Week of 4/30

Odds and Ends: 

*Book Worm Angel Book Drive: WOW! We did great this week in our charity book drive. We collected over 300 books from 3rd graders. We have one more week of the book drive. Please send in your gently used and new books to help kids in need by Fri. 5/4.

*MAPS Testing: This week, we will be taking our Spring MAPS tests. This week in class we did goal setting and talked about good strategies to use while taking the test. Our class will be taking the reading MAPS test on Tues.5/1and the math MAPS test on Fri. 5/4. Both days we will take our test from 11:45-12:45.

Donations Needed!

We are in need of the following items: 

* Glue sticks

* Empty toliet paper tubes

THANK YOU! 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 5/1: Reading MAPS Test 11:45 - 12:45
Last Jr. Achievement Class

*Wed. 5/2: Pizza luncheon

*Thurs. 5/3: Reading: Poetry fluency reading

*Fri. 5/4: Spelling: List 24 test
Math: 3's division timed test
Math MAPS testing 11:45-12:45

                A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to study poetry. We will apply the poetic devices we have been learning  and reading about as we write our own poetry.  Your child chose a poem that they will read to the class on Thurs. during step one of our Poetry Cafe reading for fluency and expression. They should be practicing this poem at home.They do not need to memorize the poem,but they should be familiar with the poem.

Good Fit Book Celebration: Your child should be reading or completed reading their good fit book. Did they choose 4 vocabulary words from their book and complete the 4 square worksheet? They will be orally quizzed on their 4 words on 5/8.  I will be checking their worksheets next week.  The projects will be due 5/15. I can't wait to see the final products!

*English: We are working on friendly letter writing. We finished our letters to our pen pals in 2nd grade. For our final letter, we will write to a celebrity. This letter will be graded. Our next unit will be pronouns.

*Spelling; We will work on list 24 this week. We will have a test on Friday. Homework will be due on Friday.  Remember, all work for spelling should be done in cursive. Thanks!

*Science: We will begin a new unit on heat, sound, and light (ch. 14). Be sure to look for your child's ch 10 space test, which was handed back this week. The students were "out of this world" during this unit.

*Social Studies: We have finished our study of Chicago. We will be traveling back to time to study an ancient civilization-Ancient Egypt.

*Math: We are working on ch. 23-multiplying greater numbers. We will continue to practice this concept in class. We will have a graded review this week and a ch. 23 test. We will also be working on 3's division facts. The 3's division test will be on Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

week of 4/23

Odds and Ends:

*Our school has organized a wonderful Book Angel Book Drive to collect books for schools in need.  Students have been asked to bring in new or used books and the grade level with the most books collected will win a prize! The drive begins Mon. 4/23 and ends Fri. 5/4.

*Dress Code: As the warmer weather approaches, the students have been reminded of the district dress code. Remember to make sure skirts and shorts are long enough (when your child puts their arms down, the bottom of the skirt or shorts should reach their fingertips) and tank top straps need to be 3 fingers width wide. Thank you for your cooperation!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 4/24: First Junior Achievement Session
Science: Ch. 10 Test Space

*Wed. 4/25: Early Dismissal: 11 am
Reading: Good Fit Book Project Idea due date (have your idea chosen!)

*Fri. 4/27: Spelling: List 23 test
Math: 5's and 10's division timed test
Reading: Poetry Vocab Quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We are busy learning about difference poetic devices and immersing ourselves in reading and learning about poetry. We will begin writing some of our own poems next week. There will be a poetry vocab quiz on Fri. The vocab words are in their reading folders.

We are also working on our "Good Fit Book Celebration". If you have not seen the yellow packet explaining this project and your child's timeline, please ask them about it. They should be reading their book each night. This can count as their 30 minutes of nightly reading. Also, they need to pick 4 unknown or unique/interesting words from their book to add to their vocab 4 square worksheet. They will be orally quizzed on their words starting 5/8. The book projects will be due 5/15. I can't wait to see the final projects!

*English: We are working on friendly letter writing. Please have your child bring 2 stamps to school by Mon. 4/23. They will be writing a letter to a famous person of their choice, as well as to their 2nd grade pen pals.

*Spelling: We are on list 23. The test and homework will be on Friday.

*Science; We are wrapping up our unit on Space. The test will be on Tues. 4/24. Please make sure you are studying a little bit each night! Our next unit will be on heat, light, and sound.

*Social Studies: We are almost done with our Chicago unit. We will be talking about famous Chicagoans next. We will then be turning back the hands of time as we study Ancient Egypt!

*Math: We began ch. 23 (multiplying by greater than 1 digit numbers). We will work on this for several days. The test will be in a few days.  Look in your child's assignment notebook for the exact date. We will also be testing on 5 and 10's division facts on Friday. Keep studying those facts each night...the daily practice helps so much!

Have a beautiful weekend together!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 4/16

ODDS AND ENDS:

*THANK YOU for coming to our Spring open house. The students have been working hard and were so proud to show off their beautiful work. It was great to see so many families fill up our classrooms.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 4/16: Dental Hygienist presentation to 3rd grade students

*Thurs. 4/19: Social Studies: OPEN BOOK Chicago Quiz III

*Fri. 4/20: Wear GREEN for Earth Day (4/22)
Math: 2's division timed test
Spelling: List 22 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will begin our Poetry unit where we will explore reading a variety of poems as well as try our hands at writing some! We will also work in guided reading groups on poetry and work on vocabulary using our good fit silent reading books.

*English: We will save unit 6 on pronouns for later and focus on friendly letter writing this week as we get ready to write our 2nd grade pen pals at Elizabeth Ide.

*Spelling: We are on list 22 this week. We will pretest on Monday and have the test on Friday. As always, homework is due the day of the test.

*Science: We are wrapping up our unit on space. We have tentatively set the test date for Tues. 4/24. A study guide was sent home this week.

*Social Studies: We will finish up our unit on Chicago. We will take an open book quiz on the last third of the book. A study guide will be sent home on Monday, but the students will be able to use their book during the quiz. We are finishing up the last touches on our Chicago brochures as well.

*Math: We are focusing on ch. 11 and ch. 12 : division. We will begin having timed tests this week starting with the 2's. It is similar to how we did multiplication. Every Friday will be a test on division facts. The tests will be worth 10 points. Please continue to study both multiplication and division at home each night. Thank you for your help!

Have a beautiful weekend together!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 4/9

Odds and Ends:

*Open House: Please mark your calendars for our Spring Open House on Thurs. 4/12 from 6:30-8:00. Come visit your child's classrooms, visit 4th and 5th grade classrooms, shop at the book fair, and stay for ice cream! Our theme is Chicago, so your child (and family members!) can wear their favorite Chicago sports team apparel. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events:

* Thurs. 4/12: Open House

*Fri. 4/13: Spelling: List 21 test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will focus on non-fiction reading strategies as we apply this to our Chicago books.

*English: We will begin unit 6 on pronouns.

* Spelling: We will be on list 21. There will be pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will continue to work on our Chicago unit. We are learning so much about this great city. We will focus on our cumulative project, which is our Chicago brochures. In our discussions about the World's Fair that took place in Chicago in 1893, we learned that the Heinz company had a booth in a poor location. To attract visitors to their booth, they began handing out small, plastic pickle pins. Their idea worked and many more visitors came to their booth. If you visit this link, http://www.heinz.com/our-company/investor-relations/request-information.aspx, you can request a pickle pin to be sent to your house for free. I tried to get one for each student in 3rd grade, but it is only one per household. I made the students a paper pickle sticker pin instead and we talked about how this can symbolize creative thinking. If they are ever in a situation where things aren't going their way, they can remember the pickle pin and come up with a creative solution!

*Science: We are on ch 10 lesson 3, focusing on our solar system. Ask your child about our "egg-cellent" egg hunt for planet questions we went on today. We had a great time searching for eggs and answers! We will continue to learn about the planets this week. A test will be scheduled in the near future: look in your child's assignment notebook for the exact date. A study guide will be sent home.

*Math: We are finished with ch. 19 decimals. We will spend a day or 2 reviewing probability. Then we will begin ch 11 division. Please continue to review multiplication facts. We are going to spend a great deal of time relating multiplication with division and the better your child knows their multiplication facts, the easier the division facts will be.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Mrs. Olsen