Week of March 4th

Remember we have science test tomorrow - March 8th

Inquiry projects have started.  Take a look at the creative teamwork going on! 

Working together to design the project.

Breaking up the responsibilities.

Using images to help teach our facts.

Being creative.

Adding labels to teach.

Creating artifacts to show our learning.

Sticking to the plan so the whole team works together.

Week of February 25th

Sharing our math thinking.

Partners sharing their math evidence.

I can use a drawing to show my thinking!

Math Journals 

We having a spelling list this week.  List 24 can be found on Spelling City.   The pattern for this list is adding the suffixes ing and ed to words.  Please make sure you child knows the base word and how to add suffix to that word.   Our test will be Thursday!


We continue our study of bones and muscles.  Today your child will be bringing home a study guide for the test which is scheduled for next Friday the 8th.   Your child has two weeks to learn the information on the guide.   Please have them work on it a little each night.  

Next week, we will be taking ISAT tests in reading and math.  We have been going over the format of the test and have been doing test taking strategies.  Below you will find a interactive site that has actual practice tests for math and reading:

http://iirc.niu.edu/Tests.aspx?sample

It would be beneficial for your child to complete at least one of each test at home. 

February 20th

Since it is a short week, we will not be having a formal spelling list this week. 

Please be aware that the first week in March, we will be taking the ISAT test.  Look for notes coming home to give you more information about this test.  

We are more than half way through the year.   This week you will see a 2 minute timing come home that will give you an idea how your child is doing on mastering the multiplication facts.  Please look this over.  It is crunch time, your child needs to be secure on all single digit facts by the end of May.  Based on Xtramath data and in class observations, the students who are getting regular practice are much stronger.  It is critical your child does math practice at home.  Thank you for your support! 

Our bones and muscles inquiries our in full swing.  We are reading many resources and taking notes about our learning.   Each day we work on setting goals and working as a team to solve problems.   Today in class we brainstormed some of the challenges of working in a group and came up with possibles solutions.  Please ask your child about his/her  learning in inquiry.  Each day he/she should be able to tell new and interesting facts.  Below you will find photos of inquiry in action:

Using resources to help us learn.

Sharing our learning!

Starting with a question.

Taking good notes.

Keeping track of interesting information.

Listing our resources

Helping each other learn.

Reading for answers.

Touching base with my teammates.

Drawing sketches to help me remember.

Week of February 11th

We are starting our inquiries into bones and muscles.  This week we will be working on teamwork.  Each inquiry group will think of a team name and team ground rules.  The inquiry groups will be doing in depth research into one question about either bones or muscles.  This inquiry is a big undertaking and requires the children to read and think critically about a variety resources.   Here are some photos of  groups working together:

Can you work as a team?

Sharing our thinking!

Everyone is focused and working together.

We have team names!

We came up with ground rules for working together.

Teachers, parents, and middle and high school students across Illinois have the opportunity to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey was designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school from the perspective of teachers, parents, and students.

Please take the time to do the following survey for the district.

Illinois 5Essentials Survey Information

Reported by webmaster@ipsd.org on 3/2/13

To take this short survey:

1. Visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois-d204/survey/parent/login/.
2. Select DuPage as "County."
3. Type your school's name into the "School" field and select your school.

The Week of January 14th

We have a spelling list this week.  Please make sure your child  knows how to spell the words and the accompanying definitions.  Due to the short week,  the test will be next TUESDAY.

Base

1. started

2. card

3. park

4. smart

5. star

6. shark

7. mark

8. barber

9. party

10. pardon

11. bark

12. tart

13. carpet

14. farther

15. barn

Alternate

1. alarm

2. postcards

3. bargain

4. barbecue

5. darkness

6. pardon

7. hardest

8. marble

9. marshmallow

10. partner

11. parking

12. starry

13. starve

14. farther

15. garden

We have started our social studies unit on Maps and Globes.   On Thursday, there will be a vocabulary list sent home to study for a quiz next Friday.  Many of the words should be review from second grade.   You will also see I have put some interactive websites under the social studies for your child to explore.

To help all third grade students be secure on knowing all multiplication facts,  I have created a class on Xtramath.  Xrtramath is a interactive website that helps children learn their math facts.  It gives feedback to your child on the facts they have mastered and which ones they need to work on.  I can also go into my class and see how each student is progressing.  There is a flyer coming  home  that tells you how to enroll your child.  Please support your child's learning and enroll them as soon as possible.   I appreciate you support!

Week of December 10th

Base

1. boots

2. grouped
3. shook
4. school
5. looked
6. hood
7. choose
8. brook
9. zoomed
10. balloon
11. loose
12. soot
13. understood
14. cartoon

 15. afternoon

Alternate

1. gooey

2. loony

3. pooch

4. wooden

5. moonlight

6. doodling

7. crooked

8. woolly

9. rookie

10. football

11. goodbye

12. cookouts

13. woodpecker

14. oozing

15. zoology

Week of December 3rd

Base

1. song

2. law

3. because

4. soft

5. dawn

6. crawl

7. lost

8. taught

9. long

10. pause

11. frost

12. lawn

13. hawk

14. laundry

15. author

Alternate

1. bought

2. sausage

3. cough

4. frosting

5. cost

6. crawling

7. softest

8. longer

9. strongest

10. flaw

11. straw

12. loft

13. spa

14. tablecloth

15. broth

In class today, we read a book called How Full is Your Bucket?  Here is a short summary of the book:

"Each of us has an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it's empty, we feel awful. Yet most children (and many adults) don't realize the importance of having a full bucket throughout the day.

In How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids, Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well.

Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the buckets of his classmates, teachers, and family members. Before the day is over, you'll see how Felix learns to be a great bucket filler, and in the process, discovers that filling someone else's bucket also fills his own."

In the month of December, we will  be focusing on how to better our community by doing and saying good things.  Ask your child every night, what did he/she did in school to help fill a classmate's bucket. When we help others feel good, we help ourselves!



3A Math

We have been working on perimeter and area for last few weeks.  For homework tonight, your child is play the following game to reinforce and drill the concepts learned in class. 

http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html