Week of 9/30

Odds and Ends:

* Magazine Drive: WOW! Our class came in first place in the magazine drive. Thank you for your participation in this great school fundraiser.  We will be rewarded with a classroom pizza party and a spot in the all school Mario Kart assembly. More information coming soon!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/30: English: DOL #2 Graded Review

* Wed. 10/2: September Reading Calendars Due
Social Studies: Hemispheres Quiz
PE: Soccer Test

*Fri. 10/4: Spelling: List 6 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will work on making inferences this week. We will also finish up our summarizing mini unit. We will get ready to begin book clubs and guided reading groups.

* English: We will work on our public speaking skills as we present our essays. We will begin our descriptive writing unit and ch. 2 nouns.

*Spelling: This week we will focus on list 6.

*Social Studies: Our map skills unit is wrapping up. We will take our hemispheres quiz on Wed. 10/2. We will begin our next unit on communities and local government as we study Downers Grove history.

* Science: We will continue to learn about ecosystems and the changes that occur due to natural causes and human influence this week.

*Math: We will continue to work on ch. 2 addition. We will practice a timed facts test every day. Beginning Fri. 10/4, the tests will count for a grade (10 points). If your child does not pass Fri. (they are allowed to miss one), they will retake Mon. for a grade of 9/10 points. From that point on, each retake day will result in one point deduction. Thank you for practicing these facts at home.

Have a beautiful, fall weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/23- 9/27

Odds and Ends:

*Magazine Drive: The drive ends next week. Please continue to bring in any orders on the turn in days. Thank you for participating in this great fundraiser!

*Prizes for prize box: Any new or gently used prizes are always welcome! Thank you to those families who have already donated!

* This week we began sharing Top 5 Things about ourselves that might surprise our friends. Ask your children what my number one fact was: )

*Scholastic Book Order: A September book order packet was sent home. Please consider making an online order that is safe and secure through their website. Each order placed on line earns free books for you and our classroom! The orders are due Fri. 9/27 either by sending in a paper form and check to class or ordering online. I will place the order Friday afternoon.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/23: English: Unit 1 Test

*Tues. 9/24: Magazine Turn in #3

*Thurs. 9/26: Johnny Appleseed's Birthday Celebration: send in peeled, sliced apple: )

*Fri. 9/27: Spelling: List 5 Test
Early Dismissal at 11:00

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to work on summarizing and inferring this week. We will be working with the novels Ten True Animal Rescues. Students are also putting their visualizing skills to work as we make cartoons of the events of their favorite chapter.

We will also celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday on Thurs. 9/26. A note went home about one activity that we will do that day, which is to make our own applesauce. Each child needs to bring in one PEELED and SLICED apple on Thurs. We will add each apple to a crock pot and add other ingredients to create our apple sauce. We are also looking for parents to donate the following items: 20 100% apple juice boxes OR 2 containers of 100% apple juice and 20 cups, 20 plastic spoons, and 20 plastic bowls for our celebration. Please email if you are able to send in any of these items. You can send them into school with your child on or before Thurs. 9/26. Thank you!

*English: We will take our ch.1  test on The Sentence on Mon.  We will begin our first writing unit as we practice the steps and format of writing a 5 paragraph essay. Then we will begin unit 2: Nouns.  We will also work on DOL #2 unit. We are focusing on capitalizing proper nouns.

*Spelling: We will work on list 5. Homework will be sent home Mon. and due Thurs. The final test will be on Fri.

*Social Studies: We finished our unit on continents and ocean. Next we will focus on hemispheres, poles, the equator, and prime meridian.

*Science: We will continue our study of ecosystems. We will work with types of ecosystems and their characteristics.

*Math: We will begin ch. 2: Addition. We will also begin our fast facts with addition problems. More information about the graded addition fact quizzes will come home soon.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/16-9/20

Odds and Ends: 

*Magazine Drive: Your child received a packet of information about our district wide magazine drive. The first turn in day is Tues. 9/17.

*Spirit Day: Friday 9/20 we will have crazy hair day.

*Thank you to parents for sending in materials from our helping hands board. I really appreciate all of the generous donations! As always, prizes for the prize bin are always welcome and needed:) Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues. 9/17: Magazine Turn in #1

*Wed. 9/18: English: DOL Quiz #1
PM: Lakeview Band Concert

*Thurs. 9/19: Magazine Turn in #2

* Fri.9/20: Spelling: Test List 4
Math: Chapter 1 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are continuing to learn and practice the Daily 5. We will also focus on summarizing and sequencing important details as we read Lost and Found and Ten True Animal Rescues.

* English: We will focus on subject, predicate, and run on sentences. Look for a study guide coming soon. The ch. 1 test will be Mon. 9/23. We will also have our first DOL quiz on Wed. 9/18. A study guide went home this week with the skills we are focusing on.

*Spelling: We will be on list 4. We will have the pretest Monday. Three homework assignments will be due on Thurs. The homework assigned depends on what group your child is placed in after the pretest. Both groups do a cursive sheet and then have 2 different additional assignments. Please help your child manage their assignments for the week so they are not scrambling on Wed night to finish all 3! The test will be on Friday.

* Science: We will continue to focus on ch. 4: Ecosystems.

*Social Studies: We began our next maps unit: continents and oceans. We will be doing research  about hte continents with non-fiction books and in the computer lab as we search for and share WOW facts about the continents.

*Math: We will continue to work on ch. 1, focusing on rounding to the nearest 10 and 100. The chapter 1 test is planned for Fri. 9/20. Look for a practice test coming home next week. The skills tested will be place value to 1,000 (knowing standard, expanded, and word form), comparing and ordering numbers to the thousands place, and rounding to the nearest 10 and 100.

Thank you for checking out the blog. Enjoy the beautiful fall weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 9/9- 9/13

Odds and Ends: 

*Thank you to all of the parents who were able to attend Curriculum Night. I hope the night was informative and helpful to you as we begin 3rd grade together: )

*Magazine Drive: We will being our school wide magazine drive this week. The kick off assembly is Tues and your child will bring home a packet of information.

Go Bears! 

A little Bear's fan came to visit...Liam!
(He was being camera shy!)  

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Mon. 9/9: MAPs Reading Test (moved to this date)

* Tues. 9/10: Magazine Drive Kick Off Assembly

* Wed. 9/11: Spirit Day: Wear Red, White, and Blue
Social Studies: Directions and Compass Rose Graded Review

* Fri. 9/13: Spelling: List 3 test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

* Reading: We will continue to preview our reading strategies for the year. We are also focusing on Read to Self and Read to Someone during Daily 5.

*English: We will continue to work in ch. 1: The Sentence. We will focus on subject and predicate as we practice the four types of sentences.

* Spelling: This week we will focus on list 3: short vowel words. Your child will have 3 homework assignments given to them Monday and will be due Thurs. The final test will be given on Friday.

*Social Studies: We are busy learning about directions, compass rose, and how to follow directions. We will go on a scavenger hunt in the school using our knowledge of directions. A study guide was sent home today for Wednesday's graded review on the compass rose and directions. We will review in class early next week as well.

*Science: We will begin our first unit: ch. 4: Where Living Things are Found.

*Math: We will begin meeting daily next week. The students will begin exploring place value and rounding in ch. 1.

Have a great weekend and Go Bears!

Mrs. Olsen