Weekly Update

Our All-Stars are off to a great start in third grade!  We have been very busy this week learning various rules, expectations, and our daily routine.  We look forward to spending the school day with your child and getting to know him/her!  Below is a brief update of some of the happenings in school this week.

Reading Workshop 
This week students reviewed what is expected of them during Reading Workshop.  We start each workshop with a mini-lesson at the carpet, followed by independent reading time.  We end each workshop with a closing to review the mini-lesson and talk about their reading.  Students also reviewed the difference between an easy, just right, and challenging book.  We will continue to help students shop for appropriate leveled reading material.  They also learned how to complete a reading log.  Students will fill out their reading log each time they finish reading a book.

Writing
Students have been busy completing different writing assignments to display inside and outside our classroom.  They have shared some information about themselves through a "Player Profile," written three school goals for third grade, and told us their dream of what they'd like to be in the future.  Students also wrote a personal narrative today for the district writing assessment.

Math Workshop
We began our new math curriculum today.  We will teach math as a workshop model.  Students will rotate between three groups, which include: working with the teacher, playing a math game, and completing a journal page.  Today we practiced multiplying with 5.  We learned that multiplication is repeated addition.  If you click on the "Math" tab at the top of the page, you will find the first Family Letter.  Please read through this letter regarding Unit 1.  You will learn a lot more about the new math curriculum on Thursday, September 12 at Curriculum Night.

Read Alouds
This week we introduced the concept that books have a theme.  In other words, the author typically teaches a lesson.  The themes which we will focus on will also help us teach character traits to the students.  We will focus on the following themes in our classroom: honesty, teamwork, perseverance, acceptance, friendship, and courage.  This week we read aloud Swimmy, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, and Officer Buckle and Gloria.  Ask your child which theme/s these books teach.