Third Grade News
May 10, 2010
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Hello there everyone! Its been a while since I've written and we are getting close to the end of the year, so I thought I'd check in. We only have about 23 days of school left and so very much still to learn.
We have the math MCAS test this week in third grade. We will take two sessions, one Wednesday morning and one on Thursday morning. Each session is scheduled to be 45 minutes to an hour, however all students get as much time as they need during the day. I continue to emphasize to the class that the test is not something to worry about, however I encourage them to do their very best, working out each problem, so that they can show just how much they know.
In math, we have been working on multiplication. We have two groups going right now, with one group working on the basic multiplication facts through x12, and another group learning to multiply single digit numbers times two-digit numbers, as well as beginning to learn to multiply two-digit numbers by two-digit numbers. Memorization of the basic facts is imperative so that students can be ready for higher level math, so I have told the children that they need to study their multiplication tables each night in addition to the two and a half minute timed facts we do each Friday.
We are currently learning about the solar system in science. The children have been learning about the movements of Earth and Earth's moon (rotation and revolution) and what these movements cause. The class should be looking for the moon each night. Unfortunately, it seems to be rising in the wee hours of the morning instead of in the evening. I have told the children to look in the morning in the south/southwest sky where it can be seen. We've been taking a group out first thing when they arrive at school to see it from here if they need to. By the end of the week, there is supposed to be a new moon, so we will definitely not be able to see anything, however, students should continue to look so that they can see the moon as it begins to appear to increase in size again. We spent Monday afternoon's class doing an activity with a moon model and a flashlight in which each child was able to "be" the Earth rotating as the moon revolved around them while I shone a flashlight on the moon. Each child was able to see how the moon appears to change shape while revolving around the Earth.
We have two social studies units going on right now. We are learning about the American Revolution and its beginnings in Massachusetts, as well as local history. The Massachusetts state framework curriculum says that third graders must learn about the political, economic, and military developments leading to and during the American Revolution. This includes the growth of towns and cities in Massachusetts before the Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, the beginning of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Revolutionary leaders such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. They also must identify the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights as key American documents. We have been reading and taking two-column notes, having discussions, and more as we learn about this. We have been creating a simple time line divided into three sections - before the Revolution, during the Revolution (1775 - 1783), and after the Revolution. Our local history unit is a combined unit with fourth grade as we learn about the Mohawk Trail. Last week, Mrs. Austin came in to talk to the children about the unit, Mr. Marino came in to talk to us and show us postcard slides of the Mohawk Trail over the years and to explain how it came to be, and we all went on the field trip to Heritage State Park Friday where we saw artifacts and a short video on the Mohawk Trail. This week we will be working with the fourth graders in pairs to write paragraphs about the different landmarks along the trail. The end result will be a web site on the Mohawk Trail that the students help make.
We have left the reading basal aside this week and are working with the first graders in small groups as we read the book Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary. We are focusing on realism and fantasy, cause and effect, and character. The children are making a reading response journal as well as a book mark. The book is challenging, but I think the children will have fun.
We continue to review the grammar skills taught this year, including the four main parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and the different forms of them (plural and possessive nouns, regular, irregular, past, present, and future tense verbs, comparative and superlative adjectives, and adverbs that tell how, where, and when a verb happens). We practice through games, Mad Libs, and written practice both in the writing process and on drill sheets. Students must commit the four parts of speech and their meanings to memory.
Attached to this week's letter are the May/June book orders. This is your last chance to stock up on inexpensive books for summer reading! Please send in your orders with a check made payable to Scholastic or order online at Scholastic.com by Thursday, May 13th.
Have a great week! - Mrs. Chesbro