words to our writing

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus: Geometry, Calculating Area

-Calculated lengths using scaled images 

-Listed multiples of numbers by skip counting

-Completed our multiplication checkpoint

Social Studies

Geography

-Learned about the geography of our state

-Discovered ten interesting facts about New England

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill 

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10/27

Hello to all!

Thank you so very much for our conversations this week during conferences.  I am very proud of your children for how they have settled into the routines of third grade and look forward to continued growth this school year! 

We had a productive week of learning in 3B and of course saved some room for fun! I'd like to extend a special thank you to Tara Germino for bringing in a sand art activity for us to enjoy to celebrate Lane's birthday! 

We will celebrate the joy and creativity of Halloween on Tuesday, October 31st.  Students may bring their costumes to school to change into before our class party.  We will be celebrating as a class at 1:00pm before our annual parade around the green at 2:15.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Spelled words with the /z/ sound

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Tracked our characters up and down the story mountain

-Noticed the problems our characters face and their reactions to those problems

-Focused on the secondary characters in our books and how they support the main character

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Drafted the climax of our personal narratives

-Reflected on what we want our readers to learn about ourselves when they read our personal narratives

-Reviewed common themes present in stories

-Drafted the falling action of our personal narratives

-Studied examples of endings of personal narratives

-Drafted the endings of our personal narratives

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus: Geometry

-Calculated the total amount of groups of stamps 

-Used loops and groups to show multiplication equations

-Calculated lengths of animals found in coral reefs

Social Studies

Geography

-Zoomed in on the northeast region of our country and the six New England states

Have a great weekend! 

--Jill 

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10/20

Good afternoon to all, 

We enjoyed a full week of learning in third grade.  Next week we will gather for conferences.  I look forward to discussing your child's transition to third grade, and setting goals for our year ahead.  Please click here to review your scheduled time.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Practiced reading and writing homophones

-Wrote words with suffixes

-Marked up words with suffixes 

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Wrote long about our theories using text based evidence

-Used patterns in a character's behaviors to make predictions

-Reflected on our work and set new reading goals

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Chose a seed idea we care deeply about to develop more

-Mapped out our memory on the story mountain

-Tried out multiple leads for our personal narrative

-Drafted the leads for our personal narratives

-Drafted the rising actions of our personal narratives 

-Noticed what published narrative writers do to make their storytelling voice "so good"

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus: Geometry

-Completed our unit 1 assessment

-Analyzed an image of a pet store

-Wrote equations to match the total number of items in the pet store

-Analyzed groups of stamps

-Calculated the total amounts of the groups of stamps

Social Studies

Geography

-Learned about the cardinal directions on the compass rose

-Used a map scale to better understand real life distances on a map

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill 

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10/13

Good morning, 

We had an exciting week of learning in 3B.  We launched into new units of study, including Social Studies with Mrs. Miller! Students were excited for the opportunity to switch classes, I heard one friend say, "I bet this is what middle school feels like!"  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed 1-1-1 words

-Wrote words with suffixes

-Marked up words with suffixes 

Readers’ Workshop

Character Studies 

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Noticed what a character does and says

-Noticed patterns in the things a character does again and again

-Used the patterns we noticed to develop a theory about the character 

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Read published personal narratives

-Thought of people that matter to us

-Listed memories shared with the people that matter to us

-Listed memories where we learned something or felt a strong emotion

-Learned that it helps to "zoom in" to a small moment of a memory

-Practiced collecting small moments from our memories

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Geometry

-Solved multi-step story problems

-Reviewed for our unit assessment

Social Studies

Geography

-Determined how to locate Massachusetts on a world map 

Have a great weekend!

--Jill 

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10/6

Happy Friday to all! 

We had a great week of learning in third grade.  Just a reminder that fall conferences are coming up in a couple of weeks, please click here to sign up.  Thank you to those that have signed up already!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about 1-1-1 words

-Learned about the 1-1-1 doubling rule (clap --> clapping)

-Learned how to mark up 1-1-1 words with suffixes 

Readers’ Workshop

Building a Reading Life

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Complete our own personal reading timelines

-Learned about the RACES strategy for answering questions

-Completed our end of unit assessment

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Revised our poetry using ARMS

-Edited our poetry 

-Chose a poem to make public in our class anthology

-Drafted our own bio poems

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Geometry

-Solved two digit addition problems

-Solved two digit subtraction problems 

Language Study

Patterns of Power Focus Phrase: I use plural nouns to show more than one person, place, or thing. 

-Hunted for plural nouns in our writing

-Revised/Edited plural nouns in our writing

-Practiced pluralizing singular nouns 

Enjoy the long weekend!

--Jill 

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9/29

Good afternoon to all on this rainy Friday, 

We enjoyed a great four day week in third grade.  A highlight was celebrating Charlie's birthday... Thank you to Linnae Rondeau for sharing the wonderful read aloud and craft!   

A couple of favors to ask as we head into the weekend:

1. Conferences - Please click here to sign up for fall conferences.  Thank you to those that have signed up already!

2. Number Corner Supplies Needed - We will begin our October Number Corner on Monday! Next month's Calendar Collector focus is liquid volume.  We are in need of:

-SIX 1 liter bottles (clear or translucent)

-ONE quart size milk or juice carton

If you are able to donate an item to support the work of our mathematicians please let me know.  THANK YOU!!!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about morphemes

-Added the plural suffixes -s and -es to words to change their meaning

Readers’ Workshop

Building a Reading Life

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Worked with a partner to lift the level of our reading work

-Used context clues to make sense of figurative language

-Noticed when texts prompt us to ask questions

-Gathered information from texts to try to understand the author's choices

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Learned that writers include inner thoughts to paint a picture in their readers' minds

-Learned that writers include feelings by describing not naming

-Drafted poetry

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Multiplication Models

-Completed our fall iReady diagnostic

-Used the open number line to calculate sums

-Learned about the "find a friendly number" strategy

-Solved addition equations using the open number line and find a friendly number strategy

Language Study

Patterns of Power Focus Phrase: I use plural nouns to show more than one person, place, or thing. 

-Learned four new heart words

-Identified singular nouns and plural nouns present in a fall image

-Created sentences that include plural nouns 

-Shared examples of plural nouns

Enjoy the weekend... October here we come! 

--Jill 

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9/22

Hello and happy Carnival Day!

Thank you to all that attended Open House last night.  If you were unable to attend, or need a refresher on all things 3B, please click here to view the presentation.  I cannot thank you all enough for your support.  I am looking forward to a great year!

Fall Conferences will be held on Thursday 10/26 and Friday 10/27, with evening options available on 10/26.  Please click here to sign up.  If you are in need of a conference time that is outside of the available slots, e-mail me and we will find a time that works with your schedule(s). 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about the plural suffixes -s/-es

-Built words with the plural suffix

-Noticed when the plural suffix is spelled -es (rather than -s)

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Completed our fall iReady diagnostic

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Chose a poem to "make public" (publish)

-Made our own watercolor paper

-Published our poems on watercolor paper

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

-Went on a scavenger hunt for lengths

-Added lengths

-Began our fall iReady diagnostic

Language Study

Patterns of Power Focus Phrase: I use nouns to show a picture of people, places, and things

-Practiced spelling heart words

-Created a copycat sentence using nouns

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend and an easy fast for our Jewish families!

--Jill 

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9/15

Good afternoon,

We had a great week together in 3B.  Two highlights were our first all-school assembly this morning and celebrating Nora's birthday this afternoon.  Thank you to Aaron and Ariel Laudermith for joining us and for organizing such a fun craft! 

A couple of things as we head into the weekend:

1. Friends were sent home today with their agendas and Weekly Folders.  Please continue to initial your child's agenda each night and sign the signature sheet in their Weekly Folders. 

2. Looking forward to seeing you all next week at Open House.  The night is for adults only.  I will be discussing all things 3B during two identical presentations; the first beginning at 6:00 and the second beginning at 6:55.  No need to sign up! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Learned about pep talks

-Discussed why pep talks are important 

-Developed our own growth mindset mottos

Word Study 

-Reviewed glued sounds

-Learned about closed syllable exceptions

-Built words with closed syllable exceptions

-Marked up words with closed syllable exceptions

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds: Other Words for Home

-Learned that readers give themselves comprehension checks

-Thought about the "mindwork" our texts are asking of us

-Made thoughtful predictions while we read

-Summarized fiction using the Somebody Wanted But So Then strategy

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

Read Alouds: The Black Book of Colors

-Created a copycat poem or identity web using the habits of great writers

-Learned about the Six Traits of writing

-Learned that writers use sensory details to strengthen their writing

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Multiplication Models

-Analyzed subtraction strategies

-Completed our addition and subtraction checkpoint

Language Study

Patterns of Power Focus Phrase: I use nouns to show a picture of people, places, and things

-Learned our first four heart words

-Learned about sound alike words

-Learned about the sound alike words witch and which

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill 

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9/8

Good afternoon and happy Fri-yay to all! 

We had a short but very sweet week in 3B.  We continued to build independence with our classroom routines, and even began to dive into our launch units! Friends were sent home today with their agendas and Weekly Folders.  Please continue to initial your child's agenda each night and sign the signature sheet in their Weekly Folders (even if it is empty!).  

Picture day for our crew will be Tuesday, September 12th.  Please click here to register! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Learned about growth mindset

-Learned about the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset

-Determined whether phrases represented a growth mindset or a fixed mindset

-Learned about the mood meter and how it will help us identify our feelings 

Word Study 

-Tapped out closed syllable words

-Built closed syllable words

-Mapped out closed syllable words

-Expanded "bare bones" sentences using descriptive words

-Practiced our handwriting

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds: Skippyjon Jones, Speak Up Molly Lou Melon, Brave Irene

-Reflected on times when reading was the best

-Reflected on time when reading was the worst

-Learned that great readers read books as if they are gold

-Developed partnerships to support our reading

-Gave ourselves comprehension checks to make sure we understood what was going on in our books

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Brainstormed meaningful people

-Brainstormed meaningful places

-Brainstormed meaningful things

-Drafted poetry

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Multiplication Models

-Solved addition story problems

-Wrote addition equations

-Began discussing the relationship between addition and subtraction

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill 

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9/1

Good afternoon to all,

We had a fantastic first week together in third grade.  This crew is hard working with incredible energy! I am a lucky lady. 

Friends were sent home with their Weekly Folders, Agendas, and Writers' Notebooks to decorate (see blue letter in Weekly Folder).  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Analyzed artwork that was created to answer the question, What is Peace? 

-Created our own artwork that answered the question, What is Peace?

-Developed our hopes for third grade 

Word Study 

-Reviewed that a syllable is a word, or part of a word, with one vowel sound

-Reviewed consonant digraphs

-Learned about the consonant trigraph tch

-Learned about the different ways to spell /k/ c, k, ck

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds: Alma and How She Got Her Name, Wemberly Worried, Lily's Purple Plastic Purse

-Reviewed choosing books using the five finger rule

-Practiced our independent reading routines

-Practiced our partner reading routines

-Learned about the reader's notebook

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Discussed the habits of great writers

-Began collecting examples of rich language

-Drafted poetry

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus: Multiplication Models

-Created glyphs that share information about ourselves as mathematicians

-Represented classroom data on bar graphs

-Shared strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems

Dates to Remember  

9/4 No School - Labor Day

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend with your family and friends,

--Jill 

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6/16

Hello to all and HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

We had such a special last week of third grade together.  It was the perfect blend of learning and celebration.  

Did you know that 3B has SO MUCH talent?! Click here to see for yourself! 

Please click here to enjoy our class poetry anthology as part of your summer reading (My oh my do our friends love their gifs!) 

Here is how we spent our last week together:

Peacebuilders

-Watched our 3B's Got Talent Video 

-Took a break from our learning to play cooperative board games together

-Enjoyed some extra recess

Word Study

-Created products for our word wizard celebration.  Thank you Mrs. Hunter for helping us!

-Led a Word Wizard Parade around third grade!

Readers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds: Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Compared and contrasted poems

Writers’ Workshop

Summer Reading Prep 

-Discussed common summer reading problems

-Built solutions to those problems

Math Workshop

Extending Multiplication and Fractions

-Played racing fractions

-Gathered data and identified fractions related to the data

-Graphed the data on a pie chart

Science

Structures of Life

-Learned about inherited and acquired traits

-Determined whether traits were inherited or acquired

And that's a wrap! Definitely an emotional day for me. It was a pleasure working with your children for the past 180 days and watching them learn, make mistakes, and grow.  They are ready to take on fourth grade! I wish you all an incredible summer... Thank you. 

--Jill 

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6/9

Hello to all on the last Friday of the school year! 

We had a wonderful week together.  The Storrs Library came to Center to discuss their Summer Reading Program.  Students were sent home with a bookmark in their Weekly Folder with important dates for the program.  We also celebrated our fifth graders this week.  Congratulations to the fifth graders in our 3B family: Brooks Bernd, Anya Bladen, and Henry Downey! 

Here is a peek at our last week together in third grade: 

Monday - Cardinal Spirit Day - Hat Day!

Tuesday -  Third Grade Spirit Day - Beach Day.. Bring your towel, sunglasses, and wear your summer gear!  

Wednesday - Board Game Day!

Thursday - Cardinal Spirit Day - Wear Red to School 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Reviewed the y to i spelling rule

-Completed our spring spelling inventory

-Practiced pluralizing words

Readers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds: Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Learned that all the parts of a poem work together to make meaning

-Learned that readers of poetry ask the same questions of their prose reading as they do of poems

-Analyzed the last lines of poems for meaning

-Considered the ideas and images in a poem to infer the poem’s theme

-Reflected on the poems we read 

Writers’ Workshop

Poetry

-Helped our readers create mind pictures by comparing something ordinary to something it has never been compared to before

-Used revision strategies from other genres of writing to revise our poems -Crafted titles for our poems

-Published our class poetry anthology

Math Workshop

Extending Multiplication and Fractions

-Identified fractions on a ruler

-Explored egg carton fractions

-Worked on spiral skills 

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill

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6/2

Happy Friday! 

We had a fun-filled field day today at Center! I was in awe of the sportsmanship, praise, and JOY I witnessed.  It was wonderful to see.  Thank you to all of our parent volunteers that supported our athletes through each event.  We ended the day by attending the second grade egg drop... And then relaxing in the AC!  

A couple of reminders:  

Third Grade's Got Talent - Reminder that videos are due to me by Monday (6/5).  I will then create an iMovie to present to students to celebrate the end of our year together.  

Biography Book Report - Students will present their completed slideshows to their classmates next week. I encouraged friends to practice their presentations with you at home over the weekend.  Please click here for the schedule.   

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Reviewed the y to i spelling rule

-Practiced writing words with the y to i spelling rule

-Learned how to mark up words with the y to i spelling rule

Readers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds: Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Realized that poems make us see everyday things in a new and different way

Writers’ Workshop

Poetry

-Thought about the meaning we want to convey with our poems

-Discovered rhythm and meaning in our writing by breaking up sentences to create poetry (line breaks)

Math Workshop

Extending Multiplication and Fractions

-Solved multiplication stories and equations

-Built arrays for one-by-two digit multiplication problems

-Learned the standard algorithm for multiplication

Enjoy the weekend, thank you all for everything, 

--Jill

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5/26

Good afternoon to all on this beautiful Friday, 

We had an unforgettable week together in third grade.  Yesterday, we traveled back in time and explored Old Sturbridge Village.  We had a wonderful time and the weather could not have been better! Extending so many thanks and praise to our incredible chaperones:  Katie Baillargeon, Megan Downey, Cece Gadelhak, Carl McManus, and Alan Vibber! 

A few things for you:  

Biography Book Report - Thank you for your support at home with the project.  Notes were due Wednesday, and students began creating their slideshows in technology with Mrs. Giuggio.  They will present their completed slideshows to their classmates the week of June 5th.  Please click here for the schedule.   

Third Grade's Got Talent - I am so excited to see all of these talents in action! Videos are due to me by June 5th.  I will then create an iMovie to present to students to celebrate the end of our year together.  

Summer Learning/Fun Opportunity! - Our own Valerie Brown will be running a summer enrichment course; Cursive, Art, and Calligraphy!  It will be offered two times in July:  7/10-7/14 from 10-12 and 7/24-7/28 from 8-10.  Please let me know if you are interested in registering your child!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Completed our end of unit assessment

-Learned the y to i spelling rule

-Practiced writing words with the y to i spelling rule

-Learned how to mark up words with the y to i spelling rule

Readers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Completed our spring iReady diagnostic

-Noticed the mood and poetic passages in prose

-Inferred the meaning of the passages we noticed

Writers’ Workshop

Poetry

-Learned that poets don’t wait until “revision time” to rethink their poetry

-Learned that poets see the world in a different way

-Wrote about ordinary things in an extraordinary way

-Worked with a partner to uncover the meaning of our poetry

Math Workshop

Geometry

Read Alouds:  Spaghetti and Meatballs for All

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Products, Identifying Odd and Even Numbers

-Solved area and perimeter problems

-Identified fractions on a geoboard

-Created quilt blocks on the geoboard

-Identified fraction amounts on the quilt blocks we created

-Completed an end of unit check-in

Science

Systems of Life

-Analyzed the structures of a seed

-Created a scientific illustration of the structures of a seed 

Wishing you all a fabulous long weekend,

--Jill

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5/19

Happy Friday to all, 

We had a full week of learning in third grade.  Friends put their best foot forward as they worked through the math MCAS.  I am so proud of them for their efforts and for the work habits and strategies I observed. Next week, we head to Old Sturbridge Village! Please see below for our other happenings next week:

Biography Book Report - Students are to submit their completed Google Doc template to me in Google Classroom by Wednesday 5/24.  If students are not able to complete a certain item on the template from the information provided in their book, they may consult a different source.

Third Grade's Got Talent - A beloved third grade tradition! Students were sent home with information about the project in their Weekly Folder and began brainstorming in class.  Their Talent Selection Form is due back to me on Monday 5/22.     

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Learned about the schwa in an open syllable with i

-Marked up words with the schwa in an open syllable with i

Readers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Learned that readers of poetry pay attention to the form, length, style, and the mood of poems

-Noticed the mood in the poems we are reading

-Used our word solving skills when we encountered unfamiliar words in the poems we are reading 

Writers’ Workshop

Poetry

-Learned that poets write about what they observe

-Gathered observations

-Wrote poetry inspired by those observations

-Learned that poets pay attention to how things make them feel

-Captured feelings

-Wrote poetry inspired by those feelings

-Learned that poets sometimes begin with just a word or a phrase

-Wrote poems inspired by a word or a phrase

Math Workshop

Geometry

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Products, Identifying Odd and Even Numbers

-Reviewed geometry terms by playing Quizlet Live

-Completed our math MCAS

Social Studies

Longmeadow History

-Finished and shared our maps of an 1800's Massachusetts town

Have a great weekend,

--Jill

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5/12

Good morning to all, 

We had a fun-filled week in 3B! We began the week with a class trip to the Book Fair and ended the week with our Walking Field Trip! A HUGE thank you to Tom Bladen, Cece Gadelhak, Chera Hunter, and Dan Salazar for joining us! Here is what is coming our way next week:

Biography Book Report - Week 4 will begin Monday.  Students will be expected to finish reading their book and begin typing their notes in their Google Doc template (templates are to be completed by 5/24).  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Practiced identifying the accented syllable in multisyllabic words

-Reviewed the "cry baby" spelling rule

-Reviewed open syllable exceptions

-Reviewed vowel consonant e exceptions

Readers’ Workshop

Biography

Poetry

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Asked ourselves questions to make interpretations about our subjects 

-Learned that the subjects of a biographies are icons (they represent something bigger)

-Wrote long about the bigger message of our subjects' story using the RACES strategy

-Read poetry

-Recorded noticings about poetry

Writers’ Workshop

Poetry

Read Alouds:  Abuelito Who

-Learned that poets get in the mood to write after listening to what other poets have written

-Wrote poetry inspired by published poets

-Learned that poets are inspired by their own previous writing

-Wrote poetry inspired by our previous writing

-Wrote a copycat poem of Abuelito Who

Math Workshop

Geometry

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Products, Identifying Odd and Even Numbers

-Completed a Tangram challenge!

-Completed our spring iReady diagnostic

Social Studies

Longmeadow History

-Learned about the trades that would have been practiced in an old English settlement like Longmeadow

Enjoy the weekend! Wishing a happy Mother's Day to all of the moms and special women in our 3B family!  

--Jill

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5/5

Happy Fri-yay! 

We had a great week together in third grade.  A few updates as we head into the weekend: 

Sturbridge Field Trip - Just a reminder that permission slips are due Monday 5/8.  Chaperones were chosen at random this afternoon, and have been informed.  Thank you to all who volunteered!  If you were not selected, and are still able to join, please feel free to drive up and meet up with us! 

Biography Book Report - Week 3 will begin Monday.  Students will be expected to work towards finishing their book and continue to take notes on their subject.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study

-Learned about the schwa in an open syllable with a

-Built words words with the schwa in an open syllable with a

Readers’ Workshop

Biography

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Girl Who Thought in Pictures, Maya Lin

-Extended our learning about the time and place in which our subjects lived

-Taught our classmates about the subjects we have been reading about using visuals

-Learned that readers don’t just learn about a person’s life story, they see a bigger message in the story

-Identified themes present in biographies

Writers’ Workshop

Narrative Nonfiction

-Transformed basic sentences into descriptive sentences to engage their readers

-Chose the most suspenseful part of our stories and added craft moves to stretch out the moment

-Used a narrative checklist to make final revisions on our stories

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Geometry

Number Corner Focus:  Calculating Products, Identifying Odd and Even Numbers

-Completed our end of unit assessment

-Built polygons out of toothpicks

-Constructed quadrilaterals on Geoboards

-Classified quadrilaterals

Social Studies

Longmeadow History

-Learned that William Pynchon bought the land that is now Longmeadow from the Agawam tribe

-Discovered the important connection beavers had to our town's location and history 

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill

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4/28

Happy weekend to all, 

I hope you are enjoying the weekend.  We welcomed friends back to a full week of learning! We were disappointed the weather did not cooperate Thursday morning for us to enjoy our walking field trip (we will be in touch soon about the new date!).  However, we were fortunate to engage in a presentation by Melissa Cybulski of the Longmeadow Historical Society about Longmeadow's history.  

Biography Book Report - Reminder that students will choose their biography for the project by Monday (5/1).  Next week, their job is to read and take notes. I will be posting the notes template on our Google Classroom on Monday. 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Discussed the importance of noticing and speaking up about hurts

-Discussed empathy

-Shared personal experiences related to showing empathy

Word Study

-Spelled multisyllabic words

-Marked up multisyllabic words

-Learned the "cry baby" spelling rule

-Wrote words with the cry baby spelling rule

Readers’ Workshop

Biography

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Drafted and revised the main ideas of our biographies

-Extended our learning about the time and place in which our subjects lived

Writers’ Workshop

Narrative Nonfiction

-"Made" the setting of our narrative nonfiction stories using makerspace materials

-Described the setting of our narrative nonfiction stories using sensory details

-Drafted our narrative nonfiction stories

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Fractions of an Hour

-Wrote our own multiplication and division story problems

-Solved sharing and grouping problems

-Completed our division checkpoint

-Calculated area

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

Longmeadow History

-Presented our end of unit projects

-Learned the meanings of the historic symbols of homes we see in Longmeadow

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, 

--Jill

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4/14

Hello to all, 

Lots of rosy cheeks coming in from recess these past two days!  We enjoyed a full week of learning together.  Today, members of the Longmeadow Fire Department came to speak to students about fire safety (very appropriate guests for Super Hero day!).  

In your child's Weekly Folder is a permission slip for our annual Walking Field Trip.  Students will complete a scavenger hunt around the town green to extend their learning of our town's rich history.  The trip is free of charge.  There is not a limit on the number of chaperones we can have join us, so if you are interested in leading a group please let me know.    

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Readers’ Workshop

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Noticed the setting and time period of biographies and how it is important to the story

-Learned that biography readers organize their ideas into categories

-Took notes while reading biographies using boxes and bullets

-Determined the main idea of our biographies

-Revised/adjusted those main ideas as we read

Writers’ Workshop

Narrative Nonfiction

-Explored published narrative nonfiction books

-Identified the elements of narrative nonfiction writing

-Collected story ideas using the SWBST summarizing strategy

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

-Learned about multiplication and division fact families

-Solved division story problems

-Completed our multiplication and division checkpoint

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Wrapped up learning about the first people of Massachusetts

-Began creating our end of unit projects to display our learning in creative ways

ENJOY THIS BREAK with your family and friends, 

--Jill

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4/7

Good morning, 

This week students completed the ELA MCAS.  All friends worked SO HARD! I am beyond proud of them for their efforts.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Readers’ Workshop

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

-Tracked our subjects up and down the story mountain

-Reviewed supporting character roles

-Examined our subjects relationships with secondary characters and their influences 

-Completed the ELA MCAS

Writers’ Workshop

Writing About Reading

-Analyzed an engineering text set

-Developed a theory about engineers

-Defended our thinking using evidence from each text

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

-Solved multiplication and division story problems

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Learned about the life's journey of Squanto

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend and a Happy Passover and Easter to all who celebrate! 

--Jill

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3/31

Good afternoon, 

It was nice to be back for a full week of school.  Next week, on Wednesday and Thursday, students will take the ELA MCAS.  Students have been thoughtfully discussing and practicing using strategies for maintaining stamina during lengthy assignments and responding to reading. Please click here for MCAS family resources.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Watched a video to learn about the Green Club's Do One Thing challenge 

-Chose one thing we can each do for the environment

-Recorded our one things on a "DOT" 

Word Study 

-Built multisyllabic words

-Broke apart multisyllabic words

-Marked up multisyllabic words

Readers’ Workshop

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, Nelson Mandela

-Learned that biography readers call on all they know about character

-Observed what our subjects say and do

-Developed a theory about our subjects based on our observations

Writers’ Workshop

Read Alouds:  The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Writing About Reading

-Completed a RACES or Story Mountain challenge!

-Constructed a story based on a page from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

-Shared our stories with our classmates

-Practiced using the MCAS tools on practice test questions

Math Workshop

Multiplication, Division, and Area

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Square Feet

-Connected multiplication and division using groups of four (Our crew chose Kit-Kats as a model) 

-Built arrays

-Solved real world multiplication and division story problems 

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Learned about the challenges the Pilgrims faced their first winter in Massachusetts 

-Began to learn about the relationship the Pilgrims had with the Wampanoag tribe

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill

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3/24

Happy Friday to all!

Thank you all for such a wonderful week.  I enjoyed sitting down and sharing insights with one another and celebrating your child's growth so far this year... Looking forward to the months ahead.  

On Wednesday, students participated in a Safe Roads presentation.  Members of the Longmeadow Police Department presented to students and shared strategies they can use to make our roads safer.  My husband and I have already been hearing some of the "I statements" learned at the presentation from our fourth grader... Perhaps you have too!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Completed our end of unit assessment

Readers’ Workshop

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter

Writers’ Workshop

Writing About Reading

-Discussed the similarities and differences between an athlete and a test taker

-Practiced using the tools we will be able to use while taking the MCAS

-Learned about the four different types of test questions (QAR)

-Analyzed constructed response questions and decided whether we would answer by using the RACES strategy or by writing a story

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Square Feet

-Placed fractions on the number line

-Used fractions to determine distances

-Identified fraction amounts using pattern blocks

-Broke shapes up into equal parts

-Completed our end of unit assessment

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Began learning about the Pilgrim's journey across the Atlantic

Have a great weekend!

--Jill

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3/17

Hello to all and happy St. Paddy's day! 

What a week! It was wonderful to see so many of you at Helping Hands on Wednesday.  It felt so good to welcome back such a beloved Center tradition.  Thank you to our own Cece Gadelhak for all of her work behind the scenes!  

We ended the week with a special presentation to celebrate the end of our persuasive writing unit.  Anne-Marie and I were blown away by their passion for their topics, and their confidence while presenting.  Many thanks to our community members that joined us in our audience - Mrs. Brown, Ms. Vigna, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Hutton, and Dr. O'Shea.  

Students were sent home this afternoon with a review packet for our upcoming math assessment.  We will complete our assessment on Friday, 3/24.

I am looking forward to discussing your child's progress at conferences next week.  

Please click here to review your scheduled time.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Practiced our keywords, letters, and sounds

-Mapped sounds

-Wrote words that end with the /it/ sound

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Serpent and the Eagle

-Generated ideas for our own fables 

-Drafted our fables

-Shared our fables 

-Wrote long about the lesson learned in The Serpent and the Eagle using the RACES strategy

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Shared a small moment from our snow day

-Rehearsed our speeches

-Presented our speeches to community members

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Square Feet

-Reviewed unit fractions

-Compared and ordered unit fractions

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Compared the seasons and how they affected the Wampanoag way of life 

-Discovered how Wampanoag hunted and grew their foods 

-Learned about the importance of trading  

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill

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3/10

Hello to all,

It was a difficult week for staff at Center as we celebrated the life of one of our own.  All I can say is how grateful I am for your children.  They kept me laughing and smiling all week.  Thank you.  

I am looking forward to discussing your child's progress at conferences in a couple of weeks.  

Please click here to review your scheduled time.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Wrote words with schwa

-Wrote words that end with the sound /it/

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, Tops and Bottoms, Little Red Riding Hood

-Made inferences about what the authors of our stories value

-Reflected on whether we agree or disagree with the lessons taught in our stories

-Reviewed fables

-Took notes on the key elements of fables

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Transferred our speeches onto index cards

-Rehearsed our persuasive speeches

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Square Feet

-Solved multistep measurement problems

-Reviewed unit fractions

-Compared and ordered unit fractions

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Learned that the Wampanoags' daily life was greatly impacted by the seasons

-Defined the native word - wetu

-Explored how a Wampanoag home was built 

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill

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3/3

Hello to all,

We had a great week together!  Two highlights were beginning our Build A Story workshop (thank you to our PTO for making this wonderful program happen for us!) and celebrating Read Across America Day on Thursday.  Thank you to Hunter for representing 3B as our Rockin' Reader!   

In a few weeks, we will come together for March conferences.  Please click here to review your scheduled time.  Please also note that evening conferences will be on Wednesday evening this time around.  If you are in need of a different time, no worries at all, we will work together to find a more convenient time to meet.  Looking forward to our conversations!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Tapped and mapped words that end in -et

-Tapped and mapped words with the schwa 

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, Tops and Bottoms 

-Made connections between characters in traditional tales and characters in modern fiction

-Wrote long about our connections using the RACES strategy

-Made inferences about what is important to the authors of traditional literature

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Continued drafting our speeches

-Drafted a section of our speeches where we speak directly to our audience

-Drafted the conclusions of our speeches

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Number Corner Focus:  1/2 of a dollar, Collecting Square Feet

-Solved measurement story problems

-Solved multistep measurement story problems

Science

Force and Motion

-Read about and discussed the work of an engineer

Social Studies

The First People of Massachusetts

-Began learning about the Wampanoag Native American Tribe

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill

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2/17

Happy Friday!

We had a lovely week together in third grade.  The highlight was of course celebrating Valentine's Day together.  We visited the studio, created beautiful artwork, exchanged valentines, and enjoyed some extra recess.  A huge thank you to Elaine Mann for joining us and for sharing her creativity!   

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Tapped and mapped words that end in -et

-Completed symbol imagery exercises 

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  Nancy's Mysterious Letter, 

-Noticed the ways characters talk and act

-Noticed patterns in the way characters talk and act

-Used those patterns to describe our characters

-Wrote long about our descriptions using the RACES strategy

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Determined the research, facts, and personal stories we would like to include on our speeches

-Chose words that sound right and evoke emotion

-Drafted our speeches

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting 1/4 of a dollar and 1/2 of a dollar

-Estimated, measured, and compared mass

-Measured liquid volume

-Completed our time checkpoint

-Estimated, measured, and compared length

Science

Force and Motion

-Investigated the start position of wheel and axle systems we constructed

-Constructed a system that could perform a task using magnets

Wishing you all a wonderful winter break and many, as I overheard a student say, "wake up slow days"!

--Jill

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2/10

Hello to all on this beautiful Fri-yay!

We had a great week together in 3B.  Save the Date! We are heading to Sturbridge Village on 5/25! Students were sent home with a Save the Date in their Weekly Folder.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please fill out the bottom of the sheet and return it to school with your child!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Built words with -et

-Marked up words with -et

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  The Ants and the Grasshopper, Nancy's Mysterious Letter (thank you Aubrey for the recommendation!)

-Learned that myths have unique characteristics

-Used our understanding of traditional literature to make predictions about the characters and the events in the story

-Summarized The Ants and the Grasshopper

-Made inferences

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Gathered all we knew about the topics of our persuasive speeches

-Conducted research on our topics to strengthen our evidence

-Organized and categorized our evidence

-Made our speeches more persuasive by showing what we were saying (not telling)

Math Workshop

Fractions and Measurement

Read Alouds:  Biggest, Strongest, Fastest 

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting 1/10 and 1/4 of a dollar

-Practiced telling time on a digital clock 

-Practiced telling time on an analog clock

-Used an open number line to calculate elapsed time

-Measured mass

Science

Force and Motion

-Constructed a cart that could travel across our classroom

-Completed our force and motion quiz

Enjoy the weekend,

--Jill

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2/3

Good afternoon,

We had a joyful week in third grade.  Two highlights were our informational text share with writers' in Mrs. Whitman's class and celebrating the 100th day of third grade! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Celebrated the 100 days of third grade!

Word Study 

-Sorted words with the schwa

-Highlighted words with the schwa

Readers’ Workshop

Fables, Myths, Legends

Read Alouds:  The Lion and the Hare, The Legend of Moshop, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

-Learned about the elements of traditional literature

-Learned about the elements of a fable

-Learned about the elements of a legend

Writers’ Workshop

Changing the World:  Persuasive Speeches

-Shared our informational texts with writers in 2W

-Analyzed persuasive speeches

-Listed problems we see in the world around

-Brainstormed possible solutions for those problems

-Developed a brave and bold thesis statement for our persuasive speeches

-Considered the audience of our speeches

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Hours and Minutes/Collecting 1/10 of a dollar

-Learned the standard algorithm of addition

-Learned the standard algorithm of subtraction 

-Solved multidigit addition and subtraction problems 

-Completed our end of unit assessment

Science

Force and Motion

-Built wheel and axle system

-Predicted the pattern of motion of the systems

-Read about patterns in motion

-Constructed a top that could spin for an extended time

-Drew a scientific illustration of our tops 

Wishing you a wonderful (and hopefully warm and toasty!) weekend,

--Jill

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1/27

Happy Friday to all,

Students enjoyed a fun-filled week at Center! Many thanks to our PTO for organizing special presentations and surprises for our students throughout the week.

Report Cards were sent home with students this afternoon in their Weekly Folders.  Please sign the envelope and return it to school with your child on Monday.  I am beyond proud of the progress friends have been making towards end of the year expectations; they continue to build independence with navigating social situations, routines, and the third grade curriculum each day! SO MUCH to celebrate.

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Created lanterns to celebrate Lunar New Year

-Enjoyed a performance from our fourth and fifth grade musicians

-Enjoyed an author talk from local author Christina Uss

-Participated in a "Mad Science" presentation

Word Study 

-Reviewed vowel teams

-Marked up words with the schwa 

-Tapped and mapped 

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas

-Completed our unit post assessment

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Hours and Minutes

-Solved multi-step addition and subtraction problems

-Used rounding to determine if an answer was reasonable

Science

Force and Motion

-Read about motion

-Constructed a wheel and axle system that could roll down a ramp

-Observed the path our systems took while traveling down the ramp

-Added a variable to our systems to change the pattern of motion

Thank you to all for all you do, enjoy the weekend,

--Jill

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1/20

Good afternoon, 

We had a short but sweet week in 3B.  It was wonderful to see the sea of rainbow across our halls today! It definitely brightened up this dreary weather day. 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Learned about Lunar New Year (Thank you Fanchi for adding to the discussion with your incredible knowledge!)

Word Study 

-Completed our unit 4 assessment

-Learned about the schwa

-Built words with the schwa

-Marked up words with the schwa

-Completed our midyear spelling assessment

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas

-Wrote long about central idea using the RACES strategy

-Analyzed a Martin Luther King Jr. text set

Writers’ Workshop

Mini Unit:  Play and Write

-Completed our winter reading iReady assessment

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Hours and Minutes

Read Alouds:  The 329th Friend

-Represented multidigit numbers in expanded form

-Compared fractions of the same whole

-Solved multi-step elapsed time story problems

-Identified fractions on a blank number line

Science

Force and Motion

-Analyzed forces around us

-Discussed balanced vs. unbalanced forces

-Read about balanced and unbalanced forces

-Learned about motion

-Built a standard system (a paper airplane!)

-Added a variable to our systems that would affect the pattern motion 

Have a great weekend... Wishing you all a happy Lunar New Year!

--Jill

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1/13

Happy Friday to all, 

We had a wonderful week of learning in 3B.  Highlights included our mini-unit in writers' workshop:  Play and Write! I encouraged friends to share their poetry with you over the weekend for their Weekly Writing share... Prepare to be wowed!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Discussed, read, and learned about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. 

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas, Over and Under the Waves

-Discussed the difference between expository nonfiction and narrative nonfiction

-Learned that readers use different ways of reading depending on if a nonfiction text is an expository text or a story

-Identified the central ideas of nonfiction texts

Writers’ Workshop

The Art of Information Writing

-Completed our informational texts

Mini Unit:  Play and Write

-Visited the studio and then wrote poetry

-Observed artwork and then wrote poetry

-Played in the snow and the wrote poetry

-Completed a makerspace challenge and then wrote poetry

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Hours and Minutes

-Completed our three-digit addition and subtraction checkpoint

-Learned to play the game Round and Add Hundreds

-Reviewed expanded form

-Compared numbers using <, >, and =

Science

Force and Motion

-Learned about two invisible forces:  magnetism, and gravity

-Observed magnetism and gravity in action through our floating paper clip investigation

-Explored magnetic force

-Observed the strength of magnetic force 

-Made predictions about magnetic force 

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill

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1/6

Good morning,

Happy New Year! It felt so good to be back this week! It was wonderful to hear about all of your adventures over break.  Friends also wrapped up their first Social Studies unit with Mrs. Miller this week.  They are back with me for science next week where we will explore force and motion.  

Lockers - It saddens me to report that students across the grade have been reporting that items have been disappearing out of their lockers.  There has also been an instance of a note with an inappropriate message being placed in a locker.  Mrs. Hutton has been working with specific students involved in order to try and put a stop to the issues.  

We are currently working to build solutions so that students can maintain their independence as they travel to their lockers and/or the restroom throughout the school day.  Mrs. Hutton is looking into getting locks for their lockers, but in the meantime we will be asking students to bring any decorations and personal items in their lockers home.  The expectation will be that lockers will only be a place for outside clothing, backpacks, and lunch boxes.  We know this news is difficult for many friends but feel it is necessary at the time in order to keep the focus on the great learning that is happening in our classrooms.  As always, please reach out with any questions.  I will be discussing this decision with students on Monday (a few have already been made aware). 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Identified the base word when presented with words with vowel suffixes

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas

-Learned about nonfiction text structures

-Identified the structure our nonfiction texts follow

-Completed our text structure quiz

Writers’ Workshop

The Art of Information Writing

-Completed a personal narrative on demand based on a small moment from holiday break 

-Drafted a table of contents for our informational texts

-Learned that sentence fluency is the way in which writing sounds to the ear

-Revised our informational texts for sentence fluency

-Edited our informational texts

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Hours and Minutes

-Learned the "Constant Difference" strategy for subtracting multidigit numbers

-Learned strategies for solving subtraction problems on the number line

-Completed our subtraction work sample

Social Studies

Geography

-Developed our own wonderings of Massachusetts

-Used these ideas to create our own research questions

-Searched for answers in both a nonfiction text and digital resource

Enjoy the weekend!

--Jill

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12/23

Hello to all on this JOYFUL Friday! 

We had a special week of learning and activity in third grade.  We ended the week by celebrating the holiday season at our all school sing-along! Thank you all for your kindness and generosity this week.  This has been an incredible start to the year and I cannot wait to create more memories with your children in 2023.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

-Discussed the importance of taking a reset break when your body needs it

-Performed our Happy New Year song at the holiday sing-along

-Played "Fortune Flip" - A game invented by Carl!

-Completed a holiday craft together

Word Study 

-Divided multisyllabic words

-Added vowel suffixes to v-e words

-Added vowel suffixes to closed syllable words

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas

-Drafted and revised main ideas

-Taught our reading partners about the subject of our books using our boxes and bullets

-Learned that it is helpful for nonfiction readers to separate their perspective on a topic from the perspective of the texts they are reading

Writers’ Workshop

The Art of Information Writing

-Typed the drafts of our informational texts into Google Slides

-Learned that information writers include text features to enhance their writing 

-Added text features to our informational texts 

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Grams

-Completed our rounding and multi-digit addition checkpoint

-Reviewed subtraction strategies

-Solved multi-digit subtraction story problems

Social Studies

Geography

-Completed our Topographic maps - students are taking home! 

-Learned some interesting facts about our state. Did you know Massachusetts’ name might have come from the Massachusett tribe, whose name can be translated to “near the great hill” or “near the range of hills.” 

I wish you all the very best that the holiday season has to offer.  Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and please enjoy every second of the break... See you all "next year" (I love that joke! ;)!

--Jill

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12/16

Happy rainy Friday to all, 

We had a wonderful week together in third grade.  I am looking forward to celebrating the JOY of the holiday season next week with friends as we head towards break.

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed 1-1-1 words

-Reviewed v-e words

-Reviewed the rule for adding vowel suffixes to 1-1-1 words

-Reviewed the rule for adding vowel suffixes to v-e words

Readers’ Workshop

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Gorillas

-Reviewed text features

-Identified text features present in nonfiction texts

-Completed our nonfiction text features quiz

-Summarized nonfiction using boxes and bullets

Writers’ Workshop

The Art of Information Writing

-Researched how our animals adapt to the polar climate

-Drafted the adaptations paragraph of our informational texts

-Drafted the conclusion of our informational texts

-Drafted the introduction of our informational texts 

Math Workshop

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Grams

-Rounded to the nearest hundred

-Shared addition strategies

-Added three-digit numbers

-Used the RACES strategy to explain our mathematical thinking

Social Studies

Geography

-Learned about the geographical features of Massachusetts

-Started designing and creating our own topographic maps 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and a happy Hanukkah to our Jewish families!

--Jill

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12/9

Hello to all, 

We had a wonderful week of learning in 3B.  Highlights included our class trip to the Book Fair and our NetSmartz presentation on internet safety (from former Cardinals!).  We also celebrated the end of our character unit with a debate on what type of animal the main character in Duck! Rabbit! is.  Justice Bombardier had to be out unexpectedly today with a sick child, but will announce her verdict on Monday!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed vowel teams

-Reviewed r-controlled vowels

-Learned about the v-e exception ive

-Marked up v-e exceptions

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Reading to Learn

Read Alouds:  Duck! Rabbit!, Gorillas

-Prepared text based evidence to defend our positions for our class debate

-Participated in our class debate

-Completed our unit post assessment

-Learned that nonfiction readers "rev up their minds" before reading

-Read text features to think about what a text will mostly be about

-Recalled prior knowledge and built expectations about topics

Writers’ Workshop

The Art of Information Writing

-Wrote about the arctic habitat as a class

-Researched the physical characteristics of our arctic animal

-Drafted the physical characteristics paragraph of our informational texts

-Researched the behavioral characteristics of our arctic animal 

-Drafted the behavioral characteristics paragraph of our informational texts

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

Number Corner Focus:  Collecting Grams

-Reviewed for our unit assessment

-Completed our unit assessment

-Rounded numbers to the nearest hundred

-Rounded numbers to the nearest ten

Social Studies

Geography

-Analyzed a topographic map of Massachusetts

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12/2

Hello to all and happy December (HOW???)!

We had a fantastic week in third grade.  One highlight was our full grade writing share to celebrate the end of our personal narrative unit! Friends will be coming home today with their personal narratives in their Weekly Folder... Lots to celebrate with your author at home!

Our collection for children in the care of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts Domestic Violence Shelter will continue next week.  Thank you all for your generosity!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:   

Word Study 

-Read and marked up two syllable words 

-Practiced dividing syllables 

-Completed our Unit 3 test

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Indian Shoes

-Took what we have learned about our characters and the lessons they learned to understand the bigger themes of the story

-Compared characters across books that somehow go together

-Noticed how characters in different stories face different problems, and how they react to them

-Compare lessons and themes across books 

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Participated in a grade-wide author share

-Completed our personal narrative on-demand assessment

The Art of Information Writing

-Analyzed published informational texts

-Brainstormed arctic animals we know a lot about

-"Tried on" animals they are more of an expert on

-Organized the facts we know about our animals into categories, noticing where the gaps are

-Completed research to fill in the gaps

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Unit Fractions, Collecting Grams

-Completed a class survey on our favorite book genres

-Used multiplication to analyze our survey data

-Completed a 3-Act Task on calculating area

-Solved story problems using multiplication

Social Studies

Geography

-Began learning about the six New England States. 

-Located the New England States on multiple maps. 

-Discussed the meaning behind "New" England. 

Enjoy the weekend!

--Jill

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11/25

Good afternoon to all, 

We had a joyful short week in third grade.  Heading into this special holiday, I am filled with so much gratitude.  I am grateful for your children and our partnership every day.  Thank you.  

Storytelling - This past week we have been discussing the art and importance of storytelling.  As part of our work, I tasked students with interviewing a family member over our Thanksgiving break.  We have reviewed the menu of options for questions in class.  If students need a reminder of those options, I have posted the menu on our Google Classroom.   

Holiday Gift Baskets - Our treasured Center tradition is back! This year we again have the opportunity to participate in collecting gifts for children in the care of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts Domestic Violence Shelter through the Center School PTO.  Beginning on November 28th, we will be collecting unwrapped gifts for a 8-9 year old girl and a 8-9 year old boy.  More information about the collection was sent home in your child's Weekly Folder.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:   

Word Study 

-Read and marked up closed syllable words

-Read and marked up vowel consonant e (King Ed) syllable words

-Read and marked up two syllable words with a vowel consonant e syllable

-Practiced dividing syllables 

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Indian Shoes

-Examined the lesson learned at the end of the story

-Looked closely at our characters to understand how their traits help them

-Noticed how a character has changed from beginning to end through lessons they have learned

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Illustrated our personal narratives

-Participated in a peace train where we praised our friends for their hard work on their personal narratives 

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Unit Fractions

-Completed a ratio table

-Solved related multiplication facts using array models

Social Studies

Geography

-Continued working on our world maps

Wishing you and your families a happy Thanksgiving!

--Jill

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11/18

Happy Friday to all!

We had a fantastic week of learning in 3B.  I enjoyed kicking off the week by walking to school with so many of you to celebrate Ruby Bridges Day.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:   

Peacebuilders

-Discussed the word gratitude

-Shared stories that represent gratitude

Word Study 

-Completed our Unit 2 quiz

-Learned about the story of King Ed

-Discussed vowel consonant e syllables

-Maked up vowel consonant e syllable

-Learned the brown owl spelling rule through a special presentation by our Reading Center friends

-Learned that s can say /z/ when it is added to a baseword or when it is in between two vowels (bugs, nose)

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Dog Man, Indian Shoes

-Paid close attention to how the secondary characters in a story help the main character along his or her journey

-Noticed how the illustrations can help us understand the character

-Learned that near the end of a story, readers pay attention to how the main character is tested

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Shared our personal narratives

-Identified the themes present in our friends' personal narratives

-Reflected on our gratitude stories by creating a writing product

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Unit Fractions

-Calculated the area (or product) of arrays

-Completed a doubling string using multiplication (if you know 4x4, then you know 8x4)

Social Studies

Geography

-Reviewed the continents and oceans of the world

-Learned cardinal directions on a compass rose

-Began creating our own world maps

Have a great weekend!

--Jill

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11/11

Good afternoon to all,

We had a fantastic week in 3B.  Highlights included visiting Ms. Eaton's K-1 studio and learning from our fifth graders all about how we as cardinals will honor Ruby Bridges on Monday for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:   

Peacebuilders

-Read and learned about Ruby Bridges

-Reader and learned about Veteran's Day

-Visited the K-1 studio

Word Study 

-Wrote sentences with words that follow the 1-1-1 doubling rule

-Wrote sentences with words that break the 1-1-1- doubling rule

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Dog Man

-Learned that characters move across a story in predictable ways

-Learned that readers expect characters to encounter problems in a story

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Continued typing our small moment personal narratives

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Unit Fractions

-Created multiple strips using cubes

-Solved real life multiplication story problems using arrays

Science

Weather and Climate

-Constructed a water wheel

-Used our water wheels to do work

Social Studies

Geography

-Met Mrs. Miller and learned what it means to be a historian

-Began discovering how to locate our location on a world map.

Enjoy the extended weekend with your family and friends.  To all of the Veteran's in our 3B family, THANK YOU for your dedication and service to our country. 

--Jill

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11/4

Happy Friday to all! 

What a week!!! We began by celebrating Halloween as a class with themed outdoor games... So many THANKS to Megan Downey, Cecilia and Kamal Gadelhak, Chera Hunter, and Abby Bernd for their creativity and the JOY they brought to our celebration.  

I also want to thank you all for our productive and positive conversations about your children at November conferences.  I hope you know and feel how grateful I am for your support and partnership.  Looking forward to our year ahead.... Let's keep doing this! 

Two Things: 

1.  Green Club!  Valerie Brown is once again running Center's Green Club for friends in grades 3-5.  Please click here for more info and to sign up!

2. Center School merch is available! Please click here to order by Monday 11/7.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:   

Word Study 

-Learned that 1-1-1 words that end in x break the doubling rule for 1-1-1 words (example:  tax --> taxing as opposed to pop --> popping)

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Dog Man

-Noticed patterns in a character’s behavior and used those patterns to make predictions

-Reflected on our work and set new reading goals

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Analyzed the titles of published personal narratives

-Crafted a title for our personal narratives

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Unit Fractions

-Completed our multiplication checkpoint

Science

Weather and Climate

-Engaged in dissolving candy corn experiments

-Analyzed an image of a water wheel

-Read about how water is used to produce energy

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

--Jill

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10/28

Good evening to all,

We had a great week together in 3B. We completed our first makerspace challenge of the year in science! A HUGE thank you to Chera Hunter for joining in on the fun! 

Monday we will be celebrating the creativity and imagination of Halloween.  Friends may wear their costume to school or bring it to school to change into before the parade. Our annual Halloween parade around the Green will begin at 2:00pm.  We hope to see you there! 

I am looking forward to meeting with you all next week at conferences! Please click here to view the sign up sheet. New this school year:  Lunch will now be available to students on half days!  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about 1-1-1 words

-Learned that you double the final consonant of a 1-1-1 word before adding a vowel suffix

-Marked up 1-1-1 words with vowel suffixes

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home, Cat Kid Comic Club:  On Purpose

-Noticed patterns in the things our characters do again and again

-Used the patterns we noticed to develop a theory about our characters

-Wrote long about our theories by challenging ourselves to think deeper

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

Read Alouds:  Yo! Yes?

-Added salsa words to our personal narrative drafts

-Substituted "trash can words" for more specific words

-Added appropriate punctuation to our personal narrative drafts

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Liquid Volume

-Wrote multiplication equations for equal groups drawings

-Calculated real life measurements of sea creatures using picture models

Science

Weather and Climate

-Completed our weather and water quiz

-Read about extreme weather

-Participated in an extreme weather demonstration

-Constructed a model of a device that could stop a flood

Enjoy the weekend,

--Jill 

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10/21

Good morning to all, 

It felt SO GOOD to return to a five day schedule this week! Highlights included launching into new units of study in Readers' Workshop and Math Workshop and beginning the revising and editing process for our personal narratives.    

November conferences will be held on 11/2 and 11/3.  Please click here to sign up! Thank you to those that have signed up already!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Reviewed glued sounds

-Reviewed closed syllable exceptions

-Tapped, mapped, and marked up words

-Added suffixes to words to change their meaning

Readers’ Workshop

Character Development and Theme

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Learned to RACES strategy for writing about reading

-Practiced using the RACES strategy

-Learned that readers get to know a character by noticing what they do or say

-Tracked our noticings in our Readers' Notebooks

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Drafted the conclusions of our personal narratives

-Learned that writers tell the internal and the external story

-Jotted our thoughts, feelings, and reactions on our story mountains

-Added our thoughts, feelings, and reactions to our drafts

-Examined published personal narratives for parts that feel powerful

-Tried out some of the techniques in our drafts

-Learned about "salsa words" and "rice cake words"

-Highlighted examples of salsa words in our drafts

Math Workshop

Introduction to Multiplication

Number Corner Focus:  Liquid Volume

-Analyzed an image of a pet store

-Wrote equations for equal groups found in the image

-Used multiplication to find the total amount of stamp collections

Science

Weather and Climate

-Filmed our weather reports in front of our very own green screen!

-Crafted our own Earth, Moon, and Sun models

-Mapped the average high temperature in Longmeadow using our collected weather data

-Learned about the three main climate zones  

-Read about climate regions

-Recorded our noticings and wonderings about climate regions in our science notebooks

Enjoy the weekend with your families, 

--Jill 

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10/14

Good afternoon to all,

We enjoyed a fun-filled week together in 3B. A highlight was celebrating Jielong's birthday by completing a special craft he brought in for friends to enjoy!

November conferences will be held on 11/2 and 11/3.  Please click here to sign up! Thank you to those that have signed up already!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about the suffixes -less and -ful

-Reviewed closed syllable exceptions

-Built words with suffixes

-Marked up words with suffixes

Readers’ Workshop

Building a Reading Life

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Created our own personal reading timelines

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Noticed what Karen Hesse did to make Come on Rain! great

-Drafted the rising action of our personal narratives

-Determined the "heart" of our small moment personal narratives

-Drafted the climax of our personal narratives

-Learned about common themes found in literature

-Drafted the falling action of our personal narratives

-Identified the themes present in our small moment personal narratives

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus:  Liquid Volume

-Discussed strategies for subtracting two digit numbers

-Solved multi-step subtraction problems

-Completed our unit one post-assessment

Science

Weather and Climate

-Analyzed our weather data

-Wrote weather report scripts using the writing cycle

Have a great weekend!

--Jill 

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10/7

Hello to all and happy Fri-yay! 

We enjoyed another short but sweet week in 3B.  A few updates/reminders as we head into the long weekend:

Our Unit 1 math test is scheduled for Thursday, 10/13.  Your child came home with a review packet in their Weekly Folder.  Students are not expected to answer all of the questions in the packet.  Thank you for your support at home as we prepare for the test.  

November conferences will be held on 11/2 and 11/3.  Please click here to sign up! Thank you to those that have signed up already!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about the suffixes -er and -est

-Built words with suffixes

-Marked up words with suffixes

Readers’ Workshop

Building a Reading Life

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Noticed when a text prompts us to ask questions

-Gathered information from texts to try to understand the authors' choices

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Mapped out our small moment personal narratives on the story mountain

-Tried out multiple leads for our small moment personal narratives

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus:  Liquid Volume

-Decomposed three digit numbers

-Solved two digit addition problems

Science

Weather and Climate

-Learned that meteorologists expect certain weather patterns during specific seasons

-Observed meteorologists

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend with your families,

--Jill 

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9/30

Good evening to all, 

We had a great week in third grade.  A couple of favors to ask as we head into the weekend:

1. Conferences - Please click here to sign up for November conferences.  Thank you to those that have signed up already!

2. Number Corner Supplies Needed - We will begin our October Number Corner on Monday! This month's Calendar Collector focus is liquid volume.  We are in need of:

-SIX 1 liter bottles (clear or translucent)

-ONE quart size milk or juice carton

If you are able to donate an item to support the work of our mathematicians please let me know.  THANK YOU!!!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Learned about morphemes

-Added the plural suffixes -s and -es to words to change their meaning

-Completed our fall spelling inventory

Readers’ Workshop

Building a Reading Life

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Summarized using the SWBST strategy

-Worked with a partner to lift the level of our reading work

-Used context clues to make sense of figurative language

Writers’ Workshop

Crafting True Stories

-Made lists of turning points in our lives

-Transformed our "watermelon" ideas into "seed" ideas

-Chose a seed idea that we would like to take through the writing process

-Interviewed our writing partners to determine the reason why they chose their seed ideas

-Recorded our "whys" on a post-it to use as a reminder while drafting

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

Number Corner Focus:  Multiplication Models

-Discussed strategies for solving multidigit addition problems

-Completed a number talk

-Practiced using multiples of 10 to reach different totals

Science

Weather and Climate

-Tested our windvanes

-Used our weather data to predict typical weather

-Noticed patterns in the weather and used those patterns to develop theories

Enjoy the weekend... October here we come! 

--Jill 

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9/23

Hello and happy Fri-yay to all!

Thank you to all that attended Back to School Night last night.  If you were unable to attend, or need a refresher on all things 3B, please click here to view the presentation.  I am looking forward to a great year together!

Fall Conferences will be held on Wednesday 11/2 and Thursday 11/3, with evening options available on 11/3.  Please click here to sign up.  If you are in need of a conference time that is outside of the available slots, e-mail me and we will find a time that works for your schedule(s). 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Mapped closed syllable words

-Wrote closed syllable words

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Completed our fall iReady diagnostic

-Learned that when readers make predictions they include details on how those things might happen

-Made thoughtful predictions as we read

-Learned that readers summarize for themselves and to discuss books with others

-Practiced summarizing our independent reading books

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Learned that Writers use checklists to edit their poems so that their writing is easy to read

-Practiced editing using our editing checklist

-Chose a poem to "make public" (publish)

-Made our own watercolor paper

-Published our poems on watercolor paper

Crafting True Stories

-Immersed ourselves in published personal narratives

-Recorded what we noticed and wondered about how the stories were written

-Generate ideas for true stories

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

-Went on a scavenger hunt for lengths

-Added lengths

-Completed our fall iReady diagnostic

Science

Weather and Climate

Read Alouds:  Come on Rain!

-Discussed the role of a meteorologist

-Began tracking the weather

-Read about how meteorologists track the weather

-Created our own windvanes

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend and happy new year to our Jewish families!

--Jill 

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9/16

Good afternoon,

We had a great week together in 3B.  Friends were sent home today with their agendas, Weekly Folders, and Weekly Writing.  Please continue to initial your child's agenda each night and sign the signature sheet in their Weekly Folders. 

Looking forward to seeing you all next week at Back to School Night.  The night is for adults only.  I will be discussing all things 3B during two identical presentations; the first beginning at 6:00 and the second beginning at 6:45.  No need to sign up! 

In music, friends have been working with a student teacher from UMass Amherst! Please click here for a hello from Mr. Schneider and to learn a little bit about him.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Learned about pep talks

-Discussed why pep talks are important 

-Developed our own growth mindset mottos

Word Study 

-Reviewed glued sounds

-Learned about closed syllable exceptions

-Built words with closed syllable exceptions

-Marked up words with closed syllable exceptions

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Developed partnerships to support reading

-Learned that readers give themselves comprehension checks

-Thought about the "mindwork" our texts are asking of us

-Made thoughtful predictions while we read

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Learned that writers use sensory details to strengthen their writing

-Learned that writers include strong verbs in their word choice to paint a picture in their readers’ minds

-Learned that writers include inner thoughts to paint a picture in their readers’ minds

-Learned that writers include feelings by describing instead of naming

-Created a "six room" poem

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

-Analyzed subtraction strategies

-Completed our addition and subtraction checkpoint

-Played subtraction bingo

Social Studies

Massachusetts Cities and Towns

-Created our passports

-Learned different ways to take notes

-Practiced taking notes using the boxes and bullets strategy

Enjoy the weekend, 

--Jill 

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9/9

Good evening and happy Fri-yay to all!

We had an incredible week together in 3B.  I continue to feel that "cloud nine" feeling as we adjust to our classroom routines, build our classroom community as proud Peacebuilders, and begin to dive into our launch units.  

Friends were sent home today with their agendas, Weekly Folders, and Weekly Writing.  Please continue to initial your child's agenda each night and sign the signature sheet in their Weekly Folders.  Also, please return your child's completed Health Form (sent home last week in the Weekly Folder) as soon as possible.  Thank you to those that have returned them to school already!

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Learned about growth mindset

-Learned about the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset

-Determined whether phrases represented a growth mindset or a fixed mindset

Word Study 

-Tapped out closed syllable words

-Built closed syllable words

-Mapped out closed syllable words

-Expanded "bare bones" sentences using descriptive words

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds:  Other Words for Home

-Explored our readers' notebooks

-Reflected on times when reading was the best

-Reflected on time when reading was the worst

-Learned that great readers read books as if they are gold

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Brainstormed meaningful things

-Brainstormed meaningful experiences

-Drafted poetry

-Created a copycat poem of Me by Walter de la Mare

-Revisited published poetry and determined why it is published

-Learned about the six traits of writing

-Determined traits we need to include in our writing

-Revised our writing for those traits

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

-Reviewed addition strategies

Have a great weekend, 

--Jill 

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9/2

Good afternoon to all,

What an incredible week we have had together in 3B.  It has been an absolute JOY getting to know your brilliant children.  As I said to them this week, I feel like we were meant to be! 

Friends were sent home with their Weekly Folders, Agendas, Writers' Notebooks to decorate (see yellow letter in Weekly Folder) and their Weekly Writing.  Each week, students will choose a piece of writing to share with you over the weekend.  I hope you find this routine meaningful! 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Peacebuilders

What is Peace? 

-Analyzed artwork that was created to answer the question, What is Peace? 

-Created our own artwork that answered the question, What is Peace?

-Analyzed our artwork

-Brainstormed a list of classroom expectations that would increase the peace in 3B

-Created our classroom promise

Word Study 

-Reviewed that a syllable is a word, or part of a word, with one vowel sound

-Reviewed consonant digraphs

-Learned about the consonant trigraph tch

-Learned about the different ways to spell /k/ c, k, ck

Readers’ Workshop

Launch

Read Alouds:  Alma and How She Got Her Name, Other Words for Home

-Reviewed choosing books using the five finger rule

-Practiced our independent reading routines

-Practiced our partner reading routines

Writers’ Workshop

Writing Habits, Qualities, Process, and Identity Through Poetry

-Discussed the habits of great writers

-Brainstormed meaningful people

-Brainstormed meaningful places

-Began collecting examples of rich language

-Drafted poetry

Math Workshop

Addition and Subtraction Patterns

-Created glyphs that share information about ourselves as mathematicians

-Represented classroom data on bar graphs

-Shared strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend with your family and friends,

--Jill 

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8/29

Good afternoon to all,

We had a great first day in Grade 3!

I am writing to let you know that beginning tomorrow, students will be coming home with an agenda notebook.  Below is an outline of the homework assignments that may appear in your child's agenda throughout the year.  

Agendas - Each night your child will be coming home with an agenda notebook. Students will be given time at the beginning of each school day to record homework assignments as well as reminders of upcoming events.     

Because this is the first year students are introduced to agendas, support is given in the classroom in order to help students gain independence with the daily routine.   It is each student’s responsibility to make sure that they have all items recorded in their agendas and that they bring the materials they need to complete the assignments home.  I will be supporting students with these routines at school by checking their agendas each day.  In addition, please check your child’s agenda daily at home. Having an adult initial your child's agenda is very important.  It informs me that your child’s assignments and information in the agenda have been seen at home.

At the beginning of the year, your child may need reminders to return his or her agenda/assignments to school every day. I will be sure to provide reminders for students at school.

Longmeadow Elementary School’s Homework Guiding Principles may be found on our class website under the “Elementary Homework Guiding Principles” tab.  With this initiative, we aim to put reading at the forefront of homework with the ultimate goal of fostering a love of reading!

Reading -  Children will be expected to read at home daily and may choose texts that they enjoy. Students will be held accountable for their reading by sharing and discussing their texts in the classroom. (i.e. book talks, teacher conferences). 

 Fluency - Throughout the year, your child will be asked to practice fluency tasks at home in order to build fluency and automaticity in areas such as mathematics and word study.

Review/Study - As we continue throughout the year students will be given reviews/study guides to assist them in preparing for some of our third-grade assessments.

Creative Endeavors - Occasionally, a special project will be assigned related to our curriculum.

More detailed information will be provided about each of these homework components as we ease into our homework routine.

Weekly Folder -  At the end of each school week students will be coming home with a blue Weekly Folder.  Please read the contents of the folder and sign the enclosed signature sheet every weekend.  Your child will return the folder to school on the first school day of the week.  This folder is a good resource to promote meaningful conversation and praise for your child’s school experiences. I hope you find it to be a strong link between home and school!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening with your families, and please know that I am here if you need me.  Call or email anytime!

All the best,

--Jill

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8/19

Welcome to Third Grade! 

Aubrey B.

Tobin B. 

Brynja B.

Crosby C.

Maggie D.

Hunter E.

Isabella G.

Quinn G. 

Ryker G.

Greyson G.

Addie H.

Kathryn M.

Carl M.

Grady P.

Colin P.

Ty S.

Charles V.

Fanchi W.

Claire Z.

Jielong Z.

I cannot wait to see you all soon! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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6/17

Dear Third Graders and Parents,

We would like to welcome all of you to Third Grade!  Reading is such an important part of Third Grade. To keep skills fresh, we are asking that your child continue to read over the summer.  We hope that you will have a summer filled with lots of reading and discussion about your favorite books! We can’t wait to share our favorite books with one another in the fall! Happy reading!     

 Grade 3 Supply List 

Welcome to third grade!  Below you will find a list of supplies for grade 3.  Please bring them in on the first day of school.

*1 Pkg. 4 Expo brand dry erase markers  (any color)

*1 4x6 headshot of your child

Have a Wonderful Summer!!  

3rd Grade Team

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”  Maya Angelou

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6/10

Good morning!

What a week! We began the week with the return of our traditional field day.  We had beautiful weather and friends had a blast participating in the events.  Following field day, I was away from the classroom for two days while learning about our new math curriculum that is heading your way next school year.  

Congratulations to our fifth grade cardinals on their graduation! Special shout out to those in our 3B family; Ryan Orszulak and Lorenzo Trotta!

It is WILD to think we are heading into our last week together.  Looking forward to a fun-filled week as we head to the finish line of third grade.  Here is a brief run-down of the week:

Monday - Business as usual 

Tuesday - Wear red, white, and blue/Lunch together outside - if possible, bring lunch from home

Wednesday - Talent video viewing in the Community Room - I will send you a link to the video in next week's Week in Review!

Thursday - Board Game Day

Friday - All School Assembly - 11:30 dismissal 

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Readers’ Workshop

Little Things Are Big: Making Meaning from Poems and Poetic Craft in Literature

Read Alouds: CeCe Rios and the Desert of Souls

-Synthesized all parts and elements of poems to consider meaning

-Read a prose chapter book to find language that makes us think of things in different ways

-Read the last lines of poems to determine meaning

-Worked on the spring iReady

Writer's Workshop

Poetry

-Wrote diamante poetry

-Wrote cinquain poetry

Math Workshop

Spiral Skills

-Solved equations with unknown parts

-Wrote equations to represent arrays

-Plotted fractions on a number line

-Completed the spring iReady

Social Studies

Massachusetts in the 18th Century

-Read and took notes about the events leading up to the American Revolution that took place in Massachusetts

-Read and took notes about key battles in the American Revolution that took place in Massachusetts

-Learned about the formation of our state government

-Learned about the formation of our national government

Enjoy the weekend... Day 180 here we come!

--Jill  

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6/3

Good morning to all, 

We had a busy, short, week in third grade! We ended the week by celebrating William's birthday with a special visit and read aloud from his dad.  Thank you so much Mr. Case for joining us and for reminding us of such an important message!

As you know, Field Day will now take place on Monday.  Please make sure your child wears his/her Field Day color and sneakers, has a labeled water bottle (the bigger the better!), and wears sunscreen.  If you are NOT able to make it for our picnic lunch on the green at 11:30, please let me know by responding to this email.

Reminder:  Talent videos are due on Monday.  Please email or text them to me in a format that works for you.  I will then put them together in an iMovie to present to friends.  

Here is what we have been up to in each content area:

Word Study 

-Wrote words with consonant le syllables

-Learned about the consonant le exception -stle

-Wrote words with the consonant le exception

-Marked up words with the consonant le exception

Readers’ Workshop

Little Things Are Big: Making Meaning from Poems and Poetic Craft in Literature

Read Alouds: Love That Dog, CeCe Rios and the Desert of Souls

-Learned to use our word-solving skills when reading unfamiliar words in poetry

-Noticed the mood in poetic passages in prose

-Inferred the meaning of poetic passages in prose

-Created mental images while reading poetry

-Realized that poems may see everyday things in a new and different ways

Writer's Workshop

Narrative Nonfiction, Poetry

-Completed our narrative nonfiction pieces

-Published our narrative nonfiction pieces

-Crafted copycat poems inspired by mentor authors