Room303 News 11/30/18

Weekly Updates and Reminders: 

• Daily folders (black) and gray reading folders are to go to and from school each day.  Reading logs are to be filled out at home to log their 20 minutes of nightly reading. 
• Assignment Notebooks (planners) are to be signed or initialed every evening by a parent.  Thank you for taking the time to check your child's planner.  This is a great way to start a conversation about learning if you review it with your child each evening.
• Please always email BOTH teachers if you have any questions or concerns.  
• There is a half-day of school on Thursday, December 13 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.  You may now sign up for a time slot on Skyward.  Please let us know if you have any issues signing up for a time.  Report cards will be posted to Skyward on Wednesday, December 12 at 4pm. 
• Happy December birthdays to Marissa (1) and Mihal (22).
• 
•  Mark your Calendars for our Polar Express Day on Friday, December 21. 
 

Math:
We are almost at the end of Unit 3.  We will begin reviewing next week and have our test on Thursday.  Below are pictures of the students working with their Math Teams.  Students were given a basket of geometric shapes that they had to count and graph. After they collected the data and graphed the numbers, they brainstormed different questions and answers that could be derived from their graphs.  They really had a great time working within their Teams.

   

Social Studies:
  This past week we defined the word, Geography by using a Visible Thinking Routine called, Think, Puzzle, Explore.  Students first wrote what they thought they knew about the topic.  Next, I gave them a bit more information and they wrote some more.  After a lengthy discussion, they continued the routine by expressing what questions they have about the topic now that they understood what it meant.  They were highly engaged and as a teacher, this was super exciting to begin a new unit with so much enthusiasm!  We will study the Geography of Michigan by themes:  Movement, Region, Location, Human/Environment Interaction, and Place.

Science:
Our next science unit will be Motion & Matter.  We should be receiving our new kits on December 3rd.  Below is a summary of the unit's focus:

"Motion and Matter provides grade 3 students with experiences around physical sciences core ideas dealing with forces and interactions, matter and its interactions, and with engineering design. The anchor phenomenon for the first three investigations is motion. Magnetism and gravity are the phenomena investigated as students look for patterns of motion to predict future motion. The guiding question is what causes objects to move? Students work with magnets and paper clips, wheel-and-axle systems, paper air twirlers, and rotating tops. Students use their knowledge of science to enter the engineering design process and through the process refine their science understanding.

In the fourth investigation, students move from energy to matter. They build on the science concepts of matter and its interactions developed in grade 2 using new tools to quantify observations. Students use metric tools to produce data on mass and volume to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of the phenomena of conservation of mass. The guiding question is how can we use tools to measure the mass of materials in mixtures?

Throughout the Motion and Matter Module, students engage in science and engineering practices to collect data to answer questions, and to define problems in order to develop solutions. Students reflect on their own use of these practices and find out about how others use these practices in science and engineering careers." - www.fossweb.com/

Word Study/Grammar:

Next week for grammar we will be on Week Thirteen.  The students will be learning about short vowels, combining sentences, and sensory words.

Writing:   
This past week, we started Unit 2 where we will be focusing on Informational Writing.  We have talked about the difference between narrative and informational writing.  We also talked about topics that we know a lot about to begin to narrow down what each student wants to focus on for their informational book.  Once the students have selected their topic, we have begun talking about what the big ideas (headings) would be under that topic.  The students are excited to begin writing!

Reading:

We have started Unit 2 where we are focusing on Character Studies.  We read aloud The Can Man and examined the characters, vocabulary, author's purpose, and theme.  We are also reading aloud the story Because of Winn Dixie and learning how to follow a character throughout the story looking for patterns in the things they say and do.  We use these patterns to form theories and ideas about the character.  The students are also reading their own chapter books and having book club discussions focusing on these same ideas.  They are having a lot of fun with this unit so far!