Curriculum Update

November has been a busy month - as they all seem to be! 

In reading, we worked further on story elements while reading various types of fiction.  We've practiced identifying main characters, choosing traits to describe them, and then finding evidence from the text that supports those traits such as dialogue or specific actions and behavior.
Students have also learned to recognize the story problem and solution while sequencing important story events. 
Comprehension has been a big focus this month.  We are learning to think more deeply about our reading and to cite reasons for our thinking.
During Term 2, the focus will be on nonfiction.  Students will learn about nonfiction text features like bolded/highlighted text, headings, the table of contents, glossary, and index.  They will learn about captions and diagrams and how these features aid in comprehension.

In math, we have practiced making bar models to help us solve one- and two-step word problems.  Students learned to take problems apart one sentence at a time and highlight key words and information. 
Recently, we have begun working with multiplication and time skills.  During class, students typically rotate to different stations to practice these skills in various ways.  At home, please continue to have your child study their basic facts in some way that is comfortable for them.  Students who have a strong grasp of their addition facts transition much more smoothly into multiplication. Term 2 focuses mostly on multiplication and division concepts. 

We have started learning about opinion writing, and this week, lessons mostly focused on differentiating between fact and opinion, the structure of an opinion graphic organizer, and understanding how to build an essay that is well-organized.  In grade three, students need to state their opinion on a given topic, support it with three reasons, provide facts or details for each reason, and provide a closing that restates their opinion.  For our first assignment, students are reading nonfiction text about entomophagy - the practice of eating bugs.  They will need to decide whether the cafeteria should include bugs on the school menu and support their thinking with evidence from the articles.  We had some very lively discussion about this in class!

We are learning about motion and forces in science.  Students have completed several hands-on and interactive activities to explore these concepts.  You will see some of these coming home in Friday Folders.  We are also just starting a social studies unit on the Wampanoag.  Students always love this unit.  Be sure to ask your child what they're learning in class!

Next week is conferences.  I'm looking forward to seeing you all and discussing your child's progress!
Sara Hartley

Google Hangout and Pumpkin Exploration

We've been busy doing so many wonderful things in Room 8 these days!  Last Friday we had our first Google Hangout with our friends in North Carolina!  Students got to share their thoughts about our Global Read Aloud book, A Boy Called Bat.  It was so nice to be able to talk with each other in the moment!

On Tuesday of this week, we had some wonderful volunteers come in to help us with our Pumpkin Exploration.  Thank you to Mrs. Emig, Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Sheehan, Mrs. Bryson, and Mrs. Froio.  We're sorry Mrs. D'Amore was unable to join us for the fun!
Everyone had such a great time measuring and weighing their pumpkins, checking to see if their pumpkins and other items would float, and then carving and counting all of the seeds in their pumpkins.  Students were surprised to see how many hundreds of seeds they had!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Exciting Happenings in Room 8!

Today students received letters from their Sixth Grade Buddies.  Everyone was so excited, and we'll finally be meeting with them Monday afternoon to do some fun Halloween activities.  Our partner class is Ms. Magee and Ms. Osowski, who are co-teaching this year.

As a matter of fact, three students from this class came to our room today to celebrate this month's superpower - CREATIVITY - by showing students how to create a personalized jack-o-lantern using Google Slides.

This week we've been working on a new letter to our Indiana pen pals, and tomorrow we will be doing a Google Hangout with our friends in Cary, North Carolina.  We'll be able to see each other and talk about A Boy Called Bat in real time, which is so exciting!

Next Tuesday, we have parent volunteers coming in to help us with our annual Pumpkin Exploration activity, which is a bit messy, but so much fun!  Students will be combining their math and science skills to explore concepts like mass, density, and volume. 

Stay tuned for pictures of these exciting events.....