Valentine's Day information can be found further down on this page!
Important Dates:
Specialists for Feb. 9 - 13: Monday -- art, Tuesday -- PE, Wednesday -- music, Thursday -- art, Friday -- no school
Thursday, February 12: No Uniform Day for our class (we won the Silent Hallway Challenge for January!)
Thursday, February 12: Valentine's Exchange in class at 1:30 (see information below regarding valentines expectations)
Friday, February 13: no school (staff development day)
Monday, February 16: no school (Presidents' Day)
Friday, February 20: quiz over part over part one of our study of electrical circuits (study guide posted on Study Guides tab)
SAVE THE DATE -- Thursday, April 30 -- MN Zoo fieldtrip! (tentatively; plan for it though; more info to come)
Valentine's Day:
While we will not be having a big party, I will set aside a little bit of time on Feb. 12, for students to exchange valentines. NOTE: there is no school on Feb. 13. Homemade cards, bookmarks, notes, etc. are encouraged over purchased valentines, but all non-food, non-candy valentines will be welcomed. It is optional to bring valentines, and purchased ones will be accepted too. Please have your child bring a large baggy or sack for collecting his/her/their valentines. Please do not send candy, gum, or food. Fun erasers, pencils, etc. are permitted. A list of student names can be found below. NOTE: if your child is bringing valentines, it is expected that he/she/they include each member of the class. This is a showing of justice for our classroom community.
Click HERE for our student class list.
Poetry Memory Work: Our quarter 3 poem is "The Swing", by Robert Louis Stevenson. The poem can be found on the Poetry Work tab at the top of this page. We are working on stanzas 1 and 2 in the first two weeks of February, and will include stanza 3 in the last two weeks of February. That will allow us time to practice the whole poem throughout March. Scholars will sign up to recite the poem by March 19, the end of quarter 3.
History: We our working on part one of our study of the American Revolution, which focuses on events that lead up to the American Revolution. These events are the details of what is building up the frustrations of the colonists -- violation of the Rights of Englishmen, taxation without representation, etc. This week we are focusing on the eight Rights of Englishmen and the French and Indian War (this war leads to the beginning of taxation of the colonists without representation in Parliament). Some ideas for discussion with your third grader -- what is the law-making body in Great Britain (Parliament), who is the ruler at this time (King George III), what are the eight Rights of Englishmen (see if they can name a couple for you).
Writing: Our writing unit for quarter 3 is informational writing. Students will learn about some different structures for organizing research/information and use those structures to help write informational paragraphs about a chosen animal. The next two weeks students will use Chromebooks in class to find more facts about their animals and organize their facts into "chapters" (subtopics) to eventually put into paagraph "chapters" about their animals.
Science: Our quarter 3 science unit is on electrical circuits. This week students will build a complete circuit, learn the difference between an open circuit and a closed circuit, and test items to determine if they are insulators or conductors. That will be followed by lessons in which they will build various series circuits (one pathway for the electricity to flow) and parallel circuits (multiple pathways for the electricity to flow). We will have our mid-unit quiz on Friday, February 20. Watch for a study guide to be sent home this week, but it is now posted on the Study Guides tab at the top of this page.
Grammar: We will continue our study of adverbs, with the current work focusing on diagramming adverbs, which can be tricky. It is alll based on what part of speech that adverb is describing/modifying. Check in with your child: can he/she/they name the three adverb questions (how? when? where?) and the three parts of speech that adverbs modify/describe (verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs). You could even have them teach you the Adverb Jingle (linked below!).
Here are links to jingles we have being working on and practicing in class: