Week of 4/18/16

Ahoy!

I hope you have all been enjoying this sunshine. I was able to enjoy the Camas Baseball game today! Go Makers!

Reading: We are beginning our unit on Native Americans. This week we are learning some general facts about them. We are also working on reviewing main idea, message, character traits, etc. for our SBAC testing next week.

Writing: Students are working on finishing up their persuasive writing pieces.

Math: This week we are diving deep into division. Students are working on using their multiplication facts to help them solve division story problems. We are also working on showing our thinking using a second strategy. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts!

Social Studies:
This week week will be mapping out the 5 different regions that the Native Americans lived in. This unit will include a lot of neat art projects. We will need paper plates, yarn, beads, and cereal boxes if you have any you would like to donate.

Spelling:
Were
there
their
about
these
first
its
find
such
important
food
life
needed
year
told
living
run
book
gave
order
open

Mystery Questions:
1) Name three types of homes Native Americans live in.
2) What wildlife was used for Native American clothing?
3) What did Native American Indian tribes eat?
4) What are the names of the clans in Cherokee Society?
5) When was the 'Battle of Little Bighorn'?
6) What was the most important Native American food crop?

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week 4/11/16

Ahoy!

Welcome back from spring break! I hope you all had a great week! We have had a great start her in room 204-205!

Reading: This week we will  begin our unit on Native Americans. Our primary focus will be on the different N.A. legends.

Math: This week we are beginning unit 5, focusing on multiplication and division. This will be a very quick unit. Please have your students practicing their multiplication facts daily!

Writing: We are continuing with quick writing assignments focusing on the three different types of writing: narrative, persuasive, and informational. This week we are focusing on persuasive writing.

Spelling:
living
life
United States
high
black
because
hear
city
white
along
across
use
pages
eat
after
short
about
there
could
story

Mystery Questions:

What percentage of Americans eat ice cream?
How much did the largest ice cream cake weight?
Which country produces the most ice cream in the world?
What is the most popular ice cream topping?
In what state was it against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie?

Reminders:
4/13- Twin Day
4/13- 3rd grade music performance at assembly
4/22- PALS movie night
4/26 &4/29- Smarter Balance Assessment for English/Language Arts
4/28- Take your child to work day

Have a great rest of your week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/28/16

Ahoy!

What beautiful weather we are having! Today we were able to sit outside during read aloud and soak in some sunshine!

Reading: We are finishing our unit on Salmon. Unit test was today and yesterday.

Math: Finishing unit 4 test today. In-depth look at multiplication and division will start when we get back from Spring Break!

Writing: Students should be finishing their personal narrative. Many students took it home tonight to finish up.

Science: This week we are focusing on structures of life. We will first start by looking at the life cycle.

Spelling:
thought
since
world
they
above
there
country
its
half
true
red
picture
animals
fish
plants
their
many
would
group
own

Mystery Questions:
1) What is the most rain we've ever gotten in one spring season in SW Washington?
2) How do meteorologist measure the amount of rain that falls in a city?
3) What is the study of weather called?
4) Name three types of clouds.
5) What are two things you should not do during a thunderstorm?
6) How common are lightning storms in the Northwest?
7) What do you get when you mix rain and sunshine?
8) What are the 7 colors in the rainbow (in order)?

Thanks and have a happy spring break!
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/21

Ahoy!

Wow... I can't believe that it is almost the end of March! Where did this month go? We have been working really hard in here since Christmas break! I have noticed that some of my kiddos are feeling under the weather :( Please make sure they are getting plenty of sleep, drinking water, and eating healthy food! We are all worn down right now and ready for spring break! We just have a few more days!

Reading: This is our last week of our salmon unit. Students have had a blast learning about salmon and their life cycle. This week we are focusing on a story called Salmon Forest. We are working on finding the main message and retelling a story.

Writing: Students are working on a personal narrative. They are currently in the rough draft phase.

Math: This week we are continuing to learn about fractions! This will be our last week of this unit! Please be doing multiplication facts with your students at home!

Spelling:
there
several
animals
family
often
upon
it's
up on
most
move
along
a long
work
once
turn
its
sure
water
later
another

Mystery Questions:
1) Between what days does Easter fall between during the year?
2) Where does the most famous Easter egg hunt take place in the US?
3) How many chocolate bunnies are made in the US for Easter?
4) What did the first Easter baskets look like?
5) In the song, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" he's got colored eggs for who?
6) How long will a boiled egg keep in the refrigerator?
    a) 2 hours
    b) 3 days
    c) 1 week
    d) They don't need refrigeration once cooked
7) Rabbits with long floppy ears can't hear as well as those with ears upright. True or False? 

Reminders:
Report Cards come home in backpacks Thursday.
Next week is Jungle week, students are allowed to bring one stuffed animal for the Jungle. Please put your name and room number on it.


Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/14

Ahoy!

Reading: This week we are reading an informational article about destruction of a salmon's habitat. Ask your student what the main idea of this article is!

Math: We are starting to work on fractions. This is a more difficult concept for students to grasp. We have been using a lot of manipulatives to help understand what exactly each fraction means.

Writing: Students should be finished with their informational piece. They are beginning working on a new personal narrative.

Spelling:
I'm
because
said
car
morning
right
didn't
made
body
several
soon
thought
best
himself
usually
people
something
try
others
their

Mystery Question:

1) What is the greatest migrator of all animals, flying 30,000 km from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again each year?
2) What is the migration pattern of a moose?
3) What migrates 4,000 km every year, from North America to small clumps of trees in Mexico?
4) What is a magnetic compass in migrating animals?
5)These animals travel how many miles?
-Chinook Salmon
-Arctic Tern
-Sooty Shearwater

Dates:
3/24- Report Cards go home.
3/28-4/1- Jungle Week

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/7/16

Ahoy!

Yesterday we had a big chat with both classes about giving full effort in their work. This is usually the time of year we give the "you're almost 4th graders" speech. Many of your children are following through so well, but many are being reminded multiple times to stay on task and complete work. We are here for your kids and are so invested in their success. We tried to communicate yesterday and today that the reason we are remind/remind/remind is that we care and want to see them shine. We appreciate any help you can give your children with organization, getting a good night's sleep, eating well, limiting excessive screen time and giving full effort at school! We have a lot planned for the next few months and cannot wait to watch these kiddos turn into fourth graders before our eyes!

Reading: This week we starting reading a new passage in our salmon unit. This is a legend titled The Girl Who Swam With Fish. Ask your student what the main message of this passage is!

Math: We are continuing to work on multiple step story problems. Tomorrow is the beginning of multiplication quizzes! The end of the week we will start working on fractions! We have a lot of information to still get through before the end of third grade! I am excited to see the amount of learning that takes place in the next few months!

Writing: Students are finishing up their informational pieces about migratory animals. Most students are in the edit or final draft stages of the publishing process. If your student brings writing home please make sure that it gets finished and returned :)

Spelling:
himself
seen
however
usually
always
try
kind
paper
money
number
example
there
it's
five
sure
answer
seconds
would

*Mystery Questions (oops!) *

1) What colors are in the Irish flag?
2) What is the most popular traditional St. Patrick's Day dish?
3) What year was Lucky Charms cereal created?
4) When and where did the first St. Patrick's Day parade take place?
5) How many regular three-leaf clovers are there for every lucky four-leaf clover?
6) How many current U.S. residents were born in Ireland?
7) How many people who signed our Declaration of Independence were of Irish origin?


Thanks for all you do to help your kiddo succeed!
Miss Irwin

Week of 2/29/16

Ahoy!

Happy Leap Year! We have had a great beginning of the week here in 204! Here is what we are learning!

Math: This week we are learning about liquid volume using the metric system. We are using milliliters and liters to help us estimate, measure, and solve story problems. Next week we will begin our multiplication quizzes. Your student is responsible for studying and passing tests in a timely manner. We will have a celebration for students who pass all of their facts :)

• Students are bringing home an assignment tonight for blairwin bucks if returned tomorrow. They need to research the about of liquid that each of the 8 pictures on their hand out holds. I would google the answers, they are pretty easy to find that way :)

Reading: This week is all about the life cycle of a salmon. Today we worked on finding the main idea of an article that we read. The rest of the week we will continuing to learn about each of the stages from egg to spawning.

Writing: Students are beginning to use all of the information that they have researched to start writing their informational essay. This will be a week and half long process from graphic organizer to final draft.

Spelling:
learn
little
children
play
city
there
point
about
which
its
young
toward
school
four
were
ever
said
called

Mystery Questions:

1) Salmon are called _______ when emerging from their eggs.
2) How many species of Pacific Salmon are there? How many of Atlantic Salmon?
3) How much did the largest salmon ever caught weigh?
4) How many eggs does an average salmon lay?
5) Up to how many miles can a salmon travel to spawn?

Thanks for all you do to help your child!
Miss Irwin