I hope you all had a wonderful

Thanksgiving break (It seems so long ago now.) filled with delicious food and fun times with family and friends. Thank you all so much for meeting with me at your child’s conference. I really enjoyed sharing all of the successes that the students have had so far in third grade.

Classroom News from 3-1

During the week before Thanksgiving Break, we completed the second unit of our Treasures Literacy Program. Throughout this unit, the students practiced reading comprehension strategies that include generating questions, summarizing, identifying text as fantasy or reality, identifying facts and opinions,

In this issue: Reading 1 Reading Cont. 2 Writing 2 Science 3 Math 3 Cursive 3 Web Updates 4 Reminders 4 Dates/Events 4 Student Challenge 5

Crandall Chronicle

December 2012

Reading What We’re Studying

and determining an author’s purpose for writing. They carefully decided if the author was trying to inform, persuade, or entertain us. We continued to work on using context clues to find the meaning of a word with multiple meanings. The students were introduced to poems and poetry features like alliteration and repetition.

Visit our class website to see which states we still need postcards from!

http://ccrandall3.blogspot.com/p/race-across-states.html

Please continue to thank the friends and family members who send postcards to our class. We recently counted 112 postcards from 32 different states and 17 international destinations! The students really enjoy learning about the states and locating them on the map.

Right before Thanksgiving break, the students filled our class pillar with 200 smiley faces (earned each week for keeping all 6 pillars). They voted on a class reward and decided to have a movie party with popcorn and pajamas. This, combined with our Solars Award Ceremony, made for a very special end to the 3rd trimester!

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We began our reading unit with a focus on the genre of fantasy. A purpose for reading was set for the students, and they had to identify parts of the story that were completely fantasy and those that were realistic. Our focus then turned

to nonfiction, biographies, and autobiographies.

As your child continues to read at home, please engage in a conversation about what he or she has read. This will help the children to think more critically of the book.

Reading Continued

The students have been hard at work on their writing. During the weeks before Thanksgiving break, the students were working on writing personal narratives for our WEX (Writers’ Express) writing program. They selected one of their pieces they had written this year that they wanted to expand upon and improve. The students began the revision phase of the writing process. Each student was responsible for reading through their journal entry and finding at least two parts that they thought they could improve.

The first part they were looking for was an example of something they thought they did very well. This could have been a section in which they effectively focused on a single moment or an area where they felt that they included exceptionally good details that show the reader exactly what they were thinking. They wrote two or three (or even more) sentences continuing to demonstrate these wonderful writing skills.

The second part they were looking for was an area that they thought might be lacking focus or showing details. Their job was to then add more sentences or modify their already written sentences to use the writing skills they had been practicing in class.

The next step in the writing process involved the students editing their own work. They whispered their piece of writing to themselves so that they could listen for missing or extra words. They also double-checked for capital letters and correct punctuation. Since the students self-edited their pieces and they checked for spelling on their own, you may notice that some words are spelled incorrectly in their final published pieces. Our focus during writing was on their ideas, so correct spelling was not required for this piece unless they were our monthly writing words. I encourage students to take risks with their word choice, which results in them using more challenging or exciting words they may not be familiar with spelling.

Writing

In social studies, we began our Midwest Unit right after Thanksgiving break. The students have been reading about the land in the Midwest and will be learning about the types of transportation that has been used throughout its history. We will also learn about the people of the Midwest and its economy.

Each student selected a state from the Midwest that they are interested in learning more about, and they began researching their states in class. At the end of this unit, the students will have a scrapbook containing all of the information that they learned while on our “journey” through the Midwest. As a

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culminating activity, the students will be taking an imaginary train ride through the Midwest. As we pass through each state, the students who studied that particular state will share important information with their classmates through a previously recorded podcast. The students will learn about each state’s natural resources, state symbols, manufacturing and agricultural products, important tourist sights, and other interesting facts.

The students are responsible for learning the states and capitals for the Midwest region and will be tested on them before winter break. They need to be able to match states with their capitals and locate the states on a blank map.

Social Studies

We completed our fourth math unit before break. The students were excited about learning new multiplication math facts and practicing their multiplication and division skills. The students learned new vocabulary (factor, product, dividend, divisor, and quotient) to describe the numbers that they are multiplying or dividing. We will continue to use this vocabulary daily during our math lessons. The class has been practicing multiplication and division in number stories through the use of workbooks, hands-on activities, and games. Please continue to have your child practice his or her math facts daily! We are currently practicing writing and reading large and small numbers.

The students have been working extremely hard on their lowercase cursive letters. Our cursive packets are nearly complete. Once students have finished their lowercase letters, they will move on to the capital cursive letters. They are working hard to make sure they are forming each of the letters correctly. I am very pleased with the time and effort they are putting into making their cursive handwriting neat.

Math Cursive

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Visit our class website and check out these recently added items:

Class Pet Adventures

Frozen Clock Graphing Activity

Calculating Grandpa’s Age in Minutes and Seconds!

Race Across the States

Everyday Math Parent Letters (offers homework help) are posted under the Everyday Math section on the “Learning Links” page.

www.ccrandall3.blogspot.com

Class Website Updates!

* Remember to send your child to school with appropriate clothing for outdoor recess. As the days get colder, this may include hats, mittens, winter coats, and warm pants. If your child wants to play in the snow, he or she must be wearing snow pants and boots.

* Please continue to encourage your child to practice his or her math facts nightly. Remember, there are many different math games on our class website!

MONTHLY REMINDERS

IMPORTANT DATES & UPCOMING EVENTS

December 21st – Spirit Day (Pajama Day)

December 24 – January 4 – Winter Vacation (NO SCHOOL)

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Student Challenge This month’s challenge: Create a timeline showing the years that each of the Midwest states became a state and joined the United States of America.

You will need to do a little research to find out what years each of the 12 states became a state and an interesting fact about each one. You may use the internet, books at the library, encyclopedias, or any other resources that might be helpful. (The state quarters have the dates!)

Next, draw a neat timeline using a ruler or yardstick. Fill in the dates, the names of the states, their capital cities, and an interesting fact about each Midwest state.

Turn in your neatly completed timeline before winter break! Don’t forget that names of cities & states need capital letters.

The Midwest states include: The capitals include:

Illinois Missouri Bismarck Indiana Nebraska Columbus Iowa North Dakota Des Moines Kansas Ohio Indianapolis Michigan South Dakota Jefferson City Minnesota Wisconsin Lansing

Lincoln Madison Pierre Springfield St. Paul Topeka

Don’t forget to keep practicing your Midwest states and capitals!

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