HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a wonderful break and got to enjoy a lot of quality family time! I enjoyed lots of puppy snuggles and walks with Theo! I also spent a lot of time at my parent's house - eating, chatting, playing games, and celebrating! I have enjoyed hearing the kids' stories about break and their amazing Christmas/New Years experiences!
A HUGE THANK YOU to all of our parent chaperones to the Museum of Nature and Science! The kids had such an amazing time on this field trip and have not stopped talking about it! I hope they got a chance to share their favorite things with you!
Important Note!
Please, please, please talk with your student about motivation and caring about what we are learning in class. I have been struggling trying to motivate the kids to try their hardest and show all the things they have learned throughout the year. I will be sending Middle of the Year test data home soon - please look at this data with your student and have a conversation about the importance of showing everything they know. I would like to schedule a parent/student/teacher conference (February) with everyone to discuss these test scores, set goals, and highlight your students' strengths. In addition to our Reading Logs and Math Menus, I am going to start sending home nightly Reading or Math homework to ensure that kids can independently complete tasks using different skills and to allow you to see what we are working on in class on a day-to-day basis. Please encourage your students to complete this homework nightly and show you ALL the amazing things they can do!
Please see below for important dates and curriculum updates!
Important Dates:
- January 12: Spelling Bee Assembly (8:15)
- January 15: NO SCHOOL (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
- February 13 & 15: Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences
- February 14: Valentine's Day (party information coming soon)
- February 16: NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day)
Curriculum Updates:
- Math: We are almost finished with our 4th unit in math! I can't believe how efficiently we are moving through our units! Before break we were focused on the connection between multiplication and division. We are now moving into a section about multiplying and dividing larger numbers. When we move into Unit 5 we will start looking at fractions!
- Reading: In reading we are moving and groving! We are finishing up Module 5 this week. This module has had us exploring narrative nonfiction and realistic fiction. We have worked on analyzing text structure and point of view. We are continuing our exploration of figurative language and finding text connections. I have been working hard to have kids answer comprehension questions with text evidence to support their answer. This is a critical skill for their future education and also success on the CMAS test. Please be on the look out for generic comprehension questions and extension questions coming home. I encourage you to have your student read outloud to you 2-3 times a week (if not more) while you ask them these questions. Slowing down and connecting with the text is a huge skill in 3rd grade.
- Writing: In writing we have been really focused on our RACES strategy. This strategy will now be tied into multiple different subjects including reading, social studies, and science. In the place of RACES, we will start writing informational paragraphs. Mrs. Fransen and I use a format called TIDE. This format builds the basis for a 5 paragraph essay in future grades. First, the kids will write a topic sentence or two (T). Then, we will identify important facts (I) supported by details (D). Finally, they will wrap up their paragraph with an ending sentence (E). Paragraphs that we will write will tie into Science and Social Studies topics - including animals and their adaptations/habitats, famous heroes, etc.
- Social Studies: This week in Social Studies we focused on Martin Luther King Jr. and his message for the world! The kids explore interesting facts, watched his "I Have a Dream Speech", read quotes, and discussed the importance of judging people by what is on the inside and not what we see on the outside. I have loved the deep discussions and community bond we have created through these lessons!
CMAS Update:
CMAS is quickly approaching! EEK! Have no fear! Mrs. Fransen and I have several years of prepping kiddos for this state test! In order to begin this preparation process, we will be pausing Social Studies and Science and shifting our focus to becomming comfortable with the CMAS test platform and practicing/reviewing skills that will be seen on the test. We also will spend a significant portion of our time on writing constructed responses. These are questions that require students, in both reading and math, to write written responses to multi-step/multi-standard questions. We will practice brainstorming, citing text evidence, and typing complete/valuable responses. Our goal is to prepare our students to the best of our ability and take as much stress away from this test. This is the first year students take this test and it important that we highlight the importance of having a growth mindset and persevering through challenging tasks. The kids have all they need to know in order to be successful - they need to slow down, use their tools, believe in themselves, and give 100% effort. Please reach out with any questions reguarding this assessment.
As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns! I am looking forward to setting goals and sharing successes at conferences in February! brittany.gilbert@jeffco.k12.co.us or through ClassDojo