Week of 5/1/2017

Ahoy!

I can't believe how fast the weeks are starting to go by! We have another busy week this week with 'mustache day' tomorrow and our field trip on Thursday. Here is what we are learning in room 204!

Reading: This week we are working on reviewing all of our reading strategies. Our main focus has been on making sure that our students feel as ready as possible to go into testing next week!

Writing: Again this week has mainly been focused on making sure that our students are ready for testing. They have been reviewing the 3 different types of writing that they have learned this year. Our big hope is that they will remember the formats that go with writing a narrative, informational piece, or opinion piece.

Math: This week we are working on division, area and perimeter. I am impressed with how quickly the kids are grasping the concept of division as the opposite of multiplication. We will be finishing this unit quickly and moving on to geometry.

Spelling Words: Will be posted in the morning.

Mystery Questions:
Have your student fill out a multiplication chart like the one below.

Field Trip Information: 

Thursday we head to LALOOSKA! This field trip is a blast and I am so excited to kick off our Native American studies with it. We will be leaving right at 9:00 on Thursday morning. If possible your child needs to be at school by 8:45. I will open my classroom door at 8:45 so that students have a chance to use the restroom and get their things put away before we line up to go on the bus. The weather is supposed to be very interesting on Thursday. I would send your child in lose clothing, with a light jacket because they are calling for rain and we are eating lunch outside. But, it is also supposed to be 84 degrees. Where we are going will be dusty so please wear tennis shoes. Students will need to bring their lunch. It needs to be in a paper bag with their name on it. If you have any questions please ask! 

SBAC Information: 

Next week we begin SBAC testing. This can often be a stressful time for the students, no matter how light we try to make it. Please make sure that students are getting a good nights sleep and are eating a healthy breakfast. We will begin testing on Tuesday with a reading test, and continue on Thursday with reading and writing. We are constantly reminding the kids that all we want is them to do their best and put their best effort in! 

Thanks for all you do to support your child! 

Miss Irwin 

Week of 4/24/2017

Ahoy!

Sorry about a late blog post this week! Here is what we are learning in 3rd grade! Next week we are going on a field trip to Lalooska. Students need to have their permission slips turned in ASAP! We will be leaving at 9:00; I have informed students that they need to be here as early as possible that day. I will be opening my room at 8:50 so that they can go to the bathroom and put their stuff away before we get on the bus. They will need to bring a sack lunch with them.

Reading: This week we are working on reviewing all of our 3rd grade skills that we have learned this year! With out SBAC test coming up in a few weeks, we want our students as prepared as possible. This test is on a computer, the more your child can practice their typing the better off they will be! Reading short passages and then answering basic comprehension questions is also helpful!

Writing: This is the last week for our opinion writing pieces. If you receive an email from Mrs. Blair or I it is because your student needs to work on finishing their writing. We need these done this week so that we can work on test prep next week!

Math: This week we are focusing on division. Using the idea that division is just the opposite of multiplication. The students are doing very well so far. Continue practicing multiplication fact fluency! We are taking time quizzes every other day now!

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

Mystery Questions:
What is the least rainy place on Earth?
What city has the highest average rainfall on Earth?

Dates to Remember:
Character Ed Assembly: May 3rd
Lalooska Field Trip: May 4th
Smarter Balanced Testing ELA: May 9th and 11th
Smarter Balanced Testing Math: May 31st and June 1st

Thank you for all you do to support your child's learning!
Miss Irwin

Week of 4/17

Ahoy!

I hope you are all having a great week! Report cards went home today. Please sign in your child's planner if they gave you the report card unopened. Thanks!

Math: This week we are finishing our unit on measurement, time, and fractions. I am very pleased with how well the students have done on the assessment. Our next unit will be a very short review of multiplication and division.

Reading: This week we are reading the book A Storm in the Night. Our focus is on finding the main message of the story using what the main character learned. To practice this at home ask your students to keep track of what the main character in the book you are reading is learning. Then ask what the author is trying to teach the reader.

Writing: We have begun writing our opinion pieces. The students our choosing their own topic and then doing research to support their opinion. As we are working on this piece don't be surprised if you see work come home. We need to finish these piece quickly.

Spelling:
name
father
sea
because
much
very
several
called
room
top
their
against
turned
however
were
what
might
right

Social Studies: We are continuing to learn about the different regions of the United States. So far we have learned about the Northwest, Southwest and Northeast. Ask your student to describe each region.

Homework Journal:
Imagine that it rained for 10 days and there was a huge flood. What would you do to survive the flood?

Mystery Questions: We are working on prefixes and suffixes. Write a list of 20 words that have a prefix. ex: preheat, reheat, unhappy.

Thanks!
Miss Irwin

Week of 4/10/2017

Welcome back from Spring Break! I am so impressed with our classes ability to come back and be ready for learning this week. Here is what we are doing.

Reading: This week is the beginning of our next unit focusing on seeking explanations. We have started reading a new book this week and are working on finding the central message and the details that support it.

Writing: This week the students are beginning to work on writing an opinion piece. They are learning how to state their opinion and then back it up using evidence. We will be working on this piece for the next few weeks.

Math: This is the last week of Unit 4! We are finishing up our learning on fractions, time, and measurement. We also began our timed multiplication facts this week! Keep practicing those facts!

Spelling:
during
thought
their
would
heard
they
answer
could
several
example
use
change
landed
said
some
today
what
other

Social Studies: We are in the middle of learning about our regions in the US. Today we learned about the Southwest region.

Mystery Questions:
This week is a SUPER challenge. The site readworks.org is awesome for practicing all reading skills. Create an account, have your child complete one of the worksheets that goes with a reading passage and he/she will receive $25 Blairwin Bucks.

Link:
http://www.readworks.org/

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/27/17

Ahoy!

Happy last week before Spring Break! Here is what we are doing this week.

Math: This week we are starting to enter fraction land! We are learning that fractions must be an equal share of a shape. Coming back from Spring Break we will be starting our timed multiplication quizzes. Please be working with your students on memorizing their multiplication facts. The students have learned the basics of what multiplication is, now the students need to be able to quickly recall their facts.

Reading: This week we are wrapping up unit 2. We will be taking an assessment through the end of the week. It will be great to come back and start fresh after Spring Break!

Writing: We are learning how to tell the different between fact and opinion. When we come back from Spring Break students will begin writing their opinion piece.

Spelling:
there
said
about
would
little
through
don't
important
pictures
since
across
however
knew
young
sun
think
whole
hear

Mystery Questions:
Write about your favorite third grade memory. Make sure to show not tell. Needs to be at least 8 sentences.

Have a great week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/20/2017

Ahoy!

I hope you are all have a great week! We are off to a great start in our classroom. This time of year is always my favorite because of the growth that we see in our students. Mrs. Blair and I were talking to day how far many of our students have come in the last few weeks! Here is what we are learning this week.

Reading: Today we started a new book titled The Song of Sky and Sand. It was amazing hearing the students have deep conversations about what they were reading. Our focus this week is on finding the central message of a story, while using the pictures and illustrations to help us understand the text.

Math: This week we are entering fraction land! Yay! I am working very hard to instill the attitude in my students that fractions are not difficult. Many students have a preconceived idea that fractions are very difficult, please help me break this by talking positively about fractions and pointing them out in your every day life! Continue to work on your multiplication facts. We will begin timed multiplication quizzes after spring break!

Writing: Students are well into their information essay! This week the students will be working on editing and creating their final drafts.

Spelling:
there
knew
little
still
today
sure
once
told
it's
often
school
however
different
began
try
then
know
its

Mystery Questions:
1) What season is it in the souther hemisphere if it's spring in the northern?
2) On the first day of Spring the southern hemisphere, the sun is directly over the ___________.
3) In America, which bird is often seen as symbolizing the arrival of the Spring season?
4) In Major League Baseball, Spring training happens in February and March. In what state does it take place?
5) Spring is the season of flowers. The Japanese celebrate the arrival of Spring by hosting mass viewings of which flower?
6) In America, which college sport holds its annual national championship tournament during the spring?

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 3/13/2017

Ahoy!

I am so sorry for the late post! Here is all the great things happening in our room this week.

Reading: We are continuing to learn about extreme environments that people live it. The rest of the week we will be looking at the Sami people of northern Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Our students have been very interested in all of the amazing places that people live, and how they survive in those places. While reading about this topic we have been focusing on finding the main idea and supporting details of a text! If you are looking to support this work at home you can try finding passages at readworks.org! 

Writing: The students are using their new knowledge about extreme places to live to help them write an informational essay. They will be slowly working through each part of the essay for the next week or two.

Math: We are diving in head first to our unit! Our learning this week has been focusing on finding elapsed time, and learning how to measure liquid volume and mass using the metric system. This will continue into next week before we switch to fractions. If you are looking to support your child's learning they can log on to our new program at ixl.com. We are just starting to use this program in our class and the students are really enjoying it! Please email me for your students username and password. 

Spelling:
know
world
however
never
during
soemthing
said
best
there
very
could
air
then
would
across
why
don't
today

Mystery Questions:
1) When does spring occur in the Northern Hemisphere? What date to what date?
2) Name two flowers that are planted as bulbs.
3) Name two forms of severe weather that occur in the United States in the spring.
4) What is the Latin word for spring?
5) During spring the Earth's axis starts to tilt towards __________. (Fill in the blank.)
6) What was Daylight Savings Time originally used for?

Have a great rest of your week!
Miss Irwin