We are off and running! It was so nice to meet everyone at our Open House earlier this month! I hope everyone is adjusting well to the new school year!
During the last couple of weeks we have been practicing the routines and procedures that are needed throughout the school day. We've been getting to know each other and building a sense of community in the classroom so that everyone feels welcome and excited to come to Room 8 each day.
Just a few notes about where we are in the curriculum:
In math, we have just finished Chapter 1, Numbers to 10,000, which focuses on place value concepts that include patterning, ordering, and comparing numbers. We are now working on Chapter 2 - a chapter that introduces students to mental math strategies for both addition and subtraction. In this chapter, we also focus on rounding and estimation.
Last week, I sent home a list of Fast Ten facts and Doubles. I like to have students start the year by learning these facts at home so that they can then do the "in between" facts more easily. It's a great place to start, and students will be able to translate their ten facts to larger numbers in the classroom.
These first weeks have also been devoted to launching our Readers' Workshop model. Students are learning the necessary strategies to be successful with their independent reading time and how to handle themselves while I am with small groups. Right now we are working on skills like choosing "just right" books, building our reading stamina, making thoughtful connections with our books, and finding appropriate reading spots in the classroom. Our next unit will explore Realistic Fiction. Students may want to read from this genre at home to practice what they're learning in class.
In writing, students are learning about the narrative form. We are getting ready to write our first personal narratives in class. During grade three, students will be further developing their ability to organize and develop their ideas with creative details. It is important that students be able to use graphic organizers to structure their thoughts before drafting. Graphic organizers are somewhat new to third graders, but it is a tool that they will be using across content areas to prepare for writing and respond to their reading in all areas of the curriculum.
In science, third grade is learning about weather and climate. Much of this unit is focused on collecting and analyzing data, so we will be looking at elements of weather in relation to Boxford. Our first social studies unit combines mapping skills with a historical look at our hometown, so teachers will be approaching this in a cross-curricular manner to combine science, social studies, math skills (graphing data, comparing, ordering, rounding, and estimating numbers), and even writing.
Students now have their own Google accounts at school, and I have created accounts for them on Prodigy and Raz-plus.com. I have created our Google Classroom and will be having students join within the next couple of weeks as well. These will all be accessible to students from home, and I plan to assign homework through these sites from time-to-time. All usernames and passwords will be glued into student Agenda Mates for safekeeping.
Thank you so much for helping your child to get off to a great start this year! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at school!
Sara Hartley
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